According to the United States Golf Association, a golf handicap is necessary because it makes "the game of golf more enjoyable by enabling players of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis." The end goal of a handicap is compare all golfers to a "scratch golfer," or someone who has a handicap rating of zero and can be expected to shoot par or better on any course of average difficulty. While the formulas used to tabulate golf handicap might seem complicated at first, the process begins with what every golfer enjoys most: playing golf.
Step 1
Apply an equitable stroke control, or ESC, to at least five rounds of your best golf. An ESC is a maximum limit to the score a player can receive on any given hole. Based upon the USGA's Handicap Manual, the ESC for a golf course is determined by the course handicap. If a course handicap is nine or less, the maximum number of strokes a player can receive on a hole is a double bogey. If the course handicap is 10 through 19, the maximum number is seven; 20 through 29, the maximum number is eight; 30 through 39, the maximum number is nine; and 40 or more, the maximum number is 10. The resulting score after the ESC has been applied is called your adjusted gross score.
Step 2
Figure out how many of your adjusted gross scores can be used to determine your handicap differential. The number of usable scores varies based on the number of completed rounds you are calculating from. The USGA recommends using your best 10 scores from 20 completed rounds. As a minimum, you may use your best single round from five completed rounds.
Step 3
Subtract your adjusted gross score from the USGA course rating for that golf course. Multiply that number by 113, which is the average slope rating. A slope rating is what the USGA expects the average golfer who is not a scratch golfer to score on a course. Divide the result by the slope rating for that particular course. Drop all numbers beyond the tenth decimal and do not round up. The resulting number is your handicap differential.
For example, if your adjusted gross score is 90 on a course with a 73 course rating, the difference would be 17. Multiply that number the average slope rating of 113 to get 1,921. Divide that result by the course's slope rating, which for this example will be 125. The result is 15.368. Therefore, your handicap differential would be 15.3.
Step 4
Average together the handicap differentials the USGA suggests you use for the number of completed rounds of golf you have. Multiply the number by 0.96 to determine your handicap index based upon 96 percent of your best golf.
Step 5
Reevaluate your handicap index continually based upon your most recently completed rounds of golf. Until you have a large enough sample size and there is reasonable consistency in your play, you should continue to recalculate your handicap index to accurately reflect your average skill level.
Tips and Warnings
- The course rating and slope rating for a given course are usually available on the scorecard.
Things You'll Need
- Scorecards from rounds played
- Calculator
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