Golf Handicap Calculator
Score differential, course handicap and net score under the World Handicap System.
https://calculators.nirajiitr.com/sports/golf-handicap-calculator
How it works
Course Rating is what a scratch golfer is expected to shoot on a set of tees, so a score minus the rating shows how far above scratch you played. Slope says how much harder the course plays for a bogey golfer than a scratch one, with 113 as the neutral value. Dividing 113 by the slope turns the round into a course-neutral differential that can be compared with rounds anywhere. The course handicap reverses that, converting your portable index into strokes on the tees you are about to play.
differential = (113 ÷ Slope) × (adjusted gross score − Course Rating − PCC)
course handicap = Index × Slope ÷ 113 + (Course Rating − par)- adjusted gross score
- Your score with each hole capped at net double bogey
- Course Rating
- Expected score for a scratch golfer
- Slope
- Relative difficulty for a bogey golfer, 55 to 155
- PCC
- Playing conditions calculation, a −1 to +3 adjustment for the day
Worked example
You shoot an adjusted 92 from tees rated 71.8 / 128, par 72, with a 14.2 Handicap Index.
- 1Score over rating: 92 − 71.8 − 0 = 20.2
- 2Differential: (113 ÷ 128) × 20.2 = 17.83, rounded to 17.8
- 3Course handicap: 14.2 × 128 ÷ 113 + (71.8 − 72) = 15.9, rounded to 16
- 4Net score: 92 − 16 = 76
A 17.8 differential and a net 76, four over par: an ordinary round that will not count toward your index.
Frequently asked questions
How is a Handicap Index calculated?
Under the World Handicap System, it is the average of your best 8 score differentials from your most recent 20 rounds. With fewer than 20 scores, fewer differentials are used, from the single best of 3 rounds (minus 2 strokes) up to the best 7 of 19. The maximum index is 54.0.
What is net double bogey?
It is the most you can post on any hole for handicap purposes: double bogey plus any handicap strokes you receive on that hole. A 16-handicap golfer receives one stroke on the 16 hardest holes, so on a par 4 they can post at most a 7 on those holes. This stops one disastrous hole from inflating your index.
Why does my handicap depend on which tees I play?
Your Handicap Index is portable, but the strokes you get are not. Longer tees have a higher Course Rating and usually a higher Slope, so the same index converts into more strokes there. That is fair, because the course plays harder, and it lets golfers on different tees compete on equal terms.
What are the soft and hard caps?
They stop an index rising too fast during a bad spell. Your lowest index from the past 365 days is the reference point. Once the index rises more than 3.0 strokes above it, anything further is cut by half (the soft cap). It can never rise more than 5.0 above it (the hard cap). There is no limit on how fast it can fall.