Golf ScoutCourse handicap and Handicap Index: what's the difference?
Your Handicap Index measures your ability anywhere. Your course handicap is the number of strokes you get on one course from one set of tees: Handicap Index × slope rating ÷ 113, plus course rating minus par, rounded. Your playing handicap is that, times the allowance for the format, such as 95% in a stroke-play competition.
Under the World Handicap System there are three handicap numbers, and it's easy to mix them up.
Handicap Index: your ability
Your Handicap Index, such as 18.4, is worked out from your best recent scores and goes with you to every course. It describes how well you play on a course of average difficulty. It's never used directly to count strokes in a round. (Our guide to working out your golf handicap covers how it's calculated.)
Course handicap: your strokes on this course
Courses aren't equally hard, and neither are the tees on one course. Your course handicap converts your index into strokes for the tees you're playing:
Course handicap = Handicap Index × slope rating ÷ 113 + (course rating − par), rounded to the nearest whole number.
- Slope rating (55 to 155) says how much harder the course is for a higher handicapper than for a scratch golfer. 113 is average.
- Course rating is what a scratch golfer would be expected to score. When it's above par, everyone gets the difference as extra strokes.
Take a golfer with an index of 18.4:
| Tees | Rating | Slope | Par | Course handicap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A gentle parkland course | 69.0 | 113 | 70 | 17 |
| An average course | 71.2 | 128 | 72 | 20 |
| A long championship course | 74.5 | 140 | 72 | 25 |
Ratings and slopes are examples. The real ones are on each course's scorecard, and at most clubs on a board by the first tee.
Playing handicap: your strokes in this format
For a competition, your course handicap is multiplied by a handicap allowance to keep the format fair. The R&A recommends 95% for individual stroke play, which includes Stableford. In four-ball better-ball stroke play the allowance is 85%. In singles match play, the lower handicap plays off zero and the other player gets the full difference. In a casual round, your playing handicap is usually just your course handicap.
A course handicap of 20 at 95% gives a playing handicap of 19.
Where do I get these strokes on the card?
Each hole has a stroke index from 1 to 18. With a playing handicap of 18 you get a stroke on every hole; with 21 you get one on every hole and a second on stroke index 1, 2 and 3; with 12, one on stroke index 1 to 12.
Related guides
- How to work out your golf handicap
- Course rating and slope rating explained
- How do I check my golf handicap?
Sources
Golf Scout scans a course's scorecard for its par, stroke index, rating and slope. Get Golf Scout on the App Store, free for iPhone and Apple Watch.