Handicaps: course handicap, strokes and net score

Index vs course handicap

A handicap index is a portable measure of your demonstrated ability, calculated from your recent scores. It is not the number of strokes you receive. To get that, the index is converted to a course handicap for the specific set of tees you are playing, because a hard course from the back tees should give you more strokes than an easy one from the forward tees.

Under the World Handicap System the conversion uses the course's slope rating, its course rating and its par. In practice most golfers get this number from their federation app or the pro shop before teeing off. For a friendly game, using the number your app shows for those tees is entirely sufficient.

Stroke index: where the shots fall

Every scorecard assigns each hole a stroke index from 1 to 18, where 1 is the hole judged hardest for a higher handicapper relative to par. Strokes are allocated in that order:

1. A course handicap of 7 means you receive one stroke on the holes with stroke index 1 through 7, and none on the rest.
2. A course handicap of 18 means one stroke on every hole.
3. A course handicap of 22 means one stroke on every hole plus a second stroke on stroke index 1 through 4.

This matters more than the total. Two players with the same handicap can have wildly different rounds depending on whether their strokes land on holes that suit them. It is also why match play strokes must be allocated hole by hole and cannot be applied to the total at the end.

Gross, net and par relationships

Your gross score is what you actually took. Your net score on a hole is the gross minus any strokes you receive on it. A 20-handicapper making a 6 on a stroke-index-3 par 4 has a gross double bogey and a net bogey; on a hole where they get two strokes it would be a net par.

For the round, net total equals gross total minus course handicap. Displaying both is worth the space: gross tells you how you played, net tells you who won.

Allowances: full, 90 or 85 percent

Full handicap is right for individual stroke play against the field. For head-to-head and team formats, reduced allowances are standard because the format itself already favours the higher handicapper's volatility:

• Singles match play — 100 percent of the difference between the two course handicaps, applied to the higher handicapper.
• Four-ball better ball — commonly 85 to 90 percent of course handicap.
• Informal side games — many groups settle on a flat 80 percent, which is simple and keeps the low handicapper in the game.

Players without a formal handicap

Plenty of social groups include someone who has never posted a score. Two workable approaches: estimate from their typical round — a golfer who usually shoots around 100 on a par-72 course is roughly a 28 — or agree a number by consensus on the first tee and revisit it next time. Neither is exact, and neither needs to be. What matters is that everyone agrees before money is involved rather than after.

For repeat groups, tracking results over several rounds is the most reliable way to arrive at a fair number. Saving your rounds in an account means the group's informal handicaps converge on something defensible instead of being renegotiated every week.

Maximum hole score

For handicap posting, the World Handicap System uses net double bogey as the maximum score on any hole: par, plus two, plus any strokes you receive. Borrowing that cap for betting purposes is a good idea in stroke-based games — it prevents one hole from deciding the round — though games that already settle per hole do not need it.

Related reading

• Stroke play vs match play betting
• Net skins