Course handicap and playing handicap calculator

Under the World Handicap System (Rule 6.1 of the Rules of Handicapping), course handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating minus par). A Slope Rating of 113 is the rating of a course of standard difficulty, so dividing by 113 scales your index up on a harder tee and down on an easier one. The Course Rating minus par term adds strokes on a tee rated above par and removes them on a tee rated below it.

The result is rounded to the nearest whole number, with a half rounding up: an unrounded 12.5 is a course handicap of 13. Use the Course Rating, Slope Rating and par for the tee you are playing, since each set of tees on a course has its own.

For a nine-hole round, use half of your Handicap Index, rounded to one decimal place with a half rounding up, and the nine-hole Course Rating, Slope Rating and par for the nine you are playing. The formula is otherwise the same.

For example, a player with a Handicap Index of 8.7 uses half of it, 4.35, rounded to 4.4. On a nine with a Course Rating of 35.3, a Slope Rating of 121 and a par of 36, the unrounded course handicap is 4.4 × 121 ÷ 113 plus (35.3 minus 36), which is 4.01, so the nine-hole course handicap is 4. Rounding the half index first matters: on some tees, 4.35 and 4.4 give course handicaps one stroke apart.

Your playing handicap is your course handicap multiplied by the handicap allowance for the format, rounded to the nearest whole number with a half rounding up. Allowances make formats fair: in four-ball, for example, the higher-handicap partner's strokes count for more because only the better score on each hole counts, so the allowance is below 100%.

In match play, the player with the lowest playing handicap plays off zero and everyone else receives the difference between their playing handicap and the lowest. In a four-ball match with course handicaps of 13, 21, 7 and 16, the 90% allowance gives playing handicaps of 12, 19, 6 and 14, so those players receive 6, 13, 0 and 8 strokes.

This calculator, like Wedge, applies the allowance to the rounded course handicap. The Rules of Handicapping prefer the unrounded course handicap and permit the rounded one when players work out their own playing handicaps, so a committee's figure can occasionally differ by one stroke.

When partners play one ball, the side plays off a single team handicap. Work out each partner's course handicap on the tee they play first, then combine them.

Alternate shot: add the partners' course handicaps and take 50%. Partners with course handicaps of 13 and 22 have a combined 35, and 50% of 35 is 17.5, so the side's playing handicap is 18.

Scramble: sort the partners' course handicaps from lowest to highest, take each at its weight, and add them up. In a scramble the team picks the best shot every time, so each partner's handicap counts for far less than in an individual game.

Worked example: four partners with course handicaps of 7, 13, 17 and 22. The team handicap is 25% of 7 (1.75) plus 20% of 13 (2.6) plus 15% of 17 (2.55) plus 10% of 22 (2.2), which is 9.1, so the team plays off 9. An allowance below 100% multiplies the weighted total before rounding.

A plus Handicap Index, such as +2.1, belongs to a player who scores better than the Course Rating. In the formula it counts as a negative number. On the example tee above, -2.1 × 128 ÷ 113 plus (71.2 minus 72) is -3.18, so the course handicap is +3. A plus handicap gives strokes back: the player adds three strokes to their gross score for a net score.

Rounding still goes up the number line, so a half rounds toward the higher-handicap side. A course handicap of +5 at a 90% allowance is +4.5, which rounds to a playing handicap of +4. In match play, a plus player is usually the lowest in the group, so everyone else receives the difference: against a +2, a playing handicap of 10 receives 12 strokes. Type a plus index into the calculator with its plus sign.

• Handicap Index: your measure of ability, calculated from the best 8 of your most recent 20 score differentials. It travels with you from course to course.
• Course handicap: the number of strokes you receive on a particular set of tees, worked out from your Handicap Index with that tee's Slope Rating, Course Rating and par.
• Playing handicap: your course handicap after the handicap allowance for the format. It is the number you play off in that game, and the one strokes between players are counted from.