⛳ Golf Handicap Calculator
Estimate your World Handicap System Handicap Index from recent scores, course rating and slope, then get your course and playing handicap for any tees.
Your recent rounds (oldest first, up to 20 count)
| # | Adjusted score | Course rating | Slope | PCC | Differential | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14.8 | |||||
| 2 | 16.9 | |||||
| 3 | 13.6 | |||||
| 4 | 16.6 | |||||
| 5 | 16.1 |
Use your adjusted gross score — each hole capped at net double bogey. Course rating and slope are on the scorecard for the tees you played. PCC (playing conditions calculation) is usually 0.
Course handicap for today’s tees
Course handicap 15 · playing handicap at 95%: 14 strokes
An official Handicap Index comes only from your golf association’s system, which also applies caps, exceptional-score reductions and daily PCC. This estimate uses the same core formulas.
What Golf Handicap Calculator Does
This golf handicap calculator estimates your Handicap Index using the World Handicap System (WHS), the system used by the USGA, The R&A and golf associations worldwide. Enter your recent rounds — adjusted gross score, course rating and slope for the tees you played — and it calculates each score differential, highlights the rounds that count, and averages them with the adjustment the rules require for fewer than 20 scores.
It then converts the Index into a course handicap for any set of tees, and a playing handicap for the format you are playing. An official Index can only come from an authorized golf club or association, which also applies caps, exceptional-score reductions and daily playing-conditions adjustments; this estimate uses the same core formulas and is useful for tracking your game or playing informally.
How to Use Golf Handicap Calculator
- Enter each recent round: adjusted score, course rating and slope
- Add rounds up to your last 20
- Read your estimated Handicap Index and which rounds count
- Enter today’s course rating, slope and par
- Get your course handicap and playing handicap
Formula Used by Golf Handicap Calculator
Score differential
Differential = (113 ÷ Slope) × (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating − PCC)
Worked example
An 88 on a course rated 71.2 with slope 128, PCC 0.
- 88 − 71.2 = 16.8
- 113 ÷ 128 = 0.8828
- 16.8 × 0.8828 = 14.83
Result: Differential 14.8.
Course handicap
Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par), rounded
Worked example
Index 13.6 on tees rated 71.2 / 128, par 72.
- 13.6 × 128 ÷ 113 = 15.41
- 71.2 − 72 = −0.8
- 15.41 − 0.8 = 14.6
Result: Course handicap 15; at 95% for stroke play, playing handicap 14.
Differentials Used by Number of Scores (WHS)
| Scores | Lowest differentials used | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | −2.0 |
| 4 | 1 | −1.0 |
| 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | 2 | −1.0 |
| 7–8 | 2 | 0 |
| 9–11 | 3 | 0 |
| 12–14 | 4 | 0 |
| 15–16 | 5 | 0 |
| 17–18 | 6 | 0 |
| 19 | 7 | 0 |
| 20 | 8 | 0 |
How to Read Your Result
Adjusted gross score
Before a round counts, each hole is capped at net double bogey: par + 2 + any strokes you receive on that hole. A 9 on a par 4 for a player who gets one stroke there counts as a 7. This keeps one bad hole from inflating your handicap.
Why slope matters
Slope measures how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer, from 55 to 155 with 113 as standard. On a high-slope course the same Index converts to more strokes, which is how players can compete fairly across courses.
Limitations & Accuracy Notes
- This is an estimate, not an official Handicap Index; only an authorized golf association can issue one.
- Soft and hard caps, exceptional score reductions and the daily playing conditions calculation are not applied automatically.
- Nine-hole scores must be combined or converted per the rules before entry.