Golf Course Handicap Calculator

1. Enter your handicap index.
2. Enter the slope rating of the tees you are playing.
3. Enter the course rating and the par.
4. Read your course handicap, rounded to a whole number.

A course handicap is the number of strokes you receive on a particular course and set of tees, worked out from your handicap index. Your index is portable and stays with you, but a course handicap adjusts it for how hard a given course plays.

Under the World Handicap System, the course handicap is what you actually use to work out your net score and the strokes you get on each hole. A tougher course, shown by a higher slope rating, gives you more strokes.

Think of your handicap index as a measure of your underlying ability and the course handicap as the practical translation of that ability into strokes for one course on one day. Two golfers with the same index can receive different numbers of strokes on the same round if they choose different tees, because each tee set carries its own slope rating and course rating. That is why the same index almost never produces the same course handicap twice unless the course and tees are identical.

1. Multiply your handicap index by the slope rating divided by 113.
2. Add the course rating minus the par.
3. Round to the nearest whole number.
4. Use that number for your net score and stroke allocation.

The 113 is the standard slope rating, so a course of average difficulty leaves your index almost unchanged, while a harder course raises the number.

Your handicap index is 10.0 and you are playing tees with a slope of 125, a course rating of 71.5 and a par of 72. The slope part is 10.0 times 125 over 113, which is 11.06. The rating minus par is 71.5 minus 72, or minus 0.5. Adding them gives 10.56, which rounds to a course handicap of 11. On an easier slope 113 course your course handicap would be close to your index of 10.

Now move the same golfer back to a championship tee with a slope of 140 and a course rating of 74.5. The slope part becomes 10.0 times 140 over 113, which is 12.39, and the rating minus par is 74.5 minus 72, or 2.5. The total is 14.89, rounding to a course handicap of 15. The same player, the same index, and the same day now receive four extra strokes purely because the tees are harder, which is exactly what the calculation is built to capture.

Slope Rating

A higher slope means a harder course for the average golfer, so you receive more strokes.

Course Rating and Par

When the course rating is above par, the course plays tougher than its par and adds strokes.

Tees Played

Different tees have their own slope and rating, so your course handicap changes with the tees.

Your Index

The whole figure scales with your index, so a lower index gives a lower course handicap.

Course handicap for an index of 10.0 at par 72 by slope.

The harder the tees, the more the course handicap climbs above the handicap index.

Before a Round

Work out your strokes for the tees you are about to play.

Playing Away

Convert your index for an unfamiliar course with different ratings.

Setting Up a Match

Give each player the right strokes for a fair game.

1. Using the Index Directly

Your index is not your course handicap; you must adjust it for slope, rating and par.

2. Wrong Tees

Each set of tees has its own slope and rating, so use the ones you are playing.

3. Forgetting Rating Minus Par

The current World Handicap System adds the course rating minus par, not just the slope part.

4. Not Rounding

The course handicap is a whole number, so round the exact figure.

The formula follows the World Handicap System exactly. Local rules and handicap allowances can adjust the final playing figure.

Multiply your handicap index by the slope over 113, then add the course rating minus par. An index of 10.0 on slope 125, rating 71.5, par 72 gives about 11.

Your index is portable and stays the same everywhere; your course handicap adjusts it for how hard a specific course and tees play.

A number showing how much harder a course is for a bogey golfer than a scratch golfer. The standard is 113; higher is tougher.

The current World Handicap System includes it so the course handicap reflects how the course plays relative to its par, not just the slope.

Yes. Each set of tees has its own slope and rating, so your course handicap differs from one tee to another.

Yes. The course handicap is rounded to the nearest whole number before you use it for strokes.

No. A playing handicap applies a competition allowance, often a percentage, to the course handicap.

The standard slope is 113. Using it gives a course handicap close to your handicap index.

No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.

• World Handicap System (Wikipedia).
• Slope rating (Wikipedia).
• Handicap (golf) (Wikipedia).