Golf handicap how many scores

You will learn how to calculate golf handicap for yourself and anyone who you golf with on a regular basis. Unlike many other sports, amateurs can test their limits with the professionals who they watch on Sunday. The system is mathematically based, so it is as fair a system as there can be in the world of sports. A proper and legitimate handicap can be used for a variety of tournaments and fun rounds of golf, so make each stroke count.

The great thing about the system is that you can calculate a handicap no matter which golf course you play on a daily basis. It is important to note that the most accurate handicaps will come from playing the same course. You could even travel across the pond and play St. Andrews and use your handicap to challenge the locals. In most cases, the handicap is like the sport in general. The lower the score, the better you play.

A good golf handicap is usually below This would mean that a player with a handicap of 10 typically shoots around 82 for holes.

The average golf handicap for men and women golfers is around This would mean that this golfer shoots around The more general way to find a not-so-reliable handicap is by simply counting the number of strokes you are over par on a course. Once you have a handicap, the scores you continue to turn in for use in calculating your golf handicap are not necessarily your actual gross scores, but what are called adjusted gross scores.

Adjusted gross scores are those that include the per-hole limits known as equitable stroke control. In other words, if you have a 12 on a hole, but you have a per-hole limit of 8, you would subtract four strokes from your score. Your per-hole limit is determined by your handicap. It is this adjusted gross score that is used to calculate the differential. To establish a handicap, you have to join a golf club that uses the USGA's system. You post your adjusted scores through that club, usually by computer.

You cannot post scores for rounds you played by yourself. The other five handicap systems around the world use different criteria. Beginning in January , the handicap systems are changing. The six organizations administering handicaps worldwide are coming together under one system, dubbed the World Handicap System.

Seven or eight scores is where we stop having the additional minus adjustment within the table. Does that help? Let me know in the comments, or tweet me. Visit our dedicated WHS page where you will find everything you need to know and details of how to contact us if you have any more questions. Many members in the club may have less than 20 scores in their playing record which is used to calculate your Handicap Index. If this applies to you then you may have been allocated a Handicap Index that puzzles you.

Here is the extract from the WHS Handicapping guide that shows the algorithm that is used by that system to allocate a Handicap Index where the player has less than 20 scores in their record.

If a Scoring Record contains fewer than 20 Score Differentials , the table below is used to determine the number of Score Differentials to be included in the calculation and any adjustments that may apply. Round then result of the calculation to the nearest tenth.