The following content was first published in Golf Journal, a quarterly print and monthly digital publication exclusively for USGA Members. To be among the first to receive Golf Journal and to learn how you can help make golf more open for all, become a USGA Member today.
If you’re one of the roughly 2.8 million U.S. golfers with a Handicap Index®, there’s one – sometimes two – pre-round tasks to complete. Thanks to modern technology, both can be done in seconds.
Step 1: Convert your Handicap Index into a Course Handicap™
Using your mobile app, select the course and tees you’re going to play. Based on the Course Rating™, Slope Rating™ and par of those tees, your Course Handicap will display automatically.
Course Handicap is the number used to adjust any hole scores for net double bogey (abnormally high hole score) or net par (hole not played). During recreational rounds, golfers are encouraged to pick up once they’ve reached net double bogey to help with pace of play – but without knowing your Course Handicap, you can’t determine that number in real time.
Knowing your Course Handicap before your round also lets you determine your target score – the score you can expect to shoot if you play well. To find this number, add your Course Handicap to the par of the tees being played. Par is 72? A player with a Course Handicap of 20 would have a target score of 92. It’s that simple!
In most cases, your Course Handicap suffices. If you’re playing in a game with friends or a net tournament, there’s another term, and number, that comes into play: Playing Handicap™.
Step 2: Determine your Playing Handicap
A Playing Handicap represents the number of strokes given or received for the purposes of the competition; generally, this number can also be found using your mobile app. Simply select the handicap allowance being applied, and your Playing Handicap will display automatically.
For example, in four-ball stroke play, the recommended handicap allowance is 85 percent – so a player might have a Course Handicap of 12 and a Playing Handicap of 10.
Here’s an easy way to remember the difference between these two defined terms under the Rules of Handicapping:
Course Handicap: You against the course
Playing Handicap: You against other players
More information on this and other World Handicap System™ topics can be found at usga.org/whs.