How is golf handicap calculated? All you need to know

Whenever we talk about golf, we often come across the term, 'golf handicap'. A golfer's level is determined by the handicap, which means the better the handicap, the better the chances of him taking on the professionals.

As per definition, A golf handicap is a numerical score to measure a golfer's ability. Different countries have had different ways of calculating the handicaps but in the USA, the United States Golf Association (USGA) looks after the calculation of handicaps.

A player's handicap will be several strokes above or below par, he is expected to complete the round. Higher handicap means, there's a lot of room for improvement while a lower handicap indicates that the golfer is more skillful.

For instance, Donald Trump has a handicap of +2.5 as per USGA GHIN. NBA star Stephen Curry has a handicap of +2.2. Here we will look at the process of calculating the handicap.

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How to calculate the golf Handicap?

To obtain a handicap index, one needs to play at least three 9-hole or 18-hole rounds. The score is required to be written on the scorecard with the signature of the player and his partner, which is done to avoid cheating. The handicap index is revised on the 1st and 15th of every month.

To calculate the Handicap differential, we need to subtract the course rating from the score multiply it by 113, and then divide it by the slope rating of the course. 113 is the standard slope rating.

Then we have to choose the lowest handicap differentials from our total scores and take the average of them. Now to obtain the Handicap index we need to multiply the average of the lowest handicap differential by 0.96.

The new rule of calculating the golf handicap came into existence in 2020. Before that, the USGA Handicap System, EGA Handicap System, CONGU Unified Handicap System, Golf Australia Handicap System, South African Handicap System, and Argentinian Handicap System had their way of calculating handicaps.

To make a unified system, the USGA and The R&A introduced a new World Handicap System which which came into effect in 2020.