Number of Scores Required to Obtain a Handicap Index
Currently, in order to obtain a Handicap Index, you must submit five 18-hole scores. This can be a mix of 9-hole and 18-hole rounds and will be revised on the 1st and 15th of every month.
With the new changes coming in 2020, a Handicap Index can be obtained after submitting only three 18-hole scores. Again these can be a mix of 9-hole and 18-hole rounds. Also with the new system in place revisions to your Handicap will now be daily, just as long as you post your third 18-hole score by midnight.
Course Handicap Calculation
Pre-2020 the calculation to find the Course Handicap was: Handicap Index X Slope Rating/ 113.
The new calculation for Course Handicap will be Handicap Index x (Slope Rating/113) + (Course Rating- Par).
The reason for this change is to accommodate players who play off different tees. These golfers are playing with different benchmarks so this new calculation will help to make it a fairer game.
Playing Handicap Calculation and Application
Currently, when a player’s Course handicap gets adjusted, it’s based on the application of a Handicap Allowance and some other competition terms. There is no clear definition of the resulting value but it’s still referred to as a Course Handicap.
In 2020 the term “Playing Handicap” will come about with the new Rules of Handicapping and will represent the strokes that a player receives in competition. Moving forward the following formula will be used: Playing Handicap = Course Handicap x Handicap Allowance.
This new rule will help to define two key rules of Handicapping.
1. Course Handicap will be used to adjust individual hole scores.
2. Playing Handicaps will be used for net competition purposes.
Stay tuned for more changes and updates for the new 2020 World Handicap System!
Is there any way to simulate a handicap for those of us unaffiliated with a club?
In our app, you can actually get what’s called average to par when you score yourself and play over time. This is comparable to a handicap, but if you wanted to play in a tournament then you would need to be part of a club and purchase a Handicap, hope this helps!
Hi the article says:
Currently, in order to obtain a Handicap Index, you must submit five 18-hole scores. This can be a mix of 9-hole and 18-hole rounds and will be revised on the 1st and 15th of every month.
But at the moment this doesn’t seem to be the case. My friend has over 90 holes recorded, mostly 9 hole rounds and Golfshot doesn’t calculate his average to par.
Please have your friend email our support team, support@golfshot.com so they can troubleshoot if there are issues.
Can i resign from whs and start over ?
That may be a question for the USGA. You can delete scores, which you can delete them all and start over. That’s the only way we know of.
You cannot delete scores. Your handicap committee is able to do that but, but an individual cannot. The GHIN system stores your data for at least 5 years, so resigning won’t help. The best way to alter your index is to play and record every score.
Is my handicap that is shown in my Golfshot account calculated using the World Handicap system?
Most state golf associations make available to players a handicap service for approx. $25/yr. Also check with local public courses they may also offer this service. Also check ghin.com as they may also offer this service.
My index went from 25.9 to 26.5 after I posted score of 99.
I thought it would go down not up. Nine of my last 20 scores are in the 90’s.
Could you please explain why this is happened?
Hi Ray, please email support@golfshot.com so they can look into your account and help you out!
This can easily happen, remember when you add a new score this means a score is dropped which might be lower than the one you entered and your handicap could go up.
My handicap index was 15.5 and I shot 82! and it went to 16. I didn’t get that.
Hi James, if you have questions on your Handicap, please reach out to support@golfshot.com so they can look at your account and help you out!
There are associations you can join without being a member of a club that will track your handicap. In the US they are called Allied Golf Associations (AGAs). You can find them on the USGA website. They are something like $40 a year around my area.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/about/find-your-allied-golf-association-usga-usa.html
You still need to be part of a club or at least register at a club you’d be most likely to play at. All states have their own rule so it’s best to find your state association and go from there.
(Score-Rating)*113/Slope
How has my handicap gone from 26 to 15 under new system I haven’t put a card in anywhere near my 26 so what chance in competition will I have playing of 15
Please checkout the formula here to calculate your Course Handicap for a given course directly from the USGA. https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/world-handicap-system/world-handicap-system-usga-golf-faqs/faqs—calculate-course-handicap-and-playing-handicap.html
Link goes to a “404 – page not found”
Looks like they need to fix that, here is a Handicap here is more info: https://www.usga.org/handicapping/roh/2020-rules-of-handicapping.html
The new calculation for Course Handicap should be Handicap Index x (Slope Rating/113) PLUS (Course Rating- Par).
Thanks for catching that!
Do you round each calculation to 1 decimal point and then round the final calculation to a whole number for Course Handicap?
I have an opinion since no one has answered this question. The method to produce a handicap says that a Course Handicap must be produced first. A Course Handicap is a whole number which implies that rounding most likely takes place. From the Course Handicap, the Course Rating – Par is applied–which then in most cases requires rounding. That is the way I see it.
Rounding of scoring differentials can be found at USGA: https://www.usga.org/handicapping/roh/2020-rules-of-handicapping.html
When I enter my score on Golfshot could it automatically link to the New World Handicap website?
As long as you have a GHIN Number, then yes it will post!
One of the most cumbersome aspects of the new system is the application of maximum score per hole. Will I be able to use Golfshot to record my hole by hole score and have it automatically apply max hole score and submit to GHIN/USGA/WHS?
As long as you have a GHIN, then yes Golfshot will calculate it and submit it.
I would like to post my own score but am not quit sure if it is the most difficult holes I take par plus 2 plus 2 ore the courses easiest. An example would really help. I have a 29 handicap. Ex. Hole 1 is rated number 1 and is a 5 par. Max I can take is 8 or 9?
Hi Jan, please reach out to our support team, support@golfshot.com and they can assist with this!
Some examples would really help.
Will Golfshot be updated to be able to use WHS in 2020 in the UK?
Yes, Golfshot will be good to go for everyone when it comes to the WHS!
What is the difference in posting a normal round vs. posting a competition round? Is the competition round treated the same as the tournament round used in 2019 in that it stays for a year and can severely affect your handicap if out of range of your mormal scores?
Please refer to the USGA for any detailed questions on their changes! https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping.html
Trying to calculate a new handicap under new system. Can’t make it work. Maybe I need to know what the handicap rating is? My card says rating 59/ slope 94. How can I use that in the new formula?
Let’s assume your course is a par 68 and your handicap is 22. The calculation would be:
22*(94/113)+(59-68)=9.3
Your playing handicap on this course would be 9.
Hope this helps.
Lance, going from a 22 handicap to a 9.3 handicap is a huge swing , am I missing something?
Fred, the slope/course rating used in this calculation are extremely low which means it’s a very easy course and likely not a regulation track.
Do you apply the slope rating when you play at your own home course or does this only happen when you play a course that is not your home course?
Our app applies the slope rating, if you’re having issues please email support@golfshot.com so they can look into this!
Is the final calculated Course Handicap number truncated or rounded? In other words if the calculated number is 6.5, is my Course Handicap 6 or 7?
Please refer to the USGA for any detailed questions on their changes! https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping.html
Rounded
Handicaps are calculated to 1 d.p. From that, your playing handicap is the nearest whole number. In all cases, x.5 will round up so 6.5 rounds to 7.
How does Golfshot deal with course HC conversions. e.g. one of the courses I play converts my index of 22 to a course HC of 16 (easy course). Yet, when I finish a round from that course, my score card reflects the index, not the course result. Will the new WHC formula resolve this?
We have complied with the new world handicap, so when you input your scores our app will take it through the proper channels to incorporate the correct WHS updates.
Golfshot support,
Sue Decker asked a direct question about calculating course handicap. Why direct her to the usga page where she would have to read through pages and pages to find the answer. Don’t you know the answer?
With our app you input your score and our app takes care of the rest. We only know what the USGA has published.
I’m just curious, when you enter your score under the new system, will you have to enter hole by hole score?
If you are using Golfshot, yes you need to enter your score hole by hole as you always do within the Golfshot app. We then calculate it and take into account all new handicap algorithms.
I run a group but find that I need to understand the differential number that is generated for each score turned in.
Is the new formula for computing one’s index differential for a round available? I’ve seen how to compute course handicap but not handicap index. Thanks!
The new calculations are not shown within Golfshot, however if you’re curious about GHIN calculations you can head to USGA.com or GHIN.com for their handicap index calculations. You can also head here for more: https://golfshot.com/blog/world-handicap-update-need-to-know-changes
My home course has several tee possibilities. The scorecard par is 71 from all of the tees. However, the new handicap system has assigned different par ratings for some tees. As an example we have a white /red combo option (123/69.5/71) and a Red option (121/68.6/69). I do not understand why some index’s have a higher playing handicap from the easier Red tees than the White/Red tees. As an example a 8.7 index plays as an 8 handicap from the White/red Tees and a 9 handicap from the Red Tees.
Please email support@golfshot.com so they can look into that specific course. There may need to be an updated scorecard sent in for that course, and they can check that course against the USGA current mapping of it as well!
The specific course is Whitney Oaks Golf Club in Rocklin, CA.
alll your calculations are for the golf course handicap. The formula requires the handicap index. Maybe I’m missing something fundamental, but I do not see anything telling me how to compute the handicap index.
The calculation for the handicap index per the USGA Change summary says “A handicap Index will then be calculated by averaging a player’s 8 best Score Differentials out of their most recent 20.”
We have a group of 20 playing 8 different courses in the southern US every Fall and now that the group is getting older, and shorter off the tee, I was curious as to how we could set up each course using “hybrid” tees to make it more enjoyable for the high handicap players. We use full handicaps in our friendly competitions so assuming we used hybrid tees the handicaps should go down, right?
Please reach out to our support team, support@ golfshot.com and they may be able to assist you with a more detailed response!
Under the old system. You would shoot an 8 on a par 5 but put down a 7 because your handicap was 9 and double bogey was your max score. What happens now when you don’t finish a hole? How do you determine what score you should post?
Hey Joe, shoot a message to our support team, support@golfshot.com and they can go over the scoring scenarios with you and how to score them all!
course handicap tells me im a 12. when i do the front nine i get 5 and back nine i get 6. I dont understand how the full course is a 12 but when broken down to front/back its only 11. Help me to understand. why have a full course number at all?
If you are still unsure after reading our article and reading through the USGA FAQ’s, please email our support team, support@golfshot.com
My handicap index is 10.8 I am 69 years old and have played the gold(senior) tees for 3 years and all my score are posted from there The new system dropped my handicap and two other guys in my group, 3strokes. Thee slope from the white tees is 70 and now the slope from the gold tees is 67. Why did we loose 3 strokes even though all our scores are from the gold tees. It appears that senior golfers are being treated unfairly.
Is there a site I can go to for the old way of calculating a players handicap using the slope and rating?
Hi Richard, you can give this a try: https://www.usga.org/course-handicap-calculator.html
how do I get on WHS using my current ghin handicap number
If you have purchased a GHIN, you can just connect it in your Golfshot app. Once you keep score and enter in rounds to your Golfshot app, we do all the WHS calculations on our end. Our app is enabled for WHS standards.
Why is Golfshot’s course handicap different from GHINs? For my home course, Golfshot says i’m a 3 but GHIN is saying i’m a 16. Also, Golfshot’s hole handicaps are different than that of the course scorecard.
“Luuuucy, you have some splaining to dooooo.”
Hi Chris, for this please email our support team, support@golfshot.com so they can look into your account and see why the discrepancy.
Question on figuring out my score differential. I use to use the following formula to determine my Score diff for a given round:
Diff = (Adjusted score – Course Rating)*113/Course Slope.
Ex (41-35)*113/123 = 4.59. I could then use this formula to determine my course Index by using (6 or more lowest Diffs)/6*0.96.
Will this still work or do I need to change the formulas?
Hi Joe, please refer to the USGA explanation here: https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/roh/Content/rules/5%202%20Calculation%20of%20a%20Handicap%20Index.htm
So when computing your index, the only thing that has changed in using 8 of your last 20 rounds, instead of 10 of your last 20 rounds?
Hello, it’s actually only 3 18-hole scores or a mix of 9-hole and 18-hole scores. After you have submitted 3 scores, your Handicap Index will be edited daily if you’re playing and submitting daily. Otherwise, your Handicap will be updated daily, as long as you’ve submitted those first 3 rounds.
You stated that “The new calculation for Course Handicap will be Handicap Index x (Slope Rating/113) + (Course Rating- Par).”
At my mountainous home course in Vermont, I play off the “gold” tees, which makes it a short par 72 course of less than 5000 yds. The rating is 63.6 and the slope is 102.
This year my 20 plus full round scores so far has given me a HC Index of 24.7 and a course HC (CHC) of 13.9. Are you saying now under the new 2020 World system that my CHC will be 24.7 x 63.6/113 + (63.6 – 72) or 13.9 – 8.4 or 5.5? That’s ridiculous!
When did the Course Handicap Calculation change to become:
Handicap Index x (Slope Rating/113) + (Course Rating- Par) ?
I thought it was only Handicap Index x (Slope Rating/113) !!
Has this change been made worldwide or only in USA ??
The USGA has implemented the new world handicap changes as of early January.
So it is no longer the ten best of your last 20 rounds? Handicaps update more often than just he 15th and 30th?
Hi Jim, as per the USGA rules, handicaps are updated daily. Also it is no longer 10 rounds. All rules can be found on their site: http://www.usga.com
If one scored a gross score of 24 over par playing off a handicap of 14 on 10 successive occasions on a par 73 course, how many shots would that person get in November.
It would depend on the specific course handicap you used on that day. All courses have difficulty ratings which are used to calculate a course handicap and determine the number of additional strokes. Checkout the formula here to calculate your Course Handicap for a given course. https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/world-handicap-system/world-handicap-system-usga-golf-faqs/faqs—calculate-course-handicap-and-playing-handicap.html
The USGA handicap system is a farce. Remember they were the ones touting how they were going to simplify the game and the rules … so this masterpiece of a system cannot be explained by USGA representatives.
I had multiple e-mail discussions with them … to no avail … because the whole system is based on subjectivity and then applied to a math formulae. By example …slope is a subjective number … the course rating is a subjective number and now they adjust your reported score for weather factors. In addition they ignore 60% of your scores using only the best scores to yield a handicap index.
This is a system developed by mathematicians in a room with no windows and designed to produce as much cheating as possible. What a joke.
Half of the problems above are caused by not understanding the Handicap formula. It’s not your fault but the fault of the WHS team for not making things clear. The problem is how you (and likely you pro) interprets PAR. The PAR in the formula is not the so called men’s or women’s par. IT IS THE PAR FOR THE TEES YOU PLAY. The new pars were sent to all courses by the USGA. Your best bet to understand the World Handicap System is to google “Explanation of Each Major Change from the USGA Handicap System to the World Handicap System”,,,,,,,,,,,,,and share with your golf
Having re downloaded the app and had a look at a couple of courses both of the courses ratings and slope are wrong?
Please email support@golfshot.com so they can make any and all course corrections and updates!
How many rounds is the handicap shown on the app based on? Is it a set number, or is it based on your entire history? My handicap was 20.5, but after scoring only 14 over par, it my handicap went up by 0.1, but I expected it to go down, since I actually hit a much better score than my handicap.
It depends. If you have an official GHIN handicap ( USGA, US based) then that is all based on their rules and regulations. If you are outside of the US, you would be using Average to Par and you can find out how we take that into account here: https://shotzoom.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017710134-How-is-my-Golfshot-Average-to-Par-handicap-calculated-
Hey Golfshot – Thanks for the explanations. Very helpful.