Golf Handicap Calculator
Calculate your official Handicap Index using the World Handicap System (WHS). Enter your recent scorecards — including Course Rating, Slope Rating, and adjusted gross score — to see your index and Course Handicap instantly.
Enter Your Scorecards
Add up to 20 recent rounds — minimum 1 to estimate your index
| Round | Adj. Gross Score | Course Rating | Slope Rating |
|---|
Adjusted Gross Score: your gross score with any ESC (Equitable Stroke Control) adjustments applied. Course Rating and Slope Rating appear on the scorecard or club website.
The Slope Rating of the course and tee you plan to play (55–155, standard = 113).
The Course Rating for the tee you are playing.
Total par for 18 holes on the course you are playing.
Your Handicap Results
WHS Handicap Index & Course Handicap
Enter your recent scorecards above, then click Calculate My Handicap to see your WHS Handicap Index, Course Handicap, and score breakdown.
WHS Differentials Used by Round Count
The number of Score Differentials used in the average depends on how many rounds are in your record. The WHS selects the best (lowest) differentials from your most recent 20 rounds.
| Rounds Available | Differentials Used | Adjustment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lowest 1 | −2.0 | Initial establishing period |
| 4 | Lowest 1 | −1.0 | Initial establishing period |
| 5 | Lowest 1 | 0 | Initial establishing period |
| 6 | Lowest 2 | 0 | Initial establishing period |
| 7–8 | Lowest 2 | 0 | General play record |
| 9 | Lowest 3 | 0 | General play record |
| 10–11 | Lowest 3 | 0 | General play record |
| 12 | Lowest 4 | 0 | General play record |
| 13–14 | Lowest 4 | 0 | General play record |
| 15 | Lowest 5 | 0 | General play record |
| 16–17 | Lowest 5 | 0 | General play record |
| 18 | Lowest 6 | 0 | General play record |
| 19 | Lowest 7 | 0 | General play record |
| 20 | Lowest 8 | 0 | Established record — then multiply by 0.96 |
Golf Handicap FAQ
Everything you need to know about calculating and understanding your golf handicap under the World Handicap System.
Under the World Handicap System, your Handicap Index is calculated from Score Differentials. Each differential = (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating) × (113 ÷ Slope Rating). The best differentials from your most recent 20 rounds are averaged — with 20 rounds, the best 8 are used. The result is then multiplied by 0.96 (the bonus for excellence) to give your Handicap Index.
A Score Differential measures your performance relative to the difficulty of the course. It is calculated as: (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating) × (113 ÷ Slope Rating). A negative differential means you played better than the Course Rating; a positive differential means you scored above it. Lower differentials are better.
Your Handicap Index is a portable, portable measure of your demonstrated ability — it’s the same number wherever you play in the world. A Course Handicap converts your index to the specific course and tee you are playing that day: Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par). It tells you exactly how many strokes you receive on that course.
Course Rating is the expected score for a scratch golfer (Handicap Index 0.0) under normal playing conditions. Slope Rating — ranging from 55 to 155, with 113 as the standard — measures how much harder a course is for a bogey golfer compared to a scratch golfer. A higher Slope Rating means the course is progressively harder for higher-handicap players, and your Course Handicap will be larger on a high-slope course.
A Handicap Index of 0.0 is scratch — you play equal to par on a standard course. The average male club golfer has an index around 16–18; the average female club golfer around 26–28. A single-digit handicap (0–9) is considered very good. Under the WHS, the maximum Handicap Index is 54.0 for all players, encouraging more golfers to get an official handicap.
Under the WHS, you need a minimum of 54 holes (equivalent to three 18-hole rounds) to obtain an official Handicap Index through a registered golf club or national union. This calculator can estimate your index from as few as 1 round for illustrative purposes, but an official handicap requires club registration and submission through a recognised system such as England Golf’s MyEG or Scotland’s SGU platform.
The 0.96 multiplier (bonus for excellence) is applied after averaging your best Score Differentials. It slightly reduces your calculated Handicap Index compared to a pure average, rewarding better performance. For example, if your best 8 differentials average 15.0, your Handicap Index would be 15.0 × 0.96 = 14.4. This applies once you have a full 20-round record; for fewer rounds, adjustments vary by round count instead.
Your Adjusted Gross Score is your gross score after applying the WHS net double bogey limit — the maximum score on any hole is par + 2 + any handicap strokes you receive on that hole. For example, on a par-4 where you receive 1 stroke, your maximum score is 7 (net double bogey). Holes where you did not hole out are recorded as the net double bogey for that hole. This adjustment prevents a single bad hole from distorting your differential.