New to golf? Understanding the World Handicap System is easier than you think. In this guide, you’ll learn what a golf handicap is, how to calculate your Course Handicap, what Stroke Index means, and how your shots are allocated on the course.
Handicap Index (HI)
Your official handicap that reflects your overall playing ability.
Course Handicap (CH)
The number of shots you receive on a specific course and set of tees.
Stroke Index (SI)
A ranking of each hole from 1 (hardest) to 18 (easiest).
Slope Rating (SR)
A measure of a course’s difficulty ranging from 55 (easiest) to 155 (hardest)
Course Rating (CR)
The average score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot on the course.
A golf handicap, known as a Handicap Index, is a numerical measure of your golfing ability. It allows players of different skill levels to compete fairly against each other by adjusting their scores.
Your Handicap Index is your official handicap, calculated from your best 8 of your recent 20 scores. This number is then used to work out your Course Handicap when you play on a specific course and tee.
Think of your Handicap Index as your official handicap that follows you everywhere, while your Course Handicap adjusts to reflect the difficulty of each specific course and tee.
Every golf course has three key ratings: Slope Rating, Course Rating, and Par.
It’s easy to confuse Course Rating and Par. Think of Par as the target score for a scratch golfer, while the Course Rating reflects what scratch golfers actually tend to score. For instance, a course might have a Par of 72 but a Course Rating of 74.2. This shows that even scratch golfers often score above Par due to course difficulty.
Your Course Handicap is calculated using your Handicap Index, Slope Rating, Course Rating, and Par
Don’t worry — you don’t need to calculate this manually.
After a course is rated, each hole is assigned a Stroke Index, ranking holes from 1 to 18 based on difficulty
The harder the hole, the lower the stroke index. The easier the hole, the higher the stroke index.
Your Course Handicap and the Stroke Index work together to determine which holes you get extra shots on, starting with the most difficult holes first.
Now that you understand Course Handicaps and Stroke Indices, you can see how this translates into actual shots on the course. Use our interactive scorecard to enter your Course Handicap and watch how shots are distributed across holes based on their Stroke Index.
Demo Golf Club Par: 72 | |||||
| HOLE | YDS | SI | PAR | SHOTS | SCR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 425 | 7 | 4 | — | 4 |
| 2 | 165 | 15 | 3 | — | 3 |
| 3 | 520 | 3 | 5 | — | 5 |
| 4 | 390 | 11 | 4 | — | 4 |
| 5 | 445 | 1 | 4 | — | 4 |
| 6 | 140 | 17 | 3 | — | 3 |
| 7 | 585 | 5 | 5 | — | 5 |
| 8 | 410 | 9 | 4 | — | 4 |
| 9 | 365 | 13 | 4 | — | 4 |
| OUT | 3445 | — | 36 | — | 36 |
| PLEASE AVOID SLOW PLAY | |||||
| HOLE | YDS | SI | PAR | SHOTS | SCR |
| 10 | 420 | 8 | 4 | — | 4 |
| 11 | 155 | 16 | 3 | — | 3 |
| 12 | 545 | 2 | 5 | — | 5 |
| 13 | 375 | 12 | 4 | — | 4 |
| 14 | 465 | 4 | 4 | — | 4 |
| 15 | 125 | 18 | 3 | — | 3 |
| 16 | 560 | 6 | 5 | — | 5 |
| 17 | 405 | 10 | 4 | — | 4 |
| 18 | 430 | 14 | 4 | — | 4 |
| IN | 3480 | — | 36 | — | 36 |
| TOT | 6925 | — | 72 | — | 72 |
Handicap Index (HI)
Your official handicap that reflects your overall playing ability.
Course Handicap (CH)
The number of shots you receive on a specific course and set of tees.
Stroke Index (SI)
A ranking of each hole from 1 (hardest) to 18 (easiest).
Slope Rating (SR)
A measure of a course’s difficulty ranging from 55 (easiest) to 155 (hardest)
Course Rating (CR)
The average score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot on the course.