How to Get a Golf Handicap in the UK

To hold an official WHS handicap in the UK, you need to be affiliated. That usually means joining a club registered with your national association. Non-club members can use an iGolf subscription instead.

Most UK golfers join an affiliated club and register on their union's system. Your club handicap secretary will help you get set up:

New members need 54 holes of acceptable scores before an initial Handicap Index is set. That can be any mix of 9 and 18 hole rounds, submitted hole by hole.

Brand-new golfers use par + 5 as a maximum per hole until an index is established. Your first Handicap Index uses the same fewer-than-20 table as everyone else building a record. See how your Handicap Index is calculated for how that works. Once you have 20 scores, the normal best 8 from 20 calculation takes over.

iGolf gives non-members an official Handicap Index. You submit qualifying scores at affiliated courses under the same WHS rules as club members. England Golf, Scotland Golf, Wales Golf, and Golf Ireland have their own options for non-club golfers.

Once you have a Handicap Index, every submitted round produces a score differential and your index updates automatically. Read how your Handicap Index is calculated to understand what happens from there.