
There are two ways of obtaining and maintaining a golf handicap: Join a club Join an online scheme Join A Golf Club These days, golf clubs offer a number of different options for membership so you don’t necessarily have to become a full member in order to get a handicap. Once you are part of the setup you can then think about getting a handicap.
What is a 1 handicap hole on a golf course?
That's because of the handicap allocation system. Golf courses determine handicaps by starting with what they think is the hardest hole. That's the No. 1 handicap hole. The hardest hole on a golf course is often the longest par 4, but that's not always the case.
How to determine your golf handicap?
Go play some golf and keep track of your scores. You should keep an accurate record of your total number of shots played during the rounds. It is a wise decision to have between 12 and 20 rounds played for accurate handicapping, but you can figure it with five rounds. Most courses require a minimum of ten rounds.
What is an 0-9 Handicap in golf?
A handicap of 0-9 is a maximum score of double-bogey 3. Find the Slope Most golf scorecards will have the course slope rating listed on them. If there isn’t one on the card, you should ask the person at the pro shop for the information to keep your information legit.
Do you get strokes on top 9 handicap holes?
If, on the other hand, the player's course handicap is "2," then that player gets strokes on handicap holes Numbers 1 and 2, and so on. So if your course handicap is 18, you get a stroke on every hole. If it's 9, you get a stroke on the top 9 handicap holes, but not on the bottom nine.

What is the WHS 18 hole score?
Set to " 54.0 " for 18 hole leagues, " 27.0" to 9-hole leagues. The WHS uses the best 8 out of 20 18-hole rounds, which you can set up (see the "official" way below), however most leagues do not use the most recent 20 scores because it's usually not practical for 9-hole weekly leagues.
What is softcap in golf?
Softcap/Hardcap. This USGA feature limits how much a player's handicap can move up over time.
What Doesn't Golf League Tracker Support?
Golf League Tracker doesn't support two parts of the World Handicap System Calculation
How many rounds does Golf League Tracker drop?
Note that Golf League Tracker will not drop any rounds until the required number of rounds has been reached, in this case, 6.
What is the setting #112 in golf?
Setting #112, Handicap Calculation Type, set to "Par". When set to par, the player's handicap index is not converted to a course handicap when playing.
How many rounds does it take to get a handicap?
In short, using the recommendation below, a player will establish a handicap after 2 rounds. Ongoing, it will take the most recent 6 rounds. It will toss out the high 33% of the score differentials and use the remaining to calculate the handicap.
When will the World Handicap System be available?
World Handicap System (Custom)-Recommended. The World Handicap System has arrived starting in 2020. You have two options when configuring the WHS in Golf League Tracker. Note that whatever your league is set up for (9 or 18 holes) is the handicap which will be calculated. Golf League Tracker does not combine 9 hole scores into an 18-hole score ...
How do golf courses determine handicaps?
Golf courses determine handicaps by starting with what they think is the hardest hole. That's the No. 1 handicap hole. The hardest hole on a golf course is often the longest par 4, but that's not always the case. Sometimes, it can be a particularly long par 5.
How do you determine your golf handicap?
Golf courses determine handicaps by starting with what they think is the hardest hole. That's the No. 1 handicap hole. The hardest hole on a golf course is often the longest par 4, but that's not always the case. Sometimes, it can be a particularly long par 5. Sometimes it's a longer, but not the longest, par 4. It could be the hole with the most hazards and trouble for players. But setting up the handicap of holes on a golf course completely depends on identifying the toughest hole.
How many strokes are there in an 18 hole golf match?
The strokes for an 18-hole match are divided between the nines, with an odd number of strokes giving that player an extra shot on one of the nine-hole sides. For example, if a player gets 13 strokes, they get a stroke on the holes ranked No. 1-13 in handicap, meaning they get seven strokes on the odd-numbered side and six on the even-numbered side. ...
What is the USGA recommendation for golf?
The USGA recommends courses allocate the odd numbers on the front and the even numbers on the back, unless the back nine is decidedly more difficult than the front. They also recommend not allocating the lower handicap numbers -- i.e., the hard holes -- to the start or end of a nine-hole run. Then, players can use their handicap index in ...
Why are the handicap numbers on the opposite nine?
Why is that? That's because of the handicap allocation system.
What is a good golf handicap?
A good golf handicap is usually below 10. This would mean that a player with a handicap of 10 typically shoots around 82 for 18-holes. The average golf handicap for men and women golfers is around 15. This would mean that this golfer shoots around 90.
What is a handicap of 0-9?
A handicap of 0-9 is a maximum score of double-bogey
How to find a not so reliable handicap?
The more general way to find a not-so-reliable handicap is by simply counting the number of strokes you are over par on a course. If you shot a 100 on a course that was a par of 72, your handicap would be 28.
How many rounds of golf are required to get a handicap?
The USGA Handicap System. The USGA dictates that in order to find the most accurate handicap of a golfer is to have a minimum of 12 established rounds of golf. The best and worst rounds are typically discarded to find the most adequate representation of your skills.
How many rounds are required to calculate handicap?
This allows you to consistently measure your handicap year-to-year with no more than 20 rounds being used to compute the formula.
What is the magic number for golf?
If this is the first time to establish your handicap, the magic number is 10. That means that for every shot you take over ten, you subtract from your final score.
What is a rating in golf?
The rating is a number telling how difficult the course is for a scratch golfer. The slope is based upon people who play bogey golf.
How to determine which holes get handicaps?
In the following example, imagine a player whose course handicap is "1," that player would get a stroke only on the Number 1 handicap hole. If, on the other hand, the player's course handicap is "2," then that player gets strokes on handicap holes Numbers 1 and 2 , and so on.
How do you know which holes to apply handicap strokes?
But how do you know which holes you get to do that? How do you determine on which holes to apply those handicap strokes? Simple: Figure your course handicap, then compare your course handicap to the "handicap" line on the scorecard.
What is the difference between a hole ranked 1 and a hole ranked 2?
Each hole is identified by a number, where the hole identified as 1 is rated according to the most likely a golfer will need an extra stroke against a more seasoned competitor, and a hole ranked 2 designates holes that are second-most likely to need this stroke, and so on.
What is the line on a golf course's scorecard called?
Each golf course has a different parameter and difficulty level for each of its 18 holes, so each golf club's scorecard carries with it different rules for how to apply the handicap score to a golfer's total, presented as a line on the card known as the Handicap Line .
How many strokes do you get on every hole?
So if your course handicap is 18, you get a stroke on every hole. If it's 9, you get a stroke on the top 9 handicap holes, but not on the bottom nine. If it's 27, you get one stroke on every hole, plus a second stroke on each of the top nine handicap holes.
What does "take a stroke" mean in golf?
Golfers who carry handicaps need to apply those handicaps on the golf course, which means that on certain holes, these golfers will be able to "take a stroke" or "apply a stroke" to reduce their score on a given hole. Say a golfer played six strokes to get the ball into the hole on Number 12, ...
What is the purpose of handicapping?
The purpose of this system is to allow for play between both experts and beginners alike, leveling the playing field by accounting for the skill of each individual. Take for instance a golf pro who needs no handicap on a professional course playing against an amateur who's index is a handicap of 10 — if they ranked the competition according to their gross (actual) scores, the amateur wouldn't stand a chance of catching up to the pro.

World Handicap System (Custom Score Count) - Recommended
- The World Handicap System has arrived starting in 2020. You have two options when configuring the WHS in Golf League Tracker. Note that whatever your league is set up for (9 or 18 holes) is the handicap which will be calculated. Golf League Tracker does not combine 9 hole scores into an 18-hole score for handicapping purposes. I recommend using a h...
USGA Pre-2020 System
- Golf League Tracker still supports the old USGA system, however I find no reason to go out of the norm on the basic calculation for handicaps. However, if you still decide you want to use this, you can. 1. Setting #7, Automatic Handicap Calculation, set to "Automatic" 2. Setting #112, Handicap Calculation Type, set to "Course Rating/Slope - Pre 2020". This setting affects how the player's c…
Calculating vs Par
- Some leagues decide to calculate their handicap against par of the course. One of the major advantages of setting to the World Handicap System is that the difficulty of the tee box is used in calculating the handicap, which also allows a player to move from one tee box to another either between seasons or even mid-season if so desired (for example, some leagues allow moving u…
What Doesn't Golf League Tracker Support?
- Golf League Tracker doesn't support two parts of the World Handicap System Calculation 1. PCC - Playing Conditions Calculation. This USGA Feature makes adjustments to a player's differential based on how other players scored for that day. It uses an unknown statistical calculation to determine if scores were abnormally high or low that day. 2. Softcap/Hardcap. This USGA featur…