What is a course handicap?

A Course Handicap is the number of strokes a player receives at a specific set of tees. It converts your portable Handicap Index into actual strokes for the course difficulty and tees you are playing.

How do you calculate a course handicap?

Course Handicap = (Handicap Index × Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par). The slope and course rating are found on the scorecard for the tees you are playing.

What is the difference between a handicap index and a course handicap?

A Handicap Index is a portable measure of your playing ability that works across any course. A Course Handicap is derived from your index and reflects the actual strokes you receive at a specific course and set of tees.

What is slope rating in golf?

Slope Rating measures the relative difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer compared to a scratch golfer. It ranges from 55 to 155, with 113 being the standard for a course of average difficulty. A higher slope means higher handicap players receive more strokes.

How many strokes does a player give in match play?

Subtract the lower course handicap from the higher one. The player with the higher course handicap receives that many strokes. For accuracy, subtract the raw unrounded course handicaps before rounding the difference.

Golf Course Handicap Calculator

Convert any player's USGA Handicap Index to a Course Handicap for the tees you're playing.

Step 1 — Course details

Check the scorecard for the tees you're playing.

Course Rating

Slope Rating

Par

Step 2 — Players

Enter each player's USGA Handicap Index.

NameHandicap IndexCourse Hdcp

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Enter course details above to get started

How course handicap is calculated

A Handicap Index is portable — it works across any course. A Course Handicap converts it to the actual number of strokes you receive at a specific set of tees, accounting for difficulty.

Course Handicap = (Index × Slope ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par)

113 is the standard slope rating for a course of average difficulty. A slope above 113 means the course penalizes higher handicappers more — so your course handicap goes up. Below 113, it goes down.

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