How do I determine my handicap in golf?

Question

How do I determine my handicap in golf?

Answer 1

It is kind of an involved beating.

Take your adjusted gross score and subtract the course rating for the color tees you used (course rating is usually on the scorecard with a number like 72.3). The result is called the "differential."

Then divide the differential by the slope of the color tees you played from, and multiply by 113. This is called the "adjusted differential."

Take the lowest 10 of your last 20 adjusted differentials, add them together and multiply by 96%.

Finally divide this number by 10. Drop everything after the tenths, and this is your index.

An official USGA handicap index (for use in tournaments) requires you to submit your scores directly to a golf club in order to undergo the process of "peer review."

The handicap index is determined after a player submits scores from multiple rounds of golf. The USGA requires a minimum of 12 scores to be submitted in order to calculate this number. Once calculated, the USGA will return this number to you, and the Handicap Index will determine the number of strokes you receive to adjust your score, when compared to other players. As a player continues to post his or her scores, the Index will fluctuate higher or lower depending on the scores submitted.

Answer 2

Lower Your Handicap With Golf Pro Lessons, Center Of Gravity Golf Book

Answer 3

personally i dont have a handicap because i dont like those handicap tournaments. the worst players usually win. think about it. a 2 handicap could shoot an amazing 2 under par round and they have     a  -4 score. a 40 handicap shoots a 100 and they have a -8. it aint fair

Answer 4

This question comes up quite a bit. There is a formula that you need to follow and it can be a bit complicated to calculate yourself. It goes something like this:

(your score - course rating) / slope * 113 = differential

You need at least 5 rounds before anyone will issue an official handicap and they would prefer to have 20 scores. From those scores they use the best round from 5 scores or best 10 rounds from 20 scores. Then they calculate the differential from each round and average those. Then multiply by 96% and truncate the decimal.

Or you could use one of many handicap calculators online ,http://www.golffoundations.com/handicap.... , to take out the hard work.

Answer 5

Do it the right way...

USGA.org

These online calculators do not do you any good.  Establish a true handicap thats recognized.

Answer 6

another source of information is www.ghin.com.