How much will my golf handicap come down by if shoot one round that's 6 shots under my handicap of 18?

Question

I've pretty much been playing to my handicap apart from this. I want it to come down as much as possible but not sure how the calculation is done.

Answer 1

If your handicap is a genuine 18 given to you by your own club then you are in category 3 .....      (1 is scratch - 5; 2 is 6 -12; 3 is 13 - 20; 4 is 21 - 28). This means for every shot under the "Standard Scratch" score on the day you will be cut 0.3.

The SS can be different from the par for your course. This is usually due to weather conditions on the day, or average score if it is a competition.

So if the SS was the same as par, then for 6 under you will be cut 6 X 0.3 which is 1.8.  If your handicap is dead on 18 it will reduce to 16.2.

However if your handicap was, say, 18.3 you will go down to 16.5 - which is rounded up to 17 for playing purpose. Complicated or what !!!

Answer 2

From my experience, it really depends on which score it will replace.  At most, it will drop 2 strokes, but normally a good score only brings it down anywhere from .3 to 1.  I have attached the link I used to create a handicap program in MS Access.  There are a lot of free handicap programs on the Internet.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Flatstic is close but the multiplier is .96.  This means on your normal course your handicap will drop(6 strokes *.96 ) divided by 10.  About 6/10's of a stroke. If you are dropping off a score that is above your handicap it could change this number slightly,1 or 2 more tenths.

Answer 4

A handicap index is derived by taking the lowest 10 scores out of the last 20 rounds posted.  A differential is calculated for each score (difference between adjusted score and the course rating), then the ten differentials are averaged, and then multiplied by .9.  One score below your average isn't going to effect it very much.  But you should not be trying to manipulate your index in any way.  The rules state that all scores should be posted so just put them all in and know that your handicap accurately reflects your ability.

Answer 5

I'm not sure how the calculations are done either, but a one round score unusually lower than what your handicap is or how you've been playing to won't bring it down too much.  If you consistently shoot lower than your handicap you'll start seeing your handicap come down, but I think 5-10 rounds will show a definite improvement in your handicap.

Answer 6

It depends on whether or not you played at your "home" course (eliminating changes in rating/slope) or not, and what the best 10 of your last 20 rounds look like (what is used to calculate your index.

If you played "away" then you have to factor in the course rating and slope differential.

Answer 7

The easiest way to tell what effect this will have is to plug your scores, ratings and slopes in from the last 19 rounds into an online handicap calculator (see below link) and for the 20th score put in what your one round of 6 under your norm. This will show you exactly what will happen to your handicap.

Since the handicap is the average of your 10 best scores of the last 20 rounds, one round of six off your average is not going to have much of an effect.

Answer 8

Your handi-cap is not going to come down on one round..Most handi-caps are figured over a 10 round system...18 holes per round...