What does it mean in golf when you say you are 2 or 3 handicap?

Question

What does it mean in golf when you say you are 2 or 3 handicap?

Answer 1

its as simple as this... you hit 2 or 3 strokes over par

par is the expected amount of strokes to finish the round.. so you are 2 or 3 strokes away from playing great!!

btw  2 or 3 handicap is great!! the lower the handicap the better the player!

Answer 2

It means - The course is set out for 72 shots to go around the course, if you have a 2 or 3 handicap your course is set out for 74 or 75 which is great. So you normally shot 74 or 75 shots.  

Handicaps are for people who can play against each other because of their different abilities.

Answer 3

First, handicaps are given ONLY to amateurs.  Professional golfers play straight up!

Basically, a 2-3 handicapper can potentially shoot a 74-75 on a par-72 course.  More likely a 76 or 77.  Handicaps are calculated to a players best potential score NOT AVERAGE.

So, a 0 handicap = scratch golfer.  Usually shoots even par or close to it!  I believe there are "negative" handicaps, too.

The USGA (United States Golf Association) introduced a handicap system in the early 20th Century.

The purpose of the system has always been to attempt to level the playing field for golfers of differing abilities, so that those golfers can compete equally. For example, imagine someone whose average score is 92 trying to compete against someone whose average score is 72. Without a handicapping system, it can't be done. At least not fairly.  So, if you have a friend that regularly shoots 72 and you regularly shoot 92, your friend would ALWAYS beat you.... so you two could NEVER compete; but the handicap system ALLOWS amateurs to compete at all levels.

With a handicapping system, the weaker player is given strokes on certain holes on a golf course. That is, on a particular hole the weaker play may be allowed to "take a stroke" - deduct a stroke - from his or her score for that hole. At the end of the round, the two players of differing abilities can figure their "net score" - their gross scores minus the strokes they were allowed to take on certain holes.

The USGA handicap system was made so that the "not-so-good" golfers CAN compete with the better golfers.  

But the handicapping system is not meant to represent your average score. It's meant to represent your potential. Think of course handicaps as representing the score you should shoot on your best day.

Therefore, most golfers find that their actual scores tend to be a little higher than their course handicaps.

Answer 4

you're handicap, or index, is your average stoke over, or under par you are on average.  You get your official index from the USGA.

So when someone says their a 2 or 3 handicap, they average a 74 or 75 every time they play 18 holes of golf.

Which also means they are good golfers, so show respect. lol.

Answer 5

A "Handicap Index" is the USGA's service mark used to indicate a measurement of a player's potential ability on a course of standard playing difficulty. It is expressed as a number taken to one decimal place (e.g., 10.4) and is used for conversion to a Course Handicap.  

In plain English, it means, in an 18 hole round, how many strokes do you hit above the standard stroke count for that course.  For example, if you are a 3 handicap, and the course standard stroke (Par) is 72, then your AVERAGE number of strokes to play this course was 75 (3 over)..etc..  

For every hole, there's also a Par number for that hole.  Depending on the distance from Tee to Green, it could be a Par 3 (normally 250 yds or less), Par 4 (250+ to about 450 yds), and Par 5 (longer than approx 450 yards).  Then when you add all the Par numbers for each hole, you get the course Par number.   A normal muni or country club course par is between 70-72 strokes.