What is the difference between Handicap Index and Course Handicap?

Your Handicap Index is a single portable number that reflects your demonstrated ability, the same wherever you go. The Course Handicap converts that index for a specific set of tees, adjusting for how hard those tees play, and tells you how many strokes you actually receive that round.

What formula does the World Handicap System use?

Course Handicap equals Handicap Index times slope rating divided by 113, plus course rating minus par. The 113 is the slope of a course of standard difficulty, and the course-rating-minus-par term adjusts for tees that are easier or harder than par implies.

Why include course rating minus par?

Slope alone scales for relative difficulty to a bogey golfer, but course rating reflects difficulty for a scratch golfer versus par. Adding course rating minus par makes the Course Handicap accurate across tees where the rating differs from par, which the 2020 WHS update standardised.

What is a slope rating and what range is normal?

Slope rating measures how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer. It ranges from 55 to 155, with 113 being a course of standard difficulty. Higher slope means you receive more strokes relative to your index.

Do I round the Course Handicap?

Yes. Under the World Handicap System the Course Handicap is rounded to the nearest whole number, with 0.5 rounding up. This tool shows both the exact unrounded value and the official rounded figure you play to.

What is the Golf Course Handicap Calculator?

Enter your World Handicap System Index, the slope rating, course rating, and par for your chosen tees to calculate your Course Handicap, the number of strokes you actually receive on that course that day. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

Golf Course Handicap Calculator

Name: Golf Course Handicap Calculator
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Your Handicap Index is portable, but the number of strokes you actually receive depends on the tees you play. This tool applies the official World Handicap System formula to convert your Index into a Course Handicap for any set of tees, so you know exactly how many strokes you get before the round.

How it works

The World Handicap System Course Handicap formula is:

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

The slope-over-113 term scales your index for how much harder the tees play for a bogey golfer, where 113 is a course of standard difficulty. The course-rating-minus-par term adjusts for tees whose scratch difficulty differs from par. The result is rounded to the nearest whole number, with 0.5 rounding up.

Worked example

A golfer with a Handicap Index of 14.2 playing tees with a slope of 128, a course rating of 71.3, and a par of 72 gets:

14.2 × (128 / 113) + (71.3 − 72) = 16.08 − 0.70 = 15.38 → 15 strokes

Now consider the same golfer moving to a forward tee with a slope of 110, a course rating of 68.5, and a par of 70:

14.2 × (110 / 113) + (68.5 − 70) = 13.82 − 1.50 = 12.32 → 12 strokes

Even though the forward tees are easier, the Course Handicap drops from 15 to 12 because the lower slope reduces the bogey-golfer difficulty adjustment and the course rating is also below par. This illustrates why you cannot simply carry the same stroke count from one set of tees to another.

Where to find the slope, course rating, and par

These three numbers are always printed on the scorecard, usually in a row for each set of coloured tees. Many courses also display them on a sign at the first tee. In some countries (notably the UK and Ireland) they appear as scratch score and standard scratch score rather than course rating and par; the arithmetic is the same.

If you are playing a course you have not visited before, the club’s website or the national golf union’s course database will have the published ratings for each tee. In the UK, England Golf publishes rated slopes for every affiliated course.

Course Handicap versus Playing Handicap

Course Handicap is the number of strokes you receive on the card. Many competitions apply a handicap allowance — a percentage of your Course Handicap — to arrive at a Playing Handicap that goes on the scorecard:

Individual stroke play: typically 95% of Course Handicap
Individual match play: typically 100%
Four-ball better ball: typically 85% per player

For example, at 95% allowance a Course Handicap of 15 becomes a Playing Handicap of 14 (rounded). This tool computes the Course Handicap; multiply by the competition’s allowance for the Playing Handicap.

Tips on common mistakes

Always read the slope, course rating, and par off the specific tee you are playing — they change markedly between forward and back tees, and using the wrong tee’s figures can shift your Course Handicap by several strokes. If the course has recently been re-rated (common after course alterations), use the new figures on the latest scorecard, not a figure you remember from a previous visit.