Golf Handicap Calculator
Enter your recent rounds and see your estimated Handicap Index the way the World Handicap System works it out — from score differentials and your best recent scores.
Your Handicap Index
Score differentials: 15.8, 21.1, 11.2, 17.6, 16.5.
Reading your number
A Handicap Index measures your demonstrated ability, not your average score. That is why the calculation leans on your better rounds: it asks what you are capable of shooting when things go well, then expresses it in a way that travels between courses. The Slope and Course Rating in each differential are what make that portability work, adjusting for how hard a particular set of tees plays so a round at a brutal course counts for more than the same score at an easy one.
Because only your best recent differentials count, one bad round barely moves your index while a run of good ones brings it down steadily. When you actually play a course, your index is converted into a Course Handicap for those specific tees — the number of strokes you receive — so the index itself is the portable figure and the Course Handicap is what you use on the day.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a Handicap Index calculated?
Each round is turned into a score differential — (adjusted gross score minus the Course Rating) times 113, divided by the Slope Rating. Your Handicap Index is the average of a set number of your lowest recent differentials: with a full record of twenty rounds it uses your best eight. Fewer rounds use fewer differentials, sometimes with a small adjustment, and the result is rounded to one decimal place.
What are Course Rating and Slope Rating?
Course Rating is the score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot on a given set of tees, expressed to one decimal. Slope Rating, from 55 to 155, measures how much harder the course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer; 113 is the standard, neutral slope. Both are published for each set of tees and appear on the scorecard or the course's rating information.
How many rounds do I need?
You can get an estimate from as few as three rounds, but the number is provisional and carries a downward adjustment until you have more. The system settles once you have a full record of twenty recent rounds, at which point your best eight differentials set the index. More rounds simply make the figure more representative of your current game.
Is this an official handicap?
No. This tool follows the published World Handicap System method so you can understand and estimate your index, but an official handicap must be issued and maintained by an authorised golf association or club through peer-reviewed score submission. Use this to learn how the calculation works and to track a rough figure between official updates.
Estimate only. An official handicap must be issued and maintained by an authorised association or club; use this to understand the method and track a rough figure.