HesapHanem

Golf Course Handicap Calculator

Enter your handicap index and the course details to get your course handicap.

How it is calculated

A Handicap Index is portable; the course handicap restates it for one set of tees. course handicap = index × (slope ÷ 113) + (course rating − par). The first part, index × slope ÷ 113, scales the index by how hard the tees play compared with the reference slope of 113. The second part, course rating − par, shifts the result up or down when the rating is above or below par. The tool shows both parts, then the final value rounded to the nearest whole stroke, with halves rounded away from zero. Slope, rating and par must all be above zero. A negative index is accepted, for players better than scratch. The tool does not apply any handicap allowance percentage for a particular format of play, so it gives the course handicap only.

Worked example

A player with a Handicap Index of 14.3 plays tees with slope 128, course rating 71.4 and par 72. Slope adjustment: 14.3 × 128 ÷ 113 = 16.20. Rating difference: 71.4 − 72 = -0.60. Sum: 16.20 − 0.60 = 15.60 (more precisely 15.598), which rounds to a course handicap of 16. On a flat-rated course with slope 113 and rating equal to par, the same player would receive exactly 14.3, so 14 strokes. The harder tees give two more strokes.

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Common mistakes

  • Leaving out the rating-minus-par part. On a course rated well above or below par, skipping it can move your strokes by one or more.
  • Entering the course rating in place of the slope, or the reverse. The slope is typically around 113 or higher, while the rating is near par, such as 71.4.
  • Using the numbers of a different set of tees. Each tee has its own slope, rating and sometimes par.
  • Expecting the result to be the strokes you receive in a competition. The tool gives the course handicap only, without any format-specific allowance.
  • Reading 15.60 as 15 strokes. The result is rounded to the nearest whole number, so it becomes 16.

Sources

About this calculator

Under the World Handicap System used by the USGA and R&A, a golfer’s Handicap Index — a portable number reflecting general playing ability — must be converted to a Course Handicap specific to the tees being played, because courses differ in difficulty. The conversion formula is Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par), where Slope Rating measures relative difficulty for a bogey golfer (113 is the neutral, average slope), and Course Rating is the expected score for a scratch golfer on that tee.

This calculation is done every time a golfer plays a different course or a different set of tees, since the same Handicap Index yields a different Course Handicap on a harder or easier layout — the number that then determines how many strokes a player gets for that specific round.

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  • Editorial team

    The course handicap is not always the number of strokes you receive in a given competition. With an index of 15.4 on a slope of 113 and a rating of 71.2 against par 72, the tool shows 15 after rounding 14.6. Many formats then apply an allowance, such as a percentage of this figure, so check the committee's rules. This is also for 18 holes. Which tees do you play most often?

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