How does my handicap work under the World Handicap System in England, as a golfer of any age? Getting a Handicap Index, pre-registering and submitting scores, Course and Playing Handicaps, net double bogey, the PCC, 9-hole scores, caps and exceptional scores.
Step 1: join a golf club or iGolf. Your Handicap Index is managed by a Handicap Committee, either at your club or through England Golf's iGolf scheme for golfers without a club membership.
Step 2: submit 54 holes of scores. Play and submit acceptable scores totalling 54 holes, made up of 18-hole rounds, complete 9-hole rounds or a mix. For each round:
Your Handicap Index is issued the day after your 54th hole is submitted, or soon after.
Other points:
Once you have 20 scores, your Handicap Index is the average of your best 8 Score Differentials out of your most recent 20, rounded to the nearest tenth (Rule 5.2b of the Rules of Handicapping).
With fewer than 20 scores (Rule 5.2a), fewer differentials are used, with an adjustment in the early stages:
| Scores in your record | Differentials used | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lowest 1 | −2.0 |
| 4 | Lowest 1 | −1.0 |
| 5 | Lowest 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Average of lowest 2 | −1.0 |
| 7 or 8 | Average of lowest 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Average of lowest 3 | 0 |
The number used keeps rising as your record grows, until it's the best 8 of 20. Expect your Handicap Index to move around a lot in the early stages.
Then the safeguards are applied:
When it changes: your Handicap Index is updated overnight, the day after you submit a score.
What to expect: because it's based on your best rounds, most players score about 2 to 5 strokes above their handicap in most rounds and play to it about 20% of the time.
The maximum Handicap Index is 54.0.
A Score Differential measures how well you played relative to the difficulty of the course that day, so a round on a hard course can be worth more than a lower score on an easy one.
Score Differential = (113 ÷ Slope Rating) × (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating − PCC adjustment)
Example: you return an adjusted gross score of 90 from tees with Course Rating 70.0 and Slope 125, and the PCC is 0:
(113 ÷ 125) × (90 − 70.0 − 0) = 0.904 × 20 = 18.1
Each acceptable score adds one Score Differential to your record. Your Handicap Index is the average of your best 8 of your most recent 20.
A 9-hole score is converted to an 18-hole Score Differential by adding your expected 9-hole Score Differential.
The PCC is an automatic check, run at the end of each day, of whether scores at a course were significantly higher or lower than expected, for example because of strong wind, heavy rain or an unusually easy set-up (Rule 5.6 of the Rules of Handicapping).
The adjustment goes straight into your Score Differential:
Score Differential = (113 ÷ Slope Rating) × (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating − PCC adjustment)
So a PCC of +2 makes your differential lower (better) than it would otherwise be. This is why submitting your score on the day matters: late scores are left out of that day's PCC.
Handicap Index: your portable measure of ability, the same wherever you play. It isn't the number of strokes you get on the course.
Course Handicap: the strokes you get from a particular set of tees, so it changes with the tees you play:
Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − par)
Example (Handicap Index 15.0):
| Tees | Course Rating | Slope | Par | Course Handicap | Target score (par + CH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 72.0 | 128 | 70 | 19 | 89 |
| White | 70.0 | 125 | 70 | 17 | 87 |
| Silver | 68.0 | 120 | 70 | 14 | 84 |
Your club's look-up chart or app does the sum for you.
Playing Handicap: the strokes you actually receive in a given format:
Playing Handicap = Course Handicap × handicap allowance
In general play, your Course Handicap is your Playing Handicap. In competitions, the GB&I national associations have made these allowances mandatory:
| Format | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Individual stroke play | 95% (regardless of field size) |
| Four-ball stroke play | 85% |
| Individual match play | 100% |
| Four-ball match play | 90% |
If players in a competition are playing from tees with different pars, those playing to the higher par add the difference to their Playing Handicap.
Where you get your strokes: compare your Playing Handicap with the stroke index on the card. A Playing Handicap of 10 gets one stroke on stroke index 1 to 10.
For handicap purposes each hole is capped at net double bogey (Rule 3.1 of the Rules of Handicapping):
Net double bogey = par + 2 + any handicap strokes you receive on that hole
Example: with a Course Handicap of 13 you get a stroke on holes with stroke index 1 to 13. On a par 4 with stroke index 5, your net double bogey is 4 + 2 + 1 = 7. If you take 9, only 7 counts for your handicap.
Where the format of play allows (for example Stableford), you can pick up once you've reached net double bogey to keep play moving. In a medal you must still hole out under the Rules of Golf, but only net double bogey counts for handicap.
Acceptable scores come from individual stroke play formats (medal, Stableford, par/bogey), in competitions or general play, as long as:
This includes rounds in society events, roll-ups, open competitions and abroad. Scores from other countries must be returned to your home club.
Four-ball stroke play can count in some cases. Your individual score is used only if:
Not acceptable:
A general play score is any acceptable round outside an organised competition: a round with friends, a society day or a roll-up.
1. Pre-register before you tee off. In GB&I it's compulsory to pre-register every round you want to count, on the day, before play starts. Do it in the My England Golf app, through your club's software or by telling the pro shop or club office. Entering a competition or booking a tee time isn't pre-registration on its own.
2. Play with a marker. At least one other person must play with you and act as your marker, and the round must match what you registered (course, tees, 9 or 18 holes).
3. Play under the Rules of Golf. Hole scores are capped at net double bogey for handicap.
4. Submit and get it attested. Enter your hole-by-hole scores and have your marker attest them, as soon as possible after the round and before midnight that day. Your Handicap Index updates overnight and your score is included in that day's playing conditions calculation.
Things to avoid:
Yes. 9-hole scores count in both competitions and general play, as long as you play all the holes of a rated 9-hole course (for example, the front nine or back nine of your course) and meet the usual conditions: pre-registered, played under the Rules of Golf, with a marker.
How it's converted (Rules of Handicapping 2024): your 9-hole score is turned straight into an 18-hole Score Differential:
9-hole Score Differential + expected 9-hole Score Differential = 18-hole Score Differential
The expected score is based on your Handicap Index over a course of standard difficulty, so a player off 10.0 has a lower expected score than a player off 15.0.
9-hole Course Handicap:
Course Handicap = (Handicap Index ÷ 2) × (9-hole Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (9-hole Course Rating − 9-hole par)
For new golfers: complete 9-hole and 18-hole rounds can be combined to make up the 54 holes needed for your first Handicap Index.
It depends how many holes you played and why you stopped.
| Holes played (valid reason, e.g. weather or bad light) | Result |
|---|---|
| 10 to 17 | Acceptable as an 18-hole score. A Score Differential is calculated for the holes you played, and your expected score is used for the holes you missed. |
| 9 (a complete 9-hole round) | Can be submitted as a 9-hole score |
| Fewer than 9 | Not acceptable for handicap |
Example: severe weather stops play after 16 holes. Your 18-hole Score Differential is the differential from the 16 holes played plus your expected differential for the last two.
Started a hole but didn't hole out? Record the score that's appropriate for the situation (for example, your most likely score, up to net double bogey).
Registered but walked off without a valid reason? If you start a pre-registered round and don't complete the minimum number of holes, the Handicap Committee can enter a penalty score on your record. If you pre-register but never tee off, the round must simply be removed.
An exceptional score reduction is applied on top of the normal recalculation when your Score Differential is 7.0 or more strokes better than your Handicap Index at the time you played:
| Score Differential better than your Handicap Index by | Extra reduction |
|---|---|
| 7.0 to 9.9 strokes | -1.0 |
| 10.0 strokes or more | -2.0 |
Example: your Handicap Index is 20.0 and you produce a Score Differential of 12.5. That's 7.5 strokes better, so a -1.0 adjustment applies.
If you have more than one exceptional score, the reductions are applied cumulatively. A Score Differential 10.0 or more below your Handicap Index is also flagged to your Handicap Committee for review.
Because of the caps (Rule 5.8 of the Rules of Handicapping). Each time your Handicap Index is updated, the new figure is compared with your Low Handicap Index: the lowest Handicap Index you've had in the 365 days before your most recent score. A Low Handicap Index applies once you have at least 20 acceptable scores.
| Increase above your Low Handicap Index | What happens |
|---|---|
| Up to 3.0 | No restriction |
| More than 3.0 (soft cap) | Anything above 3.0 is cut by 50% |
| More than 5.0 after the soft cap (hard cap) | No further increase allowed |
There's no limit on how fast it can come down.
Your Handicap Committee can override the caps in circumstances such as injury. Committees are also expected to carry out a handicap review for every player at least once a year, and can adjust a Handicap Index that no longer reflects your ability.