Course Handicap Calculator
Your Handicap Index plus the tee's slope and rating: the strokes you get, and your playing handicap.
Your handicap says how many shots. golfity shows where they go: strokes gained from every round you log.
Fills in slope, rating and par. Not listed? Type them from the scorecard.
Index is your Handicap Index. A plus handicap goes in as +2.4.
Course handicap
Playing handicap
95% allowance, individual stroke play
15.0 × 130 / 113 + (72.1 − 71) = 18.4 → 18
Don't know your index? Estimate it →
Your handicap says how many shots. golfity shows where they go: strokes gained from every round you log.
How Course Handicap Is Calculated
The World Handicap System formula takes your index and the three numbers on the tee's rating line:
Course Handicap = Index × Slope ÷ 113 + (Course Rating − Par)
The result is rounded to the nearest whole number. That is how many strokes you receive from that tee.
A worked example
A 15.0 index plays a tee with a slope of 130, a course rating of 72.1 and a par of 71:
- 15.0 × 130 ÷ 113 = 17.26
- 72.1 − 71 = +1.1
- 17.26 + 1.1 = 18.36, which rounds to a course handicap of 18
In a stroke play competition the 95% allowance applies: 18.36 × 0.95 = 17.44, a playing handicap of 17. The allowance is applied before rounding, which is why the calculator keeps the decimal.
Slope Rating vs Course Rating
Course rating is what a scratch golfer is expected to shoot from that tee in normal conditions, usually somewhere in the high 60s or low 70s. When it is above par, the tee plays harder than par for a scratch golfer and everyone gets the difference as extra strokes.
Slope rating is how much harder the tee gets for a bogey golfer compared with scratch. It runs from 55 to 155, and 113 is standard. Slope scales your whole index, so it moves a high handicap far more than a low one:
| Index | Slope 113 | Slope 125 | Slope 135 | Slope 145 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 15.0 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 25.0 | 25 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
Course handicap with the course rating equal to par.
Going from slope 113 to 145 adds one shot to a 5 index and seven to a 25. The full background, including how the ratings are set, is in course rating and slope rating explained.
Course Handicap vs Playing Handicap
Your course handicap is the strokes the tee gives you. Your playing handicap is what you actually play off in a competition, after the format's allowance: 95% for individual stroke play, 85% for four-ball stroke play, 100% for a casual round. The handicap index vs course handicap vs playing handicap guide walks through all three.
Common Questions
What is slope rating? +
Slope rating measures how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer than for a scratch golfer. It is a whole number from 55 to 155, and 113 is a course of standard difficulty. Your course handicap scales your Handicap Index by slope ÷ 113, so a slope of 130 turns a 15.0 index into about 17 shots before the course rating adjustment.
Is a higher slope harder? +
Yes, for anyone who is not a scratch golfer. A higher slope means scores rise faster as handicap goes up, so the course costs a 20 handicap more extra shots than it costs a 5. That is why a high slope gives you more strokes. For a scratch golfer the difficulty is captured by the course rating instead.
What's the difference between course rating and slope? +
Course rating is the score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot, such as 72.1, and it is compared with par. Slope rating is how much harder the course gets for a bogey golfer relative to that scratch score. In the course handicap formula, slope scales your index and course rating minus par adds or removes a few shots.
What is the difference between a Handicap Index and a course handicap? +
Your Handicap Index travels with you and is the same everywhere. Your course handicap is the number of strokes you receive from one particular set of tees, worked out from that index with the tee’s slope, course rating and par. Play a harder tee and the course handicap goes up while the index stays put.
Why is my playing handicap lower than my course handicap? +
Competitions apply a handicap allowance to keep the field fair. Individual stroke play uses 95% of your course handicap, so an 18 course handicap plays off 17. Other formats use other allowances, such as 85% in four-ball stroke play.
Can my course handicap be lower than my index? +
Yes. On a tee with a slope below 113, or a course rating below par, your course handicap comes out below your index. A 15.0 index on a slope of 105 with a rating 1.5 under par receives 12 strokes.
Your Handicap in Context
Golf Handicap Calculator
No index yet? Estimate one from your last 3 to 20 scores, with the differentials that count shown.
What Does a 15 Handicap Shoot?
90 to 92 on average, not 87. The full stat line behind the number.
What Does a 10 Handicap Shoot?
84 to 87 on average, and how that compares with every handicap from scratch to 30.
Strokes Gained Calculator
Your handicap is how many shots. Strokes gained shows which part of your game they come from.
See Where the Shots Go
Your handicap says how many shots. golfity shows where they go: strokes gained from every round you log.