Golf Handicap Calculator
Convert your Handicap Index into a Course Handicap for any tee using the WHS formula adopted by the USGA and the R&A.
Course handicap
15
- Unrounded course handicap
- 14.5
- Slope ratio (slope ÷ 113)
- 1
- Course rating − par
- 0
Course Handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope Rating / 113) + (Course Rating − Par). The slope ratio scales your index up on a harder course (slope > 113) and down on an easier one. The course-rating-minus-par term adjusts for tees where a scratch golfer is expected to score above or below par. The result is rounded to the nearest whole number — the strokes you receive on that tee in match play, stroke play, or any handicap-allowance format.
How to use this calculator
Enter your Handicap Index (the portable number on your handicap card), the Slope Rating and Course Rating printed on the scorecard for the tees you are playing, and the par for those tees. The calculator returns your Course Handicap — the number of strokes you receive on that course from that tee. The breakdown shows the unrounded value, the slope ratio, and the course difficulty so you can see where each stroke comes from.
How the calculation works
The World Handicap System (WHS) defines Course Handicap as Handicap Index × (Slope Rating / 113) + (Course Rating − Par). 113 is the neutral slope — a course "of standard difficulty" for a bogey golfer. A slope above 113 makes the course play harder relative to a scratch golfer, so the slope ratio inflates your strokes; a slope below 113 deflates them. The (Course Rating − Par) term adjusts for tees where a scratch golfer is expected to score above or below par — a 73.5/72 course gives every player an extra 1.5 strokes. The result is rounded to the nearest whole number — that is the strokes you receive on that tee.
Worked example
Example: Handicap Index 14.5, Slope Rating 130, Course Rating 71.6, Par 72. Slope ratio = 130 / 113 ≈ 1.1504. Index × ratio = 14.5 × 1.1504 ≈ 16.681. Course rating minus par = 71.6 − 72 = −0.4. Sum = 16.681 − 0.4 = 16.281. Rounded to the nearest whole number gives a Course Handicap of 16. On an easier set of tees with Slope 105 and the same index and par, the same player would receive 14.5 × (105/113) + 0 ≈ 13.5 → 14 strokes. The same player gets different strokes on different tees — exactly what WHS is designed to do.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Handicap Index and Course Handicap?
Your Handicap Index is portable — it travels with you between courses and is the number on your handicap card, calculated as the average of your best 8 of the last 20 score differentials. Your Course Handicap is course- and tee-specific — it converts the portable index into the strokes you receive at a particular tee on a particular course. Two players with the same index can have different course handicaps on the same tee if they play different courses, and the same player has different course handicaps on different tees of the same course.
What is slope rating?
Slope Rating is a number from 55 to 155 that describes how much harder a course plays for a bogey golfer (roughly 18-handicap male, 24-handicap female) than for a scratch golfer. The neutral slope is 113 — a course rated at 113 plays exactly as expected for both ability levels. A slope of 130 means the course punishes higher handicappers more (forced carries, narrow fairways, thick rough), while a slope of 95 means the course plays similarly hard for everyone (open layout, generous fairways).
What is course rating?
Course Rating is the score a scratch golfer (Handicap Index 0.0) is expected to shoot on the course under normal conditions, to one decimal place. A par-72 course rated 73.5 is harder than par — even a scratch golfer is expected to go 1.5 over. A par-72 course rated 70.2 is easier — a scratch golfer is expected to shoot 1.8 under. Course rating and slope rating together capture both absolute difficulty (rating) and relative difficulty between skill levels (slope).
Does this calculator apply handicap allowances?
No — it computes the raw Course Handicap straight from the WHS formula. Many formats then apply a handicap allowance: 95% for individual stroke play, 90% for two-person better ball, 100% for match play, and so on. To get your Playing Handicap, multiply the Course Handicap shown here by the allowance percentage and round. The allowance is set by the committee or by the format rules, not by WHS itself.
What if I am a plus handicap?
A negative (plus) Handicap Index means you play better than scratch — common for the strongest amateurs and professionals. Enter the index as a negative number (e.g. −2.4). The formula still works: a +2.4 player on a slope-130 course with course rating 73.5 and par 72 gets −2.4 × 1.1504 + 1.5 = −1.26, rounded to −1. They give back strokes instead of receiving them — they have to start over par on one hole.
Where does the number 113 come from?
The USGA chose 113 in 1981 as the slope rating of a course of "standard difficulty" — one where a scratch golfer and a bogey golfer should be separated by exactly the difference in their indices. It is a fixed constant in the WHS formula; every course in the world is rated relative to it. The choice of 113 is somewhat arbitrary (it dates back to the original USGA slope research), but the system is internally consistent: dividing by 113 in the Course Handicap formula and using 113 as the multiplier in the Score Differential formula are inverses of each other.