What Is a Golf Handicap?
A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's playing ability. Lower handicap = better player. The handicap system allows players of different skill levels to compete on equal footing by adjusting scores.
The modern standard is the World Handicap System (WHS), adopted globally in 2020. A WHS Handicap Index represents the expected score relative to par on a course of standard difficulty.
- A scratch golfer has a Handicap Index of 0.0.
- A bogey golfer is typically around 18.0.
- Indexes can go higher — recreational players commonly range from 20–36.
Course Rating & Slope
Two numbers describe a course's difficulty for handicap purposes:
Course Rating
The Course Rating is the expected score for a scratch golfer under normal conditions. It's usually close to par but can be higher on longer, tougher courses. For example, a par-72 course might carry a rating of 73.2.
Slope Rating
The Slope Rating measures course difficulty relative to a bogey golfer. It ranges from 55 (easiest) to 155 (hardest), with 113 as the standard neutral value. A higher slope means the course is proportionally harder for higher-handicap players than for scratch golfers.
Course Slope: 125 | Course Rating: 72.5 | Par: 72
Playing Handicap = 14.0 × (125 ÷ 113) + (72.5 − 72) = 15.5 + 0.5 ≈ 16 strokes
TeeItUp stores course ratings and slope for each tee box. When you create a handicapped match, the app calculates each player's Playing Handicap automatically.
Stroke Index
The Stroke Index (SI) ranks each hole on the course from 1 to 18 by difficulty — SI 1 is the hardest hole, SI 18 is the easiest. This ranking determines which holes a player receives handicap strokes on.
Example Stroke Indexes
| Hole | Par | Stroke Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | 5 | 15 |
| 3 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 5 | 4 | 5 |
| …continued for all 18 holes | ||
Stroke indexes are set by each club and published on the scorecard. TeeItUp reads them from the course data when entering scores on a handicapped match.
How Strokes Are Allocated
Once a player's Playing Handicap is calculated, strokes are assigned to holes in stroke-index order, starting at SI 1:
Allocation Rules
- A player with a 5-stroke handicap gets 1 extra stroke on the 5 hardest holes (SI 1 – SI 5).
- A player with an 18-stroke handicap gets 1 stroke on every hole.
- A player with a 20-stroke handicap gets 1 stroke on every hole plus a second stroke on the 2 hardest holes (SI 1 and SI 2).
Receives 1 stroke on holes with Stroke Index 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Net score on those holes = Gross score − 1.
Differential Handicap (Match Play)
In match play between two players of different handicaps, only the difference in Playing Handicaps is applied — to the higher-handicap player's side. This levels the field without over-adjusting.
Difference = 6 strokes
Player A receives 1 stroke on the 6 hardest holes (SI 1 – SI 6).
Net vs Gross Scoring
Gross score is the raw stroke count — exactly what the golfer shot. Net score is the gross score after subtracting any handicap strokes received on that hole.
| Hole | Par | SI | Gross | Strokes Received | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
In net skins or net match play, the net score is used for hole comparisons instead of the gross. This makes competition fair across players of different skill levels.
How TeeItUp Uses Handicaps
When creating a match in TeeItUp, you can enable handicap mode. Here's what happens:
- Each player enters their Handicap Index when joining a match.
- The app calculates a Playing Handicap for the selected tee and course.
- Stroke-index data from the course record determines which holes carry strokes.
- Both gross and net scores are shown on the scorecard.
- Match state (lead, dormie, result) is computed from net scores when handicaps are enabled.
No Handicap Index? No problem — TeeItUp also supports non-handicapped (gross) matches for groups that prefer to play straight up.