[TIPS] Calculate The Handicap Index By Yourself

There definitely are newbie golfers wanting to know their Handicaps when they didn’t have any official USGA index. This is due to the curiosity about ability, or the requirement registering for golf club/ groups, attending charity tournaments or events… This article will show you some simple ways to define your Handicap.

Online Handicap calculators

This is the easiest way to determine your unofficial handicap index. Just simply enter at least 5 rounds of 18-hole, the USGA Course Rating and Slope Rating of the course you played those rounds at below websites:

Those websites can only help with the calculating, not storing or tracking your Handicap. There are 2 other sites to do this: GolfDigest.com and Oobgolf.com, where you can create free accounts to use these services. Besides, you can also look for mobile apps with keywords “golf handicap”, “golf handicap tracker” and so on, for easier ways to update and track your index.

Please note that those websites are neither linked nor endorsed by the USGA, therefore the number you get is only for reference and not an USGA Handicap Index.

Same-day, single-round Handicap methods

– Callaway system: help determine Handicap when most of the golfers don’t have official handicap indexes or are occasional recreational golfers. Golfers will play normally strokeplay with the only exception: double par is the maximum score on any hole. Then, use the Callaway Scoring System chart to change Gross score into Net score and calculate Handicap.

– Peoria system: similar to the Callaway system, but players’ scores will only be counted at the 6 holes that the committee agreedly chose in advance. The total score at 6 holes will be multiplied by 3, the golf course’s par is subtracted from that total; then the resulting number is multiplied by 80 percent to get the Handicap allowance.

– System 36: set a point value to a golfer’scores (par, bogey…), after finish the round, plus the point values and subtract from 36. The Gross score minuses the result to make it the Net score of the round.