Golf Handicap Calculator
Enter your recent rounds with the Course Rating and Slope Rating of each tee, and see an estimated Handicap Index and the Course Handicap for the course you play next.
Your rounds
One row per 18-hole round: the adjusted gross score, and the Course Rating and Slope Rating of the tees you played. PCC is the playing conditions adjustment shown by your golf association (0 on most days).
| # | Date | Score | Rating | Slope | PCC | Differential | Delete |
|---|
Course Handicap for the tees you play
Wins needed for a target
Games behind
Chart: score differentials
How to use the golf handicap calculator
Press Add round for each 18-hole round and fill in the date, your adjusted gross score, and the Course Rating and Slope Rating printed on the scorecard for the tees you played. Leave PCC at 0 unless your golf association published a playing conditions adjustment for that day (it is a whole number from -1 to +3). Each row shows its score differential straight away, and the rows that count toward the index are marked used. A new round copies the rating and slope of the round above, so a home course only has to be typed once.
The table keeps up to 20 rounds, the same number the handicap system looks at. When you add a 21st, the oldest round by date drops out, and Undo puts it back. Used as a handicap index calculator alone, the table is all you need. Below the result, the course handicap calculator turns the index into strokes for the tees you are about to play: type the Slope Rating, Course Rating and par. It uses the estimate unless you type your official Handicap Index. Print sheet prints your rounds with their differentials, Print blank sheet gives 20 empty rows for the bag, and Share link copies the whole table. The rounds stay in this browser only.
Keeping score during the round itself? Use the golf score counter, then bring the total here. Other number crunchers on this site: the ERA calculator and the passer rating calculator.
The formulas, with a worked example
Based on the Rules of Handicapping (USGA and The R&A, effective January 2024), Rule 5 and Rule 6 (full text):
- Score differential = (113 / Slope Rating) x (adjusted gross score - Course Rating - PCC adjustment), rounded to the nearest tenth with .5 rounded upward. A differential below zero rounds toward zero, so -1.55 becomes -1.5 (Rule 5.1a and 5.1c).
- Handicap Index = the average of the lowest differentials, minus an adjustment, rounded to the nearest tenth (Rule 5.2). With 20 rounds the lowest 8 count. With fewer: 3 rounds use the lowest 1 minus 2.0; 4 rounds the lowest 1 minus 1.0; 5 rounds the lowest 1; 6 rounds the average of the lowest 2 minus 1.0; 7 or 8 rounds the lowest 2; 9 to 11 the lowest 3; 12 to 14 the lowest 4; 15 or 16 the lowest 5; 17 or 18 the lowest 6; 19 the lowest 7.
- The maximum Handicap Index is 54.0 (Rule 5.3).
- Course Handicap = Handicap Index x (Slope Rating / 113) + (Course Rating - par), rounded to the nearest whole number with .5 rounded upward (Rule 6.1a).
Example with three rounds: 85 on a 72.1 / 125 tee gives (113 / 125) x 12.9 = 11.66, so 11.7. A 90 on a 71.5 / 113 tee gives 18.5. An 88 on a 70.4 / 130 tee with a PCC of +1 gives (113 / 130) x 16.6 = 14.43, so 14.4. Three rounds use the lowest differential minus 2.0: 11.7 - 2.0 = 9.7. On tees rated 71.5 with a slope of 125 and par 72, the Course Handicap is 9.7 x 125 / 113 + (71.5 - 72) = 10.23, so 10. The Rules give their own check: differentials of 15.3, 15.2 and 16.6 make an index of 15.2 - 2.0 = 13.2, which this calculator matches.
What it leaves out. This is an unofficial estimate, not an official Handicap Index. It does not apply the soft cap and hard cap (which limit how fast an index can rise against your lowest index of the past year), the exceptional score reduction, 9-hole scores, or reviews by a handicap committee, so the index your club issues can differ. Your score should already be adjusted: once you have an index, each hole counts at most a net double bogey, which is par plus 2 plus any handicap strokes you get on that hole (Rule 3.1b).
Keyboard shortcuts
- A: add a round
- P: print the rounds sheet
- U or Ctrl+Z: undo the last change
- R: clear every box (Undo brings it back)
- C: copy the result
- Tab moves along the boxes in a row; Esc leaves a box so the letter keys work again
- F: full screen
Questions
Is this my official Handicap Index?
No. Only your golf club or golf association can issue an official Handicap Index. This page follows the published formulas to give a close estimate, but it does not apply the caps, exceptional score reductions or committee reviews that the official record may include.
Where do I find the Course Rating and Slope Rating?
On the scorecard or the board at the club, listed for each set of tees, and often on the club or association website. Use the numbers for the tees you actually played, as men's and women's ratings for the same tees can differ.
What does 113 mean in the formula?
113 is the Slope Rating of a course of standard difficulty. Dividing by the Slope Rating of your tees scales your score up on easier courses and down on harder ones, so rounds from different courses can be compared.
Why is only one round counted when I have three?
That is the table in the Rules of Handicapping: with 3 to 5 rounds the lowest single differential is used, and with 3 or 4 rounds an adjustment of 2.0 or 1.0 comes off. More rounds bring more differentials into the average, up to the lowest 8 of 20.
Why does my index show a plus sign?
A result below zero is a plus Handicap Index, which golfers write with a plus sign, for example +1.2. It means you give strokes back to the course rather than receive them.
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