Handicap
Golf Handicap Calculator (Free, WHS Method)
An estimated Handicap Index from the scores you enter.
Unofficial estimate. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the USGA, The R&A, or GHIN.
The short answer
Three rounds with differentials 15.2, 15.3, 16.6 produce a Handicap Index of 13.2. With only three scores, the table uses the lowest one and subtracts 2.0.
How it’s calculated
Handicap Index = average of the differentials the table selects + the adjustment, rounded to the nearest tenth
Worked example, the three rounds loaded above, each on slope 113 so the differential is the score minus the rating:88 − 72.8 = 15.2,89 − 73.7 = 15.3,90 − 73.4 = 16.6. The lowest is 15.2. The adjustment for three scores is -2.0.15.2 + (-2.0) = 13.2. The same arithmetic is in the USGA’s clarification: a best differential of 15.2 with three scores is an index of 13.2.
| Scores in the record | Use | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lowest 1 | -2.0 |
| 4 | Lowest 1 | -1.0 |
| 5 | Lowest 1 | 0.0 |
| 6 | Lowest 2 | -1.0 |
| 7 to 8 | Lowest 2 | 0.0 |
| 9 to 11 | Lowest 3 | 0.0 |
| 12 to 14 | Lowest 4 | 0.0 |
| 15 to 16 | Lowest 5 | 0.0 |
| 17 to 18 | Lowest 6 | 0.0 |
| 19 | Lowest 7 | 0.0 |
| 20 | Lowest 8 | 0.0 |
There is no × 0.96. That factor belonged to the pre-2020 USGA system. The World Handicap System uses this table instead.
Rules this page does not fully apply
- Playing Conditions Calculation is not worked out here. It stays at 0 unless you type the −1 to +3 number your golf association published for that day.
- Handicap Committee adjustments are not applied.
- The official expected-score table for nine-hole rounds is not published. This tool adds (Handicap Index + 3) ÷ 2, which matches the USGA’s published example: an index of 14.0 has an expected nine-hole differential of 8.5, and 7.2 + 8.5 = 15.7. Other indexes can differ from official software.
- Rounds of 10 to 17 holes are not calculated. Official software fills the holes you did not play with an expected score.
- Soft and hard caps are applied to the final figure only, and only if you enter a Low Handicap Index and the list has 20 differentials. This page does not store a 365-day history.
- Exceptional score reduction replays the rounds on this page, oldest first. It cannot see an index from scores you left off, unless you enter a starting index. The check uses the running index before caps.
- The pre-2020 USGA formula multiplied the average by 0.96. The World Handicap System does not. This tool does not use 0.96.
Questions golfers ask
How is a golf handicap calculated?
Each round becomes a score differential. With 20 differentials, the index is the average of the lowest 8, rounded to the nearest tenth. With fewer than 20, a set table picks how many of the lowest to average and whether to subtract 1 or 2. That is the World Handicap System method used here.
How many scores do I need?
The table can produce a figure from 3 differentials, and a new index needs scores from at least 54 holes. Three 18-hole rounds are exactly 54 holes. The number keeps moving as you add scores, up to the most recent 20.
Why isn’t the average multiplied by 0.96?
The old USGA system, before 2020, averaged the best 10 of 20 and multiplied by 0.96. The World Handicap System dropped that factor and uses the best 8 of 20 instead, plus the small-sample adjustments in the table. A USGA worked example makes the arithmetic plain: a best differential of 15.2 with three scores becomes 13.2, not 15.2 × 0.96.
What is the soft cap?
Once you have a Low Handicap Index from the past year, a new index can rise freely for the first 3.0 strokes. Anything above that rises at half speed. The hard cap then stops the index more than 5.0 above that low point. This page applies both only if you type the low index and you have 20 scores. There is no cap on how far an index can fall.
What is an exceptional score?
If a differential is 7.0 to 9.9 strokes better than the index in effect for that round, every differential then in the record is reduced by 1.0. At 10.0 or better, the reduction is 2.0. Later rounds are not reduced by an old exceptional score, so the effect fades as those rounds age out. Enter scores oldest first.
What is a good handicap?
For a recreational golfer, an index from 10 to 20 is a common, playable range: you have some pars, plenty of bogeys, and the occasional blow-up hole. The index is closer to your better rounds than to your average score. The guide linked on this page walks through what the bands feel like on the course.
Can I use 9-hole scores?
Yes, once an index exists to supply the expected other nine. Put 18-hole rounds first, or type the index you already had, and a nine-hole score is turned into an 18-hole differential straight away. The expected half is an approximation of the unpublished official table, and the page says so.
Is this an official Handicap Index?
No. An official index is issued through an authorized association and its scoring record. This is an estimate from the rounds you type. It does not include a calculated playing-conditions adjustment, a committee review, or any round you leave off. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USGA, The R&A, or GHIN.