Golf Handicap Calculator
Calculate your World Handicap System index from your recent scores.
About Golf Handicap Calculator
The World Handicap System (WHS), adopted globally in 2020, produces a portable handicap index that works on any course in the world. For each round you enter your adjusted gross score, the course rating, and the slope rating — both printed on the scorecard. The differential measures how well you played relative to the difficulty of that specific course. The system averages your best 8 of your most recent 20 differentials, Using only the best 8 is what makes the index reflect scoring potential rather than average performance. The 0.96 'bonus for excellence' multiplier of the old USGA system was dropped when the WHS was adopted in 2020.
Formulas
Handicap Differential
Differential = (113 / Slope Rating) × (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating)
- 113
- Standard slope rating (neutral difficulty)
- D
- Handicap differential for one round
- Slope
- Course slope rating (55–155, standard = 113)
- Score
- Adjusted gross score for the round
- Course Rating
- Expected score for a scratch golfer
Handicap Index
Handicap Index = average of the best 8 (lowest) differentials of the most recent 20 (WHS, 2020: no 0.96 multiplier)
Worked example
With the default values below, Golf Handicap Calculator returns Handicap Index of 9.2. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Scores (score, Course Rating, Slope — one per line)
- 85, 72.0, 113 82, 71.5, 125 88, 73.2, 130 80, 70.8, 118 84, 72.0, 113 87, 72.5, 120 83, 71.0, 115 86, 72.0, 113
Results
- Handicap IndexWorld Handicap System index, rounded to 1 decimal.
- 9.2
- Rounds Entered
- 8
- Differentials UsedThe WHS uses the best N differentials based on how many rounds you've entered.
- 2
- Best (Lowest) Differential
- 8.81
- Average Differential
- 11.95
Step by step
- 1Scores entered= 8 rounds
- 2Compute each differential: (113 / Slope) × (Score − Course Rating)= Range: 8.81 to 14
- 3Best 2 of 8 differentials (WHS rule)= 8.81, 9.49
- 4Average of best differentials= 9.1511
- 5Handicap Index (WHS: average, no multiplier)= Handicap Index = 9.2
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the single input listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Course Rating and Slope Rating?
Course Rating is the expected number of strokes a scratch golfer (handicap 0) would take on a course under normal conditions. Slope Rating measures the additional difficulty of the course for a bogey golfer relative to a scratch golfer. Slope ranges from 55 (very easy) to 155 (very hard); the standard is 113. Both values are on the scorecard.
Why does WHS use only the best 8 of 20 differentials?
Using only the best differentials anchors the index to a player's 'potential' rather than their average. This makes the system fairer in stroke-play competitions: a player who consistently plays to their best has an advantage over someone who only occasionally has a great round.
What is an adjusted gross score?
In the WHS, an adjusted gross score caps each individual hole score at Net Double Bogey (par + 2 + any handicap strokes received on that hole). Holes you don't complete are recorded as Net Double Bogey. This adjustment prevents one very bad hole from distorting the handicap.
Why is there no 0.96 factor?
The 0.96 'bonus for excellence' multiplier belonged to the pre-2020 USGA Handicap System. The World Handicap System, in force since 2020, averages the lowest 8 of the most recent 20 score differentials with no multiplier; its Playing Conditions Calculation adjusts a day's differentials, not the index average.