Understanding How to Calculate Your Golf Handicap in 2020

Golf handicaps are a number that represents the golfer's ability based on their previous golf round's scores. It serves the purpose of comparing your ... HomeMembershipMembershipInformationReciprocalProgramGolfCourseInformationGolfShopPhotosGolfLessonsJuniorLessonsTournamentsLifestyleClubLifestyleDiningBanquets&EventsCommunityContactBlog MembershipInfo 239.354.4727 8835VanderbiltBeachRoadExtension,Naples,FL34120 Blog UnderstandingHowtoCalculateYourGolfHandicapin2020 Ifyouarenewtogolforstartingtotakeyourroundsmoreseriously,understandingyourgolfhandicapisanecessity.Golfhandicapsareanumberthatrepresentsthegolfer’sabilitybasedontheirpreviousgolfround’sscores.Itservesthepurposeofcomparingyourperformanceswithothergolfplayers.Formen,yourgolfhandicapisgenerallybetweenzeroandtwenty-eight,and,forwomen,betweenzeroandthirty-six. Knowingyourhandicapisamustwhenaplayerwantstoparticipateintournament-styleformats.Yourhandicapisthegreatequalizer.Manytournamentsformattheirplaysothataplayershandicapisusedtoscorearound.Thisincreasescompetitionandallowsplayerswhomaynotbethestrongestgolfersachancetotastevictory.Butthisleadsustoafewimportantquestions.Whatisyourhandicap,andmoreimportantly,howdoyoucalculateit?  Newhandicapcalculationchangeswereintroducedin2020sowe’llgooverwhatahandicapis,howtocalculateyourhandicap,andwhatruleschangedfor2020. HistoryofGolfHandicaps Golfhandicapbeganover100yearsagoandhasbeeninoperationeversince.Inthepreviousyears,itwasknownasahands-oncap,involvingthreeparties:therefereeandtwoplayers.Lateron,theychangedthenametohandicapin1850. Now,yourhandicapisusedtogaugeyourskilllevelbasedonyourscorecomparedtoacourse’sparround.Handicapsareusedintournamentslargeandsmall.Fromascramblewithfriendstoclubchampionships.  WhatYourHandicapMeans Essentially,theloweryourgolfhandicap,themoreskilledyouare.Aplayerwithahandicapof5meansthattheaverageofthisplayer’sprevious roundswas5overpar(criteriachangedfrom5roundsto3roundsstartingin2020).Handicapsareoftenusedtojudgehowaplayerperformedcomparedtotheiraveragelevelofplayopposedtoastraighthead-to-headmatchup.Handicapsallowplayerstocompeteandwinagainstmoretalentedgolfersbasedonhowtheyeachplayedthatday. Forexample,letussayyouandafriendaregoingtoplaya18-holecoursewithaparof72.Yourfriend,withagolfhandicapofsix,isexpectedtoplay78strokes,orsixoverpar.Whileyouandyourtwelvehandicapareexpectedtohit84strokes,12moreoverpar.Yourhandicap,inshort,isthenumberofstrokesoverparyoushouldtakeinthecourseofthe18-holeround.Inthisscenario,let’ssayyoushoota82andyourfriendshootsan80.Technically,yourfriendshotthelowerround,butbecauseyouincorporatedhandicaps(youare-2andyourfriendis+2)youareactuallythevictor!  HowtoCalculateYourGolfHandicapin2020 Ifyouhaveneverplayedgolf,yourgolfhandicapdoesnotexist.Whenyouarereadytocreateyourgolfhandicap,startbytrackingyour9and18-holescores.Thescoresshouldberecordedinascorecardandmustbesignedbytwopeople:youandthepartneraccompanyingyoutothegolfgame.Thesignaturesareneededtominimizecorruptionandmakeyourscoresrealandvalid. NumberofScoresNeededtoObtainHandicapIndex AsofJanuary2020,youmustsubmitthree18-holesscorestoobtainahandicapindex.Thiscanbemadefromacombinationof9-holeand18-holerounds;thehandicapindexwillberevisedatthebeginningandmidofeverymonth(1stand15th).Thischangerequiresthatyousubmitonlythree18-holescores.Therevisiontoyourhandicapwillbedonedailyaslongasyouupdateyourthird18-holescoresbeforemidnight. GolfHandicapCalculationChangesfor2020 Before2020,thecalculationofcoursehandicapwasdoneusingthisformula:HandicapIndexXSloperating/113 The2020calculationisdoneusingthisnewformula: HandicapIndexX(Sloperating/113)+(CourseRating-Par) Noticethechanges;thenewformulaincludescourseratingminuspar.Thesechangesweredonetoaccommodateplayerswhoplayfromdifferenttees.Becausetheyareplayingwithdifferentbenchmarks,thereisaneedtomakehandicappingmorefair. The2020changesintroducenewrulesofhandicapping,anditrepresentsthestrokesplayersreceiveinacompetition.Therefore,thenewformulaforplayinghandicapsisthecoursehandicapXhandicapallowance. Thisnewchangeintroducestwonewrulesforhandicappingthatare:youwillbeallowedtousecoursehandicapstoadjustyourscores,andsecondly,playinghandicapswillbeusedfornetcompetitionpurposes. CourseHandicapCalculationFormula Thereareseveralappsorprogramsyoucansignupforthatwillcalculateyourhandicapforyou,butifyouliketodothingstheoldfashionway,hereisacompletebreakdownincalculatingyourowncoursehandicap.  Thecalculationofhandicapisbasedonseveralelements.Someoftheseelementsincludethesloperating,coursehandicapandtheadjustedgrossscores.Otherfactorsthatcanbeconsideredincludethehandicapindexofthegame,itsassociatedhandicapdifferentialaswellasthecourserating.  Step1–Youneedtochangethegrossscoresintoadjustedtotalscore Togetadjustedgrossscores,usetheUSGA’sequitablestrokecontrol.UsetheESCdownwardswhileadjustingtheindividual18-holescorestocreateagolfhandicap.AccordingtoESC,youarerestrictedtothemaximumnumberofstrokesyoucanenterinagivenhole.Themaximumcanbeobtainedfromthetablebelow CourseHandicap MaximumScore Nineorless Doublebogey 10-19 7 20-29 8 30-39 9 40andabove 10   Step2:Calculatethedifferentialinhandicapforeachscore Itwouldbebestifyouusedthisformulatocalculatethehandicapdifferential. Handicapdifferential=(AdjustedGrossScore-ratingofthecourse)X113/Coursesloperatings. Thecourseratingissimplythescoresofanewgolferonanormalcourseunderanormalplayingcondition.Sloperatingistheratingof113foracoursebasedonthestandarddifficulty. Step3:Selectthelowesthandicapdifferential Selectyourbest,orlowest,handicapdifferential.Incaseyouhaveenteredmorethan20scores,thetop10differentialsofyour20mostcurrentscoreswillbeusedforthecalculation. Step4:Calculatingtheaverageofthesmallestvaluefromthedifferentials Ifyouhave10handicapdifferentialsavailable,calculatetheaverageforthelowest3HDs.For15HDscalculatetheaverageforthelowest6.Onceyouhaveatleast20scores,alwaysusethe10bestfromthemostrecent20scores. Step5:Multiplyingtheaverageofhandicapdifferentialsby96% Thefifthstepinvolvesdeterminingtheaveragefromnethandicapdifferentialsbymultiplyingtheaveragedifferentialby0.96. Step6:Truncating,deletingthenumbertothevalueofrightoftenths Donotroundoffanyfigureinthescores.USGAstatesthatthedefaultmaximumnumberfromanyhandicapindexinagolfmatchshouldbe40.4forwomenand36.4formenifplayedonan18-holecourse.Onthe9-holecourse,itshouldbe18.2formenand20.2forwomen.Forexample,ifthehandicapdifferentialaverageis13.196aftermultiplicationby0.96,thetruncatedvaluewillbe13.1. Step7:Calculatethecoursehandicap Acoursehandicapisthenumberofstrokesaplayerreceivesonaparticularcourse. Coursehandicap=HandicapIndexXSlopeRating/113+(CourseRating-Par) Example:Thiscoursehandicapcalculationassumesa12.7andacourseslopeof115 CourseHandicap=12.7x115/113=12.92=13 HowtoImproveYourHandicap Nowthatyouknowyourgolfhandicap,andaredeterminedtoimproveit,whatdoyouneed?Hereareafewtipstohelpyouimproveyourhandicap: Improveyourswing-Improveyourswingbypracticingearlyandoften.Ifyouneedprofessionalhelp,lookintopersonalgolflessonsatGolfCluboftheEverglades.  Ensureyourequipmentisperfect-Illfittedequipmentcouldaffectyourgameandincreasetheriskofinjury.  Pushyourself-Alwaysaimtosetnewrecordseverytimeyouplay.   ClubMembership MembershipatGolfCluboftheEvergladesenablesyoutoescapefromthestressesofeverydaylifeandenjoythenaturalaestheticsandtranquilsurroundingsoftheGolfCourse. MembershipInformation Close Home Weddings Events Calendar Contact HomeMembershipMembershipInformationReciprocalProgramGolfCourseInformationGolfShopPhotosGolfLessonsJuniorLessonsTournamentsLifestyleClubLifestyleDiningBanquets&EventsCommunityContactBlog MembershipInfo 239.354.4727 8835VanderbiltBeachRoadExtension,Naples,FL34120