Three numbers, one golfer
| Number | What it is | Changes with |
|---|---|---|
| Handicap | Your ability, measured on a course of average difficulty. One decimal, like 14.2. | Your scores |
| Course handicap | The strokes you get on the tees you're playing today. A whole number, like 16. | The course and tees |
| Playing handicap | The strokes you actually play off in a competition: a share of your course handicap. | The format |
From handicap to course handicap
Your handicap says how many strokes over par you'd shoot on a good day on a course of average difficulty. Real courses aren't average, so before you tee off your handicap is scaled to the tees you're playing:
Course handicap = handicap × slope ÷ 113 + (course rating − par)
Slope scales your handicap up on hard tees and down on easy ones, and the rating minus par adjusts for tees that play harder or easier than their par. Round the result to a whole number, with .5 rounding up.
The same golfer on two courses
| Easy tees | Hard tees | |
|---|---|---|
| Handicap | 14.2 | 14.2 |
| Slope | 113 | 140 |
| Course rating / par | 70.0 / 72 | 74.8 / 72 |
| Working | 14.2 × 113 ÷ 113 + (70.0 − 72) = 12.2 | 14.2 × 140 ÷ 113 + (74.8 − 72) = 20.4 |
| Course handicap | 12 | 20 |
Same golfer, eight strokes apart. A good day for a 14.2 is around 92 on the hard tees and around 84 on the easy ones, and the strokes follow, so a net score means the same thing on both.
Playing handicap: the share you play off
In a casual round or a singles match you play off your full course handicap. Events often use a share of it so that every format stays fair: 95% for individual stroke play, 90% for four-ball match play and 85% for four-ball stroke play. A course handicap of 20 at 95% is a playing handicap of 19. The full table.
Which number goes where
- Telling a friend how good you are: your handicap.
- Strokes today and on which holes: your course handicap, spread by stroke index.
- Your maximum score on a hole: net double bogey, which uses your course handicap. How it works.
- Posting a score: your course handicap caps each hole at net double bogey; the differential itself uses the course rating and slope. How a handicap is calculated.
Want your own numbers? The Strokes Calculator works them out for any course and tees.
Updated November 13, 2026 by the Greens team.