Course handicap calculator.

How it works

The World Handicap System (its Rules of Handicapping, including the 2024 revisions) sets a Course Handicap by scaling your Handicap Index to the difficulty of the tees you play. As the Emirates Golf Federation's published version of the rules states it (Rule 6), the Course Handicap is the Handicap Index multiplied by the Slope Rating divided by 113, plus the Course Rating minus par. The USGA's Rules of Handicapping (Rule 6.1) say the last step is to round to the nearest whole number, with .5 rounded upwards.

For 9 holes, the USGA's Rule 6.1b first halves the Handicap Index and rounds it to the nearest tenth, then uses the 9-hole Course Rating, Slope Rating and par. The maximum Handicap Index is 54.0, according to the R&A.

A Playing Handicap applies the handicap allowance for the format to the Course Handicap. The R&A's Interpretation 6.2a/1 says the allowance should be applied to the unrounded Course Handicap to avoid rounding twice, and the USGA's Rule 6.2a rounds the result to the nearest whole number with .5 upwards. That is what the optional allowance box does. This tool does not include any allowance table: the Committee sets the allowance for each competition.

Checked against a published example

The USGA's local guidance for Rule 6 works a 9-hole case: a Handicap Index of 8.7, a 9-hole Course Rating of 35.3, a Slope Rating of 121 and par 36 give a 9-hole Course Handicap of 4. The calculator opens on that example and gives the same answer: half of 8.7 is 4.35, which rounds to 4.4; 4.4 times 121 divided by 113, plus 35.3 minus 36, is about 4.01, which rounds to 4.

Two things this tool does not do: it does not accept a plus Handicap Index (our sources do not say how one is entered in the formula), and it does not calculate a Score Differential (the official rounding for that could not be confirmed). If a result is negative and ends in exactly .5, the tool rounds it upward (for example minus 2.5 becomes minus 2); the rules text we read gives no negative example, so check such a case with your handicap authority.