What Is a Good Handicap Score in Golf?
A golf handicap is designed to compare golfers against each other and against themselves. There are two purposes for handicapping golfers: first, handicaps make it easier to find golfers of similar ability and divide golfers into groups based on ability for tournaments and other competition; and second, handicaps are an easy way for golfers of different abilities to compete fairly against each other.
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How to Calculate Handicap
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Handicap is calculated based on a golfer's recent scores for 18-hole rounds. Subtract the course rating (available on the scorecard) from your score, and multiply that number by 113. Then divide the result by the course's slope rating (also available on the scorecard) and multiply by 0.96. Perform this series of operations for your last five to 20 rounds, using the appropriate information from whichever different courses you played. Handicaps can be calculated from various sample sizes, but according to the USGA, the optimum is to calculate based on the best 10 of your past 20 rounds.
Variation From Course to Course
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The question of what makes a good handicap can vary from course to course, since the handicap is so dependent on the course and slope ratings for each. Par is always considered a good score, but shooting par can yield much different handicap results depending on the course. An 87 at a higher-rated course might yield a 7.6 handicap, while an 85 at a lower-rated course matches to a 14.
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"Scratch"
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The entire handicap scale is centered around "scratch." A scratch golfer has a handicap of zero. Such a golfer receives no extra strokes in handicapped tournaments and is usually expected to be able to approach scores near or at par. In reality, a scratch golfer is one who can shoot the course rating for an 18-hole round. Scratch is universally considered a good handicap, but it isn't the best. Some handicap tournaments calculate negative handicaps, and will add strokes to the score of a golfer who generally shoots under par.
PGA Handicap
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At the highest levels of the game, no one calculates handicap. Thus, in a sense, there is no such thing as a "good handicap," since anyone who has a calculated handicap is not playing at the best level. No one asks what Tiger Woods's handicap is. Some people might answer he is a scratch golfer, and others might say that he must have a negative handicap, but neither is really applicable. No PGA Tour professionals play in handicapped events; once you are good enough, handicap is irrelevant.
Decreasing Handicap
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Perhaps the best way to answer the question is to say that a good handicap score is one that is lower than your last handicap score. In addition to comparing golfers with other golfers, handicap is also an extremely useful tool for golfers to compare themselves against. And for any golfer striving to improve, a good handicap is one that is getting lower.
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