Golf Handicap Calculator guide
Golf Handicap Calculator: World Handicap System Index
Use our golf handicap calculator to estimate your World Handicap System Handicap Index from your scores, plus your course and playing handicap.
By the AllCalculator editorial teamUpdated 16 October 20261 min read
Since 2020, golfers in the UK and around the world have used the World Handicap System (WHS). Our Golf Handicap Calculator estimates your Handicap Index from your recent scores.
How to use the calculator (Golf Handicap Calculator)
- List your recent rounds as adjusted gross score, course rating and slope rating, separated by semicolons.
- Enter the course rating, slope and par of the course you're playing to see your course handicap.
How it works
For each round, the calculator works out a score differential:
Differential = (113 ÷ slope) × (score − course rating)
Your Handicap Index is the average of your best 8 differentials from your last 20 rounds. With fewer rounds, fewer differentials count, with a small adjustment:
| Rounds | Best used | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | −2.0 |
| 4 | 1 | −1.0 |
| 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | 2 | −1.0 |
| 7–8 | 2 | 0 |
| 9–11 | 3 | 0 |
| 12–14 | 4 | 0 |
| 15–16 | 5 | 0 |
| 17–18 | 6 | 0 |
| 19 | 7 | 0 |
| 20 | 8 | 0 |
Course handicap = Handicap Index × (slope ÷ 113) + (course rating − par)
A worked example
With the calculator's default settings, 8 rounds give a Handicap Index of 12.1. On a course rated 71.2 with a slope of 128 and par 72, that's a course handicap of 13, and a playing handicap of 12 in individual stroke play.
Frequently asked questions
What's an adjusted gross score?
Your score after capping any hole at net double bogey. Your club's app does this for you.
Why is my official index different?
The official calculation also adjusts for the day's playing conditions and caps how fast your index can rise.
What's the maximum handicap?
54.0.
Sources and further reading
Links open official and independent websites in a new tab.
This guide is general information to help you understand your options. It isn't financial, tax, legal or building advice and doesn't take your personal circumstances into account. Figures were checked when the guide was last updated and can change, so confirm anything important with GOV.UK, HMRC, a regulated adviser or a qualified tradesperson.