Course handicap calculator
Strokes for today's tees
Turn your Handicap Index into the strokes you receive on a particular course and set of tees, and the playing handicap for your competition.
Use + for a plus handicap
Course handicap
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Fill in your Handicap Index and your tees' slope, course rating and par.
How it's worked out
Your Handicap Index is set against a course of standard difficulty. The course handicap scales it for the tees you're playing: the slope rating stretches it for harder courses, and the gap between course rating and par adds or removes strokes.
For a competition, the course handicap is multiplied by the handicap allowance for the format, then rounded. Since 2024 the unrounded course handicap is used for that step.
Course handicap = Handicap Index × (Slope ÷ 113) + (Course rating − Par)
Sources: Rules of Handicapping (R&A and USGA, 2024) · England Golf: World Handicap System · checked 13 Oct 2026
England Golf's own example
A Handicap Index of 15.0 on tees with a course rating of 67.2, par 70 and slope 113 gives a course handicap of 15.0 + (67.2 − 70) = 12.2, shown as 12.
In a singles Stableford at 95%, the playing handicap is 12.2 × 0.95 = 11.59, which rounds to 12.
Questions
What's the difference between course and playing handicap?
Your course handicap is the strokes you get on those tees. Your playing handicap is what you actually use in a competition, after the allowance for the format is applied. In general play they're the same.
Which allowance should I use?
The competition decides. The Rules of Handicapping recommend 95% for individual stroke play and Stableford, 90% for four-ball match play and 85% for four-ball stroke play. Singles match play and general play use 100%.
Why does course rating minus par matter?
Course rating is what a scratch golfer is expected to score. When it's below par, the course plays easier than its par suggests, so strokes come off; when it's above, strokes are added.
How do plus handicaps work?
A plus handicap gives strokes back to the course, starting on the stroke index 18 hole. Enter a plus index with a + sign, for example +1.2.
Related tools
Find your course
Course pages carry a playability score, the scorecard and a hole-by-hole guide where we have them. The calculators are free to use.