Golf handicap calculator
Your handicap, worked out
Enter your recent rounds and see the Handicap Index the World Handicap System would give you, and which scores count towards it.
Newest round first. Use adjusted gross scores for 18 holes. Leave the playing conditions adjustment (PCC) at 0 unless your club shows one. The scores marked Counts make your handicap.
Round 1 · newest
Round 2
Round 3
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Handicap Index
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Enter at least three rounds.
How it's worked out
Each round becomes a score differential: how well you played against the difficulty of the course that day. Your Handicap Index is the average of your best differentials from your most recent 20 rounds.
With 20 rounds, the best 8 count. With fewer, fewer count, and with three to six rounds a small adjustment comes off, as set out in Rule 5.2a. The result is rounded to one decimal place and can't be higher than 54.0.
Score differential = (113 ÷ Slope) × (Adjusted gross score − Course rating − PCC)
Sources: Rules of Handicapping (R&A and USGA, 2024) · England Golf: World Handicap System · checked 13 Oct 2026
Three rounds to start
A new golfer posts differentials of 18.0, 21.3 and 16.4. With three scores, only the lowest counts, less 2.0: 16.4 − 2.0 gives a Handicap Index of 14.4.
Questions
How many rounds do I need?
Three 18-hole scores are enough for a first Handicap Index. Until you have 20, the system uses fewer of your best scores, and takes a little off with three to six of them.
Why might my official Handicap Index be different?
Your official index also applies caps that limit how fast it can rise, reductions after an exceptional score, and any adjustments by your club's committee. Those depend on your full record, which this calculator doesn't see. Your club or the England Golf app shows the official figure.
What is an adjusted gross score?
Your total with each hole capped at a net double bogey: par, plus two, plus any strokes you receive on that hole. It stops one bad hole from distorting your handicap.
What is PCC?
The playing conditions calculation. On days when scores across the field are unusually high or low, the system adjusts every differential by between −1.0 and +3.0. It appears on your score record. If you don't know it, leave it at 0.
Where do I find the course rating and slope?
On the scorecard, the club's website, or the England Golf app. They differ for each set of tees, and for men and women on the same tees.
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.