Golf society handicap calculator
Society day, sorted
Every player's playing handicap for the format you're playing, then a results table that splits ties on the last 9, 6, 3 and 18th.
Playing handicaps
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Enter the course rating, slope and par for the tees you're playing.
How it's worked out
Each player's course handicap comes from their Handicap Index and the tees: Handicap Index × (Slope ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par). The format's allowance is then applied to that course handicap before it's rounded, as the Rules of Handicapping require.
Most formats give every player their own playing handicap: 95% in individual stroke play and Stableford, 85% in four-ball, 75% to 100% in best 1, 2, 3 or all 4 of 4. Foursomes, Greensomes, Pinehurst and scrambles give each side one handicap, made from the players' course handicaps lowest first: 50% of the total in foursomes, 60% and 40% in Greensomes, and 35/15, 30/20/10 or 25/20/15/10 in scrambles.
In match play the lowest player plays off zero and everyone else gets the allowance of the difference: 100% in singles, 90% in four-ball.
Ties go to a count-back, the R&A's suggested way of matching scorecards: the last 9 holes, then the last 6, the last 3 and the 18th. Where the stroke index isn't used (individual stroke play, foursomes, Greensomes, scrambles) half, a third, a sixth and an eighteenth of the handicap come off those gross scores; the fractions aren't rounded. In Stableford, par and four-ball the scores are compared as they stand. If it's still tied, your competition's terms decide.
Playing handicap = round(Course handicap × allowance); team = round(Σ allowanceᵢ × course handicapᵢ, lowest first)
Sources: Rules of Handicapping, Appendix C: Handicap Allowances (R&A) · Committee Procedures 5A(6): deciding ties by matching scorecards (R&A) · Rules of Handicapping (R&A and USGA, 2024) · checked 5 Nov 2026
The R&A's four-ball example
Four players with course handicaps of +4, 16, 7 and 26 play four-ball stroke play at 85%. The plus-4 player gives 3 strokes back to the course, and the others receive 14, 6 and 22 (Appendix C, C/3).
The same four in four-ball match play: the plus-4 player plays off zero, and the others receive 90% of their difference from them: 18, 10 and 27.
Questions
Do these allowances apply in England?
Yes. They're the R&A's allowances from Appendix C, and in England they're the ones to use: England Golf has said it won't adopt the changes Scotland, Wales and Ireland made in April 2026 before 2028. Scottish, Welsh and Irish clubs can now choose 85% to 100% in singles and 75% to 90% in four-ball.
Why are the allowances under 100%?
They're set so every player has a similar chance of finishing near the top. In a medium-sized field of individual stroke play, a full handicap favours higher handicaps slightly, so 95% evens it out.
What if our society has fewer than 30 players?
Appendix C says a small field could use a higher allowance, up to 100% in individual stroke play. Your society's committee decides; this calculator uses the standard figures.
Does everyone have to play the same tees?
In this calculator, yes: it uses one set of ratings for everyone. Mixing tees with different pars needs an adjustment the committee sets.
We started some groups on the 10th. Which holes are the 'last nine'?
The R&A recommends holes 10 to 18, 13 to 18 and so on for everyone, even with a two-tee start.
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.