If you have an interest in golf, you probably have heard about handicaps. But if you are a novice golfer, you might not be familiar with the term. How does golf handicap work? How do we calculate the golf handicap? Having a deep understanding of the golf handicap system is crucial for an excellent and memorable gaming experience. Continue scrolling to discover and understand how this system works.
Golf Handicap: What is it?
Simply put, a golf handicap involves a number used to determine a golfer’s capability depending on their previous golf scores. It provides an excellent way to compare oneself with other golfers and track your progress.
Typically, your handicap will be a number between 0 and 28 for men and between 0-36 for women. This number explicitly represents the number of strokes over par one should score on a neutral course.
How Does the Golf Handicap System Operate?
While some might say the golf handicap system is strange and complicated to understand, this is not the case. This system only requires a little patience to allow you to understand it in detail. It is important to note that you cannot have more than one handicap. This is primarily because this number does not rely on a single golf course. Therefore, whether you play challenging courses or easy courses, you can only have one handicap.
How Do We Calculate Handicap?
To start with, there are a few critical numbers you must remember: equitable stroke control, slope rating, and course rating. The course rating is significantly affected by the golf course you are playing on. This rating includes what a scratch player, also known as a hypothetical zero handicap player, should score in 18 holes on the course. On the other hand, a slope rating includes a measure of the variance in expected score between a scratch player and a bogey player.
Further, equitable stroke control is what you score in a game. Nevertheless, slight modifications can be made to prevent a single bad hole from ruining it. After calculating your handicap variance for five rounds, the lowest single handicap variance becomes your official handicap. But, if you have above 20 official rounds, your handicap will be the average of your 10 lowest handicap variances.
How Do I Use My Handicap?
Golfers can use their current handicap to calculate the net score the next time they play golf. To calculate your net score, you will need to find the course handicap. Course handicap is calculated by multiplying the course’s slope rating with your handicap, then dividing the result by 113. You will then take the score minus the course handicap to get the net score.
Golfers compare the net score to the course rating to determine how well they played the game.
How can One Improve their Handicap Score?
The simplest way to improve your handicap score considerably is through frequent practice. The good news is that you do not always have to go outside for your practice sessions. Besides, you can play numerous golf courses using a launch monitor and a golf simulator setup in the comfort of your home. What could be better?
