Hi all -

I'm UK based, and was wondering about the differences in how handicaps were calculated in the US and UK, and what that means. I'm NOT trying to say one is better than the other, or that guys in the US aren't as good, or any of that - this is based on genuine curiousity. Anyway...

In the UK, only competitions count for handicap (usually strokeplay, but also bogey and stableford), and anything outside your 'buffer zone' (1 shot worse than handicap for a 0-6 index, 2 worse for a 7-13 etc) means you get 0.1 back. Withdrawing has the same effect. In other words, there's no hiding place.

My understanding (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that in the US, you take an average of your best scores over the year, not only in competition, multiply them by 0.97, do your slope calc (which on most decent courses will equal a further reduction) - and go from there.

The reason I ask is that I came across a handicap calculator on the net, and realised it was US oriented. There's no slope rating for my home course, but my father's home course - being in scotland - does have a rating. Typically, I'll play there once every 6 weeks, a little more often in summer. So, though I realise it's not perfect, I inputted my best 5 scores there from the last year.

My US index? 5.5
My UK handicap? 11.3

That's a big difference.

Interestingly, if I submit ALL my scores (that I can remember), then my 'US' handicap is closer to my UK one: 8.9. Is that what you're supposed to do?

I thought that the UK system probably gives a better indicator of what your typical, slightly better than average score is, while the US system better shows what you're really capable of if it all comes together. It also suggests to me that the US system is much better at adapting to changes in ability, but that it's easier to carry a 'vanity' handicap? (ie, if I were in the states, and so minded, could I have a 5 index as shown above?) Is that fair?

So which is better? Or are they just different?

Ramble over. Be interested in your opinions.

US system: For each round calculate differential = (score - course rating)*113/slope.
Now take 10 lowest differentials from previous 20 rounds and average those. Multiply by 0.96.
That is your handicap index. If you have fewer than 20 rounds to count there is a sliding scale. For example with only 5 rounds you only count the single lowest differential among the 5.
More details at www.usga.org.

One massive difference is that for UK handicapping purposes, only scores in a qualifying competition are eligible. This nearly always means playing from the back tees. If I could submit my best scores from friendly games, from moderate tees, I'd be 3 or 4 shots lower right away

Chatting to some friends of mine who caddy at Muirfield, the concensus is that when a visitor from te US says he's off 5, it roughly equates to a UK 9 or 10

All scores are submitted under the USGA system, though only the 10 best out of the last 20 are used for the actual handicap calculation. Note that best here means "best differential". The differential is related to your score and the difficulty of the course (i.e. rating and slope).



The USGA system is designed to make it easy to obtain and maintain a handicap. Consequently, it is easy to manipulate your handicap by selectively submitting scores and by submitting fabricated scores. Both vanitycappers and sandbaggers have equal opportunity to engage in practices not consistent with the principles behind the USGA handicap system.



Check out some of the existing threads related to handicaps for more opinions than you can shake a stick at.

What does a 10 index in the UK normally shoot?

Not sure that I agree with this as it really depends on how often you play. At my home course in the UK I play in 3 qualifying rounds a month and so these all count.
I have a holiday home in Florida where I play approx 30 - 40 times a year. My exact handicap is 9.0 here and 8.6 over there so not much difference!

Not sure this is a correct statement? If you shoot from the forward tees, your course and or slope rating would change, in effect reflecting what should be an easier course due to lesser yardage.

I think that the biggest difference between the two systems is that the US handicap system represents POTENTIAL to score your best (due to the formula used taking your best scores out of 20), whereas the UK system more closely reflects what you probably would ACTUALLY score on a course based on past performance (scores only in tournaments and I believe no slope measures?).

Assuming their ability wasn't changing - ie their handicap wasn't changing at all - they should shoot 83 on a par 72 course in competition under normal conditions. If the course was playing easy, that would become 81ish; if conditions were tough, perhaps 85.

In practice it doesn't work like that. The UK system only increases your handicap by 0.1 for a bad round, whereas it can cut you far more than that for a good one. So what tends to happen is that if a 'steady' 10 handicap played in ten competitions, they might well get 2 handicap reductions of 0.2 (for playing a shot below handicap), get 4 lots of 0.1 back, and have no adjustment in 4.

If that happened, the run of scores might look (best to worst) something like (par 72): 80, 81, 82, 83, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89.

Their season's best round would probably be 75/76, their season's worst probably a 90-92.

basically the difference between the two is this: in the US, your handicap is based off how you would play on one of your best days. in the UK, the handicap is pretty much what you shoot on average.

on average, an american golfer will shoot ~3 shots higher than their handicap on average, whereas a brit will generally score right around their handicap.

ironically, my handicap overseas in scotland is lower than my handicap in the US. they only let you post scores from official tournament rounds. i played in a few tournament matches at st. andrews while i was at uni there and scored well. so 1.3 over there, and 3-4 here. odd.

not wanting to upset you guys over in the states,but i have played in several british ams and mid ams and played with a few yanks and to be honest they all said they played off plus handicaps but were really around the 6 mark,played with one guy at portrush in the early 90s and he had to pick up on the 18th or he would have been in to 3 figures!!!

UK System is similar to the Australian one. You can get severely hit for a once in a year round. I have a mate the lost 3 strokes off his handicap in one round, then couldn't play to it for the rest of the year.

We have a ACR and a CCR, the ACR is what the course is rated based on layout etc, and the CCR is what it plays on THAT tourny day, calculated at the end of the day from the scores carded by the field. What you shot compared to the CCR is how adjustments to your Handicap are done.

Depending on your handicap it can be as much as losing .3 for each stroke you beat the CCR by (NET). The most you will get back is .1 for a bad round.

its all stats and bell curves, and average is the key word here.

if your handicap is correct this is what i know about a uk player, (governed by congu i think.)

a player is expected to match or beat his handicap 1 out of every 12 rounds.
better players have slight advantage in match/beating their handicap a little more often but its very close, eg :-
cat1 player might be 1 in 10/11 , cat5 player 1 in 13/14

when they dont match or beat it is where the real difference is better players missing the mark by less on average eg:-
cat1 1 over average, cat5 5 over average.

(handicaps are based on a home course generally, with as far as i know a 2 stroke advantage to a home player. something which i believe congu is planning on addressing.)

The concensus of opinion between a few low handicap friends in the U.S. and I is that there's something like a 2 stroke difference, in favour of the U.S. player, when dealing with scratch and thereabouts players. i.e. a UK scratch equates to +2 in the States - and so on.

Our rule of thumb has been tested over a few dozen rounds and seems to hold pretty true.

Neither system's perfect, and they both have their relative strengths and weaknesses.

To the above poster, a Cat 1 player would expect to shoot equal to or better than his handicap a lot more frequently than 10% of the time. If he's shooting a level card one round in every ten, something's drastically amiss.

yeah your right, looks closer to 1 in 3 for cat1, but the cat4 figure looks close enough.

congu bell curves

cat 1 expected to shoot 2 over
cat 4 expected 5 or 6 over

all relative to css