Breaking the Enigma: Golf Handicaps

I’ve played Golf since I was four years old. Over the years I’ve improved my game to a somewhat respectable level and by the end of last summer, according to the USGA, I had achieved a 9 handicap. Honestly, I had no idea what this number meant. My years of golf playing have told me that the lower the number the better, so I was pleased to be in the single digits, but in reality I had no idea how good or bad that was. Does a handicap indicate the strokes over par you are? Is it some sort of ranking system? How does this number somehow put me level with a scratch (zero handicap) golfer? I endeavored to break this code, and for the benefit of golfers, duffers, shankers, and slicers everywhere, I can now share my findings.

In its most basic form a handicap is an indication of the potential of a golfer. More than 75% of golfers will not shoot a score as good as their handicap. If we take my score as an example, my average score on my home course (par 71) is around an 82. That is eleven over par, and clearly not as good a score as my handicap indicates I should be. The main point of a handicap is to show your overall trend, so don’t feel down if you’re not shooting as low as your handicap, just keep in mind that its a goal to strive towards.

I have never attempted, nor even thought to bring handicaps into scoring when I play with a friend. I either play with people that are much better than me or people that may or may not have ever held a golf club before, so I don’t really feel the need. But say you fancy yourself a serious devotee of the ancient and great game of golf and demand the use of handicaps when keeping score. Well here’s how you do it. Say a 10 handicap (Let’s call him Chet) and a 14 handicap (Let’s call him Anquan) are playing together. On the holes ranked 1-10 Chet will be given one stroke off his score, and for the holes ranked 1-14 Anquan will be given one stroke off his score. Say that Chet shot an 84 and Anquan shot an 87. Seemingly, Chet wins right? Not so fast, once the handicaps are factored in the scores become Chet: 74 and Anquan: 73. Anquan wins after all!

I hope that this guide gave you some insight into how our most venerated and socially stratified sport attempts to level the playing field within the game. Handicaps are a terrific tool for golfers to use in judging one another, but remember, never offer your handicap without being asked. Nobody likes that guy.