What Is a Golf Handicap? A Beginner’s Guide

The concept of golf handicap is designed to even out the playing field. The golf handicapping system provides a way for two players to have a fair game. Let’s see how?

Golf Handicap System

With a golf handicap system in place, one can play with Rory McIlroy and even stand a chance of winning. It is designed to measure your potential. Depending on the difficulty of the course to be played, golf handicaps roughly indicate what you’ll be hitting. In other words, it allows golfers from all over the world to be compared.

Handicap is a general term for a golfer’s average score relative to par. For example, if your average score is 14 over par, your handicap is 14.

A player with a zero handicap is often referred to as a starting golfer. It is possible to have a handicap of less than zero – this is known as a “plus” handicap. Once anyone has a golf handicap, it’s pretty easy to use. If someone wants to play a match against his friend, the golf handicapping system tells how to make it fair for both players.

What Exactly Makes A Handicap?

If someone has a handicap of 12 and their opponent has a handicap of 20, he must give them 8 shots to make the game fair. When playing in the “match format,” give your opponent 1 shot on the 8 most challenging holes.

In a golf handicap, both players have an equal chance of winning. It all boils down to who is playing better compared to their handicap. The World Handicap System is the official golf handicapping program. The USGA and R&A recognize it.

Simply put, a golf handicap includes a rating system used to measure a golfer’s performance. This allows players of different skills to compete against each other. The lower the handicap, the better the golfer will be. The golf handicap will be higher for beginners as they are just starting to learn the game. Intermediate players who consistently hit the average golf distance have the lowest handicaps.

How Is Handicap Given?

New golfers are not automatically given a handicap. For a golfer to receive an official handicap index, they must join an accredited club or local golf association member of the USGA.

Once everyone has joined the club, they must play a total of 54 holes and record a score consisting of a combination of 9 or 18 holes, and then qualify for the handicap index.

Course Handicap shows the number of strokes a golfer must play in a particular series of par courses.

Six different handicapping systems are well-designed and manage to provide fairness to local play, but each of the different systems produces slightly different results when calculating player handicaps.

Conclusion

One can practice this by taking lessons at a driving range, a par 3 course, or professional golf lessons from their home. Set goals, and don’t give up.