Standard scratch scoring

A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer's potential ability.

In stroke play, it is used to calculate a net score from the number of strokes played during a competition, thus allowing players of different proficiency to play against each other on somewhat equal terms. In match play, the handicap difference between players is used to determine the number of strokes the high handicap player should receive from the low handicapper during the playing of their round. The higher the handicap of a player, the poorer the player is relative to those with lower handicaps. Official handicaps are administered by golf clubs with regional and national golf associations providing additional peer reviewing for low and very low handicaps respectively. Exact rules relating to handicaps can vary from country to country.

Handicap systems are not used in professional golf. Amateur golfers who are members of golf clubs are generally eligible for official handicaps on payment of the prevailing regional and national association annual fees. Other systems, often free of charge, are available to golfers who are ineligible for official handicaps.

A USGA handicap is calculated with a specific arithmetic formula that approximates how many strokes above or below par a player might be able to play, based on the ten best scores of their last twenty rounds. The R&A (now a separate organization from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club), based in St Andrews, Scotland has no jurisdiction over handicapping. The administration of handicapping systems in countries affiliated to the R&A is the responsibility of the national golf associations of those countries. These bodies specify slightly different ways to perform this calculation for players. The details of these calculations are presented below.

A golfer's net score is determined by subtracting the player's handicap from the gross score (the number of strokes taken). The net scores of all the competing golfers are compared and (generally) the person with the lowest score wins.

Contrary to popular opinion, a player's handicap is intended to show a player's potential, not a player's average score. The frequency by which a player will play to their handicap is a function of that golfer's handicap, as low handicappers are statistically more consistent than higher handicappers. The USGA refers to this as the "average best" method. So in a large, handicapped competition, the golfer who shoots the best with respect to his abilities and the normal variations of the score should win.

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