About Golf Handicap

A golfer's handicap is determined by his average score. To get a handicap, he must turn in his scores to the USGA. Here's how it works: If a golfer plays at a particular course 10 times--public or private--he is eligible for a handicap rating. That handicap is basically the average score the golfer has achieved minus par for that course. If Heather plays 10 times at the Park River Golf Course, and her average score is 92 and par at Park River is 72, her handicap is 20.

Take your handicap, which will be mailed to you at your favorite golf course by the USGA, and show it to your competitor at your next round of golf. If Heather has a handicap of 20 and she is playing against Elizabeth with a handicap of 16, Heather would get four strokes over that particular round. That means at the end of the round, Heather would be able to subtract four strokes from her score (because her handicap is four strokes higher than Elizabeth's), and that would be her total. So if Heather shot a 91 and Elizabeth shot an 89, Heather would win the match by two strokes.

In match play, the overall score the golfer gets for 18 holes does not matter. Each hole is scored, and the golfer who has the lowest score wins each hole. If Elizabeth and Heather are involved in a match play competition and handicaps are being used, Heather would get a stroke from Elizabeth on the four hardest holes on the course. The difficulty of each hole is noted on the scorecard with a "rating" number. Under the rating category, the hardest hole has a rating of 1 and the easiest hole has a rating of 18. So if the 7th hole is 525-yard par 5 and is rated as the No. 1 handicap hole on the course, Heather would get a stroke on the hole. If Heather shot a 7 on that hole and Elizabeth shot a 6, the hole would be "even" because Heather was allowed to subtract a stroke from her score on that hole. She would also be able to subtract a stroke on the No. 2, 3 and 4 handicap holes on the course.