I’ve gotten asked a bunch and have heard so many misconceptions about golf handicaps, so here’s come infor for you!

A golf handicap is a numerical measure of a golfer’s potential ability, that is used for reference of progress or to enable players of different abilities to compete against one another.

A handicap index will take your best 8 scoring differentials from your most recent 20 rounds and assign an index of your possible scoring ability

• You do NOT need to be a competitve golfer to have a handicap
• You do NOT need to be a member of a golf course to have a handicap
• A handicap is NOT a golfers average score; it is an index of what a golfer could POTENTIALLY shoot
• You only need 3 recent scores to create a handicap

Golfers can register through their club or independently online to obtain a GHIN#.
This number will act as your handicap ID for you to post scores and track your handicap.

If you are not a member of a club, I could consider joining the Carolinas eClub through the Carolina Golf Association for $40.
On top of getting your GHIN#, you will also get a ton of discounts, local golf info, and access to CGA events.

If you don’t want to pay for a handicap system and are not anticipating playing in offical events, there are a number of free apps which will track your scores and provide you an assumed handicap.

A few options:

• The Grint
• Simple Handicap
• Diablo Golf
• 18 Birdies
• etc

If for some reason you don’t want to use a free app, you can manually calculate your handicap.
You will just need the following:

• Minimum of 3 scores
• USGA Course Rating
• USGA Course Slope