The present golf handicap system in the United States is the method by which an individual can determine how their game is progressing. The handicap system that is the most widely used is under the guidelines of the USGA which introduced the handicap system in the early 20th century.
The USGA’s purpose for the golf handicap system has always been to level the playing field for golfers at different levels of ability so that they can compete equally and fairly. How would a golfer that typically shoots in the 90s ever be able to compete with a another that shoots in the 70s? The only equal way would be through the golf handicap system.
Using the handicap system the player with less ability (90s player) is given strokes on certain holes of the golf course. This means that on a particular hole the 90s player will be allowed to deduct a stroke from their score. At the end of the round the two players, will calculate their “net score”. The net score is figured by taking their gross scores minus the strokes they were allowed to take on certain holes. The USGA golf handicap system was refined in the 1980s with the introduction of “slope rating” which joined the long standing “course rating” method of rating the difficulty of a course.
The definition of course rating means that a USGA course rating of 74.8 is expected to be the average score of the best 50-percent of rounds played by scratch golfers. The definition of slope rating is a number representing the relative difficulty of a course for bogey golfers compared to course rating. Slope can range from 55 to 155, with 113 being considered a course of average difficulty. Par plays no role in the golf handicap system. Only adjusted gross score, course rating and slope rating come into play. Adjusted gross score is a golfer’s total strokes after allowing for the maximum per-hole totals allowed under Equitable Stroke Control.
Each player’s USGA Handicap Index is derived from a complicated formula that takes into account adjusted gross score, course rating and slope rating. Under this golf handicap system a player, with as little as 5 rounds, can get a handicap index by joining clubs authorized to issue them. Eventually their handicap index is calculated using a golfers 10 best of the last 20 rounds played. Once a USGA Handicap Index is issued the golfer uses that to determine their course handicap.
