Under the World Handicap System™, your strokes are calculated in three stages. Handicap Index → Course Handicap → Playing Handicap. Here is how each stage works, with real-world examples and step-by-step explanations for golfers, club organisers and society secretaries.
Every time you play, the WHS™ takes your Handicap Index and converts it twice — once for the course, once for the format.
This is the number you see on your app or score tracker — the baseline of your playing ability. It is based on your 8 best scores from your last 20 rounds, adjusted for course difficulty. Everyone receives a single Handicap Index (HI), regardless of which course they play.
Tip: Your Handicap Index is updated whenever a new acceptable score is processed under the WHS™.
The WHS™ converts your HI to the Course Handicap (CH) using the tee's Course Rating and Slope Rating. More difficult tees generally result in a higher Course Handicap. This makes every course fair, whether you are at your home club or a famous links on the coast.
Tip: CH = (HI × Slope / 113) + (Course Rating − Par). HANDICALC® does this automatically.
Your Playing Handicap (PH) is the actual number of strokes you receive in your round. It adjusts your Course Handicap by the WHS™ allowance percentage for your chosen format. Singles stroke play uses 95% of your CH. Fourball match play uses 90%. Foursomes uses 50% of the combined CH.
Tip: PH = CH × Allowance %. HANDICALC® applies the allowance automatically for every format.
Every Playing Handicap is calculated in two simple steps. First, the WHS™ converts your Handicap Index to a Course Handicap using the course and tee difficulty. Then, it applies the format percentage.
The result is rounded to the nearest whole number. In match play, you may also receive strokes on specific holes based on the Stroke Index, which HANDICALC® can display alongside the playing handicap.
These are the official WHS™ allowance percentages used worldwide. HANDICALC® applies them automatically for every format you select.
| Format | WHS™ Allowance | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singles stroke play | 95% | CH 14 → PH 13 |
| Singles match play | 100% | CH 14 → PH 14 |
| Fourball stroke play | 85% | CH 14 → PH 12 |
| Fourball match play | 90% | CH 14 → PH 13 |
| Foursomes (alternate shot) | 50% combined | (CH 14 + CH 12) × 50% = PH 13 |
| Greensomes | 60% low / 40% high | (CH 14 × 60%) + (CH 12 × 40%) = 13.2 → PH 13 |
| Scramble (4-person) | 25% / 20% / 15% / 10% | Weighted total of individual CHs |
| Stableford | 95% | CH 14 → PH 13 |
Always verify allowances against your club's or competition's specific rules. HANDICALC® follows published WHS™ principles.
Three real-world scenarios showing how the WHS™ converts a Handicap Index into a Playing Handicap.
These are the most common situations where golfers and organisers need to calculate a playing handicap correctly.
You are running a club competition with fourball, foursomes, and singles matches across 120 members. Each format needs a different allowance percentage — HANDICALC® handles all of them so every player steps onto the tee with the correct strokes.
You have never played this course before and have no idea what your Course Handicap should be. Open HANDICALC®, search the course, pick your tee — and you have your Playing Handicap before you finish your coffee.
You are playing from the whites and your friend is playing from the yellows. Your raw Course Handicaps are different, but HANDICALC® calculates the correct Playing Handicap for each of you so the match is fair regardless of tee selection.
HANDICALC® is not a generic handicap calculator. It is built specifically for the situations where manual calculations get complicated.
Playing from different tees? HANDICALC® adjusts each player's Course Handicap individually based on their tee selection.
Different Course Ratings for men and women are handled automatically — no need to look up separate charts.
Singles, fourball, foursomes, greensomes, scramble, stableford, and more — with the correct WHS™ allowance for each.
Open HANDICALC®, search for your course, pick your tee and format — and get the correct WHS™ playing handicap in under a second.
