Golf Handicap Calculator

The concept of the golf handicap dates back to the late 17th century in Scotland, the birthplace of the modern game. Early systems were informal, with stronger players granting weaker ones a set number of strokes to even the match. By the mid-1800s, golf clubs began recording members’ scores and creating standardised allowances. One of the earliest documented systems appeared in 1893, when the Ladies’ Golf Union in the UK introduced a national handicapping method. Over the 20th century, different regions developed their own formulas – such as the CONGU system in the UK and the USGA Handicap System in America – each calculating handicaps in slightly different ways. This made international competition tricky, as a golfer’s handicap could vary depending on where they played. In 2020, the World Handicap System (WHS) was launched to unify these approaches. Managed jointly by The R&A and the USGA, WHS uses a consistent formula based on recent performance, course difficulty, and slope rating. Today, millions of golfers worldwide rely on handicaps not only for fair competition, but also as a benchmark to track their own improvement over time – continuing a tradition that’s been part of golf for more than 300 years.