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Handicaps explained
Individual Handicaps
Handicaps are based on three numbers, the individual USGA handicap index, the golf course rating and the golf course slope. Every golf course has a rating and a slope for each set of tee boxes. The harder the course, the higher the rating and slope. A golfer’s index managed by the USGA through the Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN) system. After the completion of every round, the golfer must post their score using the GHIN app and their index is automatically calculated. For what it’s worth, the index is the average over/under the course rating of the top 8 scores of the most recent 20 rounds.
As previously mentioned, every golf course has a rating and slope for each tee box. We will use Big Rock Golf and Pub at Indian Springs to calculate an actual handicap. Here are the ratings and slopes for the three tee boxes.
- Blue: 6,197 yards (69.9 Rating/122 Slope)
- White: 5,777 yards (68.0 Rating/116 Slope)
- Red: 5,098 yards (64.7 Rating/108 Slope)
This example will calculate the course handicap from the blue tees with an index of 10.3. The USGA provides a website with a Handicap Calculator where the index, rating and slope can be entered and it will calculate the course handicap. So for our example, we would use the following values which would result in a 9 handicap. Again, playing the blues with a 10.3 index.
The following Handicap chart shows the handicaps for each index range for a golf course with a Rating of 69.9 and a Slope of 122.
Scramble Format Handicaps
The USGA has come up with a formula to calculate handicaps when playing in a scramble format using the following percentages:
- 4 Players (25%/20%/15%/10% from the lowest to highest handicap)
- 3 Players (30%/20%/10% from the lowest to highest handicap)
- 2
Players (35% low/15% high)
Majie Memorial Individual Indexes
All player indexes will be rounded to either 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 (maximum index of 25). If a player has an established USGA index and can provide a GHIN number, it will be used and rounded either up or down to either 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 (maximum index of 25). If a player does not have an established index, an index will be provided by the tournament organizers based on past performances. All rounding is also at the discretion of the tournament organizers.
Special Note: If you have never played in one of our tournaments, you will either play to a 0 or if you have an established index, it will be reduced by 50%.
Majie Memorial 2 Player Scramble Handicaps
The following table represents handicaps used to calculate the TEAM handicap based on 35% of the low handicap and 15% of the high handicap. This table reflects the Course Handicaps from the blue tees at Big Rock Golf and Pub at Indian Springs.
Blue: 6,197 yards (69.9 Rating/122 Slope)
2 Player Scramble (35% of low handicap plus 15% high handicap)
|
Index |
Rating |
Slope |
Course Handicap |
Low 35% |
High 15% |
|
0 |
69.9 |
122 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
5 |
69.9 |
122 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
|
10 |
69.9 |
122 |
9 |
3 |
1 |
|
15 |
69.9 |
122 |
14 |
5 |
2 |
|
20 |
69.9 |
122 |
19 |
7 |
2 |
|
25 |
69.9 |
122 |
25 |
9 |
3 |
Example Handicap Calculations
Player 1 Index: 10 (Low) X 35% = 3
Player 2 Index: 20 (High) X 15% = 2
Team Handicap: 5
Player 1 Index: 20 (Low) X 35% = 7
Player 2 Index: 25 (High) X 15% = 3
Team Handicap: 10
Disclaimer:
All handicaps can be adjusted at the discretion of the tournament organizers.