Handicap
The handicap is the number of strokes you are entitled to on a particular course to level out playing strength.
The handicap is the German root term for what makes golf playable for everyone. It ensures that a beginner and an experienced player can play a fair match against each other. The starting point is your handicap (handicap index), a globally comparable figure of your playing strength. From it a concrete course handicap is calculated for every course, because courses differ in difficulty. This calculation includes Course Rating and Slope Rating. The result: on a difficult course you get more strokes than on an easy one.
In practice you see your course handicap before the round on the scorecard or in the club app. An example: your handicap index is 24.3 and the course has a slope of 125. The conversion gives a course handicap of 27. These 27 strokes are distributed across the holes by the hole index — on the hardest holes you get two strokes, on the easier ones one. If you play a hole with your par plus your handicap stroke, you have played Net par.
A typical misconception is equating the handicap index with the course handicap. The index is your general value, while the course handicap applies only to today, this course and these tees. Anyone who confuses the two wonders about seemingly wrong net results. Also important: your handicap is not a self-assessed value, it is calculated from your stored rounds and keeps adjusting.
FAQ
Where do I see my course handicap for today's course?
Before the round you will find it on the scorecard, in the club app or on the handicap table at the clubhouse. Important: take the table for exactly your tees of the day, because the values differ depending on the tee. Your handicap index alone is not enough — it first has to be converted for this course.
Why is my course handicap not the same as my handicap index?
The handicap index is your general, globally comparable playing strength — the course handicap applies only to today, this course and your tees. Because courses differ in difficulty, you get more strokes on a hard course than on an easy one. Anyone who equates the two gives away strokes on difficult courses or plays too strictly on easy ones.
How are my handicap strokes distributed across the individual holes?
By the hole index on the scorecard: on the hardest holes you get strokes first, and with a high course handicap two strokes on individual holes. If you play a hole with your par plus your handicap stroke, you have scored net par. This makes beginners and experienced players fairly comparable on every hole.