Free · Official WHS 2024 formula · No sign-up · Updated July 2026

WHS handicap calculator

Your Course Handicap = Index × (Slope ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par). Enter your Handicap Index and the tee ratings to get your Course Handicap and Playing Handicap — the exact strokes you receive on any course, under the 2024 World Handicap System.

Free calculator

Work out your playing handicap

Enter your Handicap Index and the tee ratings. The formula is the official WHS 2024 one.

800+ Spanish courses with real slope & rating data. Pick your tee, or enter the numbers manually below.

Course Handicap
18
17.5 before rounding
Playing Handicap (strokes you get)
18
at 100% allowance

Course Handicap = Index × (Slope / 113) + (Course Rating − Par), rounded. RoundCard does this automatically for every player, on every hole, at every tournament.

How it works: Course Handicap = Index × (Slope ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par), rounded to the nearest whole number. The Playing Handicap then applies the competition allowance. Slope measures relative difficulty for a bogey golfer (55–155, standard 113); Course Rating is the expected score of a scratch golfer from those tees.

Tired of doing this by hand for the whole society?

RoundCard runs the full WHS engine for every player in your golf society — differentials, best 8 of 20, caps and stroke allocation per hole — automatically after every round. Built for societies playing in Spain, fully in English. See how it works.

Try RoundCard free for 15 days

Handicap questions, answered

Your Handicap Index is portable and course-independent. The Course Handicap converts it to a specific course and tee: Index × (Slope ÷ 113) + (Course Rating − Par). The Playing Handicap applies the competition allowance (e.g. 95% in individual stroke play events) to the Course Handicap.

They are printed on the scorecard and on the tee information board of every rated course, per set of tees. Slope ranges from 55 to 155 (113 is standard difficulty); Course Rating is close to par, e.g. 71.5.

For general play and WHS handicap purposes use 100%. Competitions commonly apply 95% for individual stroke play or Stableford, and 85% for Four-Ball — the committee decides and announces it.

It is the average of your best 8 score differentials from your last 20 rounds, with safeguards: the soft cap slows any rise beyond +3.0 over your Low Handicap Index of the last 365 days, and the hard cap stops it at +5.0.

The formula is the official WHS 2024 one, as published by the R&A and USGA. The result is for reference — your club or federation record remains the authoritative source of your Index.