Handicap Settings

Purpose of handicapping in golf

The purpose of handicapping is to ensure equal competition - or a level playing field - among players of different abilities. League Manager provides a handicap using one of the 3 following methods:

Automatic Handicapping. When you place a check mark in the box for "Calculate a handicap for this league" (see image above), a handicap is calculated using the criteria you specify in the Handicap link found in the Setting link on the Main menu (see "Access this screen" at the top of this page).
Manual Handicapping. You always have the option to type in any handicap for a player at any time. To enter a handicap, click/tab the player name to view his Player Information Form. Type in the handicap you want the player to have for the current event.
No Handicapping. When you remove the check mark from the box for "Calculate a handicap for this league", handicaps will not be calculated. All players will have a handicap of 0 (scratch) or whatever you type in.

Short handicap primer

Determine the basic formula you wish to use for handicapping
Do you want to use Course Rating / Course Slopes or just Par in the formula for calculating handicaps?

The basic formula to calculate a handicap is as follows:

Handicap = (Adjusted Gross Score - Course Rating) x (113 / Course Slope)

The Adjusted Gross Score is a golfer’s score after any "stroke control" adjustments.
The Course Rating is provided by the golf course, and can usually be found on their scorecard. The rating is basically what a scratch golfer (0 handicap) would shoot (on average) on the course. Most courses have been rated by the USGA.
The Course Slope is provided by the golf course and can usually be found on their scorecard. The slope is the difficulty of a course compared to other courses. 113 is a course of average difficulty. The range for slopes is 55 to 155 with a course of 55 considered the easiest and 155 the most difficult.

Note: League Manager retrieves the rating and slope from the Course Library. The Course Rating and Course Slope values are entered for each course/tee your league plays. These values are entered in your Course Library.

Many leagues simplify the above basic formula by entering Par for the Course Rating and 113 for the Course Slope. The equation then simply becomes...

Handicap = (Adjusted Gross Score - Par) x (113 / 113)

Handicap = Adjusted Gross Score – Par

Find a more complete explanation of the USGA handicap formula on our website or in the USGA Handicap System Manual.