Enter your recent rounds, oldest first, and the tees you're playing next. You'll see the score that brings your handicap estimate down, the score that keeps it where it is, and which round drops out of your last 20.
Your rounds
Up to 20 rounds, oldest first. They're shared with the handicap calculator on this site.
Round
Score
Course rating
Slope
Differential
Remove
Your next round
How the target score is worked out
Your handicap estimate is the average of your lowest 8 score differentials from your most recent 20 rounds, with fewer counting until you have 20. The calculator adds a next round at every score from very good to very bad, works out the new estimate each time, and finds the highest score that still brings it down.
Two things decide the answer. The first is the worst differential among the ones that count, because a new round has to beat it to get in. The second is the round that drops out: if the oldest of your 20 rounds is one of your best 8, it stops counting, and you need a lower score just to stay level.
Enter your adjusted gross score for each round, with every hole capped at net double bogey. The handicap calculator explains each step of the formula.
Questions
Lowering your handicap
Why didn't my handicap go down after a good round?
Only your best 8 differentials from your last 20 rounds count. A good round lowers your index only if it beats the worst of those 8. And when it pushes your 21st round out, your index can go up if that old round was one of your best.
Why does the round that drops out matter?
With 20 rounds on your record, every new one pushes the oldest out. If the oldest round is one of your best 8, it stops counting, and the score you need next time gets lower. If it isn't, losing it changes nothing.
Can a bad round put my handicap up?
A high score won't be among the rounds that count, but it can still push your index up in two ways. With 20 rounds, it pushes out your oldest round, and if that was one of your best 8 your index rises. With fewer than 20, an extra round can change how many count or remove an adjustment: going from 6 rounds to 7 drops the 1.0 that was taken off.
Is this my official handicap?
No. It works out an estimate with the World Handicap System formula. Your official index also has the playing conditions calculation, caps on how fast it can rise and reductions for exceptional scores, and it uses your adjusted gross score, with each hole capped at net double bogey.
See the score that lowers your handicap after every round
Golf Journal shows which rounds count, which one drops out next and what score would bring your estimate down.
