Handicapping

The USGA provides a good overview of its handicapping system.

To summarize some key points:

• A USGA handicap is meant to reflect the ability of a golfer, not necessarily his or her average score.
• The integrity of the handicap system depends on two factors:
  1. The USGA's system of rating golf courses.
  2. The accuracy of a player's submitted scores.
• Unlike many other activities, the USGA handicap system permits players of differing abilities to compete against each other.
• Every course is rated according to its difficulty for scratch (the ideal 0 handicap) golfers (this is a a course's course rating) and an additional adjustment factor that recognizes the relative difficulty for the bogey (i.e. the ideal 18 handicap) golfer (this is slope rating).
• The handicap ranking of holes on a golf course is not a measure of the absolute difficulty of each hole but is, instead, a measure of the holes on which a bogey golfer may most need a stroke to equal a scratch golfer. For example, a 470-yard par 4 will be difficult for both golfers (each likely will need three shots to get on the green). However, something like a 430-yard par 4, even though it is shorter than the other hole, may be the #1 stroke hole since it is possible that the scratch golfer can reach the green in two shots and the bogey golfer will need three.
• Much of the course rating system (and thus the handicap system) is geared toward distance.