In golf a handicap is essentially the rating of a player’s skill in relation to the par for the course. For the novice golfer, it is very important to understand the terminology and to know how to calculate their golf handicap.


Let’s start with a scratch player. A scratch player is a very good player for whom the measure of par is how he should play around the course, i.e. if the course is par 73 then he should take 73 shots to get around. If he is playing a hole of up to 250 yards in length we assume he should hit the green in one shot and then take two putts to hole the ball. This hole

Free Golf Instruction - How to Putt Like Crazy in Less Than 10 Minutes
...reasons, but one of the reasons you can control. It's called " trying less" If you have a great routine, and know how much you should try to make all putts you will be a far better putter than you ...
is a par 3.



Any hole between 251 yards and about 470 yards is classed as a par 4, where a scratch player will take two shots to hit the green, followed by two putts. A par 5 is anything over 470 yards and in this case we assume our scratch player will take three shots to hit the green, again followed by the regulation two putts to hole the ball.


If you add up the pars of all eighteen holes this will give you the par for the course. Any player who can go round in scratch will be either of club professional standard or international amateur standard. If you were a 6 handicap you would hope to go

How To Choose The Best golf clubs For Your Game
...Rossa Monza/Mezza Monza. The old standbys of the traditional putters include the Ping G2i, the PING JAS, and the Yes! Golf C-Groove. Once you have a general understanding of when and why you need to use a certain type of ...
round the course in six shots more than the course par. Men can generally have a maximum handicap of 28 even if they take more than twenty eight shots over par. For ladies the maximum is 36.


The Scorecard


When you look at the scorecard you will see that it is arranged in columns. The first column gives the yardage or distance of the hole which is measured from the tee to the center of the green when going down the middle of the fairway. Next is the par of the hole which is followed by the stroke index. The stroke index is a measure of the difficulty of the hole, with 1 being the hardest and 18 the easiest.

Can a Golf Handicap Tracker Really Improve Your Game?
...it s important to get reliable numbers that truly represent your handicap. Otherwise, you may think you re making definite strides when you aren t, or feel you re not advancing your game when it really is. Don't just track ...
After these come columns for writing down your score.


The local rules of the course can usually be found on the back of the score card, along with details of how to calculate handicaps for different competitions. The local rules give you instructions about out of bounds areas on the course and such things as whether you are allowed to remove stones from bunkers.


So now you know how to score, all that remains is for you to get out there and have a go. Good Luck!


Lisa Davies is a freelance writer.


For more information about how to calculate golf handicaps visit our site


How To Break 80 - Golf Fundamentals at http://www.the-golf-master.com