Official WHS Your Handicap Index adjusted for this course and set of tees using Slope Rating and Course Rating, per the World Handicap System (WHS).
Course Handicap
Adjusted for this course and tee.
The forecast for your round
What could you realistically shoot?
Enter your handicap and course details to see your play-to-handicap score, a typical score estimate, and your odds of playing well.
Your round outlook
Your score expectations
WHS benchmark The official World Handicap System (WHS) target for playing exactly to your handicap — Par + Course Handicap. Most golfers beat this only about 15–20% of the time.
Play-to-Handicap Score
Great-round benchmark
The score that represents playing to your handicap.
Research estimate Independent research (MyGolfSpy/TheGrint) on how far above their own index golfers typically shoot — roughly 4–5 strokes at low handicaps, 6–8 at higher ones. That offset is converted to this course and set of tees the same way the USGA odds rows below are. Not an official World Handicap System (WHS) calculation — see Sources and methodology below.
Typical Score Estimate
Realistic scoring expectation
What golfers around your handicap typically shoot — generally higher than playing to your handicap.
WHS — World Handicap System: the single set of handicap rules the USGA and its partner national associations maintain together, so a Handicap Index means the same thing on any course in the world. The WHS badges above mark which numbers follow those rules; the research-based estimate does not.
Official USGA statistical reference
Your Odds
How often you play this well — and where to plan your round.
How it works
What the World Handicap System (WHS) is
The World Handicap System (WHS) is the single set of handicap rules that the USGA and its partner national associations maintain together, so a Handicap Index means the same thing on any course in the world. Roundcast follows it for Course Handicap and Play-to-Handicap Score, and quotes its published Score Frequency/Probability Table for the odds.
What your Handicap Index means
Your Handicap Index measures demonstrated ability when you are playing well. It uses the best 8 of your most recent 20 score differentials. It is not your average score over par, and it is not the score you should expect every time you play.
Course Handicap
Your Course Handicap adjusts your Handicap Index for the difficulty of this course and set of tees.
Play-to-Handicap Score
This is the score that represents playing to your handicap. It is calculated as Par + Course Handicap.
Typical Score Estimate
This is a separate research-based estimate of what golfers around your Handicap Index typically shoot. The research measures how far above their own index a round lands — roughly 4–5 strokes for low-handicap golfers and 6–8 for higher-handicap golfers. That distance is then converted to your course and set of tees the same way the USGA odds rows are, so a course that plays harder moves your typical score more, just as it moves your Course Handicap. It is not an official WHS calculation, and it is not Par + Handicap Index.
Your Odds
These are official USGA cumulative odds showing how often golfers in your Handicap Index range achieve each net Score Differential or better.
Net Score Differential
Net Score Differential = Score Differential − Handicap Index. A negative value means you performed better than your handicap.
Sources and methodology
Official USGA guidance and statistical reference
Independent research supporting the Typical Score Estimate
Their stated takeaway — low-handicap golfers average about four to five strokes above their index, higher-handicap golfers about six to eight — is what the Typical Score Estimate converts into your course and tees.
This application uses publicly available World Handicap System (WHS) guidance from the USGA, USGA scoring-frequency data, independent scoring research, and optional USGA NCRDB course data. The Typical Score Estimate is an empirical estimate and is not an official WHS calculation. This application is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USGA or GHIN.