“With these revisions we’re very much continuing to evolve to meet the game where it’s moving.”
There were six different handicap systems in use around the world before the United States Golf Association and R&A brought them all the under the wing of the World Handicap System in 2020. Each previous format had its merits, but they all produced different results.
With the WHS, players can compare themselves more accurately now than ever, and handicaps can travel the world with ease. As the WHS enters its fifth year, the USGA and R&A have made their first updates to the system – effective Jan. 1, 2024 – based on data and feedback from the 125 countries now using the system.
“It’s very much a natural, logical evolution of WHS,” Steve Edmondson, USGA Managing Director of Handicapping and Course Rating, told Golfweek. “We’ve got such a rich, robust data repository. We have over 70 million scores posted in the U.S. alone on an annual basis, well over 100 million worldwide. We can use data, we can use golfer feedback, and that’s what we have done.”
“What you’re seeing with these revisions is we’re very much continuing to evolve to meet the game where it’s moving and golfers where they’re playing,” he added. “Hopefully that’s reflective in the revisions themselves.”
Here’s what you need to know about the four significant updates coming in 2024 for the World Handicap System.
VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. — A field of 96 golfers descended upon Pinehurst No. 6 this week for the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open, the second playing of the USGA’s newest championship that showcases some of the best disabled golfers from around the world.
Just how good are they? A total of 22 players boast plus handicaps, with 10 coming in at a full shot better than scratch.
There’s a four-way tie at the top for best handicap, with Kipp Popert (Neurological Impairment), Simon Lee (Intellectual Impairment), Hayato Yoshida (Leg Impairment) and Mike Browne (Leg Impairment) all owning handicaps of +3.7.
Get to know the 22 players in the 2023 U.S. Adaptive Open field who play with plus handicaps.
As the number of players with official USGA handicaps has increased, which state saw the most rounds logged?
When the USGA, R&A and several other international governing bodies of golf introduced the World Handicap System in 2020, a major goal for the initiative was inclusivity. The minds behind all the math wanted more people around the world to have handicaps while ensuring those handicaps and entered scores were more valid.
Fast forward to 2023 — thanks in part to a major uptick in golf participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic — and it’s clear the World Handicap System has hit a bullseye in regards to increasing inclusivity.
The number of golfers with an active handicap in the U.S. has surged nearly 17 percent in recent years from 2,596,357 in 2020 to 3,026,528 in 2022, the USGA has reported. It was the first time the Golf Handicap Information Network (GHIN) has surpassed 3 million participants, as nearly 420,000 players established handicaps for the first time in 2022.
The USGA has accomplished these gains in several ways, said Steven Edmondson, the ruling body’s managing director of handicapping and course rating. He said the upticks are largely a reflection of the ease in obtaining a handicap, the relative simplicity of maintaining a handicap online, the speed with which a handicap is available and the increased inclusion of nine-hole rounds as many player’s work-from-home arrangements allow them to get out for a quick game.
And most importantly for all those new golfers since the pandemic took off in 2020, the USGA has stressed that any golfer is eligible to have a handicap. Handicaps used to max at 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women, but those caps have been raised to 54 for both men and women in a move to increase inclusivity for all golfers.
“One of the biggest myths … is that I’ve got to be a good player to have a handicap,” Edmondson said. New and frequently intimidated players might say they only need a handicap if they’re playing competitions, “and it’s just not true. Those are the things we’re trying to message about and overcome.”
In fact, the average handicaps for men and women have risen in recent years as more new players join the GHIN system. The overall average handicap for male players is 14.0, while the average for players who joined the system in 2022 was 15.6. For women, the average handicap is 27.9, while the average for players who joined in 2022 was 31.7. This higher average reflects that less-experienced players — many who picked up the sport since COVID — have joined the ranks of those who possess an official handicap. For the USGA, this is a good thing and a key reflection that its inclusivity goals are being achieved.
“We’re seeing that handicap indexes for new golfers are slightly higher, which is the right thing,” Edmondson said. “The handicap system is meant to equalize any of us regardless of our ability level. So we’re starting to see that uptick, which is very encouraging.”
After eight years of research into handicaps, the USGA in 2020 joined with the R&A and several other bodies to create one handicap system that simplified international play and standardized handicaps across the globe. Part of this was removing roadblocks for players who want a handicap but aren’t members of private clubs.
The USGA works with various golf associations to provide the opportunity to obtain a GHIN handicap. Golfers who are not members of a club can purchase a handicap through various state golf associations or other organizations for prices typically ranging from $40 to $50, Edmondson said, depending on the player’s location and various membership benefits offered as part of a handicap sales package. Players can then easily enter their scores via an app, allowing them access anywhere. That’s in contrast to years past, when players needed to join a club — a roadblock for many public-access players.
“We’re just trying to make it easy,” Edmondson said.
Players also used to need five 18-hole scores to establish a handicap, which could take months for many casual players. Now the system requires just 54 holes of any combination of nine-hole or 18-hole rounds. Handicap indexes are also calculated daily now instead of the old bi-weekly system.
“You’re seeing the number of golfers that are joining now, they’re establishing a handicap index within two or three days on average,” Edmondson said. “Because it is easy.”
Upcoming changes to how nine-hole scores are calculated also will be important, Edmondson said. In the past, players who frequently play nine-hole rounds had to play two of them, then their scores would be combined to create an 18-hole equivalent. Starting in 2024, the handicap system will use an algorithm to create an 18-hole equivalent for each nine-hole round, making each round count on its own. That’s a bonus for players trying to figure out how they did on any given day, Edmondson said.
The focus on nine-hole rounds is especially important as those loops have grown in frequency, particularly since the pandemic started and new players have had time to get out for just a few hours. For male players who registered for a handicap for the first time in 2022, 21.7 percent of their rounds were nine-hole loops, versus 13.9 percent for more experienced male players who already had established handicaps. That focus on nine-hole rounds is even more important for new women players. In 2022, 45.7 percent of the rounds played by women new to the handicap system were nine-hole loops, versus 28 percent for women who had established handicaps prior to 2022.
The focus on women is especially important as their ranks among the handicap system continue to swell. The total number of U.S. women to have official handicaps grew nearly 17 percent from 2020 to 2022, going from 517,554 to 603,304. Women continue to represent about 20 percent of all U.S. handicaps. Edmondson said he thinks there’s room for continued improvement on that front, but overall the USGA is excited to see their numbers grow in the handicap system.
“I think it’s all in our messaging in some of the programming that we’re trying to do,” Edmondson said. “ … I think we have to now start to uncover how to make sure that we continue an an uptick with women in the game.”
Another change to expect in 2024 will be the inclusion of more par-3 courses in the rating system. Edmondson said the current course rating system uses a benchmark of 4,800 minimum yards for inclusion in the handicapping system, and some executive course adjustments can get down to 3,000 yards. He said the USGA has a target of 1,500 yards for courses to be included in the system starting in 2024, potentially allowing the inclusion of handicaps at many more of the 600-plus par-3 courses in the U.S. while welcoming even more golfers who tend to play non-traditional layouts. Research is ongoing on how to adjust for the shorter courses.
“It works and we’re excited about this,” Edmondson said. “… I think that’s going to be a trend as we continue to look into the future, and we just want to be ready for them.”
If all this sounds like regulatory and statistical droning, just know that at its core the handicap system is important because it allows players to track their progress and compete against friends on a more-level playing game, which is one of the great things about golf.
“The rules of handicapping have been around for over 100 years, and it’s always had the same purpose,” Edmondson said. “And that is truly to provide greater enjoyment for the game of golf.”
All the tracking also allows for some fun stats from 2022, courtesy of the USGA:
75,560,694 rounds were posted for handicap purposes.
11,913,158 nine-hole rounds were posted in the handicapping system in 2022, up from 11,534,865 in 2021.
In all, nine-hole rounds made up 15 percent of total rounds entered into the handicapping system in 2022.
The most handicapping rounds played by a man in 2022 was 541 total, up from 528 in 2021.
A woman logged in 414 handicapping rounds in 2022, up from a high of 325 in 2021.
Florida had the most handicapping scores logged in 2022 with 10,022,137. The Sunshine State was followed by California at 9,027,345; Texas at 3,633,425; Arizona at 3,464,905; and North Carolina with 3,134,603.
Those with handicaps play more rounds, spend more on golf, and consider themselves to be passionate about the game.
(Editor’s note: This is the first of a four-part series explaining the mission of the United States Golf Association, all in advance of the U.S. Women’s Open, the U.S. Open, the U.S. Adaptive Open and the U.S. Amateur. The USGA, which governs the game of golf in Mexico and the United States, serves a number of functions. What exactly is the USGA? Why is the organization important? This series delves into these questions and others. This initial article looks at handicapping, which the USGA provides, and how it helps to unify players.)
Ever since the World Handicap System was established on Jan. 1, 2020, the USGA has been on a mission to make obtaining a handicap easy and accessible.
“Four months ago, it wasn’t that easy,” said Steve Edmonson, the USGA’s managing director of handicapping and course rating.
That may have something to do with the fact that the number of golfers with handicaps – 2.86 million in 2021 – has been static for the better part of the last two decades. But the USGA has instituted several popular features to the Golf Handicap Information Network (GHIN), a service offered by the USGA to allied golf associations worldwide. By addressing the wants of its users, the GHIN app continues to push boundaries and the USGA is bullish that the percent of card-carrying handicap golfers will increase 50 percent — to 75 percent of golfers — said Gareth Londt, the USGA’s managing director of product, data and technology.
New system makes it easier
Beginning in February, any golfer in the U.S. can sign up for a Handicap Index by visiting USGA.org/getahandicap. Previously, you had to find your state and regional golf association. In Ohio alone, there are five state and regional associations to consider. The USGA will now direct users to the appropriate AGA.
Moreover, new golfers are issued a handicap faster, needing only to post scores for 54 holes in either nine- or 18-hole increments. Previously, the USGA didn’t issue a handicap; it was issued instead by a golf club. It was a fragmented structure. Now the USGA has a national pulpit to promote handicaps that beforehand it lacked.
“There’s no excuse,” Londt said. “Everyone has an internet browser, everyone has a mobile phone, and everyone is connected through the world wide web. Three clicks and you can have a handicap. There’s no longer the need to get off your sofa and get in a car and drive to a green-grass facility. You can do it while you are watching the U.S. Open.”
In a 12-week period and without heavy promotion, 30,000 golfers already have registered for a handicap.
Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer look over a scorecard during a practice round in 1974. Photo by Associated Press
The USGA’s GHIN product has some competitors but of the 58 Allied Golf Associations, only two don’t use GHIN products. The USGA licenses the handicap indexes to the AGAs for a nominal fee (free to juniors) and those AGAs are allowed to mark up costs based on their perceived market value in their own community.
The USGA also set a high watermark of no more than $80 across the US (in some states it costs less). The money generated from handicapping is intended to fuel local programs that engage golfers.
The history of handicaps
The USGA’s adoption of the handicap system dates to Oct. 11, 1911, the year of the first Indianapolis 500, back when Cy Young wasn’t an award but a pitcher who had just notched his 511th and final victory. The handicap system has become one of golf’s great distinctions, whereby participants of different skill – whether male or female, young or old, and even from separate tees – can compete fairly and equitably. In no other sport is it feasible for players of all skill level to play on equal footing.
In golf, a handicap is a measure of a player’s potential. For some, it is proof of progress, for others of incompetence and the deterioration of skill. It is a golfer’s photo I.D., allowing admittance to local, regional and national competition.
The system has continued to evolve ever since and received its latest reboot in 2020. Golfers no longer have to wait two weeks for their updated index. Now it is updated on a daily basis or faster than one can lose a sleeve of balls. Last year, it added hole-by-hole scoring via mobile devices while you play, which reveals how many drives hit the fairway, how many putts per round and other stats that can be tracked.
More recently, a distance-measuring device and green-reading materials that were banned at the elite level through a new Model Local Rule, but comply with the game of golf and can be beneficial to the recreational game are gaining in usage. (A free piece and an extended version for golfers who want to upgrade are available.)
Young fans watch the action on the 7th hole during the round of 16 at the 2021 U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa. on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. (Jason Miczek/USGA)
In early June, the USGA will be adding an Apple watch function that will allow golfers to see front-middle-back yardages to the green and allow golfers to input their hole-by-hole scores and record stats. It will be especially appreciated at clubs that don’t allow phones on the course. What do golfers want most? Surveys conducted with their customers indicate it’s data. While there are numerous products that do this, the USGA is anxious to provide these features in one app.
The USGA has poured $100 million in handicapping over the last 5 years – inclusive of WHS and GHIN –with the lion’s share directed to the GHIN/innovation/technology side. The handicap index is a key cog in the USGA’s effort to unify the game.
Handicaps equal engagement
A survey conducted by Jon Last of Sports & Leisure Research Group, which provides custom research and market analysis, found that those with handicaps significantly out-index those without across key demographics, engagement with golf and related behaviors. For instance, those with handicaps play more rounds, spend more on golf, follow the game more closely and consider themselves to be “passionate” about golf.
As a result, the USGA is motivated to grow the number of golfers with handicaps. But there are still too many golfers who don’t have a handicap because they believe they don’t compete in tournaments, they aren’t good enough or don’t play enough.
Part of the plan is to demystify why a handicap is needed in the first place, and that begins with changing the nomenclature that a handicap is only needed by elite golfers to play in competitions.
“There’s a perception that you have to be a good player or competing in competitions,” said Edmondson. “That’s just not true.”
The USGA knows that the average handicap for a male is 14.1 and 27.7 for a female. Ninety percent of golfers with handicaps are male. It is pouring resources into attracting a new audience, particularly with women – the move to 54.0 as the max handicap embraces high-handicap females – juniors and public golfers.
Bailey Davis react to her tee shot on the 16th hole during the quarterfinals at the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on Friday, July 16, 2021. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)
Edmondson said he sees an opportunity to look at off-course play and promote the importance of handicaps beyond competitive means. In the not-too-distant future, the USGA will debut a “Play Games” feature, which will integrate match play, Stableford scoring and other USGA-approved formats.
“It’s all interconnected to get more people to use the app and grow the community,” Edmondson said. “You need a handicap to be part of the community.”
Thanks to the USGA’s Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN), we were able to compile these celebrity and athlete handicaps.
Golf is an incredibly difficult sport to play, even for the professionals at times.
That said, if you’ve ever watched events like the Pebble Beach Pro-Am or the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship out in Lake Tahoe, chances are you were surprised at the level of celebrity talent. That begs the question: Just how good are they out on the course?
Thanks to the USGA’s Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN), we were able to compile a list of the handicaps of some of your favorite celebrities and athletes.
Here’s how they hit ’em. (Note: Handicaps are as of Nov. 2, 2020)
Golf is a hard sport to play, even for the professionals. That said, if you’ve ever seen events like the Pebble Beach Pro-Am or the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship out in Lake Tahoe, chances are you were surprised at the celebrity …
Golf is a hard sport to play, even for the professionals.
That said, if you’ve ever seen events like the Pebble Beach Pro-Am or the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship out in Lake Tahoe, chances are you were surprised at the celebrity talent level. But just how good are they?
Thanks to the USGA’s Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN), we were able to compile the handicaps of some of your favorite celebrities and athletes.
Here’s how they hit ’em.
Bill Murray: 7.2
(Chris Trotman, Getty)
His character in Caddyshack looped for the Dalai Lama himself, so it’s no wonder he boasts a 7 handicap.
Golf’s handicap system is one of golf’s great distinctions, but the new World Handicap System will never be an exact science.
I have a confession to make.
I have a love/hate relationship with golf’s handicap system, which is new and improved in 2020.
Apparently I dropped to a 6.6 from a 6.8 without hitting a shot with the recent implementation of the World Handicap System, but in general I love that it allows me to play – in theory – a fair match with my dad, a 13.1, even though we’re not playing the same tees and I can finally beat him straight up some of the time. And I love love love (have I made that clear enough) that it allows me to have a prayer of a chance against my wife, a 3.5 who is the stick in the family.
Handicapping is one of golf’s more important institutions – a system that enables players of different skills to compete fairly with each other. In no other sport is it feasible for players of all skill level to play on equal footing. Good luck stepping into the batter’s box to face the 100-mph fastball of New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. But with the right number of strokes and summoning our “A” game, we all could give World No. 1 Brooks Koepka a run for his money.
Happy New Year, and get ready for the #GolfWHS2020 era to start!
As with most things with the sport, we have the Scots to thank for this concept. According to the history books, there are written references to handicapping as early as 1687. In Great Britain, the first governing authority to establish a nationwide system was the Ladies Golf Union.
The USGA formulated the basis of the handicapping system used today at a meeting on Oct. 11, 1911, at Baltusrol Golf Club. The system has continued to evolve ever since and received its latest reboot on Jan. 1. You can read about all the changes here.
I love that we’ve left the Dark Ages and no longer have to wait two weeks to find out how much damage that fluke low round is going to do to our index. Now our handicap indexes are updated faster than I can lose a sleeve of balls. That alone makes the introduction of the World Handicap System a winner in my book.
But there’s still a lot I don’t like. Topping that list is getting pencil-whipped at the first tee. I hate anyone who says, “I’m about a 15.” You either know your handicap or you don’t. It’s sad how few golfers actually have an official handicap. It’s easier than ever to get started, so do yourself a favor and get one – that’s my public service announcement for handicaps. It’s kind of like driving a car without a license. You wouldn’t do that, would you? If you want to play a match with strokes, you should have a handicap, plain and simple; otherwise, let’s stick to playing straight up.
Interestingly, when I brought up my hatred of “the about guy” to my wife, she mentioned that I sometimes am guilty of doing this, and I guess I’m guilty as charged. Allow me to explain.
I play a lot of what you’d call “hit n’ giggle” golf – scrambles and best-ball games where you try to get home in two on a par 5 or go for broke on the drivable par 4 or take some crazy angle off the tee because there’s nothing to lose. Sometimes you just pick up or don’t bother hitting that knee-knocker after your partner is in. It speeds up play.
Also, playing three or six holes before the sun goes down is my jam, a reward for a hard day’s work.
In short, I play a bunch of golf that for one reason or another never gets factored into calculating my handicap. So, sometimes in the first tee negotiation with my wife I will say I’m “about a 9” even though I know full well I’m a 7. I’m just trying to factor in those uncounted rounds and make it a fair fight.
Which brings me to another thing I hate about the handicap system: It is never going to be an exact science.
Dean Knuth, the Pope of Slope (which is one of my favorite golf nicknames) who helped invent slope rating in 1987 for the USGA, already says the new system is flawed.
If he’s right, that’s unsettling because my wife treats the handicap index as if it’s the 11th Commandment – thou must follow the handicap. This summer, until GHIN corrected this madness, I was getting only 1 per side. Here’s the thing: Beating her getting only one shot felt twice as good as getting 2, though it won’t stop me from groveling for 3.
The handicap system is a very un-American concept, dare I say, bordering on Marxist in nature. It rewards mediocrity and penalizes the people who have worked hard to be good at the game and those who are most committed to improvement. There seem to be too many golfers content to remain a 20 handicap and clean up at the club’s member-guest.
I’m not even going to touch on the systemic cheating that goes on in the club scrambles and pro-ams I play in other than to say to the teams that turn in scores that would make Korea’s Kim Jong-il blush: Really? Do you need to win that badly? Did your parents not hug you as a child?
Other than that, I love the handicap system. Long live net birdie – as long as I’m the one stroking.
Editor’s note: Adam Schupak has a long history of calling out, “Four for three!” as a putt falls. The editorial staff of Golfweek tries to not hold that against him.
