How does your handicap change from course to course under the World Handicap System?
One of the much-vaunted features of the new World Handicap System is its portability and the ability to play a round that counts at any course in the world.
With the system launched in the UK on November 2, clubs across the four nations have charts that show how our new handicap indexes convert into course handicaps.
A course handicap measures our WHS index against the slope of the course from the tees we are playing to allocate the shots we will receive.
I’m a member at three clubs. My home club is Sandburn Hall, in York, while I also hold country memberships at Close House, in Newcastle, and Cleveland, in Redcar.
So let’s see how the numbers move at these different courses. For the sake of this argument, I will be playing off the white tees in each case and my WHS index is 10.7.
At Sandburn, with a course rating of 73.6 and a Slope rating of 136, my WHS index results in a course handicap of 13.
At Cleveland, which has a course rating of 73.0 and a Slope rating of 128, a 10.7 WHS index equates to 12 shots.
There are two courses at Close House, the Colt and the Filly. At the former, which hosted the British Masters in 2017 and earlier this year, I receive 13 shots. It has a course rating of 72.3 and a Slope rating of 138 from the white tees.
Meanwhile on the Filly – boasting a course rating of 70.4 and a Slope rating of 138 – a WHS index of 10.7 also converts into 13 shots.
It’s important to note that these numbers refer to the course handicap only.
If I was playing in an event, the numbers quoted here might change as the format of the competition was taken into consideration to produce a Playing handicap.
Need more information on the World Handicap System?
Visit our dedicated WHS page where you will find everything you need to know and details of how to contact us if you have any more questions.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
