Handicapping
Handicapping lets golfers of different abilities compete using scores adjusted by an allocation of strokes. A Handicap Index is the starting measure of a player's demonstrated ability. It travels with the player, while the strokes used for a particular course or competition require further calculation.13
With twenty scores in the record, the Index calculation starts with the average of the lowest eight Score Differentials from the most recent twenty. Those differentials account for the course and tees played. Safeguards can then affect the result. An Index is therefore not the average number of strokes a player takes over par.1
A Course Handicap converts that Index for the chosen tees, using Course Rating, Slope Rating and par. It expresses the strokes needed to play to par there. It is also the number used to determine a player's net-double-bogey limit when adjusting hole scores for handicap posting.12
A Playing Handicap determines the strokes used in the game or competition. It may differ from the Course Handicap because of a handicap allowance, the format, or differing pars between tees. A player should establish the competition strokes before applying them to a score.2
For a simple net stroke-play example, a player who receives twelve strokes and returns a gross eighty has a net sixty-eight. In handicap match play, the strokes are allocated to particular holes instead: the lower net score wins each hole. The competition score and the score adjusted for handicap posting serve different purposes.23