Strokes, Strokes and More Strokes: The Giving, The Getting and the Allocating
For any golfer who’s ever played a round against a friend with a different skill level, understanding how to allocate handicap strokes is essential for keeping the game fair and fun. While the concept of a Hole handicap (HCP) can seem complicated, especially when it comes to matching different players and figuring out which holes get strokes, mastering this process is key to a balanced competition. Allocating strokes correctly isn’t just about fairness—it’s about making every match competitive, ensuring that even a high-handicap player has a real shot at winning.
General Rules for Allocating Strokes
- Assign strokes off of the lowest handicap player
- The difference in Course Handicaps tells how many e.g. 12 handicap vs 4 handicap = 8 strokes for the 12 handicap
- Split an even number of strokes across the front and back nines e.g. 4 per side when it’s 8 strokes
- For an odd number of strokes, apply the extra stroke to the front nine e.g. 5 strokes works out to 3 on the front and 2 on the back
- If it’s only 1 stroke e.g. Course Handicap 8 vs 9, it always goes on the #1 handicap hole regardless of whether it falls on the front or back nine (and front 9 if both 9s are ranked 1 thru 9)
For recreational golfers, applying strokes to a golf scorecard in match play is key to promoting fair competition across players of varying ability. It not only makes the game more interesting but also provides an incentive to improve, as you’re competing on a more level playing field.
Before we dive in let’s review the main terms. Despite all having “Handicap” in their names, which can be a bit confusing, they all serve a distinct purpose.
Handicap Index – This is the starting point, the number you travel with, the one that a golf association calculates. Roughly speaking it’s how far above par you are. Formatted to one decimal place, it’s an indicator of your golfing ability that is then adjusted up or down as you post scores. You’ll take this value to any course/tee and input it to the Course Handicap formula (there are multiple calculators so you don’t have to do the math yourself). And remember, high number or low, with a handicap you can compete against anyone!
Course Handicap – Given your Handicap Index and course based values (Course Rating, Slope Rating, Par) it’s rounded to the nearest integer so it can then be applied to a scorecard in the form of strokes per hole. Here’s the formula:
Course Handicap = [Handicap Index x Slope Rating / 113 + (Course Rating – Par)] rounded
Playing Handicap – A further adjustment of Course Handicap for various types of competition, using Handicap Allowance, a percentage of Course Handicap (unrounded) and then rounded to the nearest integer. For regular games this is generally assumed to be 100% so it’s the same value as Course Handicap. Appendix C to the USGA Rules of Handicapping gives recommended percentages for different playing formats:
Playing Handicap = [Course Handicap (unrounded) x Handicap Allowance%] rounded [1]
So Which Holes Are We Stroking On? The Allocation Process
OK now that we have a Course Handicap (or Playing Handicap) let’s get to the allocating. In the easiest case, if you have the same Course Handicap as your opponent, presto there are no strokes to allocate, you are playing each other straight up.
In the more likely event that your Course Handicaps differ, it’s time to identify the stroke holes. First off, find the row on the card labeled HCP, HDCP, or S.I. for the tees you’re playing from (there are usually two sets, one for men and one for women). These values are a ranking of each hole’s difficulty with lower values representing the harder holes. Let’s use the card below as an example and assume that player A has a Course Handicap of 8 and player B is an 11. Given the difference of 3 between 8 and 11, Player B will get a stroke on the 3 hardest holes, the ones with HDCP values 1, 2, and 3 or Holes 5, 6 and 12. These are identified on the card with a slash or dot in the hole score box of Player B, the one receiving the strokes.
What this means is that on the other 15 holes the players will directly compare scores to see who won the hole, but on the stroke holes (5, 6, 12) Player B subtracts 1 from their score and compares that value. If for instance, both make par on a stroke hole (or B scores better outright), B wins, if A makes par and B makes bogey (par + 1) or any case where A’s score is one less than B’s score, it’s a tie, and if A is 2 or more strokes better than B, A wins.
Holes 1, 3, 4 are tied. Note slash mark on holes 5 and 6
Al wins holes 2 and 6 (Bob strokes on 6 but 4 still beats net 5)
Bob wins hole 5 (same score as Al but Bob gets a stroke to net 4)
Moving to a larger number of players, strokes are allocated similarly, always off the lower handicap player. It’s often said that the lowest handicap player is “throwing a party” for the others. Here’s another example with 4 players, the standard grouping.
Course Handicaps – Player A 8, Player B 11, Player C 15, Player D 20
Player A (8) as the low handicap in this group, is the one giving strokes
Player B (11) gets 3 strokes, 1 on each of the 3 hardest holes, as before
Player C (15) gets 7 strokes, 1 on each hole marked with a hole handicap of 1 thru 7 on the card
Player D (20) gets 12 strokes, 1 on each hole marked with a hole handicap of 1 thru 12 on the card
Expanding this further let’s say they’re also playing individual matches, A vs C, A vs D, B vs C, B vs D. In A vs C and A vs D it’s the same as before (7 and 12 strokes) since A is the low handicap here. But in B vs C and B vs D it’ll be 4 strokes for C and 9 strokes for D. These should also be marked on the card so you can remember to adjust the score to see if the hole was won, lost or tied.
Team and Individual Matches with Match Score thru Hole 6
Let’s Get Technical – Edge Cases and More
The above examples describe the basic way to allocate strokes but there are additional nuances with respect to a larger number of strokes (greater than 18), plus handicaps (better than scratch) and how stroke index values are presented on the card and their effect on front/back/overall (Nassau type) matches. We’ll cover these in detail here.
More Than 18 Strokes to Allocate
A difference of 18 in Course Handicap is easy, one stroke on every hole. But what if the amount is greater, like 19, 20 or more? In this case it means two strokes on some holes, starting right back with the #1 handicap hole and moving on from there. A 24 handicap, for example would get two strokes vs a scratch (handicap 0) player on each of the 6 hardest holes (and one stroke on the other 12). Same deal if the difference goes above 36, you’ll get 3 strokes per hole in similar fashion. Given that the highest allowable handicap index is 54.0, there are even scenarios where getting 4 strokes a hole is hypothetically possible!
Plus Handicaps
A plus handicap is even better than scratch, they are actually expected to shoot below par. When allocating strokes vs a plus handicap e.g. +2 take your course handicap and add the plus golfer number. For example, an 8 course handicap gets 10 strokes (8 + 2) vs a +2.
An interesting aside for plus golfers is that their net score will actually be higher than their gross score on a hole, as they are in effect giving strokes back to the course (getting them back to par).
A +2 handicap would give these strokes back on the two easiest holes on the course, those with handicap values of 18 and 17. So if they made a 3 on handicap hole 18 their gross score is 3 but their net score is 4.
Stroke Index Variations – There Are Actually 4 Different Setups
Gee it’s just the numbers 1 thru 18 representing difficulty, right? Yes and no. Here’s how hole handicap representations vary and why it matters.
- Odd/Even – Odd numbers on Front / Even numbers on Back (considered most fair)
- Even/Odd – Even numbers on Front / Odd numbers on Back (can affect front/back strokes)
- Mixed – Odd and Even numbers anywhere across 18 holes without regards to Front or Back (can be very unbalanced)
- 1 thru 9 – both Front and Back are ranked 1 thru 9 instead of 1 thru 18 (no problem)
While the USGA recommendation is to balance the difficulty across the two nines (9s), using odd numbers on the front 9 and even numbers on the back 9, courses may opt for the opposite with even numbers on the front and odd numbers on the back. This scenario first came up years ago when a group from my local (Odd/Even) club played an away match at Due Process Stable in NJ where handicap holes are marked Even/Odd. A player getting 5 strokes was receiving them as per the match play custom where the extra stroke falls on the front 9 (3 on the front, 2 on the back). However, because the front 9 handicaps are even, the three strokes fell on the holes with handicaps 2, 4 and 6, omitting handicap hole 5 on the back. Why was the guy getting 5 strokes stroking on the #6 handicap hole they demanded to know? Well even though this was explained, future instances of the same question with other groups led to some changes, basically giving players two allocation options.
Moreover, a course may choose not to follow the odd/even or even/odd protocol at all and allocate both odd and even numbers across 18 holes with no regard to front or back nine. Depending on how one chooses to allocate, this could clearly result in unbalanced stroke holes across the front and back, say 5 and 2 making the back nine that much harder for the higher handicap player to compete fairly (only 2 strokes on the back vs the 3 that is more appropriate for a 7 stroke handicap differential).
Both sets of 9 holes (front and back) have index values running from 1 to 9. This is often the case on 27-hole layouts with 3 separate 9s. Say the 9s are named North, South, and East. Theoretically you can play 18 holes on these 9s in six different combinations – North/South, North/East, South/North, South/East, East/North and East/South (and you might even play one 9 twice e.g. North/North). So, how do you allocate strokes here? Well, if it’s an even number of strokes, you split it evenly across the 9s so with say 4 strokes to allocate it’ll be handicap holes ranked 1 and 2 on each 9. With an odd number of strokes, however, you put the additional stroke on the first 9 being played. For example, with 5 strokes it would be handicap holes 1 thru 3 on the first 9 and handicap holes 1 and 2 on the back 9.
Related Blog: How to Read a Golf Scorecard
General Rules for Allocating Strokes in Front/Back Matches
- Assign strokes off of the lowest handicap player
- The difference in Course Handicaps tells how many
- Split an even number of strokes across the front and back nines e.g. 2 aside when it’s 4 strokes
- For an odd number of strokes, apply the extra stroke to the front nine e.g. 5 strokes works out to 3 on the front and 2 on the back
- If it’s only 1 stroke e.g. Course Handicap 8 vs 9, it always goes on the #1 handicap hole regardless of whether it falls on the front or back nine (and front 9 if both 9s are ranked 1 thru 9)
While these rules perfectly fit courses with Odd/Even handicap setups, some groups may prefer to simply allocate the strokes wherever they fall on the card without regards to balancing the front and back (so you might only get 2 on the front and 3 on the back in an even/odd scenario).
Another Way to Think About the Handicap Index
Although the index generally ranks the holes from hardest (1) to easiest (18) it’s not necessarily just playing difficulty or length of hole that matters. A fairer ranking mechanism will identify the holes with the largest average scoring differentials between scratch and bogey golfer (the relative scoring difficulty) and use this as a more accurate guide to setting hole handicaps. It’s ultimately where the bogey golfer most needs help in taking on the scratch.
Can an App Help With All This? Certainly, Golf Crow to the Rescue!
Consider a situation where you’ve discovered how much fun it is to play both team and individual (indie) matches. There are now 5 different matches, 1 Team and 4 Indies to track (and possibly more if you’re bold enough to play an indie vs your teammate, and yes this is looked down upon but does occasionally happen with more degenerate gamblers). Let’s see how it works.
- Team match A/B vs C/D (the standard 2 vs 2, one team vs the other better ball)
- Indie match A vs C
- Indie match A vs D
- Indie match B vs C
- Indie match B vs D
- Indie match A vs B (optional match vs teammate)
- Indie match C vs D (optional match vs teammate)
Now allocate strokes for each of them and make sure to properly keep the match scores straight as the round proceeds. Uh, yeah, this could be a lot of slash marks on the card and take some time. You’re going to need a lot of blank lines on the card to track all this, not to mention room for scoring things like Junk or Best of for comparing cards with other groups. Fortunately, Golf Crow’s scorecard sports a dynamic Match Score area tailored to whichever game you’re playing and adds however many rows are needed so you can easily track it all.
Golf Crow Scorecard showing Team match, 4 Indies, Net Score vs Par, Best 1 of 2 Team and Best 2 of 4
Names in bold indicate perspective.
With Golf Crow, particularly if everyone’s GHIN number is loaded, everything’s automatic. Course Handicap is calculated, Strokes holes are clearly defined and match scores are accurately kept. All you do is tap in the hole scores. So you can focus on golf, which is hard enough as it is.
Furthermore, you can easily edit the match, changing score, the course/tee, the players, handicaps, team setups and stakes all with a few quick taps, and everything resets. Try that six holes into a paper card!
Another great feature addresses the Due Process Stable example described earlier, the scorekeeper may choose the allocation method (or even switch it up mid-round if all parties agree). FBO (Front Back Overall) does it the generally accepted way, balancing the strokes and favoring the front for the extra stroke in odd stroke setups. CARD on the other hand puts the strokes in card order without regard to front and back nine – so you could get say 2 on the front and 3 on the back or 1 on the front and 4 on the back or something wild like that. Ultimately, it’s your preference. Just know there’s a difference and it could certainly impact the match.
Due Process Stable – Even numbered handicaps on the front 9 and Odd numbered on the back 9
Lastly, as Golf Crow collects hole by hole score data, it can be used as an objective measuring tool to help properly assess and rank hole difficulty with empirical data.
Play well, hit ‘em straight and not too often!
Reference:
- www.usga.org/handicapping/roh/rules-of-handicapping.html#cshid=appC