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For as long as I have played golf, this is a little embarassing to ask. When playing with handicaps, how are scores figured using net and gross. I played a member guest at Riverside Country Club and my partners were throwing these terms around. How does ones handicap apply to net score?

Your net score is based on your handicap whereas gross is just based on howmany you hit 'off the stick'.

So for example if you have a course handicap of 18 playing at a par 72 course and you score an 85, you do the following.

85 (score) less 18 (course h/c) gives you a 67 so that is your net score, which is under the par for the course, so you shoot below your h/c

That is how we do it in NZ anyway

That's a good explanation mprezd.

The easiest way to remember is this.....Gross = total shots taken. Net = total shots taken minus handicap. It's like your paycheck. Gross is what you earned. Net is what you got paid!

If want even more detail, you get the strokes on the hardest holes... for example if you have a 6 handicap you get one stroke on the six hardest holes, which by the way will always be 3 one the front and 3 on the back... if your handicap is say 20 you get one stoke per hole plus one more (so 2 strokes) on the #1 and #2 handicap holes. which will be the hardest holes on each 9...

This only applies in match play, not stroke play. :nodsmiley

Really I thought it applied for both, just that individual hole scores don't matter in stroke play? maybe I'm wrong

Well, individual hole scores only matter if you're playing match play but sometimes it's fun to keep track of your score in the matter someinfidel described. If you're a 10 handicap and bogey the 8th handicap hole, it would be a gross bogey but a net par. In the end, it doesn't really matter since it's a bogey but it can be fun to keep track of.

In Stroke play no one cares what score you made on a particular hole (other than to make sure you recorded the score correctly on your card). The total score is the only score that matters. Your NET score is based on total score minus your handicap.

Your original post describes handicapped Match play where Gross and Net scores don't matter.

The first part is correct but your handicap is based off of the Course Rating, a course's Par has NOTHING to do with the handicap (although it may influence the course rating indirectly, i.e. a 480 yd par 4 would increase the course rating where a 290 yd par 4 would decrease it).

For the above example, if the course rating was 66.0 (an EASY course), and you shot a Net 67, yes, you are 5 under if it is Par 72 but you are 1 stroke worse than your best 10 out of the last 20 scores. Your handicap is a gauge of POTENTIAL rather than consistent ability.

How about this as explained to me:

Let's say that you are a 5 handicap and I am a 10. 10-5=5... that means I get 5 strokes on you to even the playing field. So before we even start the round we get a scorecard and find the 5 toughest holes on the course based on their handicap... 1 being the hardest and 18 being the easiest... it's on any scorecard. You then give me one stroke on each of the 5 hardest holes. That's the easiest way to do it... it has nothing to do with what we shoot on that day because it was decided prior to the round. I have played in 2-man tournaments where you just add the team handicaps and do the same thing.... say you are a 5 and your partner is a 2.... youre a 7 as a team. If the difference in handicaps is over 18, double up the number of strokes given on each hole starting with the hardest.

The whole thing is correct. I specifically noted that 18 would be his course handicap. My handicap is 16 - but I know at most courses I play it is 18, just because of the difficulty ratings. And if, as you say he lekpt shooting over his course index handicap his handicap woud suffer for it - so again it is based on consistent ability as it is measured over time. If my handicap was based on potential I would be playing off single digits.

The part that was incorrect was this "85 (score) less 18 (course h/c) gives you a 67 so that is your net score, which is under the par for the course, so you shoot below your h/c." Yes, you do shoot under par for the course but not necessarily below your h/c depending on the course rating.

For more information, see below.

http://www.usga.org/playing/handicap...id_I_play.html

Maybe they figure it differently in NZ. But the USGA handicap formula is based on scores against course rating with slope factored in so everyone is on an equal footing whether their best 10 out of last 20 were played on very difficult or very easy courses. Under this system your handicap is the same regardless of where you play....I think.... maybe we're having a failure to communicate.

Sorry, if I said shoot "85 (score) less 18 (course h/c) gives you a 67 so that is your net score, which is under the par for the course, so you shoot below your h/c for that particular course" would that make it better? That is what I meant anyway

I think we are miscommunicating. I checked on the New Zealand Golf Association web site and they have a license from the USGA for the handicapping system we use...there may be some minor differences but they use ESC and Slope and Rating as we do.

I am not being nitpicky, the handicap is based on the Course Rating and PAR has NOTHING to do with your handicap. So whether you shoot 1 under par or 5 under par, that information alone doesn't tell one whether you played better than your handicap. In your example, if you shoot your net 67 and the course rating is 68 then you DID shoot below your h/c for that round. But if the course rating is below 67, you did NOT shoot below your h/c even though you were 5 under par (would occur on an "easy" course).