The 18Birdies Handicap Formula

The 18Birdies App will calculate your handicap using the following formula

Step 1:  Handicap = (Score - Course Rating™ x (113/SLOPE®)

Step 2: Calculation of your average best Step 1 scores using the formula set out in the below table:

Example  Let’s say you play 2 rounds of Golf at Pebble Beach on Monday and Tuesday, a round at Spanish Bay on Wednesday, then head over to Spyglass Hill on Thursday to play 36 holes, and you finish off this once in a lifetime week of golf at Poppy Hills for 18 holes.

Your Step 1 scores for these rounds would be as follows:

Pebble Beach score of 78:    
(78 - 75.5) X (113/145) = 1.95

Pebble Beach score of 82: 
(82 - 75.5) X (113/145) = 5.07

Spanish Bay score of 76: 
(76 - 74.0) X (113/140) = 1.61

Spyglass Hill score of 80: 
(80 - 75.5) X (113/144) = 3.53

Spyglass Hill score of 77:
(77 - 75.5) X (113/144) = 1.18

Poppy Hills score of 79:
(79 - 74.4) X (113/144) = 3.61

Step 2: Referring to the chart above, we would take the lowest Step 1 scores from only two rounds (Spanish Bay and Spyglass Hill) and average them together like so:  

(1.18 + 1.61) / 2 = 1.4

Your handicap would be 1.4 with the 6 rounds entered. You might be headed to the tour here soon if you keep using the 18Birdies App.  Nice work.

How many rounds do I need to get a handicap?

You can get an 18Birdies handicap after a single round. While this may not be an accurate indicator of your golfing abilities, you will have a handicap to share with your golf partners.

Why did my handicap go up or down after my latest round?

Your handicap can go up or down after entering a score from 9 or 18 holes based on the 18Birdies Handicap calculation. If you have input 20 or more eligible rounds in the 18Birdies App, each new input 9 or 18 holes will push out the previous 20th round.  Your 18Birdies Handicap will always be updated based upon your most recent rounds played, up to a maximum of 20.  If the most recently expunged round was higher or lower than the most recent round input in the App, then your 18Birdies Handicap would go down or up, as the case the may be.

This means that even though you may have logged a higher or lower score than usual, your handicap may not move in the direction you thought it would.  You’ll find that your 18Birdies Handicap is closely associated with your potential, and mainly consists of your lower scores, it isn’t necessarily a representation of your average scores.  

TRADEMARKS:  The terms Course Rating™, SLOPE®, and USGA® are trademarks and service marks of the United States Golf Association (USGA). The use of such terms herein does not imply any  endorsement of 18Birdies by the USGA or a relationship between 18Birdies and the USGA.