Handicap
Parful runs this, with a caveatPlus handicaps
Also called Plus handicap golfer, Scratch and better, Negative handicap.
A plus handicap belongs to a golfer who is better than scratch. It is written with a plus sign, as in +2.4, and it works in reverse: instead of receiving strokes the player gives them back, adding a stroke to their score on the easiest holes first.
At a glance
- Written as
- +2.4, with a plus sign, never as −2.4 on a card
- Means
- Better than scratch
- In the arithmetic
- A negative number
- Strokes
- Given back, easiest holes first
- Lowest possible index
- +10.0
- Club maximum
- Never applies to a plus handicap
On this page8
What the plus sign means
Scratch, a handicap of 0, means a golfer expected to play to the Course Rating™. A plus handicap is better than that. The sign is a convention that trips up almost everyone the first time: a +3 is a stronger player than a 3, and considerably stronger than a 12.
Underneath, the number is simply negative. A +2.4 index is −2.4 in the arithmetic, which is why every formula on these pages works unchanged: the Course Handicap™ conversion produces a negative number, the allowance multiplies a negative number, and the stroke allocation hands out negative strokes. Only the display flips it back to a plus sign, because that is what golfers read.
Giving strokes back
A player receiving strokes takes them on the hardest holes first, from stroke index 1 upward. A plus player gives them back from the other end, starting on the easiest hole. A +2 adds one stroke to their gross on stroke index 18 and one on stroke index 17, so a par on the easiest hole becomes a net bogey.
This feels harsh and it is meant to. Net scoring puts everyone on the same footing, and a golfer who beats the rating has to be pulled back toward it just as a golfer who does not is pulled up.
Try it
Where a plus handicap gives strokes back
A sample card with a common stroke index layout. Step the Playing Handicap™ from +10 to 54: a plus player gives strokes back in the same order a higher handicap receives them.
Above 18, every hole takes one stroke before any hole takes a second. A plus handicap gives strokes back from the other end, easiest hole first.
Plus handicaps in a competition
In Stableford a +2 needs a birdie on stroke index 18 or 17 to score the two points a par is worth elsewhere. In match play the difference between the two players is what matters, so a +2 against a 14 simply gives sixteen strokes rather than fourteen. In a team format the plus handicap enters the team formula as a negative number and pulls the side's allowance down, which is correct and occasionally surprising to the pair.
A club maximum Course Handicap™ never applies to a plus player. The cap exists to stop a very high handicap distorting a competition and has nothing to say about a golfer at the other end.
What Parful does, honestly
Parful accepts a plus index down to +10.0, stores the sign, and displays it as a plus everywhere a handicap is shown. The stroke allocator handles a negative Playing Handicap™ correctly, giving strokes back from stroke index 18 downward, and the scorecard shows those holes.
Two limits are worth stating. Parful's own index calculation floors its result at zero, so a plus index has to come from a linked handicap sync or from a club entering it manually rather than being computed from rounds recorded on Parful. And the team handicap allocator used for one-ball team formats drops a negative to zero rather than passing it through, so a plus player in a foursomes pair does not currently pull the side's strokes down as far as the formula intends. Both are recorded as defects.
Worked example
A worked example: a +2 and a 14 on the same nine
Sam plays off a Playing Handicap™ of +2 and gives strokes back on stroke index 18 and 17, the two easiest holes. Ben plays off 14 and receives strokes on index 1 through 14.
| Hole | Par | Stroke index | Sam strokes | Sam gross | Sam net | Ben strokes | Ben gross | Ben net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 3 | 17 | −1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
Swipe the table to see every column.
- Sam's second given stroke falls on stroke index 18, which is not on this stretch.
- Sam is 19 gross and 20 net for the five holes; Ben is 27 gross and 23 net.
Common variants
- Plus handicaps in match play
- Rather than each player adjusting their own card, the difference is given to the higher handicapper. A +2 against a 14 gives sixteen strokes, and the plus player plays the match off scratch.
- Writing the sign
- Some software stores a plus handicap as a negative number and prints it that way. It is the same value; a card showing −2.4 and a card showing +2.4 mean the same golfer.
- Below +10
- The World Handicap System™ stops at +10.0, which is well below any amateur in practice.
Plus handicaps questions
What is a plus handicap in golf?
A handicap better than scratch, written with a plus sign. A +2 golfer is expected to shoot two strokes better than the Course Rating, and gives strokes back rather than receiving them.
Is a plus 3 better than a 3?
Yes, by six strokes. A 3 receives three strokes; a +3 gives three back. The plus sign is the only thing distinguishing them and it matters enormously.
Where does a plus handicap give strokes back?
On the easiest holes first, from stroke index 18 down: the order in which strokes are received, run from the other end.
Can Parful calculate a plus handicap for me?
Not from rounds recorded on Parful: its own index calculation floors at zero. A plus index has to come from a linked handicap sync or be entered by the club.
Does a club maximum handicap apply to a plus player?
No. The cap limits how many strokes a high handicapper can receive and never touches a plus handicap.