Handicaps and scoring
Parful runs thisTeam handicaps
Also called How a team handicap is calculated, Combined handicap for pairs, Side handicap.
A team handicap is the single number a side plays off when it keeps one card. It is built from the players' Course Handicaps in one of three ways: a weighted split of the players in handicap order (scramble, greensomes, chapman), a percentage of the combined total (foursomes), or a percentage of each player separately (four-ball).
- Input
- Each player's Course Handicap™, after any club maximum, sorted low to high
- Weighted split
- Greensomes and chapman 60% of the lower plus 40% of the higher; two-player scramble 35% low plus 15% high
- Percentage of combined
- Foursomes: 50% of the two Course Handicaps added together
- Per player
- Four-ball: 85% of each player's own Course Handicap in stroke play, 90% in match play
- Rounding
- Once, at the end, to a whole stroke
- Larger scrambles
- Tiered by team size; the tiers are on the scramble page
Why a side needs one number
In an individual format every player has their own Playing Handicap™ and their own card. When a side plays one ball there is one card, so there has to be one handicap for it. Adding two Course Handicaps together would hand a pair far too many strokes, because two players choosing the better shot are much stronger than either alone. Each format has a formula that discounts the combined ability by roughly the right amount, and the formulas differ because the formats differ in how much the stronger player can carry the weaker one.
The three ways a side's handicap is built
Parful reads the players' Course Handicaps, applies any club maximum to each, sorts them from lowest to highest and applies the format's rule. There are three kinds of rule.
- A weighted split of the ordered players. The lowest Course Handicap gets the largest weight. Greensomes and chapman use 60% of the lower plus 40% of the higher. A two-player scramble uses 35% of the lower plus 15% of the higher. Scrambles of three and four players use a tiered set of weights by team size, listed on the scramble page.
- A percentage of the combined total. Foursomes (alternate shot) adds the two Course Handicaps and takes 50%, because both players hit every other shot and neither can be hidden.
- A percentage of each player separately. Four-ball and the best-ball family build no team number. Each player gets 85% of their own Course Handicap (90% in four-ball match play, relative to the lowest player) and plays their own ball; the side's score on each hole is the better net.
Order of operations
- 1Work out each player's Course Handicap for the tee they play, from their Handicap Index®.
- 2Apply the club's maximum Course Handicap, if there is one, to each player.
- 3Sort the players from lowest to highest.
- 4Apply the format's rule: weights on the ordered list, a percentage of the sum, or a percentage of each.
- 5Round once, at the end, to a whole stroke. That is the side's Playing Handicap, placed on the card by stroke index.
Rounding each player's share and then adding them can produce a stroke that neither method would give on its own, which is why the rounding happens exactly once.
How Parful calculates it
Every team format Parful runs carries a named handicap rule for each team size, and the scorecard, the leaderboard and the admin grid all read the same rule from the same place. When a team is built, the app computes the side's handicap from the members' Course Handicaps on their chosen tee, shows the formula beside the result (for example "60% low + 40% high") and places the strokes on the team card. Change a tee or swap a player and the number is recomputed.
A competition that freezes handicaps also freezes each scramble side's combined strokes at the moment of the freeze. The team match play knockout template offers a simpler rule for its matches: play off the average, the lowest or the highest handicap in the side, times a percentage the admin sets.
Worked example
A worked example: two pairs, four formats
Blue tees. Maria has a Course Handicap™ of 13 and Tom 20; Sam has 6 and Dee 24. The same two pairs are shown under each rule, rounded once at the end.
| Format | Rule | Maria 13 and Tom 20 | Sam 6 and Dee 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foursomes | 50% of combined | (13 + 20) × 0.5 = 16.5, rounds to 17 | (6 + 24) × 0.5 = 15 |
| Greensomes | 60% low + 40% high | 13 × 0.6 + 20 × 0.4 = 7.8 + 8.0 = 15.8, rounds to 16 | 6 × 0.6 + 24 × 0.4 = 3.6 + 9.6 = 13.2, rounds to 13 |
| Chapman | 60% low + 40% high | Same as greensomes: 16 | Same as greensomes: 13 |
| Scramble, 2 players | 35% low + 15% high | 13 × 0.35 + 20 × 0.15 = 4.55 + 3.0 = 7.55, rounds to 8 | 6 × 0.35 + 24 × 0.15 = 2.1 + 3.6 = 5.7, rounds to 6 |
| Four-ball (stroke) | 85% of each player | Maria 13 × 0.85 = 11.05, plays 11. Tom 20 × 0.85 = 17 | Sam 6 × 0.85 = 5.1, plays 5. Dee 24 × 0.85 = 20.4, plays 20 |
- In four-ball there is no side number. Maria and Tom each carry their own strokes on their own ball; the pair's score on a hole is the better of the two nets.
- Foursomes gives the most strokes because both players must hit half the shots. A scramble gives the fewest because the side always plays from the better ball.
Common variants
- Shamble
- Best drive selected, then own ball to the green. There is no USGA® standard allowance for a shamble; Parful uses the scramble tiers for the side's handicap by default.
- Team match play knockout
- The admin plays each side off the average, the lowest or the highest Course Handicap in the side, times a modifier percentage, or keeps individual handicaps per player. Strokes are then given on the difference between the two sides.
- Aggregate and team Stableford
- Where a team score is the sum of every member's own result, each player uses their own Playing Handicap at the format's per-player allowance. No side number is built.