Tools
Score Differential Calculator
One round, one number. The Score Differential is the building block of every handicap — how good a round was once the difficulty of the tees is taken out of it.
Enter your round. The Score Differential updates as you type.
Score Differential
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Fill in all three fields to see the differential for this round.
The formula
Score Differential = (Adjusted Gross Score − Course Rating) × 113 ÷ Slope Rating
The Course Rating is the score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot from a given set of tees; the Slope Rating (55–155, with 113 as the standard) measures how much harder the course plays for a bogey golfer than for that scratch golfer. Dividing by the Slope and multiplying by 113 puts every round on the same scale, so a 90 at a brutal track and an 85 at an easy one can be compared fairly. The result is rounded to one decimal place.
How to read the result
A lower Score Differential is a better round. On a standard course (rating 72.0, slope 113) the differential is simply your score minus 72. Collect several of these and the best of them, averaged, become your Handicap Index. The “Adjusted” Gross Score caps any disaster hole at a net double bogey for handicap purposes — for most rounds it equals your real score.