Net double bogey: the most a hole can count

One disastrous hole shouldn’t wreck your Handicap Index. So when you post a score, each hole counts no more than a set maximum. Your total after those caps is your adjusted gross score.

Working out your maximum on a hole

Maximum = par + 2 + handicap strokes you receive on the hole

The strokes come from your Course Handicap and the hole’s stroke index (1 is the hardest hole, 18 the easiest):

Course Handicap	Strokes received
10	1 on the holes with stroke index 1 to 10, none on the others
18	1 on every hole
22	2 on stroke index 1 to 4, 1 on every other hole

Examples

With a Course Handicap of 14:

• A par 4 with stroke index 3 (you get a stroke): maximum 4 + 2 + 1 = 7. A 9 counts as 7.
• A par 3 with stroke index 16 (no stroke): maximum 3 + 2 + 0 = 5. A 6 counts as 5.
• A par 5 with stroke index 8 where you made 6: under the maximum, so it counts as 6.

Before you have a Handicap Index

Until you have one, the most any hole counts is par + 5: 8 on a par 3, 9 on a par 4, 10 on a par 5.

Holes you didn’t finish

Pick up once you’re past your maximum: it speeds up play and doesn’t change your handicap score. For a hole you started but didn’t finish, record the score you would most likely have made, no higher than your maximum. Holes you didn’t play at all are filled in by your club’s scoring system the way the Rules require.

Plus handicaps

A plus handicap gives strokes back on the easiest holes, starting at stroke index 18. On those holes the maximum is one lower: par + 2 − 1.

The handicap calculator has a hole-by-hole helper that applies these caps for you.