Last Updated on February 29, 2024 by Britt Olizarowicz
The average handicap for a male golfer is estimated to be around 15 for a male golfer and 28 for a female. However, we aren’t talking about the average handicap here. Instead, we want to dive deeper into what is a good handicap in golf. As a golf professional who has been in the game for more than 30 years, I can tell you I’ve seen the full range of golfers in my lifetime. From the scratch golfer to the brand new player, we will dive deeper into what a good handicap is and whether or not you can be proud of your current handicap.
What Is A Good Golf Handicap?
A good golf handicap is a single-digit handicap of less than 10. However, amateur golfers can work their entire lives on their game and never reach this level. It’s generally accepted that if you can get your handicap down to around a 12, you have a good handicap. The 12 handicaps will shoot lower than 85 most of the time and will even break 80 now and then.
For women golfers, this number is a little higher; any female player with a handicap of 15 or less is considered to have a good handicap. Female golfers have to deal with some longer approach shots because of a shorter average driving distance, which makes the course a little harder.
What Is A Good Golf Handicap For A Beginner?
New golfers get a pass for a while when they first start playing the game. The average golf score for a beginner is usually around 120 or even higher. Therefore, it takes some time to establish a true handicap and an average score. As a beginner player, if you can establish a handicap of around 25, you are doing quite well. You’ll want to see that handicap continue to drop through the years. For each year that you spend golfing, hopefully, it drops a few strokes.
How Golf Handicap Changes With Age
A good golf handicap for an 18-year-old aspiring professional and an 80-year-old retired person are two different things. Golf handicap changes with age. For some golfers, the handicap gets better over a long period of time. For others, the high handicap is difficult to avoid. These golfers have distractions that keep them away from the course. Then, they retire and notice their swing speeds slow down. There are many factors that play into the handicap differentials as we age.
This is a general idea of how you can expect golf handicaps to change as you get older. Again, there is no official handicap that is considered “good” at any age.
| Age Group | Average Handicap Range |
|---|---|
| Under 20 | 18-26 |
| 20-30 | 14-22 |
| 30-40 | 10-18 |
| 40-50 | 10-18 |
| 50-55 | 10-18 |
| 55-60 | 12-20 |
| 60-70 | 14-22 |
| Over 70 | 16-24 |
These average handicap ranges are for golfers who are playing consistently. If you are not an avid golfer, expect the numbers to be considerably higher.
What Handicap Does It Take To Become A Professional Golfer?
Good players often wonder what it really takes to become a professional. One of the best ways to analyze your game against a professional’s is to play a round and track it using the strokes gained method. You can test your skill set to that of the professionals and see how your game compares. You may think that an approach shot left 20 feet from the pin is good until you see you are 10 feet further than the average professional.
To become a professional golfer, you must be able to shoot under par. Of course, the difficulty of the course will come into play, but you should be able to shoot less than par consistently. This would mean shaving about 20 strokes off the game for the average bogey golfer. It’s not an easy task.
Most young golfers thinking of making a run at a professional golf tour have handicaps of +3 to +7. Of course, there are other skills involved. The ability to close a match because of a strong mental game is just as important as the number of strokes you take on the course.
Handicap Goals Based on Player Type
If you play an 18-hole course once a month, it’s hard to set a handicap goal of 5 or even 10 for yourself. The number of rounds of golf you play, the time you spend working on your goals, and the competitive rounds you get in will impact your ability to lower your handicap. Professional golfers work on their golf game full time, and they still have bad days on the course. Here’s the typical handicap goal based on your player type. The PGA Tour golfers don’t have a handicap as they play in gross events week in and week out. However, it’s estimated they would have a handicap between +5 and +8.
| Player Type | Description | Handicap Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Casual Player | Plays occasionally, primarily for social reasons. | 20-28 |
| Regular Player | Plays regularly, seeks gradual improvement. | 15-19 |
| Competitive Amateur | Participates in club competitions, serious about improvement. | 10-14 |
| Serious Golfer | Invests significant time in practice and play, focusing on becoming highly skilled. | 5-9 |
| Aspiring Professional | Dedicated to pursuing golf at a professional level, potentially competing in professional tournaments. | 0 or + (Plus Handicap) |
What Is The Maximum Handicap in Golf?
When I was a young golf professional, the World Handicap System had not been established. The old system had a maximum handicap index of 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women. Therefore, if a man had a handicap of 38, he would only get 36 shots in any tournaments in which he would play. The concept was a little discouraging, and many players had a 36 or above handicap. We also saw this often with women golfers, especially those in the 9-hole league. The 9-hole ladies very often had a handicap of 42 or 44 but could not use it.
The new system doesn’t cater so much to the lower scores. It’s a system that realizes there are golfers of all skill levels, even beyond the beginner golfer, and that the old system was a little restrictive.
The World Golf Handicap system has a maximum handicap index of 54.0 for both men and women.
Is There Such Thing As A Scratch Handicap in Golf?
A scratch golfer is a player who tends to shoot a gross score of around par each time they go out to play. The term scratch handicap isn’t really used. Instead, a player may say they are a zero handicap or a scratch. A better player will sometimes not even use the word handicap; they may say, “I’m a 2”. You see this with some high handicap golfers, but it’s traditionally said by those who shoot the lowest scores.
Most Common Handicap Index Ranges
Another way to determine what a good handicap is would be to look at the distribution of golf handicap indexes across different ranges. As you can see from this table of the common handicap index ranges, it’s rare to be less than a 10 handicap. This is likely why a single-digit handicap golfer is considered a skilled player.
| Handicap Index Range | Description of Golfers | Estimated Percentage of Golf Population |
|---|---|---|
| 0 or Less | Scratch golfers or better; highly skilled players | 1% |
| 0.1 to 5.0 | Low handicappers; very skilled amateurs | 5% |
| 5.1 to 10.0 | Competent amateurs with solid golfing skills | 10% |
| 10.1 to 15.0 | Average amateur golfers; good recreational players | 20% |
| 15.1 to 20.0 | Mid-handicappers; casual but regular players | 25% |
| 20.1 to 25.0 | Higher handicappers; leisure and social golfers | 15% |
| 25.1 to 30.0 | Beginners and less frequent players | 10% |
| 30.1 to 36.0 | Novice golfers working on basic skills | 8% |
| 36.1 to 54.0 | Very new or young golfers, and those developing their game | 6% |
Final Thoughts
For the sake of this question, we will call a good golfer anyone who has less than a 10 handicap. Exceptional players are those that have a 0 handicap or a plus handicap. For most scratch players and better, the reason they can keep the handicap low is because of the time invested in the game, equipment, and education. For myself, the more I practice and play and dedicate the time, the easier it is to maintain a good golf handicap.
