Common Abbreviations Used in Golf Handicapping

The introduction of the world handicap system has added a few more abbreviations to the long list already used in golf! Here are some of the more important golf handicap abbreviations and what they mean.

CR

Course rating. A calculation of the playing difficulty of the course for a scratch golfer under normal course and weather conditions. It takes into account yardage and other obstacles to the extent that they would affect a scratch player. The figure is expressed as strokes taken to 1 decimal place.

PCC

Playing conditions calculation. A statistical calculation to determine if the conditions on the day of play would have significantly impacted players’ performance.

A calculation will only be made if there are at least eight acceptable scores by players with handicap indexes of 36 or less. It will also exclude scores scaled up to 9 or 18 holes. Once computed the calculation may make an adjustment of -1, 0, +1, +2 or +3. This is then applied in the calculation for score differentials of players.

For those of you familiar with the CONGU Handicap system this appears to be a direct replacement for the Competition scratch score (CSS) calculation.

SR

Slope rating. A measure of the relative difficulty of a golf course for a bogey golfer in comparison with a scratch golfer.

WD

Withdrawn. If a handicap committee has reason to believe a player is failing to meet the responsibilities of the world handicap system then they can withdraw that player’s handicap.

C

Used to flag competition rounds on your handicap record.

N

Used to identify rounds where 2 9-hole scores have been combined.

HI

Handicap Index. The figure you use to work out your course handicap from. The course handicap is how many shots you receive for a round on a specific course. Your handicap index is a number calculated from the best rounds you have played recently to give a reflection of your golfing ability.

A

Away. Denotes that the player has an away handicap. If you play in an event at another course you will see an A against your name or score to denote your handicap index is not processed by that club.

P

Penalty. Failure to post an acceptable score could mean the club imposing a penalty score to your index equal to the highest or lowest differential on your record.