The Handicap Index, designed to level the game's playing field, is golf's most useful metric. It's also widely misunderstood.

Among the highlights of the June 2024 presidential debate was a lively back and forth between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump – about golf. Trump cited his golf skills as ...

If you seem to play better or worse in competitions than you do in casual rounds, here's what you need to know ...

Handicaps in golf are the subject of public shame and personal aspiration. But they are also a crucial part of the game for many amateur players, an essential mechanism for allowing any two players of ...

Golf influencer @joshsensgolf dispels common misconceptions about the GHIN handicap system. He explains that the handicap ...

Golf is a unique game in that anyone can compete with anyone else, regardless of skill level. This is thanks to handicapping. Handicapping is implemented via the World Handicap System. This system, ...

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf. Look, I’m not going to stand up here on a soapbox and profess that every golfer who ...

The USGA dropped its annual handicap "rewind" feature via its GHIN app this week. It's exactly what it says: It shows how golfers fared over the 2023 season. What their handicap started the year, ...

The way golfers around the world will calculate their handicaps is set to be transformed by a new system developed by the USGA and The R&A, with key features designed to provide all golfers with a ...

Golf’s new World Handicap System, which is designed to bring the game of golf under a single set of Rules for handicapping and provide a more consistent measure of players’ ability between different ...

If you ask some golfers, “What’s your handicap?” be prepared to hear the humorous reply: “my swing” or “my lack of coordination.” The more accurate question is: “What is your handicap index?” So, what ...

Golf is a hard sport to play, even for professionals. That said, if you've ever seen events like the Pebble Beach Pro-Am or the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship out in Lake Tahoe, chances ...