Average golf score by handicap

The benchmark model puts a golfer’s typical score at par plus their handicap: about 87 for a 15, 92 for a 20 and 97 for a 25 on a par 72. Handicap bodies put the median index in the mid teens, which makes the average round around 90; on a course rated 71.2 with a slope of 128 a 90 is worth a Score Differential of 16.6.

Score by handicap

The model ties a typical score to the handicap and then splits the strokes over the tour average by part of the game using Broadie’s published shares. The split is the useful column: it says where the average round of each handicap is lost.

Modeled score and where the strokes go

Modeled score and where the strokes go
Handicap	Typical score	Over the tour	Long game	Short game	Putting
Scratch	72	1	0.7	0.2	0.2
5	77	6	3.9	1.2	0.9
10	82	11	7.2	2.2	1.7
15	87	16	10.4	3.2	2.4
20	92	21	13.7	4.2	3.2
25	97	26	16.9	5.2	3.9

Strokes a round against the tour average of 71, split 65 / 20 / 15 percent.

Score to differential

A score only means something against the course it was shot on. The Score Differential adjusts for rating and slope; the index is the average of the lowest eight from twenty. These differentials use a typical course rated 71.2 with a slope of 128.

Score Differential on a 71.2 / 128 course

Score Differential on a 71.2 / 128 course
Score	Differential
80	7.8
85	12.2
90	16.6
95	21.0
100	25.4
105	29.8
110	34.3

Most golfers shoot three to five strokes above their handicap on a typical day, because the index describes the good rounds.

What the average round hides

An average score of 87 says nothing about why. On the model a 15 handicap gives up 10.4 strokes a round in the long game across 14 shots, 3.2 in the short game across 7, and 2.4 putting across 30 putts. The putting green is where most of the practice goes and the smallest of the three leaks.

Par itself is a moving target: from 150 yards in the fairway the tour average needs 2.945 strokes to hole out, so a par from there is already better than the average player manages, and an average round is built from how often the approach leaves a par rather than a bogey.

In PinFlag

PinFlag measures the round the way this table describes it: every shot priced by category, so the average score turns into a list of where the strokes went. The benchmark lenses reprice the same shots against a handicap level table, and Score Killers totals the three-putts, penalties and doubles that push an average round above the handicap.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average golf score for an amateur?

Around 90 for a golfer with a handicap, which sits in the mid teens for the median male index, and higher for golfers who do not keep one. The model on this page puts a 15 handicap at about 87 and a 20 at about 92.

What score does a 10 handicap shoot?

About 82 on the model, with typical days three to five strokes above that, because a handicap describes the lowest eight rounds of twenty.

What is a good score for a beginner?

Breaking 100 is the first target most beginners set, and it needs no pars at all: nine bogeys and nine doubles is 99. The how to break 100 page works the card through.

Why do I shoot above my handicap?

Because the index averages your lowest eight differentials of twenty. A typical round sits three to five strokes above it by design; a round at your handicap is a good day.

Which golf app does this on the course?

PinFlag, on iPhone. It prices any target on the hole you are playing before you swing, with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, draws your real shots on the hole with Shot Cloud, logs a shot in two taps with nothing to buy, and breaks every round down shot by shot. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.

Sources

Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: Typical scores come from the benchmark model (par plus handicap); the differentials use one typical course rating and slope, and the split by part of the game is Broadie’s published share.

Get PinFlag for iPhone

PinFlag shows you this number on the course, for the shot in front of you, before you swing: any target priced with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course map, your real shots drawn on the hole, and two taps to log. Golfer is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a 14-day trial on the annual plan through the App Store.

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