Shooting 88 in golf
A 88 on a par 72 is 16 over par and 2 strokes better than bogey golf. On a middle tee rated 70.6 with a slope of 125 it is worth a Score Differential of 15.7, so a golfer whose good rounds are 88 holds an index near 15.7, and a golfer whose average round is 88 holds one nearer 11 to 13.
The handicap it implies
A score only means something against the course it was shot on, which is what the Score Differential does: (score minus course rating) multiplied by 113 and divided by the slope rating. The same 88 is worth more from a harder tee. An index is the average of the lowest eight differentials of the last twenty, so a 88 that is one of your good rounds implies an index near its differential, and a 88 that is your ordinary round implies an index three to five strokes lower.
A 88 as a Score Differential, by tee
| Tee | Slope | Rating | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | 138 | 74.2 | 11.3 |
| Back | 132 | 72.4 | 13.4 |
| Middle | 125 | 70.6 | 15.7 |
| Forward | 118 | 68.4 | 18.8 |
What the card looks like
A bogey on every hole of a par 72 is 90, so a 88 is a round in the 80s built from pars, bogeys and doubles. The compositions below step the doubles up so the trade is visible: every double bogey costs a par and a bogey, which is why removing doubles beats chasing pars.
Ways to shoot 88 on a par 72
| Pars | Bogeys | Doubles |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 16 | 0 |
| 4 | 12 | 2 |
| 6 | 8 | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | 6 |
| 10 | 0 | 8 |
Where the strokes go
The benchmark model reads a 88 as a 16 handicap’s round: 17 strokes over the tour average of 71, split 11.1 in the long game across 14 shots, 3.4 in the short game across 7 and 2.6 on the greens across 30 putts. From 150 yards in the fairway the tour average needs 2.945 strokes to hole out; a golfer shooting 88 needs about 3.734 on the model, and it is that small gap on every long shot, more than any putt, that makes the 88.
What decides it
The mistakes below each cost a full stroke or more on the published baseline. A 88 usually contains several of them, and each one removed is a stroke off the card without a swing change.
Whole stroke mistakes, priced
| Mistake | Cost in strokes |
|---|---|
| A tee shot out of bounds on a 400 yard hole | 2.05 |
| Three putting from 20 feet | 1.12 |
| Three putting from 30 feet | 1.02 |
In PinFlag
PinFlag turns a 88 into a list of where the strokes went: every shot you log is priced against the published tables by category, Score Killers totals the three-putts, two-chips, penalties and doubles that cost whole strokes, and a handicap level lens reprices the same shots on the scale of a golfer who shoots 88. On the course PinFlag prices every target before you swing, so the decisions that turn a 88 into a 83 are made with the number in front of you.
Frequently asked questions
What handicap is a 88 in golf?
Is 88 a good golf score?
What does a round of 88 look like?
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Related
Sources
- World Handicap System, Wikipedia
- Handicap (golf), Wikipedia
- Mark Broadie, Columbia Business School (Wikidata entity)
- How PinFlag calculates strokes gained
Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: The differentials apply the published World Handicap System formula to typical tee values; the split of strokes is the site’s benchmark model, Broadie’s published shares applied to the strokes over the tour average.
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.