Golf guides

Short, checked explanations of the numbers behind your golf. Rules are taken from the official handicapping and golf rules, and each guide lists its sources.

• How your handicap index is worked outThe World Handicap System step by step: score differential, the best 8 of your last 20, net double bogey, and the soft and hard caps, with worked examples.
• Course handicap and playing handicap, with a calculatorHow a Handicap Index becomes a Course Handicap and a Playing Handicap for the tee you are playing. Includes a free calculator.
• Strokes gained explained for the mid-handicapperWhat strokes gained means, why it tells you more than fairways, greens and putts, and how comparing yourself with your own handicap level shows where strokes go.
• Stableford vs stroke playHow Stableford points work, how they differ from stroke play, when each is used, and how net double bogey and Stableford relate.
• Where your strokes go: the four parts of the gameTee shots, approach, short game and putting: how to find the part that costs you most strokes using your own scorecards.
• Making winter simulator sessions countHow to turn indoor simulator sessions into real improvement: pick a question, keep clean records and know what the numbers can and cannot tell you.