US Handicap?

On here I can calculate my handicap using the USGA method.

The odd thing is that my handicap is currently 14.2, but in the US I'd be a 22.2!

I cannot believe that my handicap is so far apart for the two golfing authorities.

Can anybody explain quickly how they work out their handicaps.

Russ

http://www.csgnetwork.com/golfhcapcalc.html

Tells you a little more..

Does that help?

Thank you Dennis, that does help a little bit.

The only problem I've got now is that in America all the courses have a slope rating and none of the courses over here don't!

So how can my USGA handicap be worked out if none of our courses have a slope rating?

Russ

Isnt the slope rating the SSS part of a course :?

All of the courses in the UK that have no slope are given a default one.  That skews the USGA handicap as it isn't linked to the SSS.  The slope system is much better reflection of the difficulty of the course than SSS IMO. 

The difference in SSS and the slope rating is similar in showing the difference in difficulty of a course. So for instance a Course SSS 72 against Par 70 is harder than SSS 72 against Par 72.

Take a look at Scottish Courses because they have been Slope Rated. So if you want to get a Rating for the course you play find a similar course in Scotland and find its Slope Rating.

What differs in the US is that every round counts towards your HCP while here its only Qualifying rounds and then CSS comes in too. I have an unofficial US HCP of +1.2, worked out by a friend over in Salt Lake City, whilst I play here off 6 (5.6) even though since joining here you have dropped it to 4 (4.4) by counting Non-Qualifying Rounds.

No matter which system is adopted, we have to accept that neither of them work, as we witness on every competiion day. Some are way better than their handicap but the majority just do not play to it.

Concentration is important, as we all know, Paul, but what happens when one plays away on a strange course is that they do not look carefully enough at what is being presented before them for the first time.

Get onto the tee and try and absorb as much information about the hole to be played as you can. Where is the safest part of the fairway to attempt to put the ball, is it away from those bunkers, in range, or is it to be short of a lake or are all the trees on the left. If you do this on every shot then you are playing the percentages and you will get round without the disasters you speak about.

Never attempt miracle shots after a bad one.