History

• The U.S. Golf Association developed the handicap to allow players with different levels of skill to compete on an equal basis. The official handicap system was introduced in 1911 and rates players' potential and course difficulty.
  
  

Player's Handicap

• This score is obtained by a complex computation of a player's scores relative to the difficulty rating of the courses on which he or she plays. It is based upon a certain number of the player's recent scores, the amount being determined by how many scores the player has entered into the handicapping system.
  
  

Course and Slope Rating

• Handicaps also are given to golf courses to inform players of a course's relative difficulty. The two ratings are Course Rating and Slope Rating, where course rating rates how a "scratch" golfer (one with a 0 handicap) should score and slope rating is how a "bogey" golfer (one with an 18 handicap) should score.
  
  

B Handicappers

• Although there are no hard-and-fast rules concerning what determines a low handicap, it is generally accepted that golfers having an 11 to 19 handicap are "B" handicappers.
  
  

Controversy

• The handicap system has been a much discussed area of amateur golf over the past several decades. Although handicapping is designed to level the playing field, many feel that golfers take advantage of the self-policing procedures to artificially inflate their handicap, giving them an unfair advantage in tournament play.