There’s nothing more challenging for me than to try to make up 5 strokes on my venerable playing partner. Although I’ve come close a number of times, I’ve never quite played well enough to overcome the hurdle.

However, now that we both have our handicaps, our weekly “championship” could go either way. You ultimately end up playing against your own abilities, but with the added pressure (and pleasure!) of knowing that both your scores will be close come the 18th tee.

I've received dozens of questions about handicaps and what to do with them. There seems to be more confusion out there than ever, so let’s take the mystery out of how to apply your handicap to make your rounds with your playing partners more competitive (and more nerve wracking!).

Your handicap comes in “handy” when you are playing a round with others who vary in their golfing skills and scores. Even if your playing partner shoots in the low 80's and you are shooting over 100, your handicaps can level the playing field and make your outing a little more interesting...

Handicaps: Play well and win. Play poorly and lose.

So you've joined Pro Scorecard, entered your 5th round and the PRO Scorecard system has generated your handicap. That's great! But now what?

For starters, remember that an "official" Fairway Review handicap doesn't take effect until you record and lock 20 rounds. Until that time, your handicap will fluctuate quite a bit and might be a little "inaccurate" for the time being. For practical purposes though, a minimum of 5 rounds is sufficient.

To keep things simple, there are two styles of play that dictate how you use your handicap. The first style being Stroke Play. The second style being Match Play. The handicap concept remains the same for both styles of play...

To level the playing field so that all golfers should have similar scores going into the clubhouse after 18 holes of play.

1. STROKE PLAY

Let's start with the scoring style that's most familiar to all golfers. We all know how to add our scores up for our round totals. Just like the PGA and LPGA Tours, Stroke Play is determined by totaling all strokes played on 18 holes for each golfer. Whoever has the fewest strokes after 18 holes is the winner.

Stroke Play can be fun if you and your playing partners are of equal ability and shoot similar scores. However, this is often not the case. The solution… "Handicaps", "Course Handicaps" and “Net Score”.

The first order of business is to determine your “Course Handicap”. Note that this is different from your Pro Scorecard Handicap. So how do you go about finding your Course Handicap?

If you have the minimum 5 rounds entered into the PRO Scorecard system, your Pro Scorecard handicap will be generated and be a number with a decimal such as 17.2.

Take your Pro Scorecard handicap to the clubhouse and locate the course's "Handicap Conversion Table". The clubhouse staff may or may not know if they have a table, but if you look around, you should spot one on a bulletin board somewhere in the Pro Shop. If you still can’t find it, ask the Club’s Head Pro or Assistant Pro for help.

Each course has its own unique Course Handicap conversion table. Simply locate your Pro Scorecard handicap on the chart for the tees that you are playing and find the corresponding "Course Handicap" number. The Course Handicap number will be a number with no decimal (a whole number, such as 19). This number will be your handicap for the round for that course. Your playing partners will need to perform the same lookup procedure and determine their Course Handicaps from the table as well.

Now that your entire group has their Course Handicaps from the conversion table, write them down on the your scorecard under the column "HDCP" (or similar, if the scorecard has room. There should also be room for “NET" scores to be recorded). Grab a scorecard you have lying around the house and have a look at it. If the scorecard does not provide a spot to write the Course Handicaps, write them beside the name of each person in your group.

Net Score is calculated based on your Pro Scorecard handicap and the Course Handicap. At the end of your round, you will compare "Net" scores of each playing partner to determine who won the day's challenge."

To determine Net Score for each golfer’s round, simply…

a) Add up your actual scores for each hole to get your "Gross Score" (Final Score)
b) Subtract your "Course Handicap" from your Gross Score to get your "Net Score"...

Gross Score - Course Handicap = Net Score

If you played a typical round, your Net Score will be a few strokes over the par for the course (i.e. 75). If you had the round of your life, your Net Score will be somewhere under par for the course (i.e. 68). You get the idea.

Now, if everyone in your group has determined their Net Score, you’ll find that the scores will be fairly close unless someone has had a wild day. The beauty is that everyone has a shot at the “weekend championship”, whether you typically shoot 85 or 125.

The fun part is figuring out where everyone stands after playing 9, 16 and 17 holes. It can definitely make things interesting going into 18, especially if there is “something” at stake. Simply subtract your Course Handicaps from your current scores as you play to get an idea of how everyone is doing compared to everyone else.

Next time… Handicaps and Match Play!