Handicaps

What handicap should I play off if I don’t have one?

No official golf handicap? Here’s how to work out a fair number to play off for a corporate, charity or casual golf day.

9 August 2026 · 4 min read

You’ve been invited to a golf day.

Then comes the question:

“What do you play off?”

There’s just one problem. You don’t actually have a handicap.

This happens all the time. Plenty of people play golf a handful of times a year, know roughly what they shoot, but don’t keep an official Handicap Index.

The temptation is to shrug and say:

“About 18?”

That can work.

It can also result in some fairly hostile questioning in the clubhouse if you then shoot 82.

The better approach is to base your number on how you’ve actually been playing.

Start with your recent scores

A score on its own doesn’t tell the full story.

An 88 from one set of tees can represent a very different standard of golf from an 88 somewhere else.

Golf courses — and individual tee sets — have different levels of difficulty.

That is why handicap calculations use Course Rating (the score a scratch golfer would be expected to shoot) and Slope Rating (how much harder the course gets for everyone else) rather than simply looking at how many shots over par you finished.

So if you remember:

• where you played
• which tees you played from
• roughly what you scored

you already have much better evidence than simply guessing a handicap.

How many rounds do you need?

More is better, but you don’t need a season’s worth of golf to get a useful estimate.

One recent round gives you a starting point.

Two gives you a better picture.

Three or more makes the number considerably easier to defend when your playing partner starts asking awkward questions.

That’s the approach No Bandits uses. We look at your recent rounds, adjust for the difficulty of the courses and tees, and suggest a sensible golf-day handicap.

What if my golf is inconsistent?

Welcome to golf.

Someone who shoots 89 one week and 103 the next isn’t unusual.

That variation is exactly why a sensible estimate should include a playing range rather than pretending there is one mathematically perfect number.

For example, No Bandits might calculate:

That doesn’t mean you will play to 17 every time.

It means 17 is the number we think best represents the evidence you’ve provided.

Should I just take the highest number?

You can probably guess our answer from the name.

If your evidence supports a range of 16–20, taking 20 might technically be defensible.

But if the putter suddenly behaves itself and you walk off with the trophy, expect some discussion — and quite possibly the word “bandit”.

No Bandits shows where your options sit on the Bandit-O-Meter:

1. 01Saint
2. 02Safeour recommendation
3. 03Spicy
4. 04Suspect
5. 05Bandit

Our recommended number sits at SAFE.

You can make your own decision from there.

Is this an official golf handicap?

No.

A No Bandits estimate is designed for casual, corporate, charity and society golf where someone needs a sensible playing number but does not hold an official Handicap Index.

It is not a replacement for an official handicap issued through an authorised handicapping body. Official handicapping uses formal scoring records, verified cards and the rules of the World Handicap System.

If you want a recognised Handicap Index, use the appropriate official route in your country. It’s also worth checking whether your golf day actually requires one before you go looking.

So what number should I use?

Don’t start with a number. Start with your golf.

Find a recent score, remember where you played and which tees you used, then build from there.

If you can remember three rounds, even better.

And if you’d rather let us do the maths: