05/15/2025
Scratch vs Handicap: The Simple Golf Truth Every Player Should Know
A handicap is a number that shows how many strokes above par you usually shoot. If par is 72 and you usually score 80, your handicap is 8. In matches, this gives you 8 "free strokes," meaning your personal par is 80. Beat that, and you're doing great.
A scratch golfer doesn’t get any free strokes; they’re expected to shoot par (72) or better on any course.
So if you’re an 8 handicap and shoot 79 while the scratch golfer shoots 72, you win, because you beat your handicap.
Handicaps help golfers of different skill levels compete fairly. Tournaments often group players by handicap into "flights." Lower handicaps get better prizes. So if someone brags about winning, golfers usually ask, “What flight were you in?”
Also, scratch golfers might struggle when playing unfamiliar or tougher courses, called “traveling.” That’s where traveling handicaps come in, adjusting for course difficulty.
Bottom line:
Handicap = built-in advantage
Scratch = no excuses, play at par anywhere