Sure, your golf game is good. But chances are it’s even better — or maybe worse — than you actually thought. We’ll let you be the judge.
The USGA updated its handicap index statistics — compiling the millions of official handicaps registered with the governing body — to create a treasure trove of golfy nuggets and facts. You can dig into all of it here, but we decided to highlight what we thought was the top water-cooler fodder — the most common handicap index in golf.
The most common men’s handicap index in golf
Drumroll, please…13! That’s right, the most common handicap index for men in the U.S. is in the 13.0-13.9 range. But barely. Those golfers (about 96,000 of them) make up 5.42% of the total men’s population with handicaps, but that’s only one-hundredth more than 12.0-12.9, which is 5.41%. So, if you are a 12 or 13 handicap, you have lots of company. And, if you were wondering, while this is the most common handicap range, the average handicap index for men is actually 14.2.
The most common women’s handicap index in golf
As for women’s golfers with official handicaps, the most common is 27.0-27.9, which is the handicap range of 4.07%, or slightly under 18,000 golfers. The second-most common handicap is 28.0-28.9, or 4.03%. The average handicap index for women is 27.5.
