Handicap (Golf)
Handicap (golf) is a numerical measure of a golfer's potential that is used to enable players of varying abilities to compete against one another. History The first record for golf handicaps is thought to be in the late 17th century, with the number of strokes and holes negotiated between competing golfers before the start of the game. During the second half of the 19th century, taking the difference between a golfer's top three runs and a par average during the year became the most widely used handicap method in England and Scotland. As sports grew, so did complaints about the fairness of handicaps, especially unfortunate because underperforming players were far less likely to play to their three-point average. Another problem was the system's lack of consideration for the various difficulties of other courses, which meant that handicaps were not very portable. In an attempt to solve the problem with a fairly basic handicap system and many variants of other systems, th