Score Differential
Enter your adjusted gross score along with the tee's Course Rating and Slope Rating to see the Score Differential formula worked out step by step.
Score Differential
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What "adjusted gross score" means
A Score Differential never uses your raw gross score directly; it uses an adjusted gross score, meaning each hole is capped at net double bogey (or your association's equivalent maximum) before the total is calculated. A raw score alone is not directly comparable across tees or courses; the adjustment and the rating together are what make comparison meaningful.
Why the same score means different things at different tees
A gross score of 90 on a course rated 68.0/115 represents a very different performance than the same 90 on a course rated 74.0/140. The Score Differential formula normalizes both the difficulty gap (Course Rating) and the relative difficulty for a bogey golfer versus a scratch golfer (Slope Rating) into one comparable number.
The formula, worked out plainly
Score Differential equals 113 divided by the tee's Slope Rating, multiplied by your adjusted gross score minus the Course Rating. The decomposition shown above breaks this into the score-minus-rating gap first, then applies the Slope scaling, so you can see exactly where the final number comes from rather than treating it as a black box.
What this is not
This is an educational, single-round calculation. It does not post a score to any association, and it does not calculate your Handicap Index by itself; see the Handicap Index History Estimator for an educational trend built from multiple differentials like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I just compare raw gross scores between two rounds?
A gross score alone ignores how hard the tee played. Score Differential normalizes for both Course Rating (the overall difficulty) and Slope Rating (relative difficulty for a bogey golfer versus scratch), so a 90 at an easy tee and a 90 at a hard tee produce different, comparable differentials.
What is "adjusted gross score" in the Score Differential formula?
It is your gross score after every hole is capped at net double bogey (or your association's equivalent maximum), not your raw total. The adjustment and the rating together are what make the differential meaningful across different rounds.
Does one Score Differential give me my Handicap Index?
No. A Handicap Index comes from an average of your lowest several differentials over your score history, plus official adjustments this single-round calculator does not perform. See the Handicap Index History Estimator for an educational, multi-round trend.