Where do you rank if you’re a scratch golfer in England? How many players really hold a huge handicap?
If you’re interested in where you stand on the handicap scales, England Golf have released new figures – and they make very interesting reading.
There are more than 780,000 golfers in the country with a handicap index, with around 720,000 of those in club membership and the rest subscribing to iGolf, England Golf’s independent golfer programme.
Stats chiefs at the governing body have analysed those players and revealed percentiles by handicap category.
Overall, the numbers show just 1 in 100 golfers have a handicap below 0.4, while 18 in 100 can boast a handicap of 10.4 or better. The most populated category is players with a handicap of 16 to 20, who make up 23.4% of the total.
They’re closely followed by golfers with handicaps of 11 to 15 (20.6%), while those with handicaps of 21 to 25 account for 17.5%. Just 2.7% of golfers have a handicap of 36 to 40 and only 2.2% have an index of 41 or more.
England Golf have further broken down the percentages into separate men’s and women’s tables.
How do you rank on England Golf’s World Handicap System scale?
Male
Around a quarter of men – 24.8% – have a handicap of 16 to 20, closely followed by those with indexes of 11 to 15, who make up 22.5% of the golfing population in England.
Handicaps of 21 to 25 make up 17.6% of the total, which means around 65% of all male golfers have a handicap between 11 and 25, with 42% of those between 16 and 25.
Only 1.5% have a WHS index of 36 to 40 and just 1% have a handicap of 41 or more. In fact, just 6.2% of all male players have a handicap of 31 or higher.
At the top end, scratch or better golfers make up 1.1% of the golfing population. Nearly 5% of men (4.8%) have handicaps of 1 to 5 and 13.5% fall between 6 and 10. A player in these three bands is in the top 20% of all male golfers in England.
Female
Female handicaps are much more widely spread across all categories. Those with a handicap of 10 or below are in the top 4.3% overall (0 or below 0.5%; 1-5 1.1%; 6-10 2.7%).
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Just under three quarters of players (74.8%) have a World Handicap Index of 21 or higher, with the biggest single group – 18.8% – holding marks of 26 to 30.
That’s closely followed by 21 to 25 (17%) and 31 to 35 (16%). At the higher ranges, 11.6% are between 36 and 40 and 11.4% are 41 or above.
What can we learn from these figures?
If you’re a golfer with a handicap of 10 or better, you’re in good company in England – making up the top 20% of males and the top 4% of females.
Scratch golfers or better represent the top 1% of all players, reminding us that very low-handicap golfers are rare.
Overall, most golfers in England are clustered between 11 and 25, with male handicaps concentrated tightly in the middle range. Female handicaps are spread more widely.
You can check out the full tables on England Golf’s website.
Now have your say on the World Handicap System
What do you make of these percentages and where do you fit into the picture? Let me know in the comments, email me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com, or get in touch on X.
