Ever glanced at a friend's scorecard and seen little dots penciled into the score boxes for certain holes? Those small marks are one of the most fundamental, and often misunderstood, parts of the game. This guide will walk you through exactly what those dots on a golf scorecard mean, where they come from, and how to use them to play any handicap game with confidence.
In the simplest terms, the dots on a golf scorecard represent handicap strokes an amateur player receives on certain holes. Think of them as "free shots" that level the playing field when golfers of different abilities compete against each other. Each dot allows you to subtract one stroke from your actual score on that hole, giving you a "Net Score".
The entire system is what allows a 22-handicapper to have a legitimately competitive match against a 5-handicapper. That 22-handicap player gets 17 more "dots" than their opponent, distributed across the course. So, if both players shoot a 5 on a particular hole, but the 22-handicapper had a dot, their Net Score becomes a 4, and they win the hole. It’s what makes the game’s unique handicap system so brilliant.
Without these dots, friendly competition would be a lot less interesting. It's the difference between you and your buddy just counting your total shots (Gross Score) and playing a true handicap match (Net Score).
Before you can know where to put your dots, you first need to know how many you get. This number comes from your Course Handicap.
You may already have an official Handicap Index (like a 15.2, for example), which is a general measure of your potential playing ability. But golf courses aren't all created equal, some are much harder than others. Your Course Handicap adjusts your Handicap Index based on the specific difficulty of the course and set of tees you’re playing that day.
You don't need to do any complex math to figure this out. Every golf course has a chart, usually posted in the pro shop or near the first tee, that cross-references your Handicap Index with the Slope Rating of the tees you're playing. Find your Index on the chart, and it will tell you your Course Handicap for the round.
This number - your Course Handicap - is the total number of dots you'll be putting on your scorecard.
Okay, so you have your Course Handicap. Now, how do you know which holes to put the dots on? This is where the Stroke Index comes in. It’s the key to distributing your handicap strokes fairly across the round.
Look at your scorecard. Besides rows for yardage, par, and your score, there will be a row labeled “Handicap,” “HCP,” or “Stroke Index” (SI). In this row, each hole is assigned a unique number from 1 to 18.
This is a ranking of the holes on the course from most difficult to least difficult. The hole with a “1” in this row is considered the hardest hole on the course, and the hole with an “18” is the easiest. These rankings determine where you get your handicap strokes.
A common misconception is that this is simply the longest or shortest hole. In reality, the ranking is statistically determined based on how a "scratch golfer" (0 handicap) and a "bogey golfer" (around an 18-20 handicap) typically score on that hole. The hole where the score difference is largest is the #1 stroke index hole.
Now you can start marking your scorecard. You get one dot (stroke) starting with the #1 stroke index hole, and you continue adding a dot for each hole as you work down the ranking until you've used all the strokes in your Course Handicap.
Let's walk through a couple of examples:
Marking the dots is one thing, but using them correctly makes all your matches and competitions fair and, honestly, a lot more fun. Here’s how it works in the most common formats.
Stableford is a points-based game where the goal is to get the highest score, not the lowest. The points are awarded based on your Net Score on each hole.
The dots are everything here. Let's say you're playing a Par 4 that is the #3 SI hole. Your Course Handicap is 15, so you get one dot on this hole.
You have an off shot and end up making a 5 (a Gross Bogey). Without your handicap, that’s only 1 point. But with your dot, your 5 becomes a Net 4 (Net Par). That gets you 2 points! That single dot just doubled your points on the hole.
Often called the purist's form of golf, match play is a head-to-head battle where you're trying to win more holes than your opponent. The score is kept as "1 Up," "2 Down," etc. Here, you play off the difference between each player's Course Handicap.
To start, find the difference: 22 - 10 = 12. This means Player B (the higher handicapper) gets 12 strokes from Player A.
Where does Player B get these strokes? You guessed it – on the holes with a Stroke Index of 1 through 12. On the scorecard for this match, Player B will mark one dot on these 12 holes. Both players can then ignore their full handicaps and just use these specific dots to decide who wins each hole.
Imagine they arrive at the 8th hardest hole (SI 8). Player B gets a stroke here. Both hit good drives. Player A makes a neat par 4. Player B sinks a putt for a 5. In a normal game, Player A wins the hole. But because Player B had a dot, their 5 becomes a Net 4. The hole is a tie (a "half"), and they move to the next tee all square. This is what keeps matches tight and exciting until the very end.
In a standard stroke play or "Medal" competition, understanding the dots is more of a mental guide during the round. You record your Gross Score on every hole. At the very end, you simply total up your Gross Score and subtract your full Course Handicap to get your final Net Score. The winner is the person with the lowest Net Score for the 18 holes.
However, the dots on each hole serve as a great personal target. If you have a dot on a Par 4, you know your target is a "Net Par." This means making a 5 is perfectly acceptable - that's your par for that hole. It helps you manage expectations, avoid getting down on yourself after a bogey, and focus on the bigger picture of shooting your handicap.
Those simple dots on a scorecard are the engine of amateur golf, allowing players of all levels to compete fairly on any given day. Once you understand that they represent handicap strokes, are distributed by the Stroke Index, and used to calculate a Net Score, you're ready to embrace one of the best parts of the game.
We know that calculating strokes for a match or remembering Net Scores for Stableford can sometimes feel like a math test on the tee box. We built Caddie AI to handle all that for you. It helps you figure out net scoring and can even give you simple strategies for how to approach a hole, especially when you have a stroke to use. It takes guesswork out of the equation so you can focus on hitting great shots.
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