Handicap Index Caps: Managing Soft and Hard Caps within the World Handicap System

Caps are an automatic feature of the World Handicap System. Caps are designed to limit the upward movement of a member’s Handicap Index (H.I.) in a 365-day period. Caps are applied when a member’s H.I. is greater than their Low Handicap Index (Low H.I.) by a set margin.

You can tell a cap is applied to a member’s record when their H.I. has a small “I” on the top right. Hovering over this “I” will explain which type of cap is applied to the record.

There are two types of caps. Soft Caps and Hard Caps.

A Soft Cap is applied when a member’s H.I. is three strokes higher than their Low H.I. After the three-stroke threshold any further upward movement of the members’ H.I. will be reduced by 50%. For example, if a member has a Soft Cap applied and posted a new score that would raise their H.I. by 1.0. However, with the Soft Cap, it would only increase by 0.5 instead.

A Hard Cap is applied when a member’s H.I. is five strokes higher than their Low H.I. After the Hard Cap is applied, all further upward H.I. movement is stopped. Their H.I. will not increase until the Low H.I. changes.

The Low Handicap Index is the lowest H.I. from the past 365 days for that member. The Low H.I. will not change unless one of the two conditions are met after a score is posted. After a score is posted, if either the new H.I. now falls below the Low H.I. or 365 days have passed since the last Low H.I., then there will be a change in the H.I. For example, if a member has a Low H.I. of 10 from 365 days prior to the next time a score is posted, the Low H.I. will update to the next lowest H.I. the member had in the past 365 days.

While the system is automatic, the Handicap Committee of that member’s “Home Club” does have the authority to override and remove the caps when they deem it appropriate.

To remove a Cap, the Handicap Committee can do this within the USGA Admin Portal. They would access that member’s record and under the Handicap Management tab, use the button called “Modify Low H.I.” to adjust the member’s Low Handicap Index. When you modify the Low H.I., you will increase that number (but not to a value above the current H.I.) to a point where the cap will no longer be applied. The increase should be made in whole numbers. For example, if a member has a H.I. of 13 and a Low H.I. of 10 and they have a Soft Cap applied, to remove this, the Handicap Committee would have to raise the Low H.I. to 13 to allow the H.I. to increase to 16 before the cap is applied again.

When you modify a Low H.I., the system will ask for an end date. The end date is when you would like the modification to revert automatically. It is recommended to set the end date for two weeks or one month out. At the time of the end date, the committee should re-evaluate the members’ record and decide if another adjustment is warranted.