Why are my scores higher than my Handicap
A handicap is a number that is given to a golfer and it reflects his / her playing ability. Handicaps are used to calculate a net score by subtracting the handicap from the total number of strokes actually played during a round of golf, thus allowing players of different handicaps and abilities to play against each other. The higher the handicap of a player, the lower the golfing ability of that player relative to those with lower handicaps
You've noticed that your scores always seem to be a few strokes higher than your handicap. Is there a reason for this? Yes, there is.
Contrary to popular opinion, a player's handicap is intended to show a player's potential, not a player's average score. This means that if you have a round of golf where you have played to your handicap or better than your handicap, that has been one of your best rounds rather than an average round.
The handicapping system is programmed such that the handicap allocated to you is not meant to represent your average score. It's meant to represent your potential. You should think of your handicap as representing the score you should shoot on your best day. If the handicap represented your actual or average score, it would simply be calculated by taking the average of all the score cards that you have submitted to attain that handicap, which is not the case. I shall be explaining the method used to calculate your handicap in my next article.
This also means that the probability is higher for a lower handicap player to play a score close to his / her handicap as compared with a higher handicap as lower handicappers are more consistent than higher handicappers.
This is the reason that most golfers find that their actual scores tend to be a little higher than their course handicaps