Claudia Laurent
Golf writer, Golf Handicapp · 29 July 2026
The short answer
Handicap allowances scale everyone's shots to keep a competition fair for the format being played. Singles is 95 percent, fourball betterball is 85, foursomes is 50 percent of the combined handicaps and greensomes is 60 forty. Get them right and half the arguments in the bar disappear.
Under the World Handicap System you rarely play off your full course handicap in a competition. Each format uses an allowance, a percentage designed to keep things fair between low and high handicappers. Here are the ones a society organiser actually needs, in one place.
The allowances, format by format
Apply the percentage to each player's course handicap for the tees they are playing. For the pairs formats, the allowance produces a single combined figure for the team.
| Format | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Singles strokeplay | 95% |
| Singles Stableford | 95% |
| Singles match play | 100% of the difference |
| Fourball betterball | 85% |
| Foursomes | 50% of combined |
| Greensomes | 60% low + 40% high |
Why the percentages differ
The more a format helps a high handicapper, the lower the allowance. In fourball betterball only the better ball counts on each hole, so a high handicapper gets a lot of value from their strokes, which is why it drops to 85 percent. Foursomes shares one ball, so the combined handicap is halved. Singles match play is the exception: the lower player plays off scratch and the higher gets 100 percent of the difference in shots.
Let the app do the maths
Golf Handicapp applies the right allowance for every format automatically. 30-day free trial, no card needed.
Running the comp
You do not have to work these out by hand. Set up your competition in Golf Handicapp, choose the format, and it applies the correct allowance to every player. If you want the team formats explained in plain English, we broke down foursomes, greensomes and scrambles separately.
Common questions
What handicap allowance is used for a singles Stableford?+
95 percent of your course handicap. The same 95 percent applies to individual strokeplay. The small reduction from 100 percent keeps individual stroke and Stableford competitions fair across a wide field of handicaps.
What is the handicap allowance for fourball betterball?+
85 percent of each player's course handicap. Because only the better score on each hole counts, the allowance is trimmed to stop a high-handicap partner having an outsized effect on every hole.
How do foursomes and greensomes allowances work?+
Foursomes uses 50 percent of the two partners' combined course handicaps. Greensomes uses 60 percent of the lower handicap plus 40 percent of the higher. Both give the pair a single combined figure to play off.
Keep reading
About the author
Claudia Laurent · Golf writer, Golf Handicapp
Claudia writes about the World Handicap System, golf scoring and getting more from every round for Golf Handicapp. She is a mid-handicap golfer who logs every card, the good ones and the ones she would rather forget.
Last updated 29 July 2026.