Golf scorecard · Free · No sign-up
Golf Scorecard
A golf scorecard records the strokes taken on each hole. This one uses the stroke index to allocate your course handicap hole by hole, so it shows the net score, the Stableford points and the net double bogey for every hole as you play, rather than one subtraction from the total at the end.
Free, no sign-up, works offline, and nothing leaves this browser.
Par and stroke index are per hole and are printed on the card at the first tee. Until you change them the stroke index is set to the hole number, which is a placeholder, not your course.
← and → change hole, 1–9 post that score for the selected player, + and − adjust it, Ctrl+Z undoes.
This is a scorecard, not a handicap service. It does not calculate a Handicap Index, does not know your course rating or slope, and submits nothing to GHIN, England Golf, or any club or handicapping body. Take your course handicap and the stroke index row from the card at the first tee and type them in. The adjusted total it shows is there so you can see what net double bogey does to a blow-up hole; posting a score is still something you do through your own club or association.
Counting strokes is the easy part. The row of numbers on a real card marked SI is what decides which holes you get a shot on, and almost no free scorecard online reads it.
A golf scorecard records the strokes played at each hole, alongside the par and the stroke index of that hole. In handicap play the stroke index allocates the player's course handicap across the holes, turning the gross score into a net score and, under Stableford, into points.
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- Counts never leave your browser
- Works offline
- Unlimited counters
Key facts
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, no sign-up, no ads |
| Players | 1 to 4, each with their own course handicap |
| Holes | 9 or 18, par set per hole |
| Stroke index | Entered per hole, and used to allocate shots |
| Net score | Per hole, not one subtraction from the total |
| Stableford | Points per hole and a running total |
| Maximum hole score | Net double bogey, shown and totalled separately |
| Plus handicaps | Supported. Shots are given back from the easiest hole |
| Offline | Yes, after the first load |
| Where data goes | Nowhere. Local storage in this browser only |
| Handicap Index | No. This is a card, not a handicapping service |
How to keep a golf scorecard with handicap
Copy three things off the card at the first tee, then it is one tap a shot.
Add the players and their course handicaps
Course handicap, not Handicap Index: the club's chart or app converts one to the other for the tees you are playing, and getting this wrong shifts every shot on the card.
Set the par for each hole
Par defaults to 4. Change it on the par 3s and par 5s as you reach them, or set them all before you start if you have the card in front of you.
Copy the stroke index row across
This is the part worth the minute it takes. It is the row marked SI, Index or Handicap, and without it the net figures are guesses. Until you change it the page uses the hole number, and says so.
Post a score on each hole
Tap plus and the hole opens on par, then adjust from there, or type the number straight in. The selected player's row takes the keyboard.
Read the net result, not just the gross
Each player's row names the net result and the points as soon as a score goes in, so you know where the match stands on the hole rather than at the end of it.
Watch for a hole that says counts as
That is net double bogey: the score has passed the maximum that counts for handicap purposes. The gross stays as you played it and the adjusted total is shown beside it.
Where a golf scorecard gets used
Anywhere the gross number is not the number that settles it.
Club Stableford
The format most weekend competitions are played under, and the one that is impossible to score without allocating shots hole by hole.
A fourball with mixed handicaps
Four players, four handicaps, and a shot falling on different holes for each of them. This is exactly what the stroke index row is for.
Match play
Holes are won and lost net, on the hole. A handicap subtracted at the end tells you nothing about whether you are two up.
A society or charity day
Casual players, borrowed handicaps and no app installed on anyone's phone. It opens in a browser and needs no account.
Nine holes after work
A nine-hole card carries nine of the eighteen stroke indexes, which is where the usual rule of thumb quietly breaks. The page handles it.
Working out what to post
The adjusted total applies net double bogey to the blow-up holes, which is the figure your handicap record is based on rather than the raw gross.
The stroke index row is the whole game, and almost nothing online reads it
Every paper scorecard has a row of numbers from 1 to 18 running under the pars, labelled SI, Index or Handicap. It ranks the holes by difficulty, and it is not decoration: it is the entire mechanism of handicap golf, because it decides which holes you get a shot on.
Almost no free scorecard on the web uses it. They fall into two groups, and both leave the same hole in the middle.
| Kind of tool | What it does | What is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Browser scorecards | Gross strokes, score to par, often putts, fairways and greens. Handicap, if present at all, is one number taken off the 18-hole total. | The stroke index row. So no net score per hole, no Stableford, no match play. |
| Stableford calculators | Allocate strokes by stroke index correctly and return the points. | They run after the round. You finish, then type eighteen numbers in. They are not a card you keep while you play. |
| This page | The allocation, live, on the hole you are standing on. | Shot tracking, GPS, course databases and handicap posting. Those are app jobs. |
Why one subtraction at the end is not the same answer
Taking your whole course handicap off your gross total is correct for exactly one thing: an 18-hole net medal score. It is wrong for a hole, wrong for a match, and it cannot produce a Stableford score at all, because Stableford is computed hole by hole and a hole you blew up on scores zero rather than minus four. Two players on 92 gross off 18 both come to 74 net by subtraction, yet one can beat the other by six points on the same card.
How the strokes are actually shared out
You receive a shot on the holes whose stroke index is at or below your course handicap. A course handicap of 7 gets a shot on the seven hardest holes, stroke index 1 to 7. Eighteen gets a shot everywhere. Twenty-four gets a shot everywhere and a second one on stroke index 1 to 6. A plus handicap runs the other way and gives shots back, starting at the easiest hole, so a +2 gives one back at stroke index 18 and one at 17.
| Course handicap | SI 1–6 | SI 7–12 | SI 13–18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| +2 (plus handicap) | 0 | 0 | −1 on SI 17 and 18 |
| 0 (scratch) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 1 | 1 on SI 7 only | 0 |
| 18 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Nine-hole rounds, where the usual rule quietly breaks
A nine-hole card does not carry stroke indexes 1 to 9. It carries nine of the eighteen, normally the odd numbers on the front nine and the even ones on the back. Compare a nine-hole course handicap of 5 against those raw numbers and you hand the player three shots instead of five, because only 1, 3 and 5 are on the card. This page ranks the holes you have entered by their index and allocates against the rank, which is identical to the ordinary rule on a full 18-hole card and right on a nine.
Net double bogey, and the number your card is probably overstating
Under the Rules of Handicapping there is a maximum score per hole for handicap purposes, and it is not a flat number. It is net double bogey: par, plus two, plus any handicap strokes you get on that hole. An eight on a par 4 where you have a shot counts as 7, and there is no limit on how many holes it applies to. Before you hold an established Handicap Index the maximum is par plus 5 instead; where a course handicap is above 54 and four or more strokes fall on one hole, it is also par plus 5.
Here is the part that ties the page together. The R&A and the USGA both note that a net double bogey is the lowest score on a hole for which the player would achieve zero Stableford points. That is not a coincidence, it is the same arithmetic twice, and you can read it straight off the points ladder:
| Gross | Net | Net result | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | Net eagle | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Net birdie | 3 |
| 5 | 4 | Net par | 2 |
| 6 | 5 | Net bogey | 1 |
| 7 | 6 | Net double bogey | 0 |
| 8 or worse | 7+ | Worse again | 0 |
The first row scoring zero is the seven, and the seven is exactly par + 2 + 1 shot received. So the moment a hole stops earning you points is the moment it stops counting for handicap. This page marks that hole as it happens — counts as 7 — and carries an adjusted total beside the gross one, which is the figure that matters if you are going to post the round.
What this does not do
It does not calculate a Handicap Index, because that needs your scoring record, the course rating and the slope rating of the tees you played, and it is your club or association that holds those and does the sum. It does not carry a course database, so the pars and the stroke index row are typed in from the card rather than looked up. It has no GPS, no shot tracking and no leaderboard to share, and it does not record putts, fairways or greens in regulation — several free cards do that well and this one deliberately spends its screen on the handicap arithmetic instead. Everything stays in this browser, so the card works with no signal in the middle of a course and clearing site data clears it.
Online counter vs a clicker, an app, paper and a spreadsheet
Every counting method trades something away. This is what each one actually costs you.
| Feature | This online counter | Handheld clicker | Counter phone app | Pen and paper | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $5–$15 | Free with ads, or paid | Cost of paper | Subscription |
| Anything to install | No | Buy the device | App store download | No | Yes, or a web login |
| Several counts at once | Unlimited | One per device | Usually limited | Yes, messy | Yes |
| Fix a miscount | Undo and redo | Start over | Sometimes | Cross it out | Edit the cell |
| Counts by more than one | Any step size | One at a time | Sometimes | Manual maths | Yes |
| Below zero | Yes | No | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Keeps the count if you close it | Saves automatically | Until you reset the dial | Yes | If you keep the paper | Yes |
| Works with no signal | Yes, after first load | Yes | Yes | Yes | Often not |
| Keyboard and shortcuts | Full | None | None | None | Partial |
| Sends your data anywhere | Never | Never | Often, for accounts and ads | Never | Yes, to the cloud |
Other counter types
The same counter, set up and explained for a specific job. Your counters are shared across all of them.
Online counter
The all-purpose counter. Any step size, any number of counters, negative values allowed.
Open online counter →Tally counter
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Run as many counters as you like at once, side by side in a grid.
Open multi counter →Pitch counter
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Open pitch counter →Auto counter
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Open auto counter →Click speed test
Measure your clicks per second over 1 to 60 seconds, with your personal best kept on-device.
Open click speed test →Habit counter
Count toward a daily target and keep the streak, with a day boundary you choose.
Open habit counter →People counter
In and out at a door, with live occupancy against a capacity and a fix for drift.
Open people counter →Bird counter
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Rows, pattern repeats and a shaping schedule that names the increase rows and then ends.
Open knitting counter →Omer counter
The 49 days of Sefirat HaOmer, in days and weeks, with the blessing state tracked.
Open omer counter →Yes/No counter
Two options, a live percentage, and the sample size and caveats the percentage needs.
Open yes/no counter →
Frequently asked questions
What is a stroke index in golf?
A number from 1 to 18 printed on the scorecard that ranks the holes by playing difficulty, with 1 the hardest. It decides where handicap strokes fall: you receive a shot on every hole whose stroke index is at or below your course handicap. It is usually allocated so odd numbers sit on the front nine and even on the back.
How many shots do I get on each hole?
One on each hole whose stroke index is at or below your course handicap. Off 7 you get a shot on stroke index 1 to 7 and nothing elsewhere. Off 18 you get one everywhere. Off 24 you get one everywhere plus a second on stroke index 1 to 6. This page works it out per hole as you play.
How do you calculate a net score in golf?
Subtract the handicap strokes you receive on that hole from your gross score for it. A 5 on a par 4 where you have a shot is a net 4, a net par. Over a full round the net total is the gross total minus the strokes actually allocated, which is the same as the course handicap once every hole is played.
How are Stableford points calculated?
From the net score against par: a net par is 2 points, a net birdie 3, a net eagle 4, a net bogey 1, and a net double bogey or worse is 0. Points cannot go negative, which is the point of the format — one disastrous hole costs you two points rather than six shots.
What is net double bogey?
The maximum score on a hole for handicap purposes under the Rules of Handicapping: par, plus two, plus any handicap strokes you receive on that hole. On a par 4 where you get a shot it is 7, so a 9 counts as 7 when the round is posted. There is no limit on how many holes it applies to.
What is the difference between gross and net score?
Gross is the strokes you actually played. Net is gross minus the handicap strokes you receive, and it is what lets players of different standards compete on the same card. Competitions are often decided on both: a gross prize for the lowest raw score and a net prize for the best allowing for handicap.
Does it work for a nine-hole round?
Yes, and it handles the part that catches other tools out. A nine-hole card carries nine of the eighteen stroke indexes rather than 1 to 9, so comparing a nine-hole handicap against the raw numbers gives too few shots. This page ranks the holes on the card and allocates against that rank instead.
Can it handle a plus handicap?
Yes. A plus handicap gives strokes back rather than receiving them, starting at the easiest hole, so a +2 gives one back at stroke index 18 and one at 17. The net score on those holes is one higher than the gross, which is correct and is something most free cards cannot represent at all.
Will it calculate my handicap index?
No, and it does not try. A Handicap Index needs your scoring record plus the course rating and slope rating of the tees you played, and it is your club or national association that holds those and does the calculation. Enter the course handicap they give you and this page does the rest of the round.
Does the card save if I close the tab?
Yes. Every score is written to this browser's local storage as you tap, so locking the phone between holes or losing signal in a valley loses nothing. The card is tied to this browser on this device, and clearing site data will clear it.
Counting guides
Longer answers to the questions behind the counting.
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How to count laps while swimming
Why swimmers lose count at length 14, and five methods that actually hold up.
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Tally marks explained
Groups of five, the five-bar gate, and why the convention has survived for centuries.
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Counting people is easy. Counting them accurately, twice, is not.
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Why streak apps fail, and what a plain daily counter does better.
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Hardware and grip account for most of the gap. Practice accounts for less than people think.
- Inventory
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Counting is the easy part. Preparing, and knowing your count is right, is the job.
- Training
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- Reference
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Synchronous vs asynchronous, mod-N, ring and Johnson, plus mechanical and software counters.
- Build it
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One tasbeeh is equal to how many?
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Why the pattern matters, how many cells is enough, and the imprecision built into the method itself.
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How to count a flock of birds
Blocks, tens, and why the number to report is the most seen at one time.
- Knitting
How to read knitting shaping instructions
Every 4th row, alt rows, at each end, AT THE SAME TIME — translated, with the rows they land on.
- Golf
Stableford points and net scores
Stroke index, strokes received, net score, points — in the order you actually need them.
- Surveys
How many people do you need to survey?
Why 385 answers a city and 45 answers a club, and the margin each sample size buys.