How many shots would you need to beat men's World No.1, Scottie Scheffler? That is a question which has likely been posed in many a clubhouse, bar, or midway through any number of long journeys in the car.
According to the USGA, the average golf Handicap Index for a male American is 14 while his female peer sits at around 27. It is a similar picture in the UK, with the index averaging 16 for men and 28 for women.
Ahead of the Tour Championship at East Lake this week, a tournament which Scheffler begins two strokes clear of 29 other players, the FedEx Cup leader was asked how social golf games with his buddies are kept interesting.
As it turns out, the leading PGA Tour golfer on the planet revealed he gives his buddies anything up to 20 strokes. And admitted he still usually wins.
Asked how games are made equitable when playing with his friends, Scheffler said: "Most of it's just strokes. Just like the handicap system. I think that's one of the great parts about our game, is I can go out there with whoever it is and we can come up with some sort of a fair match just based on the handicap system."
So what figure does Scheffler use, given - as a professional - he does not have an official WHS number?
He said: "Depends on the game, but at home I'm typically playing to a plus seven. I used to be a plus five. They moved me to a plus seven. So now we've got guys in the group that are getting like two strokes a hole. I typically still will win more often than not, I feel like, but it's just fun. It's just entertaining.
"If you're going out there with a 12-13 handicap, you don't know what the heck is going to happen. If we're playing Wolf there is a lot of volatility there and it's fun."
Although - as previously stated - pros do not have an official Handicap Index, the average PGA Tour golfer's Handicap would probably be in the plus five to plus six range.
A few years back, Golf Stat Pro Lou Stagner crunched the numbers on the PGA Tour from 2016 to 2020 and worked out what Handicap Index players would be relative to Course Rating and Slope Rating on the course’s scorecard from that period. It showed the average Handicap Index for PGA Tour players in that time was +5.4.
Have you ever wondered what the USGA index would be for a PGA Tour pro if they posted scores like we do?Yeah, me too. Shot out to my buddy Clay Ballard (@TopSpeedGolf) for the idea. Index of avg tour pro:▶️ +5.4Best index achieved:▶️ Fowler +8.4 pic.twitter.com/krYodzF7GZMay 30, 2020
The best index achieved during the period was +8.4 by Rickie Fowler and the best average index for the four years was +6.5 – Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka.
Scheffler admitted he has no idea what his actual Handicap Index would be nowadays, but for context, the 28-year-old leads the scoring average on the PGA Tour in 2024 at 68.659 - so roughly 3.5 strokes under par every time he tees it up.
He continued: "If I'm at home, pretty much either Friday or Saturday, I'm playing with somebody that I'm giving 20 strokes. I think we're up to 20 strokes now. And he takes them all. I think if we kept my handicap throughout the year -- it's tough. It's a tough thing to figure out."
Fellow Tour Championship competitor Justin Thomas said that he also had no idea what his Handicap Index would be but admitted he would be "pretty pissed" if a fellow pro offered him a stroke or two during a practice round.
Justin Thomas looks on during the 2024 BMW Championship
Responding to a question about whether pros give each other shots during a non-competition round, Thomas - who made it to East Lake as No.30 in the FedEx Cup standings - said: "It's definitely not common. I think it would be pretty -- I don't want to say disrespectful, but I'd be pretty pissed if Scottie and I played a practice round and he's like, do you want a stroke on this nine?
"It would be like, what do I think of myself and what does he think of me. Honestly, it would be a pretty good intimidation factor.
"I definitely have some buddies that I play with at home that are maybe mini-tours or stuff like that, people that I'm close enough with where I feel like I can say that and I'll just -- I'll be like, do you want some strokes or what do you want and they kind of look at me, and I know right then that I've already won the match because that's what I think of them, kind of thing."
