The Incredible Stat On What Tiger Woods' Handicap Would Have Been

Tiger Woods seemed virtually unbeatable in his peak years, and statistician Lou Stagner has the numbers to back it up.

According to Stagner, in 2008, when Woods was still in his prime, his official handicap index would have been an incredible +9.4 - the number of strokes better than scratch Woods was at the time. However, that is before reckoning for Tour conditions. Once those are taken into account, it is adjusted to a scarcely believable figure somewhere between +11 and +12, emphasising just how impressive Woods' form was at the time. 

In 2008, Woods’ season was cut short. Indeed, he only played a total of seven tournaments before knee reconstruction surgery ended his involvement following his win in the US Open that June. However, including his 14th Major win, Woods barely let up throughout the season. 

He won the first four tournaments of 2008, before finishing fifth in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He followed that up with a runner-up finish in the Masters at Augusta National before famously edging out Rocco Mediate after 91 holes at Torrey Pines after one extra hole of an 18-hole playoff. Given the incredibly low handicap index calculated by Stagner, we can only speculate as to how many more wins Woods would have achieved that year had injury not curtailed his season. 

Of course, the American's peak lasted for far longer than just 2008. Previously, Stagner posted details of some other legendary years in Woods’ career, including 2000 when he won three Majors among nine victories on his way to completing the unique Tiger Slam in 2001 - four Major wins within 365 days. However, perhaps surprisingly, 2008 still comes out on top. 

Regardless of the precise form Woods displayed at any given time, the figures show just how dominant Woods was in his prime as he broke so many incredible records and inspired a new generation of fans to take up the game. 

The handicap system provides a gauge to an amateur golfer’s current aptitude and performance level, and enables players of different abilities to compete against each other. However, in the professional game there is no handicap system, although some pros keep a handicap as a guide to how many shots they should give amateur friends.