With growing interest in golf in the United States and more players taking swing lessons, many dream of becoming a scratch golfer. However, the term itself comes from another sport.

"Scratch" comes from the line marked on the ground before a race. Runners with the highest speed started on the scratch line, and slower runners began ahead of it to receive a stroke advantage. The line establishes a starting point that creates fair competition across the field, but there's more to it than just that.

What is a Scratch Golfer?

A scratch golfer is a player with a handicap index of 0.0 who plays to a course handicap of 0 on every course with a USGA rating and from any set of tees. Under USGA male criteria, the player drives 250 yards and reaches a 470-yard hole in two strokes.

A scratch golfer plays to par across rounds and maintains a handicap of zero on rated courses.

The player reaches six of ten greens in regulation, limits three-putts, reaches one of two fairways from the tee, relies on a chip and single putt in more than half of attempts, and avoids producing two consecutive shots that miss the intended target.

Handicaps, and why being a scratch golfer matters

A golf handicap is a numerical measure used to compare scoring potential between players so they can compete on equal terms. It shows how many strokes above par a player is expected to shoot and is applied during scoring in competitive rounds.

It states how many strokes above par a player is projected to shoot and sets the number of handicap strokes applied during a round so players can compete on equal terms.

Handicap provides an estimate of how a player may score on a specific course after accounting for the course rating and difficulty values. 

Handicap values generally range from 0 to 36, with reported averages in the United States of 14.7 for men and 27.7 for women. And all this matters because getting to that 0.0 handicap index is what makes a scratch golfer elite.

Only about 1.6% to 1.8% of male golfers and 0.4% to 0.7% of female golfers with official handicaps make it to 0.0 or better.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi