How to best award handicap strokes?

In some goups I play with, everyone gets their full number of course handicap strokes, ie, if your course handicap is 12, you get 12 strokes where they fall on the card.

Other groups I play with determine which player has the fewest handicap strokes and then subtract his strokes from each of the other players handicap strokes, awarding the resulting net number of strokes to the player. In other words, let's say 2 guys are playing and "Joe" has a course handicap of 10 and "Bill" has a course handicap of 4. Bill's 4 strokes would be subtracted from Joe's 10 resulting in Joe receiving a stroke on the 6 lowest handicap holes, while Bill would not get any strokes.

My question is: Is one of these methods more acceptable than the other? Is there any credible source document that states one way to be used vs. the other?

Thanks for your help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_ha...ecific_example


additional sources at the bottom of the page

The USGA recommends the second method. The lowest handicap plays scratch and the others get their strokes minus his handicap. With 4 players sporting course handicap of 6, 10, 12 and 15, the 6 plays to 0, and the others to 4, 6, and 9 respectively.

I've played both ways in match play and, this method is the fairest to all players.

If you don't use the differential as indicated here, the higher handicap players end up getting their strokes on holes that they are more likely not to need them rather than on the holes that they do. Better yet, tell your buddies that handicaps are for girls, and real men play it down and they play what they brung!

A 6 handicap (or better) can get away with that... us ordinary mortals need the assistance of an

accurate handicap.