This might sound like a dumb question

[youngskip40]

...and of course, it is a pretty dumb question. It's also irrelevant, but I've always wondered the answer, so I'm going to ask it.

What specifically constitues a "scratch golfer" from a Handicap standpoint?

I know that the USGA defines it as: "An amateur player who plays to the standard of the stroke play qualifiers competing in the United States Amateur Championship. The male scratch golfer hits his tee shots an average of 250 yards and can reach a 470-yard hole in two shots. The female scratch golfer can hit her tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400-yard hole in two shots."

But I'm wondering, when looking at a Handicap Index, what is the exact range that defines someone as a "scratch" golfer. Theoretically, a scratch golfer is one whose handicap is zero, but there are also decimal points in an index. So I'm a little confused as to when this term is actually used correctly.

For instance, my most recent revision puts me at a 0.8 (my best to date!), so does that makes me a scratch golfer? Because depending on slope of the course I'm playing, my course handicap could be either a zero or a one. If I round up, I'm a 1 handicap. If I look at the 0, then I'm a scratch.


Again, totally irrelevant to anything related to actual scoring, but I always wondered if there was a rule of thumb here, because I have met people throughout my years of playing that have been anywhere in the range of +1 to as much as a 3 handicap that described themselves as "scratch golfers."

[Stretch]

My by-the-book read of the wording is that you are a scratch golfer if you are 2.4 or less, since that is the handicap required to qualify to compete in the US Amateur Championship. I'm guessing there aren't many players at or below that handicap that can't fulfill the other stated requirements.

[iacas]

The definitions you've quoted only apply to their use in determining a course's scratch rating.

A scratch golfer, by definition, is one whose handicap is 0.0. Many extend it to someone who gets 0 shots on a course (within about 0.5 of 0.0 on both sides).

[youngskip40]

The definitions you've quoted only apply to their use in determining a course's scratch rating.

Gotcha. That's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!