Definition: Handicap differential is a number used in calculating handicap index. That number, to one decimal place, represents a golfer's score in relation to USGA Course Rating adjusted to take into account Slope Rating.
Which sounds complicated - because the USGA Handicap calculation is a complicated. The good news is that handicap differential is not a number that golfers need to concern themselves with knowing; it just serves as part of the calculation of handicap index. And that calculation is one that golfers very rarely make themselves.
However, if you want to know specifically how to get a handicap differential and how it fits into the handicap index equation, see these related FAQs:
How do you calculate handicap differential?
How is handicap index calculated?
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