How Do I Know My ESC Limits If I Don't Yet Have a Handicap Index?

It's a circular dilemma. You want to establish a handicap index. But you must turn in adjusted gross scores to do so, which requires knowing your Equitable Stroke Control limits on per-hole scores. But you can't determine your ESC limits unless you know your course handicap ... which requires having a handicap index.

What to do? Thankfully, the USGA has a prescription for this problem.

If you have not yet established a handicap index, use the maximum allowable handicap index to determine a course handicap. Then apply that course handicap in order to determine your ESC per-hole limits.

The maximum handicap index for men is 36.4; for women, 40.4. So a man without a handicap index would determine a course handicap using 36.4; the resulting course handicap is then used to determine the ESC limits. (See our FAQ, What is Equitable Stroke Control? for more, including a chart that shows what the per-hole maximums are.)