Tiger Woods, a professional golfer, has had a handicap index throughout his career. Although he no longer has an official handicap, statistician Lou Stagner has calculated his handicap index using the old USGA method, which takes into account the best 10 of 20 scores for handicapping purposes
. According to Stagner, Woods' average index from 1996 through to the present day is +6.7, which is lower than any other pro's average between 2016 and 2020 on the PGA Tour
. In 2008, when Woods was in his prime, his official handicap index would have been an incredible +9.4, which was adjusted to a scarcely believable figure somewhere between +11 and +12 when considering tour conditions
. This demonstrates just how dominant Woods was in his prime, breaking numerous records and winning multiple majors. Some key points about Tiger Woods' handicap index include:
- Woods' best handicap index was in 2008, when it would have been +9.4
- His worst handicap index in a non-slump year was +6.4 in 2015, which does not take into account tour conditions
- In 2015, former Senior Director of Handicapping for the USGA, Dean Knuth, concluded that Woods was still a +5.9 during his slump
- Woods' average index for a quarter-century was +6.7, and he maintained an index of +7.0 or above for a significant period of his career
