Bowling Handicap Calculator
Your ten-pin bowling handicap per game and per series from the league's basis and percentage and your average, plus the game score with handicap.
Results
What this tool does
A handicap lets bowlers of different levels compete on equal terms by giving the weaker one pins: take the league's basis score, subtract your average and keep the agreed percentage of the difference. With a 220 basis at 90 % and a 165 average, that is 49 pins a game, because leagues drop the fraction rather than round it. The basis and percentage are chosen by each league, commonly 200 to 230 and 80 to 100 %; if your average is at or above the basis you get no handicap. Averages are normally whole numbers, also truncated, and many leagues use the previous season's average until you have bowled enough games.
Formula
handicap = (basis − average) × percentage, fractions dropped
Variables
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
bs | League handicap basis | — |
pc | Handicap percentage | % |
av | Bowler's average | — |
sc | Scratch score of this game | — |
gm | Games in the series | — |
HC | Handicap per game | — |
HG | Game score with handicap | — |
HS | Handicap for the whole series | — |
Worked example
- League handicap basis220
- Handicap percentage90 %
- Bowler's average165
- Scratch score of this game170
- Games in the series3
- Handicap per game49
- Game score with handicap219
- Handicap for the whole series147
Limitations
- The calculation runs at full precision and only the display is rounded. If you copy an intermediate value and retype it, small differences can appear.