Equitable Stroke Control (ESC)
 

Equitable Stroke Control is the downward adjustment of unusually high individual hole scores for handicap purposes only in order to make handicaps more representative of a player's potential ability.

Equitable Stroke Control (ESC) sets a maximum number that a player can post on any hole depending on the player's Course Handicap. ESC is applied to any hole where the player's score exceeds the limits for their handicap.

Handicap Factor vs Course Handicap
 Your Course Handicap is your Handicap Factor adjusted for the difficulty of the course and tees played, which is indicated by the Course Rating and Slope.
A course with a Slope of 113 is considered to be of “standard”, or average, difficulty. On courses with a Slope rating below 113, players receive fewer strokes than their Handicap Factor but more strokes on courses with a Slope Rating higher than 113. Slope Ratings range from 55 to 155.

Course Handicap =
Handicap Factor * Course Slope / 113
Here is a conversion chart

Once you establish your Course Handicap enter your adjusted score by using ESC as follows:

  
 
Course Handicap Maximum
9 or Less Double Bogey
10 through 19 7
20 through 29 8
30 through 39 9
40+ 10
 
 

A player with a Course Handicap of 13 has a maximum number of 7 for any hole regardless of par. A player with a Course Handicap of 32 has a maximum number of 10 for any hole.

Example: A player with a Course Handicap of 23 has a score of 106, which includes individual hole scores of 9, 10 and 11. ESC reduces each hole score to the applicable maximum of 8. The player posts an adjusted gross score of 100 for handicap purposes ((9-8) + (10-8) + (11-8) = 6).

A player without an established Handicap Factor must use the maximum Handicap Factor of 36.4 for men, or 40.4 for women, converted to a Course Handicap, to determine a maximum ESC number.

There is no limit to the number of individual hole scores on which an Equitable Stroke Control reduction may be made.