New to SimCap? Here's how to play
If you just downloaded SimCap or your group is setting up for the winter season, here's everything you need to actually get going — no formulas required.
Logging your first rounds
Just log a round the same way after any session, 9 or 18 holes. Once you've logged 3 rounds (or linked an existing GHIN index), SimCap calculates your first real Handicap Index. Before that, you're still tracking scores, you just don't have an official number yet.
What your Handicap Index actually means
Don't overthink it — your index is roughly how many strokes above (or below) a course's expected score you tend to shoot on an average day. A 12.0 means you're generally around 12 over what a scratch golfer would shoot. It adjusts automatically as you log more rounds, and it's specific to you, not to any one course — your Course Handicap (the actual strokes you get on a given tee) is calculated fresh for each course based on its rating and slope.
Picking a format for your group
Not sure what to play? Rough guide:
- Just a couple of you, playing head-to-head? Match Play — hole-by-hole, strokes allocated by each player's handicap.
- Bigger, casual group out for a fun night? Scramble or Best Ball — team formats that are more forgiving and keep everyone involved on every hole.
- Running a weekly or recurring league? Stroke Play tournaments, strung together into a Season — SimCap tallies points across weeks with a best-N-of-M format, so one rough night doesn't tank your standing.
All four formats work at 9 or 18 holes, so a weeknight league that only has time for 9 doesn't have to skip tournament play.
9 holes vs. 18
If you're short on time, 9 holes is fully supported for both regular rounds and tournaments, and it counts toward your index exactly like an 18-hole round would — just appropriately scaled.
Common questions
My net score equals my gross score — is that a bug? Usually not. It means one of two things: either you don't have a real index yet (you need 3 counting rounds, or a linked GHIN), or you're a very low — even plus — handicap at that particular course, where your Course Handicap actually works out to zero strokes. Both are expected, not errors.
Why did I get a different number of strokes at a different course? Your Course Handicap is recalculated per course and per tee based on that course's rating and slope, so the same Handicap Index can translate to a different number of strokes depending on where you're playing. That's by design — it's what makes net scores comparable across different courses.
Does the course I'm playing need to already be in SimCap? We've got a large and growing course library. If somewhere your group plays isn't in there yet, let us know.
That covers the basics. If something's still confusing once you're in the app, reach out — we're always refining this based on real questions from real groups.