text: The handicap index is not used directly for playing purposes, but used to calculate a course handicap according to the slope rating of the set of tees being used with an adjustment based on the difference between the course rating and par. The result is rounded to the nearest whole number. For competitions, the unrounded course handicap is converted to a playing handicap by applying a handicap allowance, dependent on the format of play.
  The WHS contains measures reduce a handicap index more quickly in the case of exceptional scoring, and also to prevent a handicap index from rising too quickly. This is done by means of "soft" and "hard" caps based on the lowest index during the previous 365 days; the soft cap reduces increases above 3.0 to 50%, and the hard cap limits increases to 5.0. Updates to a golfer's handicap index are issued daily.
  Many elements of WHS have flexibility which allows for local authorities to determine their own settings, but the basic handicap index calculation remains the same. Examples include: 9-hole scores may be scaled-up rather than combined;  may be omitted from the course handicap calculation; and the rounded course handicap may be used in the playing handicap calculation.