If you love data, this one’s for you.
Every year, the United States Golf Association issues a report summarizing the data gathered from millions of U.S. golfers who post their scores via the World Handicap System. Having access to these numbers does more than create a handsome presentation for the USGA. It also tells a story of how many are maintaining their handicap index, how the “average golfer” performs and even a snapshot of the growth of golf.
Granted, this data from the USGA is based on the golfers who actually record their handicap index but with 3.68 million entrants, it offers a glimpse into trends among golfers actively tracking their performance.
Top 10 average handicap index by state
| State | Average handicap index — Male | State | Average handicap index — Female |
| Arkansas | 10.6 | Mississippi | 22.0 |
| Mississippi | 10.7 | Arkansas | 23.6 |
| Oklahoma | 11.1 | Hawaii | 23.8 |
| Alabama | 11.7 | Louisiana | 24.7 |
| Tennessee | 11.9 | North Dakota | 25.0 |
| North Dakota | 12.3 | Oklahoma | 25.5 |
| Texas | 12.4 | Texas | 25.7 |
| Louisiana | 12.5 | Alabama | 25.9 |
| Kentucky | 12.5 | Tennessee | 26.6 |
| Kansas | 12.6 | New Mexico | 27.0 |
Source: USGA 2025 Golf Scorecard
One of the most intriguing datapoints is a ranking of which state has the lowest average handicap posted.
Maybe your mind instantly jumps to states like Florida or California where more pleasant year-round weather can mean more golfing days and more scores to enter. Interestingly, the data shows a different story and neither Florida nor California crack the top 10 states with the lowest average.
Instead, the lowest average goes to Arkansas for male golfers and Mississippi for the females and then it flip flops for the second-lowest. Oklahoma, Alabama, Tennessee, North Dakota, Texas and Louisiana appear in the top 10 lowest averages for both male and female golfers, while Hawaii sneaks in as the third-lowest for the females.
The states where golfers post the most scores
| State | Number of 9- and 18-hole scores recorded |
| Florida | 11,427,566 |
| California | 9,092,772 |
| Texas | 4,158,193 |
| Arizona | 3,699,328 |
| North Carolina | 3,578,831 |
| South Carolina | 3,022,996 |
| New York | 2,969,144 |
| Massachusetts | 2,712,116 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,473,885 |
| Georgia | 2,367,527 |
Don’t worry, Florida and California, you’re not left out of this conversation for very long. In fact, your two states earn the top spots (with Florida claiming the No. 1 spot handily) for the most scores reported. The two states recorded almost 20 million scores, showing us how deeply engrained golf is both these regions.
What’s most striking about this datapoint is only one state—Texas—has the third-highest number of recorded scores and one of the lowest handicap index averages. What does this tell us about Florida and California or Arkansas and Mississippi? Maybe it’s up to each of us to draw our own conclusions.
The USGA also reports an overall increase of eight percent among golfers who recorded their scores in 2025 compared to 2024. This is good news no matter where you live since it shows us that golfers are getting more engaged with the game year after year.
WYBob
6 months ago
Obvious observation is that all the lower handicap states are located in the Sun Belt with the exception of North Dakota and Kansas. As someone who played in Texas playing year round, and now lives in a Rocky Mountain state and only get to play 6-7 months a year, I have definitely seen how available playing season has negatively impacted my handicap. Shaking the rust off when you only get to start playing in late April/early May definitely affects your scores in the first couple of months and your index overall. The states with the highest number of posted scores are also some of the most populated states. Therefore I suspect that the available playing season may have more impact on which states have the lower handicap indexes.