Bowling Handicap

Type your average and the sheet works out your handicap at 90 percent of 220 or your league's own numbers.

Bowling Handicap

90% of 220

90% of 220: a column for each bowler. Totals fill in as scores are typed.
Bowler 1
Bowler 2
Bowler 3
Bowler 4
Bowler 5
Bowler 6
Bowler 7
Bowler 8
AverageWhole pins, 0 to 300
Pins under 220220 less the average
Handicap for a game90% of that, fraction dropped
Handicap for three gamesThe game handicap, 3 times

Type a score and the totals fill in.

Scoring key

The sum at 90% of 220 165 gets 49
220 less the average, times 90 percent, fraction dropped. An average of 165 is 55 under 220, and 90 percent of 55 is 49.5: a handicap of 49.
At or over the basis score 0
The sheet shows 0. What a league does with an average above its basis score is in its own rules.
Your league's rules decide
Each league sets its own basis score and percentage in its rules.

How each row scores

Average
Whole pins, 0 to 300
Pins under 220
220 less the average
Handicap for a game
90% of that, fraction dropped
Handicap for three games
The game handicap, 3 times

The numbers stay in this browser until you press Clear the numbers.

Next step Add the handicap to a three-game seriesKeep the league standings

How it works

A bowling handicap is pins added to your score so bowlers of different averages can compete. It is a percentage of the gap between your average and a basis score your league sets.

Read the full guide

How does bowling handicap work

Take your average from the league's basis score, multiply what is left by the league's percentage and drop the fraction. At 90% of 220, an average of 165 is 55 under: 90 percent of 55 is 49.5, so the handicap is 49 a game, or 147 over three games.

Your league's own numbers

Other sheets work at 90% of 200, 210 and 230 and at 100% of 220, and Your league's own numbers takes any other basis score and percentage.

How to figure bowling average

Divide your total pins by your games in that league this season and drop the fraction: 4,470 pins in 27 games is 165.56, an average of 165. The Average from total pins sheet does the division.

  • Which average counts, this season's so far or last season's for the first games, is set by the league's rules.
  • A league may limit the handicap by a rule of its own; without one, United States Bowling Congress rules set no limit.

Questions and answers

How does a handicap work in bowling?

It is added to every game you bowl, so the lower average starts with more pins. At 90% of 220 a 165 bowler gets 49 and a 200 bowler gets 18: scratch games of 170 and 195 become 219 and 213.

How do bowling handicaps work for a team?

A league's rules say whether it uses the individual method or the team method. With the individual method each bowler's handicap is worked out alone, and the team's handicap is its bowlers' handicaps added together.

What is a good handicap in bowling?

No handicap is good or bad: it mirrors your average. A small one means your average is close to the league's basis score, and at the basis score it is 0. As your average rises, your handicap falls.

Is a bowling handicap always 90 percent of 220?

No. The United States Bowling Congress playing rules leave both figures to each league. They give 100 percent where a league's rules name no other figure, and advise a basis score higher than any average in the league.

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All 33 lines

The sum at each setting 7

  • The sum at 100% of 220 220 less the average, all of it. An average of 165 is 55 under 220 and gets 55. Two bowlers under 220 who each bowl their average tie.
  • The sum at 90% of 200 200 less the average, times 90 percent, fraction dropped. An average of 165 is 35 under 200, and 90 percent of 35 is 31.5: a handicap of 31.
  • The sum at 90% of 210 210 less the average, times 90 percent, fraction dropped. An average of 165 is 45 under 210, and 90 percent of 45 is 40.5: a handicap of 40.
  • The sum at 90% of 220 220 less the average, times 90 percent, fraction dropped. An average of 165 is 55 under 220, and 90 percent of 55 is 49.5: a handicap of 49.
  • The sum at 90% of 230 230 less the average, times 90 percent, fraction dropped. An average of 165 is 65 under 230, and 90 percent of 65 is 58.5: a handicap of 58.
  • The sum for an average Total pins divided by games bowled, fraction dropped. 4,470 pins in 27 games is 165.56: an average of 165.
  • The sum with your league's numbers The basis score less the average, times the percentage, fraction dropped. At 80 percent of 215, an average of 165 is 50 under and gets 40. Each bowler's column takes its own two figures.
Show all 33 lines (26 more)

Notes 3

  • At or over the basis score The sheet shows 0. What a league does with an average above its basis score is in its own rules.
  • One league, one season An average comes from the pins and games of one league in one season. Type that average on a handicap sheet.
  • Your league's rules decide Each league sets its own basis score and percentage in its rules.

Numbers you type 5

  • Average The bowler's average in the league: total pins divided by games bowled. A fraction is dropped before the handicap is worked out, so 165.56 counts as 165.
  • Basis score The figure a league handicaps from, set in its rules. The rule book advises one higher than any average in the league.
  • Games bowled The games those pins were bowled in, in the same league.
  • Percentage The share of the gap a league gives back as handicap, typed as a whole number: 90 for 90 percent. Where a league's rules name none, the rule book's figure is 100.
  • Total pins Every pin credited to the bowler in one league this season.

Rows the sheet works out 18

  • Average from pins and games Total pins divided by games bowled, in whole pins.
  • Handicap for a game at 100% of 220 All of the pins under 220, added to each game.
  • Handicap for a game at 90% of 200 90 percent of the pins under 200, with the fraction dropped, added to each game.
  • Handicap for a game at 90% of 210 90 percent of the pins under 210, with the fraction dropped, added to each game.
  • Handicap for a game at 90% of 220 90 percent of the pins under 220, with the fraction dropped, added to each game.
  • Handicap for a game at 90% of 230 90 percent of the pins under 230, with the fraction dropped, added to each game.
  • Handicap for a game at your league's numbers Your league's percentage of the pins under its basis score, with the fraction dropped.
  • Handicap for three games at 100% of 220 The game handicap once for each game of a three-game series: 55 a game for an average of 165 is 165.
  • Handicap for three games at 90% of 200 The game handicap once for each game of a three-game series: 31 a game for an average of 165 is 93.
  • Handicap for three games at 90% of 210 The game handicap once for each game of a three-game series: 40 a game for an average of 165 is 120.
  • Handicap for three games at 90% of 220 The game handicap once for each game of a three-game series: 49 a game for an average of 165 is 147.
  • Handicap for three games at 90% of 230 The game handicap once for each game of a three-game series: 58 a game for an average of 165 is 174.
  • Handicap for three games at your league's numbers The game handicap once for each game of a three-game series.
  • Pins under 200 200 less the average. It never goes below 0.
  • Pins under 210 210 less the average. It never goes below 0.
  • Pins under 220 220 less the average. It never goes below 0.
  • Pins under 230 230 less the average. It never goes below 0.
  • Pins under your basis score Your league's basis score less the average. It stays at 0 until both are typed and never goes below 0.

How this list was compiled: The sums are our own arithmetic on two rules read on 2026-10-08 in the United States Bowling Congress Playing Rules, the edition linked from https://bowl.com/rules (https://images.bowl.com/bowl/media/assets/usbc/rules/general%20pdfs/usbc-playing-rulebook-26-27.pdf). Rule 100d, Scoring: handicap is added to a bowler's score to place bowlers of varying skill on as equitable a basis as possible; it is figured from each bowler's average as the league's rules provide; the percentage is 100 unless a league rule says otherwise; handicap is not limited unless a league rule says so; fractions are dropped; the questions under the rule describe handicap as a percentage of the difference between a bowler's average and a base figure set higher than any average in the league, with the bowlers' handicaps added together for a team. Rule 108a, Averages: an average is the total pins credited to a bowler in one league divided by the games bowled in that league in a season, and fractions are disregarded when an average is used for handicap. No text or chart is copied from the rule book. The settings on the sheets (90% of 220, 200, 210 and 230, and 100% of 220) are examples: each league sets its own basis score and percentage. Every worked example was checked on 2026-10-08 against the sheet's own sums. Licence: own work