They call it alt-golf for a reason.
It's not the game Ben Hogan knew. It is one of the most modern, adapted to the era of simulators, launch monitors, gamified driving ranges and other high-tech platforms.
It is happening and very popular.
Consider these numbers from the National Golf Foundation. Of the 48.1 million Americans who play golf, about 38 million play some form of golf, while about 19 million have never hit an actual course.
Like traditional golf, golf lends itself to competition. There are tournaments, leagues, hard-fought tournaments and close-to-the-pin matches. Players of all abilities participate, from beginners at Topgolf to Tour pros at TGL.
Unlike traditional golf, however, alt-golf does not have a defining innovation of the game: a common method of measuring skill across players of different skill levels.
Until now.
On Thursday, Evenplay, an AI-powered golf course, launched the Evenplay Index, a skill rating system designed specifically for golfers who play on high-tech courses.
Rather than relying on posted scores from rated golf courses, the index evaluates players based on the shots they actually hit. Using data collected by launch monitors and simulators, the company's AI analyzes each swing, develops a skill rating on a scale of 1 to 100 and converts that rating into a handicap designed for whatever golf course you're using.
There is no cost to sign up for the Evenplay Index. You get it automatically when you create an account on any platform connected to the company's advanced technology. According to Evenplay, the system can generate a reliable test within the first 10 shots – that's all you need to establish an Index – and continue to refine its test as more swings are recorded. Ratings are locked during tournaments, preventing players from controlling their handicaps mid-round. Watch out for hustlers, whether they're hitting greens or screens.
“Disability is one of the best inventions in sports, but it's designed to educate a lot of people on limited courses,” said Sameer Gupta, founder of Evenplay. “It wasn't meant to be a garage sim, indoor league or Friday-night bay. The Evenplay Index fixes that – your skill, measured by shots, turns into a built-in handicap wherever you play. Whether you shoot 72 or 120: the game is on.”
The presentation shows how the landscape outside the golf course has evolved.
The NGF estimates that nearly four out of five golfers now participate in some form of off-course golf, and millions play exclusively in those settings. But only a small percentage of all golfers maintain traditional handicaps, which are specifically designed for rounds played on limited courses.
Evenplay does not position its index as a substitute for the USGA Handicap Index. Rather, it is intended to fill a gap by providing a standardized capability for formats that the existing system was never intended to cover.
The company also announced an extensive list of launch partners, including Full Swing, Golftec, SkyTrak, X-Golf, aboutGolf, Topgolf, Toptracer, Dryvebox, PGA of America and the Indoor Golf Alliance. Together, Evenplay projects that those partnerships will eventually bring Index to more than 200,000 simulation locations and practice stations serving tens of millions of golfers.
For Evenplay, the announcement marks an expansion of the technology the company is built on.
At its birth in early 2025, Evenplay focused on skill-based tournaments powered by AI, allowing simulated golfers to compete for prizes in tournaments limited by their skill. To make those tournaments relevant, the company developed software that can evaluate players almost instantly and adjust challenges based on their demonstrated ability.
The Evenplay Index grows out of that same concept, expanding it beyond the company's own competitions into a comprehensive rating system that can be used by participating simulators and range operators.
As outdoor golf continues to evolve, the company is betting that the common language of competition – handicapping in the digital age – will become as fundamental indoors as the traditional Handicap Index has long been outdoors.
