The stroke index gives every hole on the course a rating between 1 to 18.
In Matchplay, depending on your handicap, you are rewarded a number of strokes on certain holes based on their Stroke Index. Within Europe, the stroke index is used for handicap calculation which is based on Stableford points.
If you have a 6 handicap, then you will be awarded one extra shot on the 6 most difficult holes, i.e. 1 – 6.
If you have a handicap of 12, then you will be awarded one shot on the 12 most difficult holes, stroke index 1 to 12.
If however, you have a handicap of 27, you will be awarded one shot for every hole, plus one extra on the 9 most difficult holes. This means you get 2 shots on the 9 most difficult holes and 1 shot on the easiest holes,