rating and slope of a course what does it mean

by Hope Brown 3 min read

While course ratings are a measure of the difficulty of a course, slope ratings are a measure of how much more difficult a course is for a high handicap golfer versus a lower one. For example, if you have two courses that each have a course rating of 72, they should be the same difficulty for a scratch golfer.

Slope rating (a term trademarked by the United States Golf Association) is a measurement of the difficulty of a golf course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating. Course rating tells scratch golfers how difficult the golf course will be; slope rating tells bogey golfers how difficult it will be.Feb 11, 2022

Full Answer

How is a golf course's slope and rating calculated?

Feb 11, 2022 · Course rating tells scratch golfers how difficult the golf course will be; slope rating tells bogey golfers how difficult it will be. To put it another way: USGA Course Rating tells the best golfers how hard a golf course actually plays; USGA Slope Rating indicates how much harder the course plays for "regular" (meaning not among the best) golfers. The minimum slope …

What golf course has the highest slope rating?

Dec 05, 2021 · The course rating is a measure of how difficult a course is for a high handicap golfer, while the slope rating is a measure of how difficult a course is for a low handicap golfer. A scratch golfer should be able to play both courses that each have a 72 rating, for example.

What is golf slope rating and how is it determined?

Aug 13, 2015 · Course Slope. The Course Slope predicts the difficulty of a course for a “bogey” golfer, someone who shoots 18 over par or 90. Course Slope is a number between 55 and 155, with 113 being the average. The higher the number the more difficult the course. As with course rating each set of tees will have a slope rating.

What is the "slope rating" of a golf course?

Sep 29, 2020 · According to the USGA, the slope rating is going to be between 55 and 155. The average slope rating is 113, which is according to the USGA, the standard one. Slope rating is also measured by keeping the perspective of different tees. That means the blue men’s tees might be marked with a course slope of 123, whereas the white men’s tees might be marked with …

What is the slope of a course mean?

The slope rating of a golf course is a mathematical measure of the difficulty of the golf course. Slope rating takes into account the USGA par rating of the course as well as the expected score of a higher handicap golfer.

What does the rating of a course mean?

Course Rating indicates the difficulty of a course for a “par” or scratch golfer. For example, if a course has a par of 72, the Course Rating might be 71.4. This is the score the scratch golfer is expected to shoot on the course. The number goes up with the difficulty of the course.Aug 13, 2015

How do you use slope and rating?

Multiply the difference between course rating and bogey rating according to gender. For male golfers, multiply the difference by 5.381; for women, multiply it by 4.24 and round to the nearest whole number. This is the slope rating.May 7, 2020

What does a slope rating of 130 mean?

From Tom's tees, a slope of 130 gives him a 12 Course Handicap. Mary gets one stroke PLUS the difference between the course ratings, or 73.2 - 71.1 = 2.1. Rounded to the nearest whole number (. 5 or more is rounded up).

How does slope and rating affect handicap?

When you play a course with a Slope Rating higher than 113, your Course Handicap will be higher than your USGA Handicap Index. When you play a course with a Slope Rating lower than 113, your Course Handicap will be lower than your Handicap Index.

What slope rating should I play?

If you are playing a course with a slope in the 130's, you might want to aim for something under 95 as opposed to 90. On the other hand, a course with a slope in the low 100's may allow you to aim for an 85 – or even lower.May 11, 2016

What is a hard course rating?

USGA Course Rating is an evaluation of the difficulty of a golf course for scratch golfers. ... To put it another way: USGA Course Rating tells the best golfers how hard a golf course actually plays; USGA Slope Rating indicates how much harder the course plays for "regular" (meaning not among the best) golfers.Feb 11, 2022

Is a Slope Rating of 135 hard?

A course with a Slope Rating of 135 is not necessarily more difficult than a course with a Slope Rating of 113. You can't compare a golf course's difficulty from the Slope Rating alone.Jun 18, 2015

How do you know if a golf course is hard?

The higher the slope number, the harder the course is for the bogey golfer relative to the difficulty of the course for the scratch golfer. Slope numbers can range anywhere between 55 and 155 with the average slope in the United States being 120.

What is my handicap if I score 110?

If you shoot 110, your handicap is probably going to be about 35. At some point, if your handicap gets high enough, the GHIN handicap system may max out your handicap. This is to keep the game fair for those that are trying to compete.

What is the average golf score for seniors?

The average score for someone over the age of 60 is 92 on a par 72 golf course. These people have a lot of time to play golf but they're getting older and their body doesn't work quite as well as it used to. Obviously, you'll have some golfers shoot much better and some that shoot much worse.

Is a 5.3 handicap good?

A good golf handicap is ten or less. With a handicap index of ten or less, you will generally shoot somewhere around 82. Shooing in the low 80s is better than average but certainly not good enough to be considered a scratch player.Feb 22, 2022

What is a Course Rating?

This scorecard shows the course rating (first number) and slope rating (second number) for each set of tees at a course.

What is a Slope Rating?

While the course rating indicates the difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer, the slope rating, by contrast, indicates how difficult the course should be for a bogey golfer (or someone who averages +18 for 18 holes). Also unlike course rating, slope values can range from 55 to 155 with 113 being the average.

Why Have Two Numbers?

As you may have figured out already, golf is a difficult game and contains a very wide range of golfers, each with very different levels of skill. In the mid 80’s the USGA started to catch on to this big divide between scratch or professional golfers and mid to high handicap golfers.

Ratings and Updates

Changes in green roll, topography, or other obstacles can dramatically change the difficulty of a hole or course.

Wrap-Up

Although it might not be the most pressing matter for some golfers, understanding how course and slope ratings work is sure to only help you understand the game better in the long run.

What is the course rating

To be oversimplified, the definition that we all know about course rating is that it is the expected number of strokes that a scratch or professional golfer should take to complete the game. Most of the time, it is near the par score.

What is slope rating

To be simplified, if the course rating is the term that determines the difficulty level of a course to the scratch golfers, then the slope rating is going to notify us about the difficulty level of a course to the bogey golfers. Or, it is the expected number of strokes that a bogey golfer should take to complete the game.

Some of the important definitions to understand the rating

In case you don’t know the definition of the par golfer/scratch golfer or bogey golfer, the rating system may not make any sense to you. Let’s have a look at the definition of both these two terms to understand the rating system better.

The slope is not the measurement of the course difficulty

This is the most common misconception that most of us keep in mind thinking that the slope rating actually determines the difficulty of the course. But, in reality, that is not the case at all. Down below is three examples that will make it clear for you to understand.

How to calculate the slope rating

According to the rules and regulations of the USGA, there are two procedures to measure the slope rating. The first is for the men and the second one is for the women.

How the USGA do the rating

It requires a long time processing. USGA tracks more than 100 rounds of game in a single course of different tees both of the bogey golfers and scratch golfers. Be keeping all the information in the computer database, they do the actual calculation.

What does slope mean in golf?

Course slope is a figure that indicates the difficulty of a course in relation to a golfer who averages a bogey on every hole, and therefore, averages 18-over par on any given round. For instance, a course with a slope of 90 would indicate that an even-par golfer would shoot 72, while a golfer who bogeyed every hole would shoot 90.

What is a course rating?

Course rating is a figure that indicates the difficulty of a golf course to a golfer who averages even par on a round of 18. For instance, a course rating of 72 would portend that a "scratch golfer" would shoot 72 on that particular course.

What is a golfer's handicap?

Handicap is a number assigned to a golfer, indicating the number of strokes over par they are on an average round of golf. For instance, a golfer with an 18 handicap would typically shoot 18-over par during a round of 18 holes. On a course with a course rating of 72, this golfer would be expected to shoot 90.

What is slope rating in golf?

Slope rating (a term trademarked by the United States Golf Association) is a measurement of the difficulty of a golf course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating.

What is the role of slope in golf?

The most important role of a slope is leveling the playing field for players of different skill levels. For example, let's say Player A and Player B average 85 strokes each for 18 holes. But Player A's average is established on a very difficult course (say, a slope rating of 150), while Player B's average is established on a much easier course (say, a slope rating of 105). If handicaps were simply estimates of golfers' average scores, then these two players would have the same handicap index. But Player A is clearly the better golfer, and in a match between the two Player B would clearly need some strokes.

Who is Brent Kelley?

Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. Slope rating (a term trademarked by the United States Golf Association) is a measurement of the difficulty of a golf course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating.

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What Is A Course Rating?

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So what is a course rating anyways? The simple answer is, a course rating is a number that indicates what a scratch golfer (a golfer that averages par for a round) should shoot on this particular course. So, while the par for a particular course might be 72, a course rating of 70.1 would indicate that a scratch golfer sh…
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What Is A Slope Rating?

  • While the course rating indicates the difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer, the slope rating, by contrast, indicates how difficult the course should be for a bogey golfer (or someone who averages +18 for 18 holes). Also unlike course rating, slope values can range from 55 to 155 with 113 being the average. Now, although you might be thinking that slope ratings work similarly to …
See more on thegolfacademy.org

Why Have Two numbers?

  • As you may have figured out already, golf is a difficult game and contains a very wide range of golfers, each with very different levels of skill. In the mid 80’s the USGA started to catch on to this big divide between scratch or professional golfers and mid to high handicap golfers. It turns out that that statistically, no matter how easy or hard a course is, scratch golfers will almost always …
See more on thegolfacademy.org

Ratings and Updates

  • While the course and slope ratings of a golf course are unlikely to change dramatically, they are usually re-evaluated every 4-5 years. This is mostly due to the fact that courses change slowly over time. While small trees may have been planted when a course opened, as they continue to grow they can start to affect play on the course in different ways. Similarly, additional features s…
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Wrap-Up

  • Although it might not be the most pressing matter for some golfers, understanding how course and slope ratings work is sure to only help you understand the game better in the long run. At the very least, it’s something to think about while you’re comparing the different courses you’ve played throughout the year; hopefully, you’re looking back at some low scores on a really challenging co…
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What Is Course Rating?

  • A golf course rating is a number that tells you what a scratch golfershould be shooting at that golf course. Scratch golfers are known for their ability to shoot par on a golf course. However, not all golf courses are made to be the same difficult. If you have a scorecard lying around, you can take a look to see what the course ratingis. Chances are it is somewhere between a 71 and a 74…
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What Is Slope Rating?

  • The slope rating is a number that indicates how challenging a golf course is for a bogey golfer. Of course, nothing in golf is quite that simple, so the slope rating is not as easy to figure out as the course rating. When we looked at the course rating, you saw that the number kind of coincided with what par is on the course. The bogey rating or slope rating is much different. The slope valu…
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The Importance of Course and Slope Rating

  • Now that you have a better understanding of what course and slope ratings are, it’s a good idea to try and understand the importance of these numbers. The slope rating and course rating can be used for several different reasons that help make the game of golf fair and funfor everyone involved.
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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Now that you have a bit more understanding of the slope rating and course rating, here are a few of the questions that are often asked about this process. Don’t feel bad if you don’t fully understand the USGA handicap system. There is quite a bit involved in this, and sometimes it takes a while to get used to the concepts.
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Conclusion

  • Hopefully, you now understand the concept of course and slope rating. This is not something that you will need to fully understand to play well the next time you hit the course. However, it is good to have an overall awareness of how these systems work. Golf course handicaps will update every two weeks or so. If you all of a sudden have an increase in your handicap, yet you have been pla…
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