The graph of the course handicaps (note that rounding creates some "bumps" in the lines when the slope is not the whole number 1 (113/113): Here's a chart of four fictitious golf courses: Imagine a course with a rating of "100.0" and a slope of "102." Nobody in their right minds would say that course is "easier" than a 72.0/144-rated course. And this leads into what seems to be the biggest misconception. Too many people look at one number - the slope - and use that to determine what the "difficulty" of the course is.īut that fails, because lines are defined by more than their slope: the y-intercept matters. We could keep the same slope and make the course rating 69.0, and the course would instantly be three shots easier for every golfer. These golfers should shoot, on average for the eight rounds that count toward their handicap index, these scores: This should make sense: on a 72.0 (par 72) course with a slope of 113, we have a basic line with a slope of 1. This is a set of tees with a rating of 72.0 (note that I consider all tees to be par 72 for the simplicity's sake in this article) and a slope of 113. In this case, y is the course handicap, m is the slope (slope rating/113), x is the handicap index, and b is the course rating. This line has a "slope" that tells us the "slope rating" of that set of tees. We plot those two points on a graph, and draw a line connecting them. Some basic linear algebra and geometry are used as such: So, we have two numbers: the score for a scratch golfer and the score for a bogey golfer. The bogey rating is the same for a "bogey golfer," (who, oddly, isn't an 18.0 index, but closer to a 20.0, as they're about a 20 course handicap on a 113-slope course). The scratch rating is defined as the score a scratch golfer should shoot on rounds where he plays to his handicap index (of 0.0). Two numbers come out of this calculation: a scratch rating and a bogey rating. A few are subjective, like "how difficult is it to escape if you hit your ball into those trees"? Most of these numbers are pretty objective: the width of the fairway, the length of the hole, elevation changes, the diameter of the green, the depth and size of green side bunkers, etc. This article will assume that you're semi-familiar with the the concepts of course rating and slope, and really seeks to expel some basic myths and misconceptions.Ĭourse Ratings Are the Primary Determinant of "Difficulty"Īs you should know, when a golf course is rated (for "difficulty"), many, many, many numbers are generated for each hole. I've been meaning to write this for awhile, and since the World Handicap System (WHS) is coming to most of the world this year, now's as good a time as any.
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