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What does the slope and rating of a course mean?

Brady0626

By Brady0626,
in Golf Courses and Architecture

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Brady0626 Established Member

Brady0626

Like is higher more difficult/more slope or what? and who decides what it is rated

"Don't drink and drive, don't even putt."


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Sumo2 9.5 degree driver I3 3 wood 5 wood Deep Reds 3-PW Vokey 60 degreeSW 2 bar hybrid putter.

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Brady0626 Established Member

Brady0626

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So would a rating of a course being 72.2 and a slope of 130 be an above average course? I'm just wondering when I compare my handicap to others here and the courses they play on

"Don't drink and drive, don't even putt."


In my bag:
Sumo2 9.5 degree driver I3 3 wood 5 wood Deep Reds 3-PW Vokey 60 degreeSW 2 bar hybrid putter.

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Soup Fan Dedicated Member

Soup Fan

Short thumbnail sketch of slope and rating, per my understanding which very well may be completely backasswards.

The rating is a number that represents the average score of what a scratch golfer would shoot there over x number of rounds at the course in question. That is why it is always a number around par. So if par for the course is 72 and the rating is 72.2, it means a scratch golfer would average slightly over par there over a series of rounds.

Remember algebra? Remember slope? In extreme layman's terms that will make any math major cringe, slope is essentially the steepness of a line on a graph. Well, a course's slope is algebraic...the slope of the line on a graph that is plotted between what a scratch golfer shoots on average (the course rating) to what a bogey golfer would shoot on average. So, essentially, the higher the slope, the steeper the line between scratch golfer and bogey golfer's scores and the idea of the slope is to represent exactly that. The disparity between the difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer vs. a bogey golfer. So a course with a high slope (140 is the highest possible and 115 is average IIRC) means that it it will be a lot more difficult for a bogey golfer than a scratch golfer.

Hope this helps, although I get the feeling I probably just confused you more.

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Brady0626 Established Member

Brady0626

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Basically the rating says If your a good golfer you should shoot around that score and if your a weak golfer you should shoot around the slope score? and yes I've done enough trig and algebraic equeations to know how to solve slope...
I don't get it though, I've never ever seen anyone shoot 130 at our golf course.

"Don't drink and drive, don't even putt."


In my bag:
Sumo2 9.5 degree driver I3 3 wood 5 wood Deep Reds 3-PW Vokey 60 degreeSW 2 bar hybrid putter.

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Soup Fan Dedicated Member

Soup Fan

No no. The slope is not the score of a bogey golfer. The slope is the slope of the line plotted between the rating and the bogey golfer's score. While I do remember the slope intercept formula (y=mx+b), I do not recall how to solve the slope of the line...so I will just create a hypothetical.

The course rating is 72.

The bogey golfer averages 80.

You plot a point at 72 and a point at 80 and connect them with a line. The slope of that line = course slope.

Just like everything else in golf, it seems completely bewildering and incomprehensible until you understand it. Then it just seems easy.

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tjy355 Dedicated Member

tjy355

Basically the rating says If your a good golfer you should shoot around that score and if your a weak golfer you should shoot around the slope score? and yes I've done enough trig and algebraic equeations to know how to solve slope...

You didn't read the link.

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Brady0626 Established Member

Brady0626

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You didn't read the link.

I did, thats what I took of what he said though.

"Don't drink and drive, don't even putt."


In my bag:
Sumo2 9.5 degree driver I3 3 wood 5 wood Deep Reds 3-PW Vokey 60 degreeSW 2 bar hybrid putter.

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alf174 Great Member

alf174

So would a rating of a course being 72.2 and a slope of 130 be an above average course? I'm just wondering when I compare my handicap to others here and the courses they play on

your handicap index of 12 on a course with a slope of 130 would give you a course handicap of 14.

(130 / 113) * 12 = 13.8 -> 14. (round to the nearest whole number)

"You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred." Woody Allen
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RemyM Dedicated Member

RemyM

So a course with a high slope (140 is the highest possible and 115 is average IIRC) means that it it will be a lot more difficult for a bogey golfer than a scratch golfer.

Slopes go from 55 to 155 and 113 is the slope for a course with average difficulty.

Rob Tyska

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iacas Hall of Fame Member

iacas

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So would a rating of a course being 72.2 and a slope of 130 be an above average course? I'm just wondering when I compare my handicap to others here and the courses they play on

Your handicap INDEX should travel from any course to any course if they're rated properly. That's what you compare - not your course handicap.

Erik J. Barzeski — ⛳ I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
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Brady0626 Established Member

Brady0626

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Your handicap INDEX should travel from any course to any course if they're rated properly. That's what you compare - not your course handicap.

I see I see.

My course handicap is 12. So does that mean my index would be 10 or something?

"Don't drink and drive, don't even putt."


In my bag:
Sumo2 9.5 degree driver I3 3 wood 5 wood Deep Reds 3-PW Vokey 60 degreeSW 2 bar hybrid putter.

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alf174 Great Member

alf174

I see I see.

How did you calculate your handicap of 12?

"You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred." Woody Allen
My regular pasture.

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Brady0626 Established Member

Brady0626

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How did you calculate your handicap of 12?

I enter my scored on a computer at the course that does it.

"Don't drink and drive, don't even putt."


In my bag:
Sumo2 9.5 degree driver I3 3 wood 5 wood Deep Reds 3-PW Vokey 60 degreeSW 2 bar hybrid putter.

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Dent Great Member

Dent

I enter my scored on a computer at the course that does it.

then that is your actual handicap. Your course handicap can be determined manually using a formula.

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RemyM Dedicated Member

RemyM

You handicap index is the decimal number. So if it tells you 12.0 then that is your index. Your course handicap is a whole number calculated using your index and the slope rating. Since you are in Canada you should be able to find it here.
http://www.rcganetwork.org/Member/Me...spx?lang=en-CA

Rob Tyska

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Note: This thread is 5712 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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