Handicaps on scorecards

[smr91481]

What do the handicap numbers on each hole of scorecards mean?

[xTsUnAmI]

number 1 is the hardest hole on the course, 18 being the easiest... Although I disagree sometimes w/ that assesment.

[Shindig]

What do the handicap numbers on each hole of scorecards mean?

If you're playing a handicap match against someone, and it matters

where the higher handicap gets his strokes (say, for skins games or match play), you get your X strokes on the X lowest-handicapped holes. For example, if my course handicap is 5 and yours is 4, we subtract one from my score on the hole with a handicap of 1 for determining who won that hole. If you have a course handicap 16 higher than mine, you get to subtract one from your score (for purposes of determining the winner of the hole, not for purposes of posting!) on all except hcp17&18. I believe they are numbered in such a way so as to maximize the number of times a hole is halved in a match, but I don't remember why I think that.

[Undr Par]

number 1 is the hardest hole on the course, 18 being the easiest... Although I disagree sometimes w/ that assesment.

only sometimes? I wonder most of the time who they (courses) have grading their holes and the degree of difficultly on each one? a freakin Pro Golfer or something......

I leave a hole sometimes thinking, "yeah that 2nd easiest hole there bud may have been that for Tiger Woods but for me the wannabe Golfer it has hard as heck"

[Akers]

While we're kinda on this subject I've got to ask, can you only get one shot on a par 3 no matter what of the handicap? I've been told that buth others seem to disagree.

[hawkeye]

They just changed 8 of the stroke indices on my home course.

Lots of members giving out - though their concerns are a little unjustified. They changed them according to statistics - thousands of rounds of golf from hundreds of different players of all standards.

The only thing I would say is that sometimes the stroke index determines how you play a hole (lay-up on long par 4 with a shot, etc).

I lost a shot on a tight par 4 (handy - 3 iron, wedge, handy par) and gained one on a par 5 (tight, water everywhere, 3 wood, 5 iron, wedge - handy net birdies coming up!) So i'm pretty happy :)

[pjsnyc]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong - I heard some courses number them in opposite fashion (the hardest being 18, etc)...is this true?

[hawkeye]

not one course in Ireland does that. From the sounds of it, most courses in the USA have index 1 as the toughest. If some courses did that, it would be pretty silly seeing as how most courses in the US and RoW do the opposite.

Would be interested to hear if this happens anywhere!

[iacas]

number 1 is the hardest hole on the course, 18 being the easiest... Although I disagree sometimes w/ that assesment.

That's incorrect, though it's commonly believed.

For example, I played a course on which a 223-yard par three is the #16 handicap hole. Why? Because the stroke differentials work out that way. The scratch golfer is very likely to make a bogey there. So too is the bogey golfer. So it's not a big deal. On a 550-yard par five, though, the scratch golfer is likely to birdie or at least par (and they have more opportunity to recover). The bogey golfer, given more opportunity to mess up, is likely to make par or bogey. Thus, the par five gets a higher handicap rating than the par three because THAT hole is where the higher handicapper will most likely need the strokes. The best way the USGA has for figuring out handicap assignments is to run 200+ scorecards through some software. It'll determine the likes of what I just said: where golfers who get strokes need strokes.

[MrSandman]

Iacas is correct. #1 handicap is usually the hardest, but that is not the technical definition. It has to do with the holes where the higher handicappers are most likely to need a stroke.

Also, something you might already know, but the odd number holes are usually on the way out (front 9), while the even numbered holes are the way in (back 9).

[smr91481]

While we are on the topic of scorecards could someone explain the slope and rating of the course?

[DJYoshi]

While we are on the topic of scorecards could someone explain the slope and rating of the course?

USGA Course Rating™

The USGA® mark that indicates the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for scratch golfers. It is based on yardage and other obstacles to the extent that they affect the scoring difficulty of the scratch golfer. Example: 68.5 Slope Rating® the USGA mark that indicates the measurement of the relative difficulty for the bogey golfer compared to the Course Rating. Slope Rating is computed from the difference between the bogey rating and the Course Rating. The lowest Slope Rating is 55 and the highest is 155. Thus, the lower the #, the easier the course should play.

[MrSandman]

Course Rating is an indication of how difficult the course would be for a scratch golfer. A par 72 with a 68 rating, for example, would play to fewer strokes than a par 70 golf course with a 71 rating. A lot of rating has to do with length. It is assumed the scratch golfer can keep the ball in play, so it is a matter of how long the holes are, can they reach the par 5's in two, are they going to be hitting short irons or long irons as approaches. The hazards are not as big a factor, as the low handicapper can keep the ball in play and it doesn't matter as much if there is a water hazard lining the left of a hole but only an issue if you duck hook the ball.

Slope is more related to difficulty for bogey golfers, and has a lot to do with hazards and such. If you see a course with a rating in the 140's, that is a very difficult course (155 is the highest). If you see a course in the 120's, that's an average course. If you see one in the low hundreds, that's a pretty easy course, probably not a lot of hazards or trouble spots if you spray the ball around.

A good example of this is a course in NH called Shattuck Inn. It has one of the highest slopes in the country at 150+, yet its rating is not that high. The course is the ultimate in target golf, if you are not good with your irons, you are going to be in a hazard all day. But if you can hit a 160 yd shot straight, the course is not that long, so you can actually do pretty well. So a scratch golfer (one who can control a 150 yd shot) can manuever the targets reasonably and the course is not incredibly long so they can score. But a bogey golfer, who sprays the ball, is going to be shooting in the 100's with a lot of X's on the score card.

[iacas]

Slope is more related to difficulty for bogey golfers, and has a lot to do with hazards and such. If you see a course with a rating in the 140's, that is a very difficult course (155 is the highest). If you see a course in the 120's, that's an average course. If you see one in the low hundreds, that's a pretty easy course, probably not a lot of hazards or trouble spots if you spray the ball around.

To add to that, 113 is the point at which the handicap and the slope exhibits a 1:1 relationship. I believe most courses are just above that - so the "120s" is about right for an actual average - but for figuring your course handicap, a 12 index will get 12 shots on a 113-slope course, an 18 will get 18, a 1 will get 1, and so on. 113 is the "magic number" in slope.

[DJYoshi]

To add to that, 113 is the point at which the handicap and the slope exhibits a 1:1 relationship. I believe most courses are just above that - so the "120s" is about right for an actual average - but for figuring your course handicap, a 12 index will get 12 shots on a 113-slope course, an 18 will get 18, a 1 will get 1, and so on. 113 is the "magic number" in slope.

so is it safe to say you get about 5 strokes on the courses on your signature?

[iacas]

so is it safe to say you get about 5 strokes on the courses on your signature?

No - about three.

2.7 * 139 / 113 = 3.3 2.7 * 141 / 113 = 3.4 The course rating only applies in the opposite direction - when figuring your handicap index. A course rated 80 with a slope of 141 would still only give me 3 strokes. But if I shot 83, my handicap index would be (83 - 80) / (141/113) * 0.96 = 3.6. Same as if I shoot 75 on a 72-rated course with a slope of 141 (the math is the same: 3 * (141/113) * 0.96).

[MrSandman]

Furthering Eric's point, as you start to look at your handicap you see this play out. I shot an 84 at Bethpage Black from the tips earlier this year, it registered about the same as a 4 over 76 at a course from the white tees.

[RemyM]

There are a couple of other things that are taken into consideration for the allocation of handicap strokes. The number 1 handicap hole should not be the first or second hole since they are likely used for sudden death playoffs, and it should be before the 8th hole so that a 9 hole match most likely won't be closed out before the stroke is used.

Plenty of information on this is available in the USGA Handicap Manual.
http://www.usga.org/playing/handicap...al/manual.html