What does the slope and rating of a course mean?

[Brady0626]

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

[alf174]

Rating explaination URL: http://www.gam.org/handicap/default....ting+procedure

Slope Explaination URL: http://www.gam.org/handicap/default....standing+slope

Hope this helps

[Brady0626]

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

[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.

[Brady0626]

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.

[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.

[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.

[Brady0626]

You didn't read the link.

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

[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)

[RemyM]

Read this:
http://www.usga.org/playing/handicap...on_course.html

[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.

[iacas]

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.

[Brady0626]

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?

[alf174]

I see I see.

How did you calculate your handicap of 12?

[Brady0626]

How did you calculate your handicap of 12?

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

[OrlandoGolfBlogger]

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

What was your score for the round?

[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.

[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