Course handicap and Handicap?

[motsco]

OK, help a dummie out here :)

My handicap index at my home course is 25.2. I play from the whites, Rating 65.7.

I keep thinking I'm a 20 hc, but other people tell me I'm like a 17 or so hc, Is this true?

& if so how does it work?

[deronsizemore]

http://www.usga.org/handicap/slope_calculator/index.asp

It's based off of the slope, not rating.

[motsco]

OK, help a dummie out here :)

Also on my home course the card says from blues to reds:

Blue: 67.5/119 White: 65.7/114 Red : 67.7/116 My feel of this course is that tee shots from the whites look and play tougher then the reds or blue's can somebody explain to me what i am not understanding? The numbers look to me that the whites should be easier then the reds? Also.. in my mind I look at the ratings as, say playing from the Blues a scratch golfer should shoot around 67 and a higher handicapper should shoot under 119, is this not a good way of looking at these numbers?

[deronsizemore]

Also on my home course the card says from blues to reds:

By those numbers, the reds should play the most difficult for the scratch golfer and the blue should play the most difficult for the bogey golfer. Those numbers don't make much sense though. Typically the forward tees will have the lowest rating/slope and the farther you move back, the higher the rating/slope.

Rating is an indicator of how difficult the course is for the scratch golfer. Slope is how difficult the course is for the bogey golfer. The bogey golfer will have a more difficult time with things like forced carries, bunkers, rough, etc. where those things may not effect a scratch golfer as much. So, that's why they have rating and slope. I believe 114 or so is considered "average" difficulty for slope. I'm not sure what 67 rating is considered officially but in my book, it's a pretty easy course. Here's an article explaining how rating and slope are determined for a course (many more if you search Google): http://golf.about.com/cs/rulesofgolf..._determine.htm

[iacas]

My handicap index at my home course is 25.2. I play from the whites, Rating 65.7.

Two things. First, your handicap index isn't tied to a course. It's "yours" but it's not "yours at this place."

Second: to be a 20 you'd need a slope of only 89 or so. To be a 17 you'd need a slope of 76. Unless you're talking about a Putt Putt course or a course with 220-yard par fives and fairway everywhere without trees, I don't see that happening.

Also on my home course the card says from blues to reds:

That's because the red tees are rated for women. Blue is slightly tougher than white. Red is rated for female players.

My feel of this course is that tee shots from the whites look and play tougher then the reds or blue's can somebody explain to me what i am not understanding?

See above. They're rated for women.

Also.. in my mind I look at the ratings as, say playing from the Blues a scratch golfer should shoot around 67 and a higher handicapper should shoot under 119, is this not a good way of looking at these numbers?

No, the scratch part is about right. The slope isn't - average slope is 113. You can divide by some number like 5.381 or something to figure out about how many above the course rating the bogey golfer will shoot. Too lazy to look it up right now, but it's near 5.381 or so... so that's 22 over the course rating or about 89, maybe 90 depending on the decimal values I've ignored.

By those numbers, the reds should play the most difficult for the scratch golfer and the blue should play the most difficult for the bogey golfer. Those numbers don't make much sense though.

Because the red tees are rated for women.

The average male scratch golfer hits his tee shot 250 and all subsequent shots a max of 220 (which is why the old recommendation that a par four be limited to 470 yards). The average male bogey golfer is 200 and 170. The averages for the women are something like 210/190 and 150/130.

[$2 Nassau]

As mentioned, it's based on the slope. The slope does not = number of strokes you are projected to shoot.

Take your index, multiply by the course slope, then divide by the national average slope of 113. (25.2 x 114) / 113 = 25.4. So your course handicap is a 25 on that course. If you played on a more difficult course with a slope of 135: (25.2 x 135) / 113 = 30.1 course handicap. Those saying you are 17 are either completely clueless or trying to screw you out of strokes. If they don't believe it, send them to the GHIN website, there is a course handicap calculator on that site. http://www.ghin.com/ About slope:

Slope rating (a term trademarked by the USGA) is a measurement of the difficulty of a course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating. Course rating tells scratch golfers how difficult the course will be; slope rating tells bogey golfers how difficult it will be. The minimum slope is 55 and the maximum is 155 (slope does not relate specifically to strokes played as course rating does). The slope rating for a course of average difficulty is 113. Like course rating, slope rating is done for each set of tees on a course, and a course may have a separate slope rating for certain tees for women. Slope rating is a factor in the calculation of handicap index, and is also used to determine the course handicap. The most important role of slope is leveling the playing field for players of different skill levels. For example, let's say Player A and Player B average a score of 85 for 18 holes. But Player A's average is established on a very difficult course (say, a slope rating of 145), while Player B's average is established on a very easy course (say, a slope rating of 95). 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. Slope rating allows the handicap index to reflect these factors. Because he plays on a course with a higher slope rating, Player A's handicap index will be lower than Player B's (when it is calculated using the slope ratings), despite the fact that they both average scores of 85. So when A and B get together to play, B will get those extra strokes he needs. Slope is primarily used in the U.S., but golf associations in other countries are beginning to adopt slope or similar systems.

[motsco]

ok thanks, I starting to understand this better.

My next question:

If my HC is 25 does this mean I take 25 strokes of my score if I were playing against a scratch golfer?

And if I get -25 off my total score, then I should only take 15 strokes off if I were playing a 10 HC...so on and so on?