How are course slope and rating determined?

[Soup Fan]

Well, I posted the whole thread in the subject.

How does the USGA determine a course's slope and rating? Is it subjectively determined by representatives of the USGA, or is it mathematical?

If mathematical, what is the "formula?"

I would like to calculate my handicap, but there are a few places I have played that do not have slope or ratings listed on the scorecard and I have not found them online, so if I could figure it out myself, I could at least get an idea of where I am?

[gaz d]

Yeah i was wondering this myself.

[Q.Q.Quillume]

Well, I posted the whole thread in the subject.

http://www.usga.org/questions/faqs/h....asp?FAQidx=24 If you play somewhere the course rating & slope aren't on the scorecard or available on the state golf association website, ask the pro or the "guy behind the counter". If they don't know I'm not sure anyone else would be able to answer the question. I surely don't think it would be a good idea to just make up a course rating & slope and post a score with a fictitious slope & rating . . .

[iacas]

Yeah i was wondering this myself.

In the other thread on this, I posted two articles. Guys, we have an entire site outside of the forum. Please search there first, or use google, before asking questions that have already been answered (particularly in the second one): http://thesandtrap.com/extras/rules/whats_your_handicap http://thesandtrap.com/columns/the_n...ide_bet_or_two

[Soup Fan]

Thank you for those links. I promise I did do some googling but could not find anything as helpful as the links you posted. I will search the main site before I post in the forums from now on.

Sorry/Thanks

[David Hillman]

Two related questions...

According the second article linked, length is NOT a factor. Is that right? I always heard the opposite.

What do you do when a course you play seems to be rated/sloped way off? There's a course I play that is 68/114 but it is much tougher than all the others, some of which are rated 70+ and 120-130. Two par threes over 210, sand protecting every green, several long forced carrries over water, and mature trees everywhere.

[putterboy]

If the club has changed their layout since being rated there is a process to be re-rated:

(This is strictly pertaining to the golf association of Ontario, but I would assume it is no different than others) http://www.gao.ca/index.cfm/ci_id/2019/la_id/1.htm

How do courses get rated/measured? A: For New clubs - They need to join the Association and fill out an information form and submit membership dues. For current Member Clubs - a Club must complete a letter stating in detail what changes have been made to their course that they feel constitutes a re-rating. This letter should be forwarded to the course rating department to confirm that a re-rating is being requested. The Course Rating department will determine if a team is required to be sent to the club or whether the changes that have been made to the course can be accommodated by making the adjustments in the Course Rating software to produce the new set of Ratings.

[P3R3]

I'm such a wild willie :(

I can shoot anywhere from low 80's to over 100 depending on the day.

[lamebums]

What do you do when a course you play seems to be rated/sloped way off? There's a course I play that is 68/114 but it is much tougher than all the others, some of which are rated 70+ and 120-130. Two par threes over 210, sand protecting every green, several long forced carrries over water, and mature trees everywhere.

I have this happen all the time. I'm a major league wild willie here. My best round ever came at a John Daly course of 7,000-something yards, an 82 - because it had almost no trees and was wide open. It was a 126, or 128, or something. My next best rounds this year - two 85's, an 87, and a 9-hole low 37, all came at a course rated at 71/134.

But down at Sugar Bay where I played today (66/110, I think), I couldn't break 150 if I tried. Really tight, trees, woods, cabbage, and wrong fairways in play on every hole.