Whats the UK equivalent of course slope? Is that CSS?

[mailman]

Hi guys, Do we have a UK version of course slope? Is the difficulty of the course measured by the CSS number (ie. higher means harder)? OR...is there no equivalent here in the UK? Thanks in advance. Regards Mailman

[Wansteadimp]

There is no direct equivalent. There has been talk about introducing something similar to the US system - don't know how far down the line they are. SSS - Standard Scratch Score is the score a scratch golfer would score and is a general starting number for calculating handicap deductions/increases in non-comp rounds that count for handicap (supplementary rounds) - this is the number that is on the scorecard, it may vary depending on the tees. CSS - Competition Scratch Score is calculated based on the scores recorded in a competition and the handicaps of the players involved. This is used for cutting/increasing handicaps in that comp. There is a calculation for this on CONGUs website - if you have a maths degree you may understand it. You may well see Slope & Course ratings on some courses that get a lot of US tourist traffic - I was playing around Irvine this week and certainly Glasgow Gailes were displaying a certificate of slope & course ratings.