What do you think a golfer on the PGA tour would score at your local public golf course?

[tlstarkk]

Ever wonder?

[David in FL]

Chris DiMarco lives nearby. He has the course record at my favorite local track. I play from 6,600 yards. He shot 62 from the tips at 7,050 yards.....and has only made 5 cuts in 11 events in 2013. These guys are STUPID good.

[David L Yskes]

Well since I have a few courses in my area,  one is the College course and is pretty nice..  the other one is a above average public course...   The next two courses are a top 50 public course in the state....

I'd say on the three good courses, the pro's could go low... since they would be playing on good greens and fairways..

[saturday]

Interesting question. We can all just imagine the stupid low scores that would be posted. We have quite a few short courses around my area.

[MS256]

There is one guy that has been on and off of the Nationwide Tour and missed the PGA Tour by one stroke at Q-School and he normally shoots in the mid to high 60s on our nicer local courses.

Since I figure he's a stroke or two worse than the lower end of the PGA Tour those guys would be mid to low 60s and the better end of the PGA Tour would be low 60s and occasional high 50s.

I have no clue how he (or any other really good players) would do some of the real goat tract courses around here because I've never heard of any of them stooping low enough to play them, but all bets are off if you can't find a ball and can't make a putt.

[Golfingdad]

There's a decent muni about 70 miles south of me that I would suspect PGA tour players would average over par. ;). Certain years (say, 2008) they would average closer to 80 than par. :)

[BuckeyeNut]

I think you guys are missing the point to some extent.   The best players can go low anywhere.......what matters is course setup.  let the USGA come in and prepare a course for US Open conditions, and they can make par a good score on a lot of courses.

it's all about the setup.....

[Harmonious]

Easy way to guess:  Assume a PGA tour pro handicap at +5 or +6, for example. Subtract that from your course rating (more or less), and that's what they could be expected to shoot 1/2 the time. Our local course is 73.5 from the blues (almost 7000 yards) so I suppose 66-70 would be a reasonable score most days.

[BuckeyeNut]

What matters is how the course is setup.  If it's an easy setup with soft greens, they'll tear the place apart even if the CR and slope is a huge number.   CR and slope is irrelevant.............

I'm talking about serious golf courses.   Firm up the greens, narrow the fairways, and grow the rough....the the pro's will have their hands full.

[David in FL]

What matters is how the course is setup.  If it's an easy setup with soft greens, they'll tear the place apart even if the CR and slope is a huge number.   CR and slope is irrelevant............. I'm talking about serious golf courses.   Firm up the greens, narrow the fairways, and grow the rough....the the pro's will have their hands full.

Yeah, but I think the OP means the course, as generally played by the rest of the great unwashed.....

[bplewis24]

I know that Spencer Levin used to be a member at Valley Hi Country Club (maybe still is) as of 3-4 years ago, and he set the course record there of a 64 IIRC.  According to oobgolf. it's a 72.9 rating from the tips.  I don't remember it being that difficult so I would have expected the rating below par, but whatever.  I'm guessing that means he typically shoots mid-to-high 60s on a good day.

[caniac6]

Tim Clark shot a 61 At my course. Oak Valley Golf Club, Advance,NC. Arnold Palmer design, around 7,000 yds. This was matched by a member several years ago!

[HazardMagnet]

I agree, that they have to play the course as we do... NO professional Caddy pre walking and getting yardages prior to the round, finding the trouble spots. Hand them a card with the pretty little pictures and find out that the little pond over the hill really takes up most of the center of the fairway. Give them some local High School Football player to carry their bag for 4 or so hours, who's only been on a golf course to go "Sleigh riding"!

My question is allowing the use of GPS/ Range finders? And then that leads to whether or not to have colored flags denoting "front- middle or back" hole locations.

We all know that Pros, both guys and girls can read greens and Putt, Take away all the additional info. Find out the hard way that you didn't want to hit your ball there.

I think that Par would be broken, but not stupid low. I think the round would become a Chipping Fest, and possibly sloppy, but fun to watch.

Interesting Idea, I think it would be a great fore-mat for a Pro Charity event!

[Harmonious]

I know that Spencer Levin used to be a member at Valley Hi Country Club (maybe still is) as of 3-4 years ago, and he set the course record there of a 64 IIRC.  According to oobgolf. it's a 72.9 rating from the tips.  I don't remember it being that difficult so I would have expected the rating below par, but whatever.  I'm guessing that means he typically shoots mid-to-high 60s on a good day.

Erik can comment better on this, since he does some course rating, but I think it's more a factor of length. A 400 yard hole gets a higher rating than a 375 yard hole, all things being equal.

[iacas]

Erik can comment better on this, since he does some course rating, but I think it's more a factor of length. A 400 yard hole gets a higher rating than a 375 yard hole, all things being equal.

All things being equal, yes.

In my experience, people tend to over-estimate how much "things" will affect the course rating. "Things" (trees, water, bunkers, slope of greens, thickness of rough, OB, etc.) have a more significant effect on course slope than course rating.

I consider it like this: length gives the base number (and length includes any forced layups, like a 350-yard hole with a pond that significantly narrows the fairway for the last 130 yards - it'll play like a 390-yard hole for the scratch golfer), then "things" act as slight modifiers to the course rating. Wide open hole with a large, flat green and no bunkers? 3.8. Two fairway bunkers, two greenside, thick trees five yards off the fairway, and a small, undulating green? May be a 4.3. Same yardage (~400 perhaps).

BTW, in my opinion that's a fairly significant change: the latter hole is 13% more difficult! But see, 13% doesn't sound like a lot, nor does half a stroke. Most people would guess the difference between the two holes is a full stroke or maybe more, but these are golfers who don't appreciate how good the scratch golfer is (and how hard it is to make birdie - that is to say, how hard it is to hit your ball only three times from 400 yards away into a hole smaller than most people's cell phones).

[Chris223]

well my local public course hosts a Champions Tour Event - and we did have (before the FedEx Cup Playoffs began) a PGA Tour event (The BC Open) for over 30 years - and most of the time at the end of 4 rounds the winner was usually right around 21 under.  But I can't see why most of them couldn't shoot 65 on a good day.  It's very tree lined though and despite the winning score being 21 under theres always a few guys who missed the cut well over par.

[rkim291968]

6865 yards, par 72, 72.3/123

On a good day, I think he can birdie all par 5s (they all reachable in two), a few short par 4s (2 are reachable), and birdie 1 or 2 par 3s.    That spells 62, give or take a few shots.

The course condition is terrible compare to what the guys are used to.  I believe that will prevent these guys from scoring sub 60 round.

[dennyjones]

I live near Grand Blanc, MI where the Buick Open use to be played.   Even when the pros came in and the PGA made the course tough, the winner was usually around 25 under for the four days.    Warwick Hills is about the second most difficult course (pubic or private) in the area.