Home Course Rating's Effect On Handicap

[BuckeyeNut]

My 2 cents....The CR is the all important number to rate course difficulty.    CR is the true course PAR.

[Aguirre]

Where I think the differences lie between handicaps that travel well and those that don't are in individual preferences, and how the course you play suits your game.

This is the correct answer.  IMO humble and CORRECT OPINION.

[lumpuckeroo]

A home course can positively affect a handicap if it suits the player's tendencies, and negatively affect it if it doesn't.

Completely agree, course rating is based on variety of features of a course.  One of the features that makes a course "hard" might play into a strength and you could score well or a weakness and give you fits.  IMHO, the only advantage to home course is knowing the read on some greens.  Seems like every course has a green or greens that break opposite of how you think they should or vary in speed from all the other greens.

[saevel25]

Completely agree, course rating is based on variety of features of a course.  One of the features that makes a course "hard" might play into a strength and you could score well or a weakness and give you fits.  IMHO, the only advantage to home course is knowing the read on some greens.  Seems like every course has a green or greens that break opposite of how you think they should or vary in speed from all the other greens.

If you take an aimpoint class you wouldn't be out of the loop!!

To me and example of an advantage are on blind shots or hazards.

My 2 cents....The CR is the all important number to rate course difficulty.    CR is the true course PAR.

CR is what a scratch player would shoot on the course.

USGA does have a bogey rating, and it is used to calculate the slope

"Bogey rating minus Course Rating multiplied by (5.381 men, 4.24 women) equals Slope Rating."

Bogey Rating = Slope Rating / 5.381 + CR

So if you take a CR of 70 and a Slope of 120, it has a Bogey Rating of 92. If that course is a par 72, then it plays slightly easier for a scratch golfer and slightly harder for a bogey golfer. So really you have to take into consideration slope as well.