Most golfers believe that the higher the slope number, the more difficult the golf course. This may or may not be true depending on the level of golfer you are. The Slope number for a golf course actually tells you how difficult the golf course is for a bogey player The higher the slope number, the harder the course is for the bogey golfer relative to the difficulty of the course for the scratch golfer. Slope numbers can range anywhere between 55 and with the average slope in the United States being The slope number is used to convert your Handicap Index into a Course Handicap.
This allows the player to receive enough strokes from a particular set of tees, to play at an equal level of a scratch golfer from the same set of tees. The Slope number is derived from the following mathematical formula: Bogey Rating - Course Rating x 5. When your course is rated, a scratch rating and bogey rating are both determined from each set of tees.
The scratch rating is the same as the course rating. From both the bogey rating and the scratch rating, we can then use the formula above to achieve our slope number. Why do we need all of these numbers?
The system was developed to allow a player to take his Handicap Index to almost any course in the world and be able to compete on an equal level with other golfers. Who rates a course? Nearly every golf association throughout the world has been trained to use the exact system that is used here in the Met Area. There are approximately 45 volunteer committee members throughout the Met Area who assist the MGA staff representative in evaluating a course.
The backgrounds of course raters range from lawyers to engineers to teachers. How is a course rated? The rating procedure. A male scratch player is defined by the USGA as an amateur golfer who has reached the stroke play portion of the U. Amateur Championship. On average, he hits his tee shot yards in the air with 25 yards of roll. His second shot travels yards in the air with 20 yards of roll. The male bogey golfer is defined as having a USGA handicap index of By definition, he can hit his tee shot yards in the air with 20 yards of roll.
His second shot travels yards in the air plus 20 yards of roll for a total distance of yards. Therefore, the bogey golfer can reach a yard hole in 2 shots and a scratch golfer can reach a yard hole in 2 shots.
Between these five factors, or a combination of them, the overall playing length of a golf course is either lengthened or shortened from the physical yardage of a golf course. In addition to the effective playing length of a course, there are 10 obstacles that are evaluated on each hole nine of the obstacles are physical and one psychological.
Each obstacle is given a numerical value ranging from zero to 10 zero being non-existent, 10 being extreme. These values are based off of the distances the obstacle is from the center of the landing zone or target. For example: assuming there are no effective playing length corrections, the team of course raters would first evaluate the landing area for the bogey golfer yards off the tee.
In this area, the team would measure the width of the fairway, the distance from the center of the fairway to the nearest boundary line, trees, hazard line, and whether there are any bunkers nearby. This evaluation process is repeated until the group reaches the green. This process is repeated on every hole and for every tee. Through this data, a scratch and bogey rating are achieved. We are then able to use these two numbers to calculate the slope number.
What if our course is not in its typical playing condition the day it is rated? Therefore, courses are rated as if normal mid-season playing conditions existed i. For the majority of the golf courses in the Met Area, mid-season conditions with respect to fairways, length of rough, foliage, and speed of greens, exist between spring and fall.
Because the USGA requires all courses to be rated at least once every 10 years, it is important for the team of course raters to obtain accurate, mid-season course conditions. It is not clear, however, how this seemingly strange number came to be such an integral part of the Slope System.
Three possible reasons are examined here. A slope of 1. The slope of this line is 1. This is the most likely explanation. The reference course would have a slope of 1. The slope would be 1. Course Rating, for example, is defined as the playing difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer based on distance and obstacle factors i.
By definition the slope of this line is 1. Instead, they chose to multiply both sides of the equation by 1. This small discrepancy, however, does not affect the workings of the Slope System :. The USGA has never published any evidence that the slope of the line plotting average score versus handicap is 1. That is, on average the standard deviation of scores for any handicap level is not dependent on the Slope Rating.
Knuth does not document this finding. As an example, Table 1 shows the difference in Ratings for five courses. Difference Between Bogey and Course Rating. Q: What if a visitor comes from a non-Slope area to my course? A: His Home Course Handicap has probably been rounded up because his scores are slightly higher than yours, indicating he is not quite as proficient as you.
Q: When will everyone have Slope? Currently, almost every state is using the system. Results are good. A: Simply call your local golf association if you think there's been an error or refer to the edition of the USGA Handicap System and Golf Committee Manual for calculation procedures. Course Rating. Australia Adopts the Slope System. A Two parameter course rating system. Course Ratings Go Global.
Course Rating Seminar In Germany. Just How Tough is Augusta? Kingsmill Revisited. Ko'olua: Toughest Course on the Planet. Portugese Golf Federation.
Ready or not, Slope's Future is now. The Slope System Development. The World's Toughest Course. What's this? Golfers are taking to the Slope. Dealing with Sandbagging. Handicapping Guidelines. History of Handicapping.
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