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Golf in the Carolinas startThe Slope Story: Course Difficulty Rating for the Handicap Player(Editor's note: If you want to go directly back from here to the web page that you came from, use your browser's Back button. The links at top and bottom of this page take you to the main Golf in the Carolinas home page.) We see those numbers on almost every score card at every golf course. We give it however many grains of salt we care to that day. But what do those slope and course ratings mean, and who assigns them to the course? The United States Golf Association has committees all over the country that go to member courses to evaluate and assign each course a rating and slope. It is not an arbitrary number the USGA assigns--it's not meted out just because the officials think the course is tough, or the wind was blowing and taking most shots out of bounds on a given day. The course rating is based on a course's difficulty for a scratch golfer, and the slope rating, given in this book, is the measure of difficulty for a non-scratch golfer. The USGA says that a course with a 113 slope rating is one of average playing difficulty. Slope ratings can range between 55 and 155. The highest rating in this book is the 149 for the Kiawah Island Ocean Course, a layout which the greatest pros in the world view as nearly impossible to conquer. So, when you see a slope of 115 in our chapters, you are looking at a decent course with slightly above average difficulty values. From 115 to 125 slope? Expect a good challenge. From 125 to 130? A stronger test. From 130 to 135 is getting into the very demanding territory of the top-rated courses, and those that are trying to be. Above 135, bring an "A" game -- preferably Tiger Woods' A game! In many cases the rating committee will not even play the course. The committee meets with the club pro or general manager to gather information such as total course length, length of the holes into the wind and length of holes downwind. They measure the speed of the greens, the height of the fairways, the height of the rough and the roll on the fairway. They also view and evaluate the tees, the landing areas and greens.Topography, bunkers, out-of-bounds areas, water hazards and presence or absence of trees, naturally, also come into play when determining the rating and slope. Other factors include target areas, blind shots and holes that force the golfer to lay up. After all variables are accounted for, the numbers are calculated and the course rating and slope are assigned. What does all of this mean to you and me? If you have a 10 handicap and a USGA index of 12.5 (you have an index if you have a handicap) and you traveled to another course with a higher rating and slope than your home course, your handicap would be adjusted. At the tougher course your 12.5 index factored into a handicap computer results in a higher handicap on that course. A consistency problem can arise if your home course--where you established your 10 handicap--happens to be very difficult. Your friend might have a handicap of 10 that was established on an easier course. The catch? If you put your respective indexes into the handicap computer at the same course, both of you will have the same adjusted handicap. Although the system is imperfect, it is the best one that we have so far. Many have suggested alternative formulas, but so far none has USGA approval. So, for good or for ill, those rating and slope numbers on the score card are not just pulled out of the hat and applied to the course. Time, effort and calculations have been put into making the playing field as level as possible for all golfers. |