Every scorecard includes a pair of numbers next to the tees to help a player determine the difficulty of the golf course: rating and slope. We mentioned these in a previous post Reading Between the Lins of a Scorecard.
What is a scorecard in golf?
A golf scorecard packs a lot of information into a small, 6-by-8-inch card. Knowing the course difficulty, identifying the proper tees for your game, and pinpointing the easiest and most difficult holes at a glance can be a big help to your game, especially on a course that’s new to you.
What should be on the front of a golf scorecard?
The front of a scorecard will usually have the golf course’s logo or a picture of its signature hole. The front of the card is also where courses usually recognize any important history or accolades.
What does the par on a golf scorecard mean?
The par section of the scorecard represents the expected score on that hole to par for a scratch golfer. Your score to par helps to calculate your golf handicap. You can check out our golf handicap calculator to view what yours is based on your recent rounds. As mentioned above, each hole is assigned a handicap index.
How are handicaps determined on a golf course?
Golf courses determine handicaps by starting with what they think is the hardest hole. That's the No. 1 handicap hole. The hardest hole on a golf course is often the longest par 4, but that's not always the case. Sometimes, it can be a particularly long par 5. Sometimes it's a longer, but not the longest, par 4.
How do you determine the difficulty of a golf course?
The Course Slope predicts the difficulty of a course for a “bogey” golfer, someone who shoots 18 over par or 90. Course Slope is a number between 55 and 155, with 113 being the average. The higher the number the more difficult the course. As with course rating each set of tees will have a slope rating.
How does a golf handicap work on a scorecard?
To find his handicap for a round, a golfer locates on the scorecard the slope and course rating for the tees from which he played. The course rating is subtracted from the player's score, which is then divided by 113 and multiplied by the slope for the tees played. The resulting number is the handicap for that round.
How are golf course yardages measured?
Each hole shall be measured horizontally (air line) by an electronic measurement device, or with steel tape or surveying instruments, from the permanent yardage marker for every teeing area on the golf course to the center of the green. The measurement is along the designed line of play.
How do they determine the slope of a golf course?
Slope rating takes into account the USGA par rating of the course as well as the expected score of a higher handicap golfer. The difference between the two multiplied by 5.381 is the calculation used to determine the mens slope rating for a golf course.
How do you calculate Course handicap?
A Course Handicap is determined by applying your Handicap Index to a Course Handicap Table or Course Handicap Formula, which is just simple math! Take your Handicap Index, multiply it by the Slope Rating of the tees played, then divide by 113 (this is the average Slope Rating).
How do you read a golf handicap?
Suppose that your ten scores average out at exactly 100. In other words, for your first ten rounds of golf, you hit 1,000 shots. If par for the 18-hole course you played is 72, your average score is 28 over par. That figure, 28, is your handicap.
What do blue markers mean in golf?
Yardage markers come in a few primary forms on most courses. Most common are colored disks at set distances on every hole. Generally, a red disk denotes 100 yards to the center of the green, white 150 yards and blue 200 yards.
How do you use yardage markers?
The teeing ground marker typically tells golfer the number of the hole, the yardage of the hole, and the par of the hole (such as in the photo above). The yardage may also be marked at various points along each hole, for example, from 200 yards out (from the putting green), 150 yards out, and 100 yards out.
What unit is used to measure a golf course?
The US, UK, Canada, Japan, and Korea, all use the yardage system and hosts more than 60% of the world's 38,864 golf courses. It is, therefore, safe to say, that more courses use yards than meters.
What determines slope rating?
Playing length and obstacles impact higher-handicap players more than lower-handicap players, and Slope Rating measures the relative difficulty of a golf course for players who are not scratch players compared to those who are scratch players. It is determined by comparing the Course Rating™ to the Bogey Rating™.
How do course ratings work?
The Course Rating is designed to assign a numerical value to represent the difficulty of the course for a scratch golfer. This number is calculated by measuring the fairways, inspecting the bunkers, measuring the size and contours of the greens, determining the distance to hazards and out of bounds locations, etc.
How do you calculate golf handicap and slope?
Handicap differential = (Adjusted Gross Score-rating of the course) X 113 / Course slope ratings. The course rating is simply the scores of a new golfer on a normal course under a normal playing condition. Slope rating is the rating of 113 for a course based on the standard difficulty.