- Course and slope rating are both used in determining a handicap differential.
- The course rating is an estimated average score for a scratch golfer. It’s usually a number between 67 and 77.
- Slope Rating is also an estimated average, but it’s for what an average or bogey golfer would shoot on that course.
Full Answer
What is slope rating in golf?
Slope rating (a term trademarked by the United States Golf Association) is a measurement of the difficulty of a golf course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating. Course rating tells scratch golfers how difficult the course will be; slope rating tells bogey golfers how difficult it will be. To put...
How do you calculate slope on a golf course?
Slope (men) = 5.381 x (bogey rating – USGA course rating) Slope (women) = 4.24 x (bogey rating – USGA course rating) So, once the golf course is rated, the bogey rating and the scratch rating are determined for each set of tees, leading to determining the slope number. What is USGA Golf Course Rating and Who Rates It?
What are slope and par on a golf course?
There's par for a golf course, and then there are two other numbers on the scorecard: golf course rating and golf course slope (or, simply, rating and slope). You may have never looked too hard at slope and rating and you might be wondering what they are, what they tell you and how they're determined.
What is the average slope of an 18 hole golf course?
The United States Golf Association established the average slope rating to 113, but it has later increased to about 120 as there aren’t many 18-hole golf courses with slope ratings set that low. As has been observed, most golf courses worldwide have average slope ratings of about 120.
What does slope mean in a golf course?
The slope rating of a golf course is a mathematical measure of the difficulty of the 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.
What is the average slope of a golf course?
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 155 with the average slope in the United States being 120.
Is a 130 slope rating hard?
If you see a slope rating that falls anywhere in the double digits, you can expect that course to play rather easy, even for a bogey golfer. On the other hand, taking on a course with a slope rating in the 130's or 140's is going to present a serious challenge to a player with a mid or high handicap.
What is the difference between golf course rating and slope?
Slope rating (a term trademarked by the United States Golf Association) is a measurement of the difficulty of a golf course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating. Course rating tells scratch golfers how difficult the golf course will be; slope rating tells bogey golfers how difficult it will be.
What is the slope of Augusta National?
137Augusta National Golf ClubClub informationLength7,510 yards (6,870 m)Course rating78.1 (unofficial)Slope rating137 (unofficial)Course record63 - Nick Price (1986), Greg Norman (1996)17 more rows
How does slope affect golf handicap?
Slope merely tells you how “proportionately” more difficult that particular set of tees plays for the higher handicapped golfers as opposed to lower handicapped golfers. The more difficult the tees play proportionately for the higher handicappers, the greater the Slope rating that will be issued. That's it!
What's a good handicap in golf?
What Is A Good Golf Handicap? A good golf handicap is ten or less. With a handicap index of ten or less, you will generally shoot somewhere around 82. Shooing in the low 80s is better than average but certainly not good enough to be considered a scratch player.
What tees should I play based on my handicap?
The middle tees are for middle to high handicap men, low-handicap or long-hitting women, and low-handicap or long-hitting senior men. The forward tees are for middle or high handicap women and seniors, and beginners of all stripes.
What slope rating should I be playing?
Slope Ratings range from 55 to 155, with the average being 113. When you play a course with a Slope Rating higher than 113, your Course Handicap will be higher than your USGA Handicap Index. When you play a course with a Slope Rating lower than 113, your Course Handicap will be lower than your Handicap Index.
What does r4 mean in golf?
Round 4 Scoring Average | PGA TOUR Stats.
How is the slope of a golf course determined?
Slope Rating is calculated by subtracting the Course Rating from the Bogey Rating and multiplying it by a constant.
How does course rating and slope work?
The Course Rating is simply the average score compiled by the par golfers. In this case, it's 72. However, the Course Slope is not simply the average score compiled by the bogey golfers. The value for Course Slope is a measure of the amount of slant (or slope) in the straight line drawn between the two values.
Golf Course Slope Rating
The first use of slope is essentially a measure of how difficult a course is relative to others. You might be playing on a par 72, but that doesn’t make it as much of a challenge as say, Augusta National and its par 72. A slope number simply allows you to know, at least to some extent, what the difference really is.
How is Golf Course Slope Calculated?
Well this is all well and good, but how is this number calculated? Well technically, the number represents how much more difficult a given set of tees is for a bogey player in relation to scratch handicapper. You might think that this difference is fairly constant, but that isn’t the case at all.
Who Rates the Course?
There is obviously a deal of subjectivity in this rating. After all, golf isn’t an exact science.
Rangefinder Golf Slope Explained
This might seem relatively straightforward, at least in theory, but this is when we hit problem. Slope is also used to mean something completely different. Confusing, right? Slope is part of a variable when calculating distance as I explained in another article.
Calculating Distance with Slope
This is where our second definition of slope comes into play. You may have heard of a slope function on a rangefinder. This gives you an adjusted yardage based on the difference in elevation between where you are and where you want to go by using some fancy tech to essentially give an angle up or down which is used to adjust the distance.
What is slope in golf?
The golf course slope is a measure of a course's difficulty, but it is not considered the better of the two measurements. Golf course slope is actually derived from the golf course rating. Slope is a measure of a golf course's difficulty in a relative comparison of a scratch golfer to a bogey golfer (someone who shoots around 90 for 18 holes).
What does a course rating tell you?
A golf course rating tells you what a scratch golfer would be expected to shoot from the tees they're playing on a particular course under normal conditions. The rating is different for men and women.
How many yards can a scratch golfer hit?
A male scratch golfer, for rating purposes, can hit tee shots an average of 250 yards and can reach a 470-yard hole in two shots.". A scratch woman can "can hit tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400-yard hole in two shots at sea level.".
What is the minimum slope rating for a golf course?
The minimum slope rating is 55 and the maximum is 155 (slope does not relate specifically to strokes played as course rating does).
What is the average slope rating for 18 holes of golf?
Some do, but the real-world average is higher than 113 .
What is slope rating?
Slope rating (a term trademarked by the United States Golf Association) is a measurement of the difficulty of a golf course for bogey golfers relative to the course rating. Course rating tells scratch golfers how difficult the golf course will be; slope rating tells bogey golfers how difficult it will be. To put it another way: USGA Course Rating ...
What is USGA course rating?
USGA Course Rating is an evaluation of the difficulty of a golf course for scratch golfers. (More specifically, the number is an estimate of the average scores of the best 50-percent of rounds played by scratch golfers at the course being rated.) Course rating is very easy to understand because it is expressed in strokes.