MONTHLY FOCUS
The USGA Course Rating Process
As the Allied Golf Association of the USGA in the region, GAP is responsible for administering core services like the World Handicap System, USGA championship qualifiers and the Course Rating System. This month, we wanted to introduce you to a service that you may not know much about – Course Ratings.
Course Rating is the backbone of the world handicap system. With it, you can compete equitably against golfers of any ability level. Without it, the posting of scores would not even be possible. Course Rating is a numerical value calculated for an individual tee set and represents what a scratch golfer should shoot from that set of tees under normal playing conditions. The largest component of a course rating, by far, is the measured length of the golf course but a variety of other factors are also taken into account. Some of these factors include green targets, green surfaces, topography, trees and penalty areas. GAP has a team of highly-skilled course raters who are responsible for the rating of every member club. These course raters are responsible of noting obstacle adjustments throughout the rating of the golf course, while the GAP staff uses highly-accurate GPS software to measure the golf course.
Most golfers believe that the higher the Slope Rating, the more difficult the golf course. This is a common misconception and may not actually be the case. The Slope Rating tell you how difficult that golf course is for the bogey player when compared to the relative difficulty of that same golf course for the scratch golfer.
Click Here to Watch a GAP Course Rating Webinar |
