From Tee to Green and All Between

By Gretchen Yoder, Director, Handicapping and Course Rating

The Basics: The Course Rating System™ is an enhancement of the World Handicap System™ and affects all OGA Members in the calculation of their Handicap Index®. Although it can seem a bit complicated, the net result of the Course Rating System is that it allows a player to move from golf course to golf course and get a fair indication of their level of play, regardless of where they play, the set of tees or their ability level. Course Ratings are valid for up to 10 years. After that the rating is expired and MUST not be used.

The Definitions:

- Scratch Player: A player 0.0 Handicap Index®. For rating purposes, the male scratch player hits a 250 yard tee shot and can reach a 470 yard hole in two shots at sea level. The female scratch player can hit 210 off the tee and reach a 400 yard hole in two
- Bogey Player: A male bogey player has a Handicap Index of about 200 and can hit 200 off the tee, reaching a 370 yard hole in 2 shots. A female bogey player has a Course Handicap of about 24.0 and can hit 150 off the tee and can reach 280 yards in 2 shots
- Course Rating™: The evaluation of the overall difficulty of the golf course under normal course and weather conditions for the scratch player and is expressed in strokes taken to one decimal point (i.e. 72.6)
- Bogey Rating™: The evaluation of the overall difficulty of the golf course under normal course and weather conditions for the bogey player and is also expressed in strokes taken to one decimal point (i.e. 102.4)
- Slope Rating™: The measurement of relative difficulty of a course for players who are NOT scratch players as compared to the Course Rating. Between 55 and 155, the standard is 113.

The Process: Correct and accurate yardage is imperative to Course Rating. Once yardage is established, 10-12 trained Course Raters assess an 18-hole golf course, one hole at a time. We consider every landing zone, where the ball lands and rolls, for each of four players. Scratch and Bogey, Male and Female.

In each of the landing zones we measure… well, everything! All Obstacles are measured from the center of each landing zone. We consider the length of the shot, where the ball lands and how far it rolls. Does the player have to carry a stream, pond or canyon? Will they need to layup if the player can’t hit over? Is it an up or downhill shot? Will a turn in the fairway necessitate a dogleg adjustment?

The Effective Playing Length (EPL) Corrections: While most of the rating is derived directly from the officially measured yardage, there are certain features of the course that can effectively change the length of a course. These include Elevation, Roll, Dogleg/Forced Lay-up, Wind and Altitude.

The Obstacles: Are a numerical evaluation of every obstacle on a golf course. Generally, the nearer the obstacles are to the center of the landing zone, the higher the rating values. Obstacles are rated from 0-does not exist to 10-Obstacle is of extreme significance.

At every landing zone, we assess the following:

- Topography: The impact of terrain on stance, lie and the player’s ability to hit the next shot
- Fairway: The evaluation of the difficulty of landing and keeping a ball in the fairway from tee to green.
- Green Target: the probability of hitting and holding the green from a fairway landing zone or tee. The length of the shot as well as the size of the green determines these values.
- Recoverability and Rough: If a player misses the green or fairway landing zone, how difficult will it be to recover.
- Bunkers: The measurement of the effect bunkers have on play based upon their proximity to target areas and difficulty of recovery.
- Crossings: Penalty areas, extreme rough and OB which must be carried in order to play a hole.
- Lateral: Consists of penalty areas, extreme rough and out of bounds that come into play on the left and/or right of a hole.
- Trees: Measure of how close trees are to play and how difficult it is to recover from them.
- Green Surface: Is a measurement of the difficulty of putting on a green. Stimpmeter® speed, slope and contouring are all factors.
- Psychological: The system automatically calculates this factor based on the cumulative effect of obstacles on a player’s score.

Over the next several months, I plan on going into more detail of each one of the EPL Corrections and Obstacles. I think that it is important to understand how each one of these factors impacts the USGA Course/Slope Ratings. If you have any specific questions, please contact Gretchen.