What is the Course Rating?

It always surprises me when I talk to avid golfers who don’t understand what the two numbers on the scorecard next to the tees mean. Those two numbers are known as the course rating and the slope rating. These two numbers measure the difficulty of the course in different ways and both factor into your handicap. In this article, I am going to discuss exactly what slope rating and course rating mean and how they affect your handicap.

The course rating usually falls between the range of 65-75 and it is the first number used in the golf handicap formula. The course rating measures what the average golf pro would shoot on the course from the specified tees. For example, on a regular 72 par course a particular set of tees might have a course rating of 70.5. This means that an average pro golfer would shoot an average score of 70.5 from this set of tees. The higher the course rating is relative to par for the course, the harder the course is to play. The lower the course rating is relative to par for the course, the easier the course is to play. The course rating measures the difficulty of the course compared to par for that course.

The slope rating usually falls between the range of 105-140 and is the second factor in the handicap formula. The slope rating determines the difficulty of the course by a mathematical formula determined by a combination of the length of the course and the speed of the greens. It has been found that the average golf course has a slope rating of 113. This magical number is known as the standard slope rating. By comparing the course’s slope rating to 113 you can determine the difficulty of the golf course relative to other golf courses. For example, if the slope rating of a set of tees on a golf course is 109, that should tell you that that set of tees plays easier than the average golf course. If the slope rating of a set of tees on a golf course is 117, that should tell you that the set of tees plays harder than the average golf course.

Now that I have covered the basics of how the course rating and slope rating are measured, how do these two numbers work into your handicap? The course rating and slope rating go into the calculation of your golf score differential. Your differential score is then used to calculate your handicap. The differential score is the equalizer of golf scores. This number accounts for the difficulty of the courses you play so that your performance can be measured across different courses with varying levels of difficulty. The differential measures how many strokes over or under par you would have been on an average golf course.

Let’s say that you played a round at your home golf course with a course rating of 69.8 and a slope rating of 109. Par for the course was 72 and you shot an 85.

The calculation of your differential would be as follows:

Now let’s say you got the opportunity to play Pebble Beach. The course rating is 75.5 and the slope rating is 145. Par for the course was 72 and you shot a 95.

The calculation of your differential would be as follows:

As you can see, even though you shot 10 strokes worse on Pebble Beach, your differential score is lower because Pebble Beach is a lot more difficult than your home golf course.

I have discussed what the course rating and slope rating measure and how the difficulty of the course affects your handicap. Now, next time you look at a score card you will know if the course plays easier or harder than the average golf course. You should also be able to determine through the differential calculation, what you should expect to shoot on a golf course before you play it. This will give you an edge over your friends who are unaware of the course difficulty and don’t know when to put the driver back in the bag.

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