Course Rating Articles

How do courses get rated/measured?
A: For New clubs - They need to join the Association and fill out an information form and submit membership dues. For current Member Clubs - a Club must complete a letter stating in detail what changes have been made to their course that they feel constitutes a re-rating. This letter should be forwarded to the course rating department to confirm that a re-rating is being requested. The Course Rating department will determine if a team is required to be sent to the club or whether the changes that have been made to the course can be accommodated by making the adjustments in the Course Rating software to produce the new set of Ratings.

When will a course be rated?
A: At the beginning of the season, a schedule is prepared for all Member Clubs to be rated in Ontario. Highest priority is given to clubs that are new, then clubs that have made significant changes, then clubs that are part of the ten year re-rating program the RCGA has recommended in the Course Rating System, and then those clubs which make changes over the course of the season and contact the Association for recommendations.

How is the course rated?
A: A team of volunteers will come out to the course to determine the degree of difficulty (Rating of the golf course). The degree of difficulty is determined by evaluating ten different obstacles on a scale of one to ten for each hole. The rating for each hole is done twice, once for the scratch player and again for the bogey player (both for men and woman).

Can a golf course receive a temporary Course/Slope Rating?
A: Yes but only if the golf course has been previously rated. The Course Rating department would decide if the courses/slope rating should be modified. A new golf course should not be issued a temporary course/slope rating.

What is the minimum yardage to get a Course Slope rated?
A: 3000 yards. When courses are shorter than this length, the basic assumptions in the Course Rating System no longer holds true. The formula for converting effective playing length into strokes fails and players are not required to hit enough full tee shots (if any) on such a short course. Scoring ability on such a short course depends much more on pitching, chipping and putting and not on overcoming distance as it does on a regulation course. However, courses under 3000 yards can be rated by the Association and will be issued a local Course Rating without a Slope (Short Course Rating and membership is available).

Is Course/Slope Rating a judgement on how good a course is and what's the relationship between the two?
A: No. Course Rating is the evaluation of difficulty of a course for scratch golfers under normal course and weather conditions. It is expressed as strokes taken to one decimal place and is based on yardage and other obstacles to the extent that they effect the scoring ability of a scratch golfer. Slope rating is the evaluation of the relative difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfers compared to the course rating. This system provides players with a Handicap Factor, which is converted to a handicap at a course (with a Slope rating) they are about to play. The slope system allows players of different abilities and who play golf at courses with a large difference in the degree of difficulty to compete on an equal basis. In no way is a Course/Slope Rating a judgement on how enjoyable a course is to play.

How do I handicap my holes?
A: The RCGA Handicap System manual states that Yardage is the most significant factor that influences Course and Slope Ratings. Recommendations include that the club ranks all par 5's, all your par 4's and your par 3's in order of yardage. Then adjust those groups by any holes in those par groups that play harder than any of the other holes with the same par using your knowledge of the course and examining the scorecards you collected (from low/mid and high handicappers - see section 17 of the RCGA Handicap System Manual). Its possible to have a long par 4 that may score higher on average then a short par 5, but that judgement is made best by the club (The Clubs Handicap Chairman and Committee) and their frequent members. There are other recommendations contained in the RCGA Handicap System Manual that they can read up on as well. There is no specific science when handicapping your holes just educated decisions made by your handicapping committee.

If you have any other comments or questions about Course Rating, please email our Handicap/Course Rating department at: craig_loughry@gao.ca or you may call us at 905-852-1101.