Is this a difficult course?

[Johnny Par]

I am headed up to Cape Cod this weekend. Will be playing 9 holes at Bass River Golf Course. I don't understand the whole rating system and was curious if fellow shot talkers could help.

Is this a difficult course? On a scale of 1-5 (1 being easiest and 5 being hardest), what would you rate this course?

BLUE 68.5/115 WHITE 66.4/107 RED 68.7/113

[SiberianDVM]

Should be pretty easy, about a 1.5.

The course I usually play is Forest Hills: Blue, 6886 yards, 73.1/129; White, 6335 yards, 70.5/126.

From the Georgia State Golf Association FAQ:

Q. What is rating and slope?

A. The USGA Course Rating is an indicator of the basic difficulty of the course, and represents the "expected score" for someone who qualified for the match play portion of the US Amateur Championship. The Slope Rating is what makes handicaps portable and adjustable. It is the indicator of how much harder that particular golf course is for the bogey golfer when playing against the scratch golfer. A high slope number means that the bogey golfer needs more strokes to compete fairly against a scratch handicap player. It is not possible to compare one course to another based on the Slope Rating alone; the Course Rating is a much better indicator of the difficulty of one golf course compared to another.

Q. What is a "Bogey Golfer"?

A. A "bogey golfer" is a golfer with a USGA Handicap Index of 17.5 to 22.4 for men, or 21.5 to 26.5 for women. For rating purposes, it is assumed that the bogey male golfer can carry his tee shot 180 yards in the air and will get an average of 20 yards roll, covering 200 yards on his tee shot. The bogey female golfer will carry her tee shot 130 yards and get 20 yards roll, for a total of 150 yards. Further, it is assumed the bogey male golfer is able to hit his second shot 150 yards in the air and get 20 yards of roll, covering 170 yards total. The bogey female will carry her second shot 120 yards and get 10 yards of roll, covering a total of 130 yards for her second shot.


Q. What is a "Scratch Golfer"?

A. A scratch golfer is an amateur player who plays to the standard of the field of qualifiers competing at the U.S. Amateur Championship site. For rating purposes, it is assumed that the scratch male golfer can carry his tee shot 225 yards in the air and will get an average of 25 yards roll, covering 250 yards on his tee shot. The scratch female golfer will carry her tee shot 190 yards and get 20 yards roll, for a total of 210 yards. Further, it is assumed the scratch male golfer is able to hit his second shot 200 yards in the air and get 20 yards of roll, covering 220 yards total. The scratch female will carry her second shot 170 yards and get 20 yards of roll, covering a total of 190 yards for her second shot.

[Johnny Par]

Great, thanks for the explanations.

Looks like it'll be alot of fun then, especially since we will be having a couple of beers while we play (never did this before ).

[RickinMA]

Originally Posted by Johnny Par

Great, thanks for the explanations.

Looks like it'll be alot of fun then, especially since we will be having a couple of beers while we play (never did this before ).

Don't forget to drink alot of water too! - it's HOT 90* today - high 80's tomorrow

90* might not be hot for some of you guys - but it was like 40* a few days ago