Course Rating, Bogey Rating & Slope Rating:

  Course Rating represents the playing difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer under normal weather conditions. Bogey Rating represents the playing difficulty of a course for a bogey golfer (17.5 to 22.4 HDCP) under normal conditions. Slope Rating is the difference between the Bogey Rating & the Course Rating multiplied by a mathematical constant. Therefore, Slope Rating represents the relative playing difficulty of a course for a non scratch golfer compared to a scratch golfer. The higher the Slope Rating the greater the gap in expected scores between the scratch golfer and the bogey golfer. A course of standard difficulty has a Slope Rating of 113. Slope Ratings range from a minimum of 55 to a maximum of 155.

   A Course Rating is there so that your Course handicap can be determined at any course regardless of the difficulty of your home course. (See Course Handicap Tables.) Rating teams from the state golf associations (In Maine - MSGA)  rate the courses in their area. They evaluate every hole from the perspective of the bogey and scratch golfer and how certain obstacles (such as hazards, bunkers, trees, width of fairways, green surface, etc) affect the playing ability of the bogey and scratch golfers. For more information you may contact Natanis member Don Doyon who is a part of the Maine State Golf Association rating team.

BASIC DEFINITIONS: 

In order to help you better understand the course rating process, listed below are some of the basic definitions used in the course rating process: 

Bogey Golfer - A player with a USGA Handicap Index of 17.5 to 22.4 strokes for men and 21.5 to 26.4 for women. Under normal situations the male bogey golfer can hit his tee shot 200 yards and can reach a 370-yard hole in two shots. Likewise, the female bogey golfer can hit her tee shot 150 yards and can reach a 280-yard hole in two shots. Players who have a Handicap Index between the parameters above but are unusually long or short off the tee are not considered to be a bogey golfer for course rating purposes. 

Scratch Golfer -  An amateur player who plays to the standard of the stroke play qualifiers competing in the United States Amateur Championship. The male scratch golfer hits his tee shots an average of 250 yards and can reach a 470-yard hole in two shots. The female scratch golfer can hit her tee shots an average of 210 yards and can reach a 400-yard hole in two shots. 

USGA Course Rating - An evaluation of the overall difficulty of the golf course under normal course and weather conditions for the scratch golfer. This figure is equal to the average of the better half of a scratch golfers scores. 

Bogey Course Rating - An evaluation of the overall difficulty of the golf course under normal course and weather conditions for the bogey golfer. The bogey rating is equal to the average of the better half of a bogey golfers scores. 

USGA Slope Rating - The USGA's mark that indicates the measurement of the relative difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfers compared to the Course Rating. The lowest Slope rating is 55 and the highest is 155. A golf course of standard playing difficulty has a USGA Slope Rating of 113. 

USGA Slope Rating =(Bogey Course Rating-USGA Course Rating) x 5.381 for men or 4.24 for women.