[ditpiler]

I have also recorded some of my better scores on higher rated courses and I have come up with a theroy as to why. Tell me what you think

The higher rated courses are usually in MUCH BETTER condition as in better lies in the fairway, better greens that roll true and actually hold shots and better sand in the bunkers. To me, that equals better scores, I mean there are a couple of lower rated courses around here that you do good to get a semi-decent lie in the middle of the fairway, the greens are bumpy and patchy and the sand is hard as concrete....so if you hit the fairway its easy to thin a shot or chunk a shot, you miss alot of makeable putts and take extra strokes around the greens.

On the higher rated courses, if you do hit the fairways you have a good clean lie that you can take a divot and make good shots from, the greens roll true and you can actually play from the sand....all that equals better scores than on the lower rated course.

That's my theroy....what do you think?

I have to agree with a lot of this but have played some courses that are rated low that are short but very penal if you stray off the fairway.

I joined a semiprivate one year that played much harder than the rating would indicate, the talk was they toughened up the course so that members handicaps traveled better. When the tourney season wound down I was amazed how easy the course played when they let the fairways dry out a little and shortened the rough, some of the greens were so fast in season it was very difficult to hit and stay on one when approaching anywhere but from the front edge. Playing the course the morning after a tourney it was crazy how hard they set the pins, if you weren't a member there was no way you stood a chance at putting.

[Bounce]

My home course is Fieldstone in Auburn hills Mi. the slopes are pretty high.

white tees 133 slope
Gold which I play is 141
Black is 147
and let me tell you, some of the tees from those black are really long. it is a tough course.

[compiit]

Along these same lines, how much does length factor in to the slope/ratings? I play a course that is 6700 yard from the whites but is less than 120. Seems it should be in the mid 120s.

Anyone heard of a 6,622 yard course with a slope of 119(that's from the tips)

Yeah that's my home course...sounds way off

Yardage is a factor but not the only factor. If a course is 6700 yards with tight tree lined fairways or lots of water and bunkers or anything that gives high handicappers problems, then the slope will be higher than a 6700 yard course which is wide open without much trouble. Slope represents how much more difficult a course is for high handicapper than it is for a scratch golfer. So, the more trouble the higher the slope.

[PerfectCreditForYou]

Yardage is a factor but not the only factor. If a course is 6700 yards with tight tree lined fairways or lots of water and bunkers or anything that gives high handicappers problems, then the slope will be higher than a 6700 yard course which is wide open without much trouble. Slope represents how much more difficult a course is for high handicapper than it is for a scratch golfer. So, the more trouble the higher the slope.

Good answer Lefty, that makes sense to me. Duey this is a great thread and something I had not given much thought to, very interesting comments and facts posted in this thread. Good stuff.

[gogona]

A course I play a few times a year is 6824 yards from the middle tees (over 7000 from the back) and is rated at 70.9/114. There are trees, sand, and water on the course so it's not wide open without trouble. I believe it should be rated higher just because of the length but it is what it is.

[KhJOHbTM]

There is a course near me which is as hard as my home course and its slope is 122 where my home course is 133- I was shocked when I saw that.