Mythbusters - Part 1
Over the course of the next two magazines I am going to address some of the most common misconceptions golfers cling to regarding handicap-related issues. These misconceptions are popular “wives’-tales” that the masses just won’t let go.
Let’s start out with one of the biggies.
“The higher the Slope, the tougher the course” or, worse yet, “the higher the Slope, the better the course.”
Unless you work for a marketing firm or are a sadist, the second statement can easily be dismissed. Besides, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
The first statement has taken on a life of its own, however.
For some strange reason, people have latched on to the Slope Rating as the sexier, “tell-all” number when it comes to determining course difficulty. In reality, it is the Course Rating that carries greater clout.
A Course Rating and Slope working in concert are designed to predict the scores that golfers of different handicaps will fire from a particular set of tees. The Course Rating serves as the anchor by setting the standard for the scratch golfer.
All Slope indicates is proportionately how much more difficult the set of tees play for a higher handicapper versus the scratch. Or, to put it another way, how much of the trouble on the course tends to “gang up” on the higher handicapper. Without the Course Rating as a base, a Slope Rating alone doesn’t tell the full story.
For pure difficulty, a high Course Rating/low Slope combination beats a low Course Rating/high Slope every time (72.8/114 is tougher than 67.8/127 at every handicap level). To illustrate how much sway the Course Rating holds, it takes more than 22 units of Slope to have the same impact as a single stroke of Course Rating for a 5-handicapper. For a 20-handicapper, it takes almost 6 units of Slope to equal a stroke of Course Rating.
Another common myth is the old “the #1 stroke hole is the most difficult hole on the course.”
Maybe “yes,” maybe “no.”
Most golfers are surprised to learn that the ranking of the holes is actually designed for match play, not stroke play. This helps explain why one nine is issued the odd-numbered allocations (typically the front) and the other the even . . . to evenly distribute strokes in a match.
The goal of stroke allocation is NOT to rank the holes most difficult in relationship to par, but rather, to identify the holes where a high-handicapper most needs a stroke in order to secure a “half” in a match with a low-handicapper. Coincidentally, they can be the most difficult holes, but not always.
Consider, for example, a 230-yard, par three that even the best of golfers find difficult to par.
How does the hole play for the high-handicapper?
Though the high-handicapper cannot reach the green in regulation, it might just require a simple pitch and two putts for a routine bogey.
Is the hole difficult? You bet.
Does the high-handicapper need a stroke here to gain a tie? Probably not. The handicap stroke probably generates a “win” meaning that there are other holes where the stroke is needed more. The par three described should actually be assigned a rather modest ranking.
If your course has acted properly, you might have noticed a couple of other match-play influences in the rankings. For example, even if your 18th hole is crying out for a stroke, the ranking should be downplayed. Why? Think about it ¾ how many matches ever reach the 18th hole? It would be a shame for such a pivotal stroke to never have an opportunity to have a bearing on a match. The same would be true for a 9th hole (due to 9-hole matches). Similarly, ranking the first hole too high should be avoided because of the potential impact on a sudden-death playoff (awards the stroke too soon).
Two myths shattered, many more to go.
If I as a senior derrive a handicap of 8.0 from the front or senior tees and a younger friend derrive a 5.0 handicap from the blue tees, Why should there be a course rating adjustment whereby I would have to give 1 stroke instead of receiving 3 strokes from him ?
January 23rd, 2008 at 11:46 amThis method force me to play from the blue tees so I am a 14 handicap but that is not as fun as playing within the yardage that is comfortable for me to play. But if I obtain my handicap from the front tees and have to give course rating adjustment when we play puts me completely non competative.
I would like your comments on this other than that the system is not always fair.
Thanks- you
Jack Leong
Thank you for your comment.
January 23rd, 2008 at 2:45 pmThe System is fair and without the adjustment you would enjoy a huge advantage over your counterpart.
From your comments it sounds like the Blue tees are rated 4 strokes more difficult resulting in you giving one stroke instead of receiving three. Let’s attach some numbers to those ratings; let’s say the Senior tees are rated 70 and Blue tees are rated at 74.
If you go out and play exactly to your handicap that day, you are going to shoot a gross 78 resulting in a net 70 (a net score equal to the Course Rating indicates you played to your handicap). If your younger counterpart plays exactly to his handicap that day, he is going to shoot a gross 79 resulting in a net 74 (the Course Rating of the tees he his playing). Last time I checked, net 70 crushes a net 74. So without the adjustment, you have a huge advantage. With the adjustment, he transforms into a 9 for your head-to-head competition and his gross 79 works out to an adjusted net 70 and you tie. The biggest mistake people make in this arena is comparing their net scores to par. Don’t. You need to compare your net scores to the Course Rating of the tees you played to determine how you played in relation to your handicap that day.
So keep on playing from the Senior tees if that’s where you enjoy playing from. Just recognize that those playing more difficult tees need extra strokes to keep up with you. Thanks again. Jim Cowan
Jim: I believe you have explained this before but I cannot find anything on it now. The question has come up what does the term playing to ones handicap mean? Is it playing to par or course rating? If I am a 24 handicap and shoot a 96 on a par 72 is that playing to my handicap? Or if I am a 24 with a course rating of 67.2 would I have to shoot a 91 to be playing to my handicap?
Thanks, Phil Hart
March 25th, 2008 at 3:25 pmPhil Hart - Thank you for your comment. You always need to compare your net score to the Course Rating, not par, to get some sort of gauge on how you played that day in relationship to your handicap. Take a look at the Mythbuster II column, it covers this subject. Thanks - Jim Cowan.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:54 am