Golf Nerd Alert – a bit on course rating and slope

For some time I’ve known that (speaking very generically) course rating is for scratch golfers and the slope is for bogey golfers. While I am, on my good days, typically the afore mentioned bogey golfer, I’ve always determined which tee’s to play based on the course rating and yardage. Most often this has worked for me as the combination seems to reconcile pretty nicely in general with the difficulty of the course (as played by me).

Enter Olde Stonewall, todays course in PA.

I’m a sports guy, so here are a few stats on the trip so far.

Average course rating: 71.9 (Olde Stonewall – 72.4)
Average course distance: 6591 (6681)

So things are looking pretty much average (maybe a little above, but nowhere near the highs of 75.1 or 7184 – both at Forest Creek in Pinehurst). However, now let’s consider slope. The average on the trip so far has been 130.5, Olde Stonewall plays to a 144.

Yesterday I played Ravenwood in New York, 72.1/6642 (very close to Olde Stonewall’s numbers; until you get to slope that is). Ravenwood plays at a 130, right on the trip average (and, appropriately, I shot 87; basically also the trip average of 86.72)… Olde Stonewall, as we have learned; however, has a slope of 144… and my score… 96!

Part of that was the course, part of that was a lot of the good fortune I’ve had on some of my shots (i.e. the ball I skipped off the pong onto the green yesterday) evening out a little, and part of it was just me not playing very well. However, ultimately, what it’s forced me to accept is that I can’t simply (or at least reliably) go by the rating and distance in choosing my tee’s so long as I am playing bogey golf (or worse). The system really does work and I need to pay attention to it.

So, that’s the golf nerd OD post for today… tomorrow we’ll try to get some “learned and observed” notes out there again (those are always fun). If you made it this far… thanks for mucking through my stat-laden diatribe about course ratings!