What is the minimum course slope and rating for you to consider it a “real” round?

[Georgie Z]

What is the minimum course slope and rating of the tees you are playing for you to consider it a legitimate accomplishment to break 70,80, or 90 for the first time?

 

Personally, I consider any course that is par 71 regardless of slope and rating to be legitimate for breaking 70,80,90 for the first time. What’s your opinion?

[Ghostwedge]

12 minutes ago, Georgie Z said:

What is the minimum course slope and rating of the tees you are playing for you to consider it a legitimate accomplishment to break 70,80, or 90 for the first time?

 

Personally, I consider any course that is par 71 regardless of slope and rating to be legitimate for breaking 70,80,90 for the first time. What’s your opinion?

I've broke 90\80\70 on courses with par from 70-72 playing from tee's that allow me to hit driver, then mid iron on par 4's, 3 good shots on a par 5 and a mid to short iron into a par 3. If it's 6100-6500 yds, we're good to go. That's my criteria.

[Kai Slater]

I'll go with anything over 6000 yards.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Agree with @Ghostwedge -- I don't look at rating and slope. It's basically anything I'd define as a "regulation" course, so par 70 or higher, and probably ~6000 yards+. 

 

But the truth is that any course like that is probably going to have enough rating/slope to be considered a "real" course by just about anyone. One course I play nearby is not really punitive at all in its design, so outside of a couple holes, OB isn't much in play, there aren't a lot of places where you'll lose a ball, and there aren't a ton of hazards. Yet the middle tees we play at 6186 yards (par 70) are rated 69.7 and slope 124. Yet I play at another course which is MUCH more punitive, a lot more OB, much more difficult greens and green complexes, etc. We play the white tees at 5970 yards (par 71), and it's rated 69.2 with slope 122. I consider it a MUCH tougher test, but the rating and slope don't actually reflect that in the way I'd expect. 

 

I don't see very many courses of that length with slope <113 around here, so even if you use that as a barometer of "average" difficulty when it comes to breaking certain scoring targets, you won't get many opportunities. 

 

[larrybud]

113 is not the average slope, it's just a baseline to determine how much "harder" a course is for a bogey golfer vs a scratch golfer.

 

[mat562]

A course over 6000 yards has long been my cut-off for a 'proper' round.

 

There are easy courses at that length and there are links courses which, with a stiff breeze blowing and a bit of rain, are a proper challenge.

[caniac6]

Every time I tee it up.

[larrybud]

3 hours ago, Georgie Z said:

What is the minimum course slope and rating of the tees you are playing for you to consider it a legitimate accomplishment to break 70,80, or 90 for the first time?

 

Personally, I consider any course that is par 71 regardless of slope and rating to be legitimate for breaking 70,80,90 for the first time. What’s your opinion?

 

If the course doesn't have any par 5s, I consider it an executive course. It wouldn't get me all hot and bothered if I had a career low score.

[ZacR88]

Course rating is one thing. 

 

Course conditions are really the kicker. You can play a course with a decent slope and rating when its soft, no rough, easy pins, greens are reacting well and slow and it can feel like a cake walk. 

 

Then play that course when it is set up the best it can be and get eaten alive. 

 

I always go back to the rounds during club championships or when the course I play 90% of the time is set up tough for a reference point. Cause the 75 you shoot that day compared to the 70 on an easy day is night an day difference. 

[PuffyC]

I've never found course ratings to have much relationship to real world difficulty or results. For example, we regularly play 2 courses, one with a rating of 70.2 and the other with a rating of 67.7. I consistently shoot better scores on the one with the 70.2 rating so 🤷‍♂️

[jholz]

I don't put a lot of stock into course ratings either...they tend to focus on factors that don't always, necessarily equate to making a course more difficult and ignore a lot of other factors. 

 

But, like others, if the course has a par of 70 - 72 and somewhere in the 6000 yard range, I'd call it legit.

[Mikey_HACKilroy]

I ignore course ratings. Nobody truly needs a rating to tell them whether or not the course is hard.... lol

 

There's a course near here called Red Bridge in Locust, NC. It's got a 600+ yard par 5, several blind shots, and varied lies with a lot of actually sloped ground.

 

You almost never get that perfect lie once you leave the tee box.

 

There's another with a ton of elevation changes called Eagle Chase. There are a lot of challenging hazards there too.

 

Finally, there's a course called Verdict Ridge with some pretty UNFAIR fairways.

 

Ask me what the slope rating is for any of them off the top of my head without using Lord Google and I'll say I dunno...... If I want breaking XX/XXX to "mean something" I'll go to either one of those.. 😁

[RoyalMustang]

That's a tough question. I don't really have a good answer. I know people who will say "this course is a great place to break 80 as it is only a par 70 and super (68/115) easy". I would reply: so what? A score is all relative to the condition of the day. No matter the course, it may be a big accomplishment to break 90/80/70 depending on who you are, or it may not be. That's like saying "wow, I am really crushing my driver today: that drive was 20 yards longer than I have ever hit in my life!" while ignoring the dried-out fairways and 35mph tailwind behind you. You're just lying to yourself at that point. 

 

I'd take an 82 on a very difficult course than a 75 on some cruiser 120 slope resort course any day. I get it: people who don't golf that much are more impressed by the score than the context, but wouldn't most scratch golfers here give their firstborn to be able to shoot 74 at Augusta during Masters week conditions vs. 70 at their local Muni? 

 

I don't even know how accurate course ratings are. Mine is listed from the tips at 73.6/134; yeah right. It plays 7,000 yards with all of the par 5s over 530, 2 of them uphill and 3/4 with bunkers right in the driver landing zone. 2 of the par 3s are at 210+ yards. I'm guessing that rating is super stale as the course is part of a retirement HOA. I've never seen a regular play the tips besides myself and a younger guy who works in the pro shop and looks to have a scratch or better swing. I don't know how they update ratings if the sample size is really old an small. I play enough courses to have a feel for ratings: this one is stout, but hey, it keeps my cap higher than it otherwise would be. I can play a mediocre round at most any other course and still get a best 8/20 score. 

 

Funny story: I shot a 64 2 winters ago and posted my score on The Grint. My buddy texted me immediately: you shot a 64? NFW!!!

 

Then he looked at the course: it was a par 60! Great course but these days I would hope to go 57-58 on a par 60 at 3882 yards. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by RoyalMustang

[Georgie Z]

21 minutes ago, RoyalMustang said:

That's a tough question. I don't really have a good answer. I know people who will say "this course is a great place to break 80 as it is only a par 70 and super (68/115) easy". I would reply: so what? A score is all relative to the condition of the day. No matter the course, it may be a big accomplishment to break 90/80/70 depending on who you are, or it may not be. That's like saying "wow, I am really crushing my driver today: that drive was 20 yards longer than I have ever hit in my life!" while ignoring the dried-out fairways and 35mph tailwind being you. You're just lying to yourself at that point. 

 

I'd take an 82 on a very difficult course than a 75 on some cruiser 120 slope resort course any day. I get it: people who don't golf that much are more impressed by the score than the context, but wouldn't most scratch golfers here give their firstborn to be able to shoot 74 at Augusta during Masters week conditions vs. 70 at their local Muni? 

 

I don't even know how accurate course ratings are. Mine is listed from the tips at 73.6/134; yeah right. It plays 7,000 yards with all of the par 5s over 530, 2 of them uphill and 3/4 with bunkers right in the driver landing zone. 2 of the par 3s are at 210+ yards. I'm guessing that rating is super stale as the course is part of a retirement HOA. I've never seen a regular play the tips besides myself and a younger guy who works in the pro shop and looks to have a scratch or better swing. I don't know how they update ratings if the sample size is really old an small. I play enough courses to have a feel for ratings: this one is stout, but hey, it keeps my cap higher than it otherwise would be. I can play a mediocre round at most any other course and still get a best 8/20 score. 

 

Funny story: I shot a 64 2 winters ago and posted my score on The Grint. My buddy texted me immediately: you shot a 64? NFW!!!

 

Then he looked at the course: it was a par 60! Great course but these days I would hope to go 57-58 on a par 60 at 3882 yards. 

Excellent points. It’s fun to talk about best scores but it’s all relative to how difficult the course was playing that day.  Just wondering how easy a course has to be for you to put an asterisk by the best numerical score you ever hit.

[Feelingofgreatness]

Anything above Slope 120 I consider to be a legit course.

Anything above Slope 130 moves into the championship course category for me.

[betarhoalphadelta]

3 hours ago, larrybud said:

113 is not the average slope, it's just a baseline to determine how much "harder" a course is for a bogey golfer vs a scratch golfer.

 

 

You are correct. Thanks; I misspoke. 

[SauceBawce]

Normally I'd say 6000 yards has to be the absolute minimum but I've played a few courses that are below 6000 that have been significantly harder. Wind and course layout being the main culprit to it's difficulty. I play Nags Head Golf Links in the Outer Banks every year when I go on vacation and they do have tees that are over 6000 yards but if it's SUPER windy, I'll play one set closer because it's nearly impossible to have a fun round.

[Rbsiedsc]

2 hours ago, Feelingofgreatness said:

Anything above Slope 120 I consider to be a legit course.

Anything above Slope 130 moves into the championship course category for me.

I’ll take that. Means I am close to breaking 90 on a championship level course (slope 128 from back tees I play)

[greenlight]

69.5 120 and 6000 yards

[Sean124]

The site of next week’s AZ Amateur could probably be considered real 😂

 

[Feelingofgreatness]

Yardage is a silly metric.

The other day I played a 5900 yard course that was tighter than tight.  Unless you could hit the ball on a rope you wouldn't break 90 and the greens were small and really fast.

[tatertot]

Is there grass and at least 9 holes? The grass is negotiable.

[Roejye]

I am in the any time I tee it up camp. I don't care about slope, yardage, anything like that. I generally look at my score related to par. I'm still at the level where I'm happy hitting the green in reg or reg+1.

[caeye0710]

5 hours ago, Roejye said:

I am in the any time I tee it up camp. I don't care about slope, yardage, anything like that. I generally look at my score related to par. I'm still at the level where I'm happy hitting the green in reg or reg+1.

I'm relatively the same. One thing I will say is I prefer the track to be at least a par 70. Once in a while I'll play a course back home that's a par-65 and I don't even post the round to GHIN. 

 

I've shot 85 on 6,000 yard courses with low slope/ratings and I've had career rounds on championship level tracks. It all depends on whether Jekyll or Hyde shows up to the first tee. 

[Lobby]

Unless it's a short par 3 course, the round counts for me.

[butchammon]

I laid out an Excel spreadsheet of all the public courses all around the metro Richmond, VA area, all within about an hour's drive.  Everything from tiny 9 hole & exec par 3's (100% newbies), to the infamous Royal New Kent, along I-64 heading towards Williamsburg, VA.

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by butchammon
Attached a screen print from an Excel spreadsheet

[North Butte]

I wouldn't consider USGA handicap ratings at all in determining whether I want to play a course or not. 

[klebs01]

On 8/1/2023 at 2:25 PM, Mikey_HACKilroy said:

Finally, there's a course called Verdict Ridge with some pretty UNFAIR fairways.

What is an unfair fairway?

[tatertot]

2 minutes ago, klebs01 said:

What is an unfair fairway?

It's an unfairway!

[klebs01]

On 8/1/2023 at 8:18 PM, Sean124 said:

The site of next week’s AZ Amateur could probably be considered real 😂

 

that doesn’t look that hard. It’s only 1.7 over par.