Handicapping
Course Rating - Frequently Asked Questions
- Who rates golf courses in Minnesota?
- How often are golf courses rated?
- Do the course rating teams allocate handicap strokes for each hole?
- How much will it cost to have my course rated?
- Is the Slope Rating of the course the leading factor in determining course difficulty?
Who rates golf courses in Minnesota?
The Minnesota Golf Association has two course rating teams.
One team is assigned to the Northern half of the state, and one
team rates courses in the Southern portion of the state. The teams
consist of three to four individuals (including a team Captain).
Team members have attended USGA calibration seminars and training
sessions to qualify for their positions.
How often are golf courses rated?
Due to the rapid growth changes a golf course makes in the first
few years after being constructed, newly constructed courses are
rated approximately three times in their first seven years of operation.
After the maturity of the course stabilizes, the course is rated
approximately once every five years. If significant changes are
made to the course that may affect the assigned ratings (i.e. addition
or removal of several bunkers, water hazards, trees, etc.) these
changes will be reviewed by the course rating team to determine
whether it is necessary to re-rate the course. The USGA requires courses
to be rated every 10 years to maintain the validity of those ratings.
Do the course rating teams allocate handicap
strokes for each hole?
No. The course rating teams assign a course and slope rating value
to the golf course. The Handicap Committee is responsible for reviewing
its course hole by hole to determine the order of handicap strokes.
Section
17 of the Handicap System Manual provides detailed information regarding
allocation of handicap strokes.
How much will it cost to have my course rated?
The MGA is one of the few associations that offers this service
free to all of its Member Clubs. Other state associations charge
upwards of $500.00. Click here if you
are interested in becoming an MGA Member Club.
Is the Slope Rating of the course the leading
factor in defining course difficulty?
No. The Slope Rating tells you the relative difficulty of a course
for players who are not scratch golfers compared to the Course Rating.
If the Slope was the leading factor in defining course difficulty
some would think Course A (71.5/125) and Course B (69.6/125 would
be of equal difficulty. This is false because we must also consider
the Course Ratings when evaluating the difficulty of courses. In
this case, Course A is about 2 strokes more difficult than Course
B at every handicap level.
