Course Rating
The rated difficulty of a set of tees for a scratch player under normal conditions.
Course Rating describes the scoring difficulty of a specific set of tees for a scratch golfer under normal conditions. It is expressed in strokes, often with one decimal place. It is a course assessment, not a visitor review score.
Two illustrative tee options
| Tees | Par | Course Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Shorter tees | 72 | 69.8 |
| Longer tees | 72 | 72.4 |
The par is identical, but the ratings indicate different scoring difficulty for a scratch player. The numbers are illustrative, not measurements of a named course.
Use the rating for your tees
A course can have several rating sets. Match the rating to the tees and applicable playing category; using a different row changes a handicap calculation. If a scorecard shows only a hole’s stroke index, that is a different number.
Read it alongside Slope Rating
Course Rating describes difficulty for a scratch player. Slope describes relative difficulty for a golfer who is not a scratch player. Tee length and both ratings give more context than par alone when choosing a round.