From the RCGA (USGA may differ).... the interesting part to me that I
didn't know was the actual factors used to determine the slope, in the
bottom paragraph.
RCGA Course Rating - the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a
course for scratch golfers under normal course and weather conditions
expressed as number of strokes (e.g. 72.5).
RCGA Slope Rating - the evaluation of the relative difficulty of a
course for players who are not scratch golfers compared to the
difficulty of the course for scratch golfers. The lowest Slope Rating is
55 and the highest 155. A course of standard playing difficulty will
have a Slope Rating of 113.
A Course and Slope rating is based on the evaluation of obstacle factors
that come into play and the effective playing length of the golf course
being rated. Obstacle factors are determined on a scale of 1 to 10 for
each hole with both the scratch and bogey golfer in mind. They are as
follows:
1. Effective Playing Length
2. Topography
3. Fairway
4. Green Target
5. Recoverability and Rough
6. Bunkers
7. Out of Bounds/Extreme Rough
8. Water Hazards
9. Trees
10. Green Surface
11. Psychological Elements
Once all the data has been recorded on the course rating forms, we
arrive at two figures: the scratch rating and the bogey rating. The
scratch rating (or Course rating) is the number of strokes a scratch
player would be expected to take under normal playing conditions. The
bogey rating is the number of strokes a bogey player would be expected
to take under normal conditions. By taking the difference
between the scratch and bogey rating and multiplying by predetermined
factors of 5.381 for men and 4.24 for women, we generate a Slope rating.
(taken from:
http://www.rcga.org/_uploads/documents/SlopeandCourse%20rating%202005.pdf)
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