How to Calculate Slope Rating

The Slope Rating on a golf course is a number between 55 and 155 that indicates the relative difficulty of a course for a golfer who cannot play with no handicap. Golfers use the Slope Rating to calculate their individual Handicap Differentials. The United States Golf Association determines the Slope Rating for each golf course, with the most difficult courses having higher Slope Ratings than easier courses. Factors that contribute to Slope Rating include water hazards, bunkers, trees, topography and obstacles on and around the course that would make playing the course significantly more difficult for a less experienced golfer.

Things You'll Need

  • Calculator
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Instructions

    • 1

      Look up the golf course's USGA Course Rating. This number indicates how many strokes a scratch golfer should take on the particular course. A scratch golfer is a player who plays to a Course Handicap of zero.

    • 2

      Look up the golf course's USGA Bogey Rating. This number is similar to the Course Rating, but reflects how many strokes a bogey golfer is expected to take on the course. The USGA defines a bogey golfer as having a Course Handicap of 20 to 24 on an average golf course.

    • 3

      Subtract the Course Rating from the Bogey Rating. For example, for a golf course with a Course Rating of 72.5 and a Bogey Rating of 92.1, you would get 19.6.

    • 4

      Multiply this number by 5.381 for male golfers and 4.24 for female golfers and round it to the nearest whole number to find the Slope Rating. For example, if the difference between the Course Rating and Bogey Rating is 19.6, the Slope Rating would be 105 for men and 83 for women.