USGA COURSE RATING MANUAL AND GUIDE - Golf.se

USGA COURSE RATING MANUALAND GUIDE| CR IntroJanuary 1, 2012 – December31, 2015

SCRATCH GOLFERA scratch golfer is a player who can play to aCourse Handicap of zero on any and all ratedgolf courses.A male scratch golfer, for rating purposes,can hit tee shots a average of 250 yardsand can reach a 470-yard hole in two shots| CR Intro

LENGTH CORRECTION SHORTCOURSE (WOMEN)Added a formula for women (similar to men) that adds effectiveplaying length to courses between 3,000 and 3,600 yards.(NEW) Women’s EPL Correction length = 0.7 X Length + 1080(Current) Men’s EPL Correction length = 0.633 x Length + 1760| CR Intro

CARRY SAFELYIn order to carry an obstacle safely,a shot must be able to clear theobstacle by at least 10 yards.When recording a carry distanceover an obstacle, the 10 yardsshould be added to the length ofcarry. If a golfer cannot carry suchan obstacle by 10 yards, it mayresult in a forced lay up or analternative line of play.| CR Intro

CLOSELY BORDERINGAn obstacle or condition is considered closely bordering alanding zone or green if it is within 10 yards in anydirection of the outside perimeter of alanding zone or edge of the green.14 yards| CR Intro5 feet

NEARAn obstacle or condition isconsidered near a landingzone or green if it iswithin 20 yards in anydirection of the outsideperimeter of a landing zoneor edge of the green.| CR Intro

MOUNDSA mound has up to four playable sides that impactstance or lie. Mounds in the fairway are rated underTopography. Mounds in the rough or around the greenare rated under Recoverability and Rough (R&R).When considering mounds, the rating team mustevaluate downhill, sidehill, and uphill lies on the varioussides of the mounds, rough height, and how themounds will impact scoring. Hollows are essentiallyinverted mounds and should be rated using the sameprocedure.| CR Intro

IMPORTANCE OF MEASURINGPERMANENT MARKERS| CR Intro

IMPORTANCE OF PERMANENTMARKERS| CR Intro

ROLLNormal LZAdjusted LZ

ELEVATIONAdjustments must be made when elevations between theteeing ground and the green differ by 10 feet or more.Record the actual or estimated elevation difference in feet(rounded to the nearest 10) from tee to green in the blockon Form 1.Uphill 25 feet needs to be recorded as +30 and 14 feetdownhill needs to be recorded as -10.Maximum elevation on a par-3 hole is 40 feet uphill ordownhill.| Effective Playing Length Factors

FORCED LAY UPForced lay up occurs when obstaclessuch as water, deep bunkers, or extremerough crosses the fairway or reduces thefairway width in the normal landing zone toless than 15 [13] yards.The largest Dogleg/Forced Lay-up valueallowed on any given hole is + / - 50yards.| Effective Playing Length Factors

LAY UP BY CHOICE*Lay up by choice occurs when obstacles near the normallanding zone results in a scratch or bogey golfer choosingto hit less than a full shot.A fairway landing zone less than 15 [13] yards widewithout severe obstacles may be a reason for lay-up bychoice.*NOTE* There may be situations where the overall lay upis a combination of forced lay up and lay up by choice.

OBSTACLES BEHIND GREEN| CR Intro

TWEENERA “Tweener” is a value that falls in-betweentwo table values. For example, if the tableprovides rating values of 4 and 6, but not 5, therater may assign a rating of 5 if the obstacle ismore significant than a 4 but less significantthan a 6.| CR Intro

TWEENER| CR Intro5

TOPOGRAPHYDeleted Visibility adjustment. Remains under Green Target.| Topography

Minor Topography

“Tweener” Topography

Moderate Topography

Significant Moderate Topography

MEASURING FAIRWAY WIDTHWhen the fairway width is reduced by an obstacle(s) (bunkers, waterhazards, etc.), measure the width at the narrowest point and use thatmeasurement exclusively as the fairway width of that landing zonerather than using an average width.| Fairway

MEASURING FAIRWAY WIDTH| Fairway

EXAMPLE422634FAIRWAY 4 5430 [370] yard hole1st Landing Zone Width 34 422nd Landing Zone Width 26

GREEN TARGETEvaluation of hitting the green with the approach shot.Green Target ratings are based on:Green size;Approach shot length; andGreen surface visibility, firmness, and contour.| Green Target

TRANSITION ZONEOn a hole where a long shot can barely reach thecenter of the green, the Green Target value ishigh (from 4 to 10 depending on green size).When a long shot cannot reach the green surfaceand a short pitch shot remains, the Green Targetvalue is low (normally 2). When the hole lengthfalls between these two extremes, an intermediatevalue between the long and short Green Targetratings is determined, using the “Transition Zone”concept.| Green Target

RECOVERABILITY AND ROUGHEvaluation of the probability of missing the tee shot landing zoneand the green, and the difficulty of recovering if either, or both, ismissed.R&R ratings are based on:Difficulty of the green as a target;Type of rough grasses and their height;Rise and Drop around the green;Mounds along the fairway or at the green;Other rough conditions such as sand dunes, waste areas (notbunkers), brush, iceplant, palmettos, etc.; andDifference (if any) in rough along the fairway vs. the green.| Recoverability and Rough

RECOVERABILITY AND ROUGH(I)* +1 If the rough is INCONSISTENT – near alanding zone or closely bordering the green it is muchmore severe than the rough height of the course(e.g., 2" {1“} longer vs. rough height of the course).or –1 If the rough is INCONSISTENT – near alanding zone or closely bordering the green it is muchless severe than the rough height of the course(e.g., 2" {1"} shorter, or if the rough around thegreen has areas cut to fairway height that allow foreasier recovery shots).| Recoverability and Rough

RECOVERABILITY AND ROUGH(U) +1 If more than ½ the green (excludingbunkers) is closely bordered by sloping ground cutto fairway height that results in shots just missingthe green ending up in UNPLEASANT recoverysituations farther from the green, making recoverymore difficult, e.g runoff-area.| Recoverability and Rough

RECOVERABILITY AND ROUGHRemoved Extreme Adjustment| Recoverability and Rough

BUNKERSBunkers within 10 yards of the edge of the greennormally are considered to border it closely.| Bunkers

OBSTACLE SQUEEZEObstacle squeeze occurs when the sameobstacle is present on both sides of a landingzone and a player cannot play away from eitherside.Obstacle squeeze can only occur in fairwaylanding zones. Rating values in tables assumethe existence of some obstacle squeeze.Obstacle squeeze consists of water hazards,OB/ER, trees, or desert situated on both sidesof a landing zone within 20 yards of the centerof that landing zone or bunkers within 15 yards.| CR Intro

OBSTACLE SQUEEZE≤ 15yards≤ 15yards| CR Intro

Bunker Depth

MEASURING BUNKER DEPTHThe depth of a greenside bunker (DEPTH (D) adjustment) is measured frompoints where most recovery shots are made to a height that would get the ballonto any part of the green surface. The depth of a fairway bunker (EXTREME(E) adjustment) is measured from points where most recovery shots are madeto a height that would get the ball out of the bunker on a line of play to the nexttarget (landing zone or green).| Bunkers

CARRY ADJUSTMENT(C)* +1 If the player must CARRY a greensidebunker(s), which protects more than half thegreen (Green Target rating must be ,5 or greaterfor the scratch golfer, but it may be any value forthe bogey golfer).| Bunkers

BUNKER CARRY

EXTREME ROUGH CROSSING

PERCENTAGE

BOUNCE ADJUSTMENTBounce adjustment changed to exclude use when measurement is in the far rightcolumn of OB/ER, Water Hazard, and Desert.| Out of Bounds / Extreme Rough

PERCENTAGE

SURROUNDED ADJUSTMENTAdded new bullet point to clarify distance used to apply to Surrounded table.“Consider conditions that can decrease or increase the likelihood of the waterhazard coming into play from the edge of the green when determining distance(e.g., a downslope can increase the likelihood; an intervening bunker can decreasethe likelihood).”| Water Hazards

TREESNumber, height, and density of trees near the landing area;Density of foliage at midseason conditions;Presence of low-hanging branches that impact swing;Conditions under the trees that impact the lie of the ball;Conditions along the line of play from the trees (interveningwater, bunkers, etc.);Length of the shot to be played from the trees to the green; andWhether the next shot is to the green or another landing zone.| Trees

MINOR RECOVERY PROBLEMS

MODERATE RECOVERY PROBLEMS

SIGNIFICANT RECOVERY PROBLEMS

EXTREME RECOVERY PROBLEMS

TREESTREESLateralRecovery ReductionTREES 4 2Lateral 27 31Recovery Reduction -2 -32927Recovery is Mod. to Significant (-2)3133Recovery is Minor to Mod. (-3)PacePace| Trees

GREEN SURFACEEvaluation of the difficulty of a green from aputting standpoint.Green Surface ratings are based on:Green speed (as measured by theStimpmeter); andGreen contouring and slope or tilt.| Green Surface

RELATIVELY FLAT

MODERATELY CONTOURED

HIGHLY CONTOURED

PSYCHOLOGICALAmended Extraordinary adjustment so OB/ER is inclusive forbogey women golfers only.| USGA Course Rating System Changes, 2012-2015