Golf Q&A
I NEED A RULING:
Sue C. asks:
How does a golf course decide the difficulty of a hole?
1. Is it by the number of pars scored on the holes compared the other holes or
2. The holes that have the highest number of strokes over par.
We have a hole at our course that is almost impossible to par, because water comes into play and all our members must lay up. Most people play it very conservatively so that they don’t get a high score on the hole..
We have two other holes that are easy to par, but the scores tend to be very high on them because water comes into play and there is some trouble especially for those who fear water and those who don’t hit the ball very far. These two holes are designated as the most difficult at our club. Is that the way it should be?
DOUG writes:
Thanks for this great question! While this does not deal directly with the Rules of Golf, I feel this is an important, and often misunderstood, concept.
The assigning of the “stroke allocation” - or handicap - for each hole is the responsibility of the Committee, or administration of the course.
However, under the USGA Handicap Committee guidelines, there is a specific procedure they should follow.
The first thing you must understand is the concept of “Handicap” rating for each hole. Contrary to popular belief, it DOES NOT reflect the difficulty of the hole. That is, the #1 handicap hole may not be the most difficult hole on the course as some would like to believe.
The next thing in understanding this is to know that this is done by collecting individual hole scores from two different groups of players - Scratch and Bogey golfers. By comparing the average scores for each group, the course can now determine which holes have the greatest difference in average scores. The hole with the greatest difference is the #1 handicap hole. And, as you would expect, the hole with the smallest difference will be the #18 handicap hole. This allows two persons of different skill levels to play and the higher handicap player to receive strokes where he/she is most likely to need them.
In the particular case you described at your course, the harder hole is likely the hardest hole on the course for all players. Thus, even the scratch players make more bogeys than pars, so the difference in average scores might not be as great. However, on the other two holes, you described them as being more challenging for those players who don’t hit the ball as far. Generally, the better players also are capable of hitting the ball longer, so the water that bothers and befuddles the higher handicap player is less likely to affect the better player, resulting in a greater difference in average scores between the two groups.
I must add there are some other general guidelines to assigning handicap ratings to holes. One such guideline it is preferred that the odd numbered holes be the first (front) nine and the even holes be the second (back) nine. Another is that the #1 and #2 handicap holes should not be the 9th or 18th holes.
If you are interested in learning more about the handicapping process, I would encourage you to speak to the Handicap Chairperson, Manager, or PGA Professional at your course.
DOUG HOFFMANN
Doug Hoffmann, Tournament Director for the Minnesota Golf Association, is a USGA Certified Rules Official and a member of the Minnesota Section of the PGA of America. He has been conducting and officiating golf tournaments since 1989, including PGA TOUR and USGA qualifying events and PGA Section championships.
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