RE-RATING OF GUNGAHLIN LAKES COURSES
Golf NSW is in the process of undertaking a statistical review of all course ratings through a process ratified by both the USGA and the R&A. The review of Gungahlin Lakes Golf Course is complete, having been undertaken based on competition scores across the previous 6 years, by both club members and other people that have competed at our course.
Scratch versus Slope
Something that is important to understand is that the only true measure of the difficulty of a golf course is the scratch rating relevant to par, so where a scratch rating is higher than the par of the course that means that the course is that many strokes harder than par for ALL players – even those off scratch. The Slope rating is there to level the playing field for those who are not scratch golfers and the higher the GA handicap the more the player will benefit from the slope rating.
The GLGC committee has considered the recommendations of Golf NSW and agreed to implement the changes from 19th October 2020, immediately after the Club Championships. The changes in respect to our various courses are outlined below.
Women’s Red Course
The report found that the scratch rating needed to come down by 1 and the slope rating needed to go up by 5.
What this means is that across ALL handicaps ranges the course is playing 1 stroke easier than the current rating (i.e scratch rating) but that at the same time the higher handicap players are under represented in the distribution of scores – hence the increase in slope rating.
The table below shows the impact the changes will have on a range of Women’s daily handicaps, generally the daily handicaps with a GA below 24 will either remain the same or go down 1 whilst the daily handicaps above this will go up by one or remain the same. The combination of the two factors is needed to balance out the distribution of scores more equitably.
| OLD | NEWS | |
| Par | 72 | 72 |
| Scratch | 74 | 73 |
| Slope | 137 | 142 |
| GA Hcp | Dailly Hcp | Dailly Hcp |
| 9.5 | 13 | 12 |
| 14.5 | 18 | 18 |
| 24 | 29 | 29 |
| 28 | 33 | 34 |
| 34 | 40 | 41 |
| 38 | 45 | 45 |
Women’s Yellow Course
In respect to the Women’s Yellow course the scratch rating has increased by 2, up from 67 to 69 and the slope rating has decreased by 4, down from 121 to 117. The overall impact on daily handicaps is an increase of either 1 or 2 strokes.
Men’s Blue course
The scratch rating of the Men’s Blue Course is unchanged at 73, with the slope rating increasing by 1, from 136 to 137. The change in the slope rating will mean some players will see a 1 shot increase in their playing handicap, with this most likely for players with a GA in excess of 30.
Men’s White Course
The scratch rating of the Men’s White Course has increased by 1, from 70 to 71, with the slope rating increasing by 2, from 125 to 127. The combined change in ratings will see the majority of players having a 1 shot decrease in their playing handicap, but with this being more prevalent for players with GA handicaps below 13.
Men’s Yellow Course
The scratch rating of the Men’s Yellow Course has increased by 1, from 63 to 64, with the slope rating decreasing by 1 from 109 to 108. The combined change in ratings will see the majority of players having a 1 shot increase in the playing handicap, but with this being more prevalent for players with GA handicaps below 25
Implementation of the new course ratings
These changes will be implemented at GLGC on 19 October 2020. Players are not required to take any action. The revised scratch and slope ratings will be updated on our website, the Golf Australia website and printed ‘daily handicap look-up charts’ on the date of the change. Players will see updated playing handicaps on their scorecards or in the MiScore app when playing a competition round after this date.
In updating the scorecards to reflect the changes we will also be using the opportunity to consolidate the Blue, Red and Yellow course information into a single scorecard.
The change to the course ratings will not see a change to the formulas by which a players handicap is calculated.