Linda,
I'm in Florida and I don't have access to my saved emails at home so I don't have the formula for converting men's tees to ladies’ slope and rating. Could you please send me that info so I can post my scores from Florida?
Thanks,
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
The answer to your question can be found in Section 5-2,g of The USGA Handicap System. The USGA provides separate charts for women and men to find the slope and rating on a course where you are playing from a set of tees that has not been rated for your gender.
Here is the link to find the chart online:*
http://www.usga.org/playing/handicaps/manual/manual.html**
On the left, click on Section 5, Scores. Then, on the right, click on Section 5-2, Posting Scores. In the middle, scroll down to g. Posting a Score from an Unrated Set of Tees on a Rated Course. You will see the directions on how to use the chart, the chart to adjust women’s ratings, and the chart for men.
I am going to run you through a sample conversion to help you understand how to use the chart to find the slope and rating for a woman playing from the men’s tees. For my example I will refer to an imaginary course where the women’s tees are rated 69.4/122, the yardage for women is 5,276, and the yardage from the standard men’s tees is 6,085.
First, find the difference in yardage between the tees rated for women and the men’s tees you are playing. In my example, that would be 809 (6,085–5,276=809).
Next, look at the chart. You will notice it has three columns: Yards, Change in Course Rating, and Change in USGA Slope Rating. Under Yards, find the range that includes that difference of 809 yards. You will find that to be 801–818. Now look to your right, and you will see 4.5 under Change in Course Rating and 10 under Change in USGA Slope Rating.
Since the men’s tees are longer than the women’s, you will add those differences to the women’s ratings to find your rating from the men’s tees. In my example, 69.4+4.5=73.9, and 122+10=132. When you play from the men’s tees on this imaginary course, the scores you post will have a rating of 73.9/132. If you were a man playing from a set of tees rated for women, then you would subtract the change in course and slope ratings, since the yardage from the women’s tees is likely to be shorter than the men’s yardage.
Lulu, I’m glad to hear that you are being so conscientious about posting scores from rounds played in a state where the season is active. I hope that all of you “snowbirds” have been similarly responsible, posting your winter warm-weather scores (if possible) or keeping careful records to post your scores when you return home.
Linda
Copyright © 2009 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
*You can purchase The USGA Handicap System from the USGA. The phone number is (908) 234-2300.
**If your web browser will not go directly to this site, go to www.usga.org, put your cursor on Rules and Handicapping and click on Handicaps in the drop-down menu, click on The USGA Handicap System, 2008-2011, and proceed as above.
