The Weekend Warrior Series: Know Thy Game and Thy Course

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

Sounds pretty innocent so far, right? Well, as you approach the first tee, your newly appointed dynamic duo talks about "playing from the tips," so they can see "all the course." Grim. Ninety percent of the time, this dialog can be directly translated as "we are thirty handicappers, but yet we feel a need to play the course from the same tees that Davis Love III would."

Its almost as if the five sets of tees that architects are supplying on today's high-end courses go unnoticed by the golfing public. And it's a shame - as you know what is just as impressive as being good at golf? Being knowledgeable about golf.

Players that are truly familiar with their game, and the way a golf course sets up in terms of difficulty are a breed apart - kind of like a Major League Baseball player that takes a pay cut to stay with a team he knows plays a quality brand of ball.

Why do bad golfers feel the need to play from tees that suit their game as well as a pair of cut off jeans and a tee-shirt suit Michael Jordan? Maybe it's ego, or maybe its education, and if it's the former then there is not much we can do. If it's the later, well, let's this thing a shot:

Know thy handicap

Ask most players what their handicap is, and they will respond with the proverbial "I am about a . . ." Knowledgeable golfers call it the "abouta" syndrome. Make no mistake, this ailment does not mean that you are dealing with a ignorant or unskilled players - just a casual ones, perhaps.

When players can clearly articulate their handicaps (or indices), then starters at high-end golf courses can make recommendations about which tees to play from on a given day. Despite the fact that your cooler may be full of cold beer before sun-up, take the starter's advice regarding the proper teeing ground for a player of your skills (or lack thereof) and you will find that those cold ales will taste much better after a 98 than a 120.

Know thy course

Let's not all pretend that we know the exact formula behind "Course Ratings," and "Slope Ratings." If you can explain either of these concepts, you can probably explain the statistical theory behind football's elusive Quarterback Rating, or baseball's enigmatic Slugging Percentage.

For the sake of keeping it simple, and doing a little educating, let's break it down like this: course rating (which is a standard deviation above or below par) is essentially the score that a scratch (zero handicap) golfer would shoot on a particular course. Therefore, if a course weighs in with a rating of, say, 74, feel obliged to walk on up to those forward tees.

Slope rating is much more sophisticated, but is a much better gauge of how a course will test your mettle. Slope ratings generally range from 115 from the ladies tees, all the way up to over 140 from the championship tees. Slope ratings are essentially a mulligan stew of course elements, taking into consideration prevailing winds, number of bunkers, width of landing areas and undulations of greens.

Put Thy Knowledge Into Action

Next time you are on a golf vacation, or even out at your local muni, surprise you playing partners by playing from the proper tees, and even talking a little "smack" about the course's ratings - you never know when you might find a brother or sister in arms.