Golf Slope Anyone?

Aside from the usual bag of clubs, tees, balls, gloves and marking and repair tools, requisite needs on the golf course these days include other must-have items like the Orange Whip tempo trainer, plastic alignment rods, yardage books, rangefinders, your official Callaway Scorecard Holder (leatherette, please), a Ztech 16’ Silver Ball Retriever, and as a prophylactic   against bad vibes and a promoter of good health, an Avengers Iron Man Magtitan Neo Legend Bracelet (Carbon Fiber/Titanium) or the Suki Pro Braided Leather Magnet Therapy Bracelet with Black Magnetic Clasp, which some players like to just keep in the bag for emergencies.

Oh, and I forgot the most important item and that’s your calculator!  If you’re playing an ‘away’ game — a game away from your home course — and you want to know what your handicap would be on that course you’ll have to compute it prior to teeing off.  Now, none of us are smart enough to do this in our heads, hence the calculator.  You have to use the following formula: Your Handicap Index x the Slope Rating /113.   And that will give you your handicap for that course.

Okay?  Are we clear on that?

Here, let me show you.  Let’s say your playing a not-so-friendly nassau with your hyper competitive ugly brother-in-law on his home course where he’s a 10 handicap.  You’re a 16 handicap on your home course (which doesn’t factor into this because your not playing on your home course), and your handicap index is 15.5 (the handicap index being your ‘traveling’ handicap).  Mr. Friendly offers you six strokes, three on the front and three on the back.  Should you just be a nice pigeon-in-law and take them?

Or should you haul out your calculator and compute the exact number of strokes that you should get?

Take out the computer, donkey.  Here’s how it works.  On this particular course and from tees that you’re both going to use, the slope rating is 144.  So you multiply your index (15.5) by the Slope (144) and divide by 113 (16.5×144/113).  The result is 19.75.   That’s the average number of strokes over par that you’re likely to record.  And that’s 9.75 strokes more than Mr. Nice Guy over there salivating by the ball washer.

So, if you take the 6 you’re going to get killed.  You need 10 in order to compete evenly and fairly with your smirking brolaw.

Conversely, if the Slope rating for that same course and same set of tees is only 110, the formula yields 15.08, in which case you’d only be getting 5 shots.

The moral of this story is ‘Always bring your calculator!’ when you visit your in-laws.  And only play courses where the slope is greater than 113.

About the author: 

Mailon Kent, author, is a former College Football All-American, Buffalo Bill, College Professor, and two time Emmy Award winning television director.  He currently resides in Montclair, NJ and plays most of his golf in Essex County, though recent travels have produced some interesting scorecards from Argentina, Spain, Italy, France, England, Scotland, Ireland, Hawaii and Alabama.  Mr. Kent’s current objective is to play Winged Foot, a not very likely occurrence.