No golf course is the same, no hole is the same, which is why in the course rating system there are 10 obstacles that are evaluated.
Fairway: Evaluation of the difficulty of keeping the ball in the fairway from tee to green. This includes Fairway width in all landing zones; Hole length; and Nearby trees, obstacles, and punitive rough.
Green Target: Evaluation of hitting the green with the approach shot is based on green size; approach shot length; and Green surface visibility and firmness.
Recoverability and Rough (R&R): R&R evaluates the probability of missing the tee shot landing zone and the green, and the difficulty of recovering if either, or both, is missed. This includes the difficulty of the green as a target and the type of rough grasses (cool or warm season) and their height.
Bunkers: Bunker ratings are based on the fraction of the green surrounded by bunkers as well as difficulty recovering from the bunkers in the fairway and around the green.
Crossing Obstacles: Crossing Obstacles consist of penalty areas, extreme rough (including desert), and out of bounds which are carried to play the hole. Crossing Obstacle ratings are based on the shot length to safely Crossing Obstacle, which is 10 yards beyond the far margin of the obstacle. In addition, there could be multiple crossings occurring on a hole.
Lateral Obstacles: Lateral Obstacles consist of penalty areas, extreme rough (including desert), and out-of-bounds when they come into play laterally on the hole. Lateral Obstacle ratings include the shot length required to reach the landing zone (fairway or green). In addition, distance of the Lateral Obstacle from the center of the landing zone (fairway or green).
Trees: Trees must be rated by evaluating the overall impact of trees on the play of the hole. For different golfers, trees can have different values based on recoverability, hole length, difficulty factors and the number of trees in the area.
Green Surface: Green Surface is an evaluation of the difficulty of chipping and putting on each hole. This is a correlation between green speed as measured by the Stimpmeter; and green surface contouring and slope or tilt. This is an evaluation of the cumulative effect of other obstacles on a player’s score. The location of many punitive obstacles close to a target area creates uneasiness in the mind of the player and affects scoring.
