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What Is the Average Golf Score?

The average score a golfer will shoot on a Course Rating
given course usually depends on the diffi-
culty rating of the course. A course rating is equal to the expected
While many professional golfers can expect to score of a scratch golfer playing a round of golf on
regularly shoot rounds in the 60s, or on a bad day a course from a given set of tees--meaning different
in the mid-70s, the average amateur usually is in sets of tees have different course ratings. A course
for a much longer day. While it can be frustrating to rating above the course’s par is a sign that a scratch
watch your strokes add up, it does stand to reason golfer would be expected to play over par, while a
that a golfer who takes more strokes per round pays lower rating means a scratch golfer should break
less per stroke for his round. par.

Average Score Slope Rating

As the game has grown, golf technology has also The slope rating is a rating that shows the relative
grown by leaps and bounds. Improved club designs, difficulty for a bogey golfer on a particular course,
larger and more accurate drivers and even the in- compared to the average scratch golfer’s score.
vention of new clubs, especially hybrids, seemingly The rating is so named because it represents the
have made the game easier to play. And yet, the av- slope of a line passing through the expected scores
erage score for an amateur golfer still hovers around of golfers, with expected scores on the Y-axis and
the 100-stroke mark from year to year. handicaps on the X-axis. If the average slope is 113,
it means an additional 1.13 strokes is expected for
Course Factor every 1 point of handicap difference. For this rea-
son, on an average 113 slope course, a bogey golfer
While the average score for amateurs may be 100, would be expected to lose to a scratch golfer by 20
the average score for the average amateur on a or 21 strokes.
specific course is not always 100. Some courses play
much more difficult than others. To determine the
expected average score on a particular course, it
helps to understand how course ratings and slope (Cont.)
ratings work.