et. al.,
Aren't golf courses rated from the OFFICIAL marker designated by the Association the conducts the rating.
In the Metropolitan New York area, the MGA (Metropolitan Golf Association) conducts that process and establishes the location from where the golf course is rated by placing permanent markers in the ground.
Everything works off of those fixed points.
It doesn't matter where the tee markers are placed on any given day as the golf course is not rated from tee markers, but from permanent fixed plaques/points.
Not necessarily. The plates are not there to show where the course was rated from, but to show where the measurements were taken.
They are measured from those points, but the rating team can decide to rate from a different point if it obvious that they are not playing from that point. If we do rate from a different point, we would measure the difference precisely and add or subtract the difference in yards.
Brian, Using the USGA table for playing from a set of unrated tees, 180 yards would be 1.0 shots off the course rating and 2 slope points.
While not every hole has a monument, there needs to be a good record of where the measurement of the hole was made. For example, we might measure everything from the back edge of the tee pad or the middle or next to the yardage sign the club puts or at the front of the steps that lead up from the cart path, but when we do that, we would also record that with the measurement so that we could know.
We provide one set of plates at no charge to any member course that has 30 more members (or will pay us for 30). We will sell them any additional sets at our cost which is about $450 a set. When we measure a course, we will paint an X on the ground where we measured from and the superintendent will set the plate at that point some time later.
We consult with the club management, officials or just the superintendent as to where they want them measured from. More clubs want the measurements from 4 paces off the back of the tee these days to maximize yardage. If that were the case we would do it and put the plate there, but as I said before, we probably would rate from a shorter distance.