When did course ratings begin?

[Joe Bausch]

I ask b/c recently searching for info on another club in Philly, I found this 1913 article indicating that is when it first happened here in Philly:



Could this be the earliest?  I have no idea, hence this thread.

Of particular interest to me in the data above is that the nearly brand new Merion Cricket Club course (Merion East) is rated nearly the hardest in the area.  And in 1913 the course was barely bunkered.

[BCrosby]

The earliest ratings I know of were done by John Low in Nisbet's Golf Yearbook starting about 1904. His ratings covered UK courses only. As I recall he surveyed 100 or so amateur and professional players. The surveys were continued for several years. TOC finished first in all of them, due largely to the votes of the amateurs. The professionals tended to spread their top votes among other courses.

Bob

[Bob Harris]

I ask b/c recently searching for info on another club in Philly, I found this 1913 article indicating that is when it first happened here in Philly:



Could this be the earliest?  I have no idea, hence this thread.

Of particular interest to me in the data above is that the nearly brand new Merion Cricket Club course (Merion East) is rated nearly the hardest in the area.  And in 1913 the course was barely bunkered.

Joe,

The first USGA system was established in 1911 and was based on the expected score of the national amateur champion, at that time, Jerome Travers.  At first, each club determined their own rating.  Seeing the flaws in that system, ratings were then issued by the regional golf associations.  
 

Bob

[Peter Pallotta]

Fascinating. Thanks, Joe, for posting, and for the answers so far.

Has Huntington tried to keep with the Jones (of Merion and Aronimink) by lengthening and narrowing fairways and speeding up greens to keep up with technology and to keep 'testing' the best players in the world?

It's not that I want to see it try; but I am just a bit curious about the bloodbath that would ensue if it did!

Peter

[Sven Nilsen]

Joe:

Here's a website that seems to be entirely devoted to the handicap concept:  http://www.popeofslope.com/history/

One excerpt:

In 1897, Mr. George Combe, Honorable Secretary of the Golfing Union of Ireland, developed a procedure to make handicaps more portable between courses using a "scheme of distance differences for par score." He wrote: "The par score of Lahinch is 89, at another club, 71. If my handicap is 12 at the second club, ought I not get 15 at Lahinch?

[Joel_Stewart]

Good knowledge here.  Thanks for sharing.

[Paul Gray]

If anyone would like to see the modern day English equivalent:

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.englandgolf.org%2Flibrary-media%255Cdocuments%255CGuide_to_SSS.pdf&ei=M72xVNuyEu2v7Aa52YHoDw&usg=AFQjCNGAEl0ajcEX5txWgm5SdOmGyGlGMg

[Jim Sherma]

Fascinating. Thanks, Joe, for posting, and for the answers so far.

Has Huntington tried to keep with the Jones (of Merion and Aronimink) by lengthening and narrowing fairways and speeding up greens to keep up with technology and to keep 'testing' the best players in the world?

It's not that I want to see it try; but I am just a bit curious about the bloodbath that would ensue if it did!

Peter

I don't believe that this is the current HVCC course that Flynn built. Rather this would be the original that became Baederwood GC in Jenkintown before becoming NLE.

[john_stiles]

The interest in difficulty certainly seems deeply embedded in golf's psyche about what might be BEST.

ie I like thinking about Bogey's list rather than driving through the GD list.

[Jason Way]

Recently came across this mea culpa from George Peper re: the modern ranking abomination that he helped spawn:

http://www.linksmagazine.com/best_of_golf/out-of-the-shadows

[BCrosby]

Peper's article is interesting. He acknowledges what we have called here the "exclusivity premium", meaning that courses with small, exclusive memberships will get ranked higher than they otherwise would be.  His regrets about the whole enterprise are well taken.

Low's rankings in Nisbet's from 1904 to about 1912 were simply a popularity contest in which better players voted for their favorite courses in Britain. A century on, I don't think we've come up with a better system.

Bob   

[Tim_Weiman]

Recently came across this mea culpa from George Peper re: the modern ranking abomination that he helped spawn:

http://www.linksmagazine.com/best_of_golf/out-of-the-shadows

Jason,

Peper's quotes Ernie Ransome on what he believed was the downside of golf course rankings for Pine Valley: too many people wanting to play the course.

I did once have the occasion of having dinner with Ernie and his wife who explained to me how much Ernie appreciated my Dad because nearly every time the phone rang, it was somebody wanting help getting on the course. But, my Dad called for another reason: to raise money. Crazy when receiving a fundraising call is a welcome relief!