golf course ratings

Question
Can you explain the ratings assigned to the different tees at various golf courses?  Example:  my club course is a par 72.  The various tees (blue, white, gold, etc.) have different ratings (73.0, 70.8, etc.).  What does this mean?
Also each is given a "Slope" (127, 120, etc.)  what does this mean?
thanks for answering.
Ed

Answer
Hi Ed,

The two measures of difficulty of a golf course are distance and hazards, the primary being distance. The longer the golf course, the high its rating. And, the measures are based on a scratch golfer (0 handicap). A scratch golfer should on average score the course rating. He/she should score a 69 on a course whose ranking is 69, regardless of par.

The slope measures the level of difficulty due to the number of water hazards, bunkers, elevation changes, awkward lies, etc. Two courses with the same rating of 69 might have different slopes, the 137 slope meaning more difficult than a 122 slope. The scratch golfer would score the same on both courses, but higher handicaps would not. Thus, a higher handicap would get more strokes when playing the 137 course than when playing the 122 slope.

Hope this helps.

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Best regards,
Ken Tannar