Gerry Brown won’t soon forget his less-than-auspicious debut as a course rater.
First of all, it came in the midst of a national emergency — 10 years ago on 9/11 as planes were being flown into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. “I was glued to the TV in the golf shop” at Spring Valley Golf Club in Elizabeth, he said.
As for that first course rating process, “I had no idea what I was doing,” Brown said. “In those days there was no training by the (CGA). I was told, ‘You’ll pick it up as you go.'”
What a difference a decade makes. Last week, that onetime “newbie” — and now the CGA’s director of course rating and handicapping — received the prestigious honor of being named to the USGA Course Rating Committee, whose members are among the foremost experts in the field.
“The way courses are measured and rated — which is the backbone of the handicap system — is determined by that committee,” noted CGA executive director Ed Mate, Brown’s boss. “It’s a very small committee — and very prestigious. Literally there are rocket scientists on that committee. For Gerry to be on that is a feather in his cap, and it’s nice for us (as an association) to see that Colorado is so highly regarded.”
Brown (pictured) is one of four staffers of the CGA and CWGA who serve on USGA committees. CWGA executive director Robin Jervey has been on four such committees in 2011 (Rules of Golf, Handicap Procedure, Joe Dey, and Regional Affairs). Mate also serves on Regional Affairs, and CGA director of rules and competitions Pete Lis is on the U.S. Mid-Amateur Committee.
Brown has worked for the CGA since 1992, first as a tournament administrator, then moving into his current position about a decade ago. By his own estimates, he personally rates 12-15 courses per year, meaning he’s logged close to 150 course ratings in his career. Brown recently led a discussion on course rating at the International Association of Golf Administrators meeting in Pinehurst, N.C.
“This represents the top rung for a course rater at a state or regional golf association,” Brown said of his USGA appointment, which is normally the result of recommendations by peers. “It’s an extremely prestigious position to hold, so I was ecstatic. I couldn’t believe they were asking me to do this.”
In Colorado, Brown and the CGA’s volunteer course raters establish updated course ratings at 36-48 courses each year. Courses are typically rated near their opening date, their third anniversary and seventh anniversary. After that, it’s normally an eight-year rotation.
Course raters evaluate the difficulty of a course for scratch golfers and bogey golfers from the various tee boxes. Yardage is the No. 1 factor in the rating, but other things taken into account are effective playing length (factoring in uphill/downhill, forced layups/doglegs, elevation, altitude, etc.) and obstacles (bunkers, trees, water hazards, green characteristics, etc.). The result is the course rating and Slope numbers that players see on scorecards. The bottom-line purpose for course rating — and the handicap system in general — is to make the game equitable for golfers of all ability levels.
“I’ve been drawn to it from the very beginning,” Brown said of the whole course rating process.
As a member of the USGA Course Rating Committee, Brown’s main responsibility will be one of instruction and testing during national calibration seminars, which serve as testing and accreditation mechanisms for course raters. Brown expects to attend at least two of these seminars each year, including one in San Diego in early March.
Course Rating is a relatively new full-fledged USGA committee, gaining that status in 1998. In 1982, the CGA broke new ground by rating all of its courses using the current USGA Course Rating System, and the CGA subsequently tested the Slope system in 1983 and ’84. Former CGA executive director Warren Simmons has been a key player in the evolution/refinement of the system over the years.
