Almost every year since I’ve worked at Oregon Golf Association, I have received a request for a list of the “Hardest Courses” in the state. Every year I shake my head.

You see, there really is no such thing as “hardest course”. OGA, using the USGA Course Rating Program, rates all courses in Oregon and SW Washington. What we really rate, however, is not the Course. We rate Tees, every set of tees for Men and all but the tees over 6200 yards for Women (unless requested).

The magazines and online blogs only look at two factors when they look at “Hardest Courses”:

1. Course Rating (which is based on how a Scratch player would score) and
2. Men

Each year I get the request for the list. Each year I give several lists. Two for Men ranked by Course Rating, Slope Rating, and two for Women ranked by Course Rating and Slope Rating. I also include information on Bogey Rating and overall yardage as well. I keep hoping that the authors of the article or blog might use the opportunity to help educate golfers as to which Tee to play from in order to have a more pleasurable experience.

Since all Tees are rated, a player can go to most any Course and find a set of appropriate Tees. Sure, the list that follows shows that the CHAMPIONSHIP tees at Crosswater have the highest Course Rating. But that only tells part of the story. The Championship tees are rated 76.6/146, but can I really call Crosswater the ‘most difficult course’, when they also have the most forward set of tees, the Red tees, rated for Men at 64.3/114? Now, I’ll admit, Crosswater is a comparatively difficult course. When they say Cross Water… they mean it. But is it the ‘hardest”?

If a player looks at the list ranked by Course Rating, but they have a higher handicap, they might not even realize that while Camas Meadows is not on the top 20 list by Course Rating, the Gold Tee is listed as 4th by Slope Rating. If you were looking to find an enjoyable round of golf, the player with the higher handicap might not find that tee suits their needs.

The Jacobsen Tee at Brasada Canyons is rated 74.4/145. Comparatively, it is more difficult for a Bogey golfer than a Scratch golfer.

Unless you are a Scratch (zero handicap) or better golfer, these “Hardest Course” lists don’t do anyone much good, other than telling a player where NOT to play. For Women, these lists don’t say anything at all. As a matter of fact, many Women looking at these lists might completely rule out playing at the courses deeming the courses to be too difficult while not understanding that the other tees may be wonderfully suited to their game.

Every one of the courses on this list has much shorter tees. As a matter of fact, all of the courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort have put in Royal Blue tees, each set being between 3800 and 4280 yards.

In 2011, the PGA of America and USGA issued a set of recommendations designed to encourage golfers to play from appropriate yardages. These guidelines are based on golfers’ average driving distances. Click here to read Which Set of Tees Should You Play From on The Golf Course

There are many keys to finding the right Tee for any Player: Length, Course/Slope Rating, availability of carts or walkability, views of the mountains, ocean or river, and many more.

My point of this article is to not get lost in the “-est” (long-est, hard-est, best-est etc.)  of the course. Pick a set of Tees that is in your comfort zone, figure out your Course Handicap, play and enjoy your round!

Gretchen Yoder
Manager of Course Rating & Handicapping

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