course SSS ?

[ant2611]

hi
probably a stupid question but what does the SSS of a course mean and what does it do , eg , on my courses scorecard off yellow tees it says ...par 72 , SSS 71 ,
help would be appreciated

 

[birdieman]

SSS is the number of shots a scratch player should take to go round.

It simply measures course difficulty and is the basis for calculating handicaps, par isn't used in handicapping.

You can have for example 2 courses each of PAR 70 but one could be way way more difficult than the other. That's where SSS comes in. SSS on the easy course could be 68 whereas on the other course 74.

GolF Unions allocate SSS normlly where they consider length and difficulty by how tight holes are, raised greens, bunkering etc etc.