What is the SSS ?

[Ham]

This has probably been explained on here before but can some one explain to me what the SSS on the scorecard is and how it is calculated.
At my club the white tees are Par 72 SSS 71
The yellows are par 72 SSS 69
Also most members at my place play off the whites all the time is that the norm ?

 

[stevo]

hi..SSS stands for standard scratch score,which i am led to believe means the score a scratch golfer should achieve on that course..

 

[billyg]

I think it's used in calculating H/C's.

If you are going to be issued with a certificate that is recognised nationally/globally there has to be a base line by which all carriers can be assessed.

The SSS does this by using a baseline figure used uniformally across all courses.

You could say that a course with an SSS the same as it's Par is therefore blinkin' hard while one playing well above it's SSS is fairly generous but of course you'll loose out against the card the second you play on a harder course.


...that's how I reckon it anyway

 

[birdieman]

SSS measures difficulty, par is more just a measure of length. Stevo is correct, a scratch golfer should go round in the SSS number.

 

[MVP]

So for the record guys What is CSS

 

[SS2]

CSS = Competiton Standard Scratch. It can be up to 1 stroke below and 3 strokes above the SSS and repesents the difficulty of the course on the day of competition. This is calculated after the scores from the day have been returned and processed. There is a set of rules by which the CSS can be classified as Non-counting (i.e. when all the scores are bad)

 

[RGuk]

i.i.r.c. the SSS is decided by the length, whether this is the primary indicator, I don't know.
My course has a SSS of 2 less than the par......it seems an odd way of doing things because there are no less than 6 medium par 4s where you can't sensibly hit a driver because of hazards/lakes/trees etc.

 

[viscount17]

European and US courses give a Slope rating for courses indicating degree of difficulty. Just how the scale works I have no idea; is a higher number harder? What are the upper and lower limits?
Is this comparable to SSS?
Is it given in lieu of or as well as SSS?

 

[SS2]

This is a complicated subject; here's a link to a pretty decent Wikipedia entry on SSS, CSS, Course and Slope Rating:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_handicap#Handicapping_in_the_United_Kingdom

 

[nackanut]

the standard scratch score at my club has just been increased to 70 on the white tees and 68 on the yellows fron 68 and 67 respectively. this was done by the yorkshire union who came to inspect the course after certain changes were made to certain holes.also our stroke indices have been altered for the coming season. apparently this will be of benefit to the lower handicapped members, but i dont know exactly why yet,