The Most Difficult Golf Courses

As the governing body of golf in Oregon and SW Washington, the Oregon Golf Association is licensed by the United States Golf Association to determine the measurements including course and slope ratings for all golf courses in its region. The OGA rates established golf courses on a seven-year cycle and upon request if major renovations have been made.  New courses are re-rated every three years for the first nine years to accommodate natural changes made to a course as it matures.

Rank	Course	Rating	Slope	Yardage
1	Bandon Dunes (Tournament)	76.7	149	7,326
2	Crosswater	76.5	145	7,683
3	Pronghorn (Nicklaus-Tips)	76.1	150	7,379
4	Pronghorn (Fazio)	75.8	148	7,447
5	Sandpines (Gold)	75.2	131	7,190
6	Centennial	75.0	130	7,309
7	Chehalem Glenn	74.8	154	7,054
8	Tetherow	74.8	141	7,298
9	Pumpkin Ridge (Witch)	74.8	139	7,017
10	The Reserve (South)	74.8	135	7,172
11	Pronghorn (Nicklaus-Black)	74.6	148	7,039
12	Crosswater	74.6	141	7,300
13	Diamond Woods	74.5	143	7,036
14	Aspen Lakes	74.4	139	7,302
15	Sandpines (Black)	74.4	129	6,981
16	Brasada Canyons	74.3	147	7,314
17	Royal Oaks	74.3	133	7,017
18	Eugene	74.2	136	6,854
19	Wildhorse	74.2	129	7,112
20	Bandon Dunes (Green)	74.1	143	6,732
21	Red Tail	74.1	136	7,107
22	Eagle Point	74.1	135	7,096
23	Pumpklin Ridge (Ghost)	74.0	145	6,839
24	Emerald Valley	74.0	130	7,143

Course ratings are objective evaluations of a course’s difficulty based on a number of factors including roll, elevation, forced lay-ups, prevailing winds, and altitude that change the effective playing length as well as topography, fairway width, green targets, green surface, recoverability and rough, bunkers, hazards, and trees.

Accuracy and consistency are the keys to effective course rating.  Measurements and ratings are conducted by experienced teams of three trained and experienced raters including both staff and volunteers of the Oregon Golf Association.  Through the collection of data on thousands of golfers and golf holes, the factors that affect difficulty have been assigned values that yield accurate and uniform ratings when applied to a course in its entirety.  Results are evaluated by a Course Rating Review Committee prior to its release.  

The course rating system is designed to ensure that the rating of a course is in proper relation to the ratings of other courses so that players regularly playing different courses can be equitably compared.

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