May 24

Written by: KrisF
5/24/2008

As Bend, Oregon gets ready to welcome another new course to it's expansive golf community (it's 29th track), the Oregon Golf Association has released the slope and ratings for Tetherow.  From the looks of it, the course is very playable from the tan (intermediate tees), but gets considerably harder from the backs and tips. 

After the walk-throughs I've had at Tetherow, the golf course looks like a must-play if you can get a tee time. 

Here's the full press release from the OGA:

The Oregon Golf Association has calculated the USGA Course and Slope Ratings for Tetherow, a new golf resort community in Bend, Ore. that is scheduled to open July 25.

Designed by David McLay Kidd, famous for his creations at Bandon Dunes and the new Castle Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, the private Tetherow Golf Course incorporates many of his signature design elements.

Set on a high plateau between the city of Bend and the wooded national forest, landscaping features high desert trees such as Ponderosa pine and juniper, and sweeping views of the Cascade Mountains from every hole. It is located just minutes from the center of Bend.

Golf Development Director and Director of Instruction is former European Tour golfer Chris Van Der Velde, and PGA Director of Golf/General Manager is Martin Chuck, and Caleb Anderson, formerly the head professional at the Club at Pronghorn recently joined the management team at Tetherow Golf Club.  

The resort/private course is the centerpiece of a community that will encompass a luxury hotel, wellness center/spa, recreation center, conference center and 589 homesites and townhomes.  OB Sports Management of Scottsdale will manage the golf shop, food and beverage, guest services, membership sales and turf care.  OB Sports also manages Langdon Farms GC in Aurora, Ore. and Centennial Golf Club in Medford, Ore.

Tetherow, a par-72 course, will play 7,298 yards from the Kidd Tees with a USGA Course Rating of 74.8 and a USGA Slope Rating of 141.  The Black Tees will play to 6,705 yards and a rating/slope of 72.5/131 and the Tan Tees will be 6,111 yards with a rating of 69.3/124.    "US Kids" Tees will also be available.

A USGA Course Rating is the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a course for a scratch golfer under normal course and weather conditions for the purpose of providing a uniform basis on which to issue USGA Handicap Indexes.  

A USGA Slope Rating evaluates the relative playing difficulty of each set of tees for non-scratch golfers and is used in calculating a course handicap from a handicap index.  It adjusts a handicap for a higher handicap golfer to the scratch golfer.

The Oregon Golf Association is also responsible for maintaining the integrity of the USGA Handicap System and is authorized to issue handicaps to members of its member clubs.  The purpose of a handicap index measure the potential ability of a golfer relative to par and provide a portable number that can be converted to a handicap specific to the course being played.

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.   

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

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 OGA.  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.    

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 after three years to accommodate natural changes made to a course as it matures.

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