My course ratings scale is a modified Doak scale. My ratings are more inflated than the Doak scale ratings. Using the Doak scale itself would result in most of the courses being the same rating, which makes for boring conversation. Most of the courses I’m rating aren’t in the same league as a Pine Valley or Cypress Point, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to rate them on a similar scale. If I get the opportunity to play OINK’s best such as The Golf Club, Muirfield Village, or Crooked Stick, I might rate them more on the Doak scale, since they would all receive a 10 on my scale.
10 – Get in your car and drive to this course today, no matter what the distance. Absolute must play! Rivals some of the best public courses in the entire Midwest, if not U.S.!
9 – An outstanding course with only slight imperfections. One of the best in the OINK region.
8 – One of the best courses in its state. There may be more 8s in one state than another. Generally, an excellent layout.
7 – Mostly the same as the Doak description: “Worth checking out if you get anywhere within 100 miles. You can expect to find soundly designed, interesting holes, good course conditioning, and a pretty setting.”
6 – Worth driving across town for, if you live at the opposite end of it. “A very good course” which “shouldn’t disappoint you”.
5 – “Well above average course, good for if you’re in the vicinity, but don’t make an overnight trip to see it.”
4 – “A modestly interesting course, with…some scenic interest and decent golf”
3 – An average course. Think of your local muni.
2 – “A mediocre golf course, but nothing really horrible. Play it in a scramble and drink a lot of beer.”
1 – “A very basic golf course”, with poor design and/or maintenance. Probably should avoid.
0 – If this course were in my back yard, I wouldn’t play it. I wouldn’t recommend this course under any circumstances and would say it should never have been built.