[J.A.Sucker]

Slope and ratings do reflect the difficulty of the course, but for different kinds of players. As I remember it, slope is kind of more geared for players with high handicaps and should be more relavant for you than the course rating. I'm not sure what the scale actually means, but a course with a 140 slope is pretty damned tough. I think that 120 is pretty average, but not too sure.

The rating of a course is easier to quantify, however. It's simply how a pefect even-par golfer would play that course. A par 72 with a rating of 72.0 is the average golf course. A 71 should have a rating of 71.0, etc. A tough course will have a rating 2 or more strokes over it's par rating from the tips; some are even worse than this (or better, IMO).

The connection between the slope and rating is somewhat true, but there are factors that can make the slope increase more than the rating; that is a good golfer will be affected less than a bad golfer. Usually this is length. If a course has a lot of 410 yd par 4's, then a casual golfer will have trouble getting home in 2, but a low handicapper might think the holes are not too tough if they don't have any trouble and the green is simple. Thus, a course like this may play a bloated slope vs rating, as is the case with some newer courses that are long, but wide open.