The Course

Course Layout - Score Card - Hole by Hole

Course Description

No record exists as to who designed the course but it is safe to assume that this was done by senior engineers of the British Forces then stationed in Malta.

A survey of the course was undertaken by the Specialist Team of the Royal Engineers in 1977 and the actual drawing can be seen in the Club offices.

The basic layout has not altered much with the exception that with the passing of years, further land was acquired and some of the holes were lengthened.

Part of the conditions of Malta Golf Association (MGA) and RMGC becoming affiliated to the Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) was that the course would be slope rated within three years. The slope rating system used by CONGU in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, but not yet England, and the system used by the European Golf Association (EGA) are entirely based on the United States Golf Association (USGA) system which the MGA has permission to implement. As we only have one course both EGA and CONGU recognise that we cannot train up a team of raters, so we were allowed to use a team from Cyprus. Following the rating exercise the RMGC has been rated as follows:

Men Yellow Tees Slope Rating 117 Course Rating 67.5
Ladies Red Tees Slope Rating 120 Course Rating 69.9

A golf course of standard relative playing difficulty has a slope rating of 113.

The slope rating exercise has the following implications for members and visitors:

a) Members’ playing handicaps are based on playing on the RMGC and will therefore remain as they are at present.

b) The Course Rating is equivalent to the ‘Standard Scratch Score’ (SSS) and is a recalculation of our course SSS. Following this reassessment CONGU has recommended that the SSS for Ladies be adjusted to 70 whilst the SSS remains at 68 for the Men. This will have the effect of giving Ladies two extra shots in mixed competitions under CONGU Rules.

c) Any member travelling to play another golf course with a slope rating needs a ‘travelling handicap’ (equivalent to an EGA exact handicap), which will be used to calculate his playing handicap at the new course. Eventually our handicap software will do this automatically when issuing a handicap certificate but until then it needs to be calculated manually. This is calculated by re-basing their handicap to the standard rating of 113, which is achieved by multiplying their CONGU exact handicap by 113 and dividing by the RMGC course rating (117 for men, 120 for ladies). For example if the exact handicap is 18.4 then for a man their travelling handicap will be (18.4 x 113 ÷ 117) = 17.8, for a lady (18.4 x 113 ÷ 120) = 17.3. Each slope rated course should have a ‘ready reckoner’ on display similar to the one on display at the RMGC. The playing handicap for the new course can be looked up on this.

d) Any visitor coming to play RMGC will similarly use their travelling handicap to find their RMGC playing handicap from the ‘ready reckoner’ on display. The actual handicap calculation process is:

(Travelling Handicap x Slope Rating ÷ 113) + (Course Rating – Par)

For example a visiting man with a travelling handicap of 18.4 would get a playing handicap of (18.4 x 117 ÷ 113) + (67.5 – 68) = 18.6 = 19. A visiting lady with a travelling handicap of 18.4 would become (18.4 x 120 ÷ 113) + (69.9 – 68) = 21.4 = 21.

e) For a RMGC member travelling to play a course without a slope rating the official recommendation is that the RMGC playing handicap be used.

f) For a visitor playing RMGC with a non-slope rated handicap the official recommendation is that they should use their exact handicap + (course rating – par).

The RMGC Ready Reckoner is attached below.

The RMGC signature hole is the par 3 Hole 4, known as the Maid's Bedroom. It is not a particularly difficult hole but is certainly one of the most picturesque. The tee shot should be played over the remains of the house in which the club's maids used to live, hence the name. Bunkers guard the green on the left and right, not visible from the tee and a there is row of trees on the left.

The 382 yard Hole 11 offers a wide fairway giving the golfer an excellent chance to attack the elevated two-tier green, but a decision has to be made whether to lay up or try to carry the strategically placed water hazard some 200 yards from the tee.

At first sight, the last few holes seem to provide a relatively easy finish, but don't be fooled. At 142 yards, Hole 15 could be regarded as fairly straight forward, but a 40 foot wide diagonal ditch runs just in front of the green , ready to swallow up an under hit or misdirected approach shot. Hole 16, meanwhile can be played without much alarm, provided the tee shot lands on the fairway and avoids the trees on each side and the bunker which leaves a narrow passage to the green.

As we said, the course at the Royal Malta Golf Club is not a difficult one to play, or is it?....