A number (like 71.4) that says what a scratch golfer — someone with a 0 handicap — is expected to shoot on that course from a given set of tees. It's the honest measure of raw difficulty: a par-72 course rated 74.1 is genuinely hard, while one rated 69.8 plays easier than its par suggests. Course rating is the anchor of the World Handicap System — your handicap is calculated against the rating, not against par, which is why the same score can be worth more at a tougher track.