Course Ratings are based on normal playing conditions, but the difficulty of a golf course can vary substantially from day to day, due to:
- Course conditions,
- Weather conditions, and/or
- Course set-up.
The playing conditions calculation (PCC) determines whether playing conditions on the day differed from normal conditions to the extent that an adjustment is needed to compensate. It is a daily statistical procedure that compares the scores submitted by players on the day against expected scoring patterns. At the end of the day, if scoring is consistently higher for a requisite number of players, an adjustment is made to the differential for most players on the course that day. This is a new capability of the World Handicap System.