A team of Italian Course Raters recently travelled to Malta to conduct a new course rating of the Royal Malta Golf Club — the island’s only golf course.

The ‘international’ re-rating of the historic par-68 course followed a major two-year renovation project, which included the full reconstruction of all 18 greens. With these significant changes, a fresh rating was essential to ensure the course’s difficulty is accurately reflected in line with the World Handicap System.

Malta’s journey in course rating began shortly after the founding of the Malta Golf Association (MGA) in 2006 and its affiliation with the European Golf Association (EGA). At that time, with the country transitioning from the CONGU system, the EGA’s involvement enabled the Royal Malta Golf Club to be officially rated for the first time in its history. That initial effort was carried out by Peter Bromley and colleagues from the Cyprus Golf Federation. Bromley returned a decade later for a full re-assessment, producing comprehensive course handicap charts for all tees and both genders.

Though not actively involved in the project, the EGA facilitated this year’s re-rating in Malta through the relationships it continuously fosters between European national golf authorities. Under the EGA umbrella, officials from the MGA regularly meet with colleagues from other countries across Europe, particularly those in the Association’s ‘South Zone’ which includes Italy. 

Leading the delegation of three course raters was Richard Cau, former Chairman of the EGA’s Handicapping & Course Rating Committee (HCRC), who had recently concluded his term. Cau made an initial visit in December 2024 to advise on preparatory steps ahead of the full rating exercise.

This latest international course-rating project reinforces the EGA’s commitment to supporting its member federations, and to creating a platform for them to connect with and help each other.

The EGA Handicapping & Course Rating Committee has also been involved in coordinating several other international course rating exercises in recent times, including Dutch course raters travelling to Kazakhstan and Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Spanish course raters set to travel to Israel.

Ensuring that golfers in Europe can benefit from accurate, internationally recognised course ratings and handicap adjustments, even in smaller golfing nations, is an important objective of the the EGA’s Handicapping & Course Rating Committee. To help achieve this, the EGA also periodically organises Course Rating ‘calibration’ seminars for its member federations, the next of which is scheduled to be held in Italy in October 2025.

Read more about the EGA’s involvement with Handicapping in Europe here