Dale Soria—2025 Course Rater of the Year
Santa Rosa resident Dale Soria has always been involved with some type of service
When he was younger, the now-75-year-old Soria was a smokejumper--that being one of the folks who parachute in during forest fires and head straight for the front lines to attack the blaze. Years later and up until his retirement, Soria was then one of a handful of dentists in Yosemite National Park.
In the late 2000’s, just prior to retiring, Soria was playing with a group at Wawona Golf Course in Yosemite when one of the members of the group, the late Rotten Robbie’s gas station founder Herb Richards, suggested that Soria look into becoming a course rater.
“I started golfing later in life. I was more of a skier but wanted to get good at golf. So I started playing at Wawona and hanging out with some of the older guys like Herb,” Soria recalled. “He said he knew some of the people on the committee and that I should talk to them. I ended up applying.”
In 2010, Soria officially became a course rater, and he hasn’t looked back. In mid-2025, he earned his 15-year Service Pin.
“I think would I love about being a course rater is the variety,” Soria said. “I enjoy going to these courses that for many are out of the way places. You get to see other people’s passion for the game. Everywhere we go, people are proud of their course. They appreciate what the NCGA does.”
Today a veteran, Soria shared his advice for those looking to become an NCGA course rater.
“Most of us volunteers are older, we have more time or are retired,’ Soria explained. “We need to stay active. Being a course rater is a great way to learn about the game—and being a volunteer is a great way to give back.”
The NCGA is always looking for volunteers! Go to ncga.org/about/volunteer to learn more!
What do Course Raters do? Course raters work in a team of 6-14 depending on the facility we visit. Course rating is an all-day affair that includes collecting data on players’ landing zones and looking up table values based on our on-course measurements.