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USGA Course Length Recommendation

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I avg 225 with my driver. The problem with most courses we play is the yardage from the white tees is 6100 and the next tees are 5200. More courses need to find some tees 5500 to 5800. We will play from 6100 and move up on the longer par 4s.
 
bill816 said:
I avg 225 with my driver. The problem with most courses we play is the yardage from the white tees is 6100 and the next tees are 5200. More courses need to find some tees 5500 to 5800. We will play from 6100 and move up on the longer par 4s.
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This is where a lot of courses could do better, creating a split set for golfers is SO easy to do.
 
I have the most fun from around 6000. The tees I play at my home course are 6114. Now that I’m somewhat consistently hitting driver around 240 per ShotScope I’ve thought about moving back a set to the blues which plays at 6471 but I haven’t yet.

I’ll give it a try next week. If it’s not fun for me I’ll move back up I don’t really care what the USGA says I should be playing. I want to have fun when I golf.

Question for @JB how are the tees played in experiences determined? I read the response about adjusting at National after the first round. But how is it determined for that first round?
 
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Most of the time around 5500-6200 unless we are playing for fun and mixing up tee boxes.
 
As I play a lot of different places the yardages I play are pretty broad. Predominantly regardless of course length I don't play the back tees anymore. I also play with randoms often so I'll move to the tee box the group is playing. My driver distance is about 220. My tee box selection is usually the boxes nearest 6200. I'll often not play the same tee box for 18. If the course is 6400 and has two par 4's at 425ish but forward tees at 375ish. I'll move up for those two holes. Many of the more modern courses have many tee box options so finding a fit for the 18 is easier.
 
GolfTravelDude said:
As I play a lot of different places the yardages I play are pretty broad. Predominantly regardless of course length I don't play the back tees anymore. I also play with randoms often so I'll move to the tee box the group is playing. My driver distance is about 220. My tee box selection is usually the boxes nearest 6200. I'll often not play the same tee box for 18. If the course is 6400 and has two par 4's at 425ish but forward tees at 375ish. I'll move up for those two holes. Many of the more modern courses have many tee box options so finding a fit for the 18 is easier.
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Challenging to keep a handicap that way though.
 
JB said:
Challenging to keep a handicap that way though.
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As I don't play competitively any more, My cap is in the ball park but not precise. So I make adjustments when posting to make allowance for my deviation from standard.
 
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I play 6300-6700. Much longer than that and my scores will balloon.
 
My average is 250y off the tee this year and my P-Avg is 282y and typically play courses around 6600-6800 yards so I'm in the upper range using the P-Avg. Using my average I should be playing 6200-6400. My round PR of 78 came from a course playing 6200y...maybe it was "too short" for my length, but it still was a challenge
 
215-230 off the tee, depending on the day and how the old body is moving.
I prefer to play 6000-6300yrd, which on most courses allow's me to play a variety of approach shots.
The course I play alot near my house, the back nine has 5 holes that play dramatically up hill all the way. Playing it at 6100 is more like 6500. #10 is 405, all up hill par 4. I play it as a par 5 and accept the bogey. I can barely reach the front of the green in two, after a good drive leaves me 190-210 to the always soft front of the green.
Flatter courses that I play are at 62-6400 and I can get around them pretty well.
 
I wish people took these recommendations more to heart. I know it’s a combination of humbling and embarrassing to move up a tee or two, but I believe golf is SO much more enjoyable when it’s at a length you can manage.
 
Canadan said:
I wish people took these recommendations more to heart. I know it’s a combination of humbling and embarrassing to move up a tee or two, but I believe golf is SO much more enjoyable when it’s at a length you can manage.
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That’s so true. It’s something I struggled with teaching my son when he was a younger kid. It’s also why I played some rounds from the forward tees so he could “play the same tees as daddy”. I let him play back at the whites with me (as an 11 year old) for a few holes to let him understand what I was saying. He’d play a few short par 4 holes with me over the years until his driving distance got to the point of having an iron or hybrid into all par 4s. I’m guessing he had fun because he’s still into golf.
 
I typically play around 6400-6700 and I average about 315 off the tee according to my 18Birdies gps.
 
Canadan said:
I wish people took these recommendations more to heart. I know it’s a combination of humbling and embarrassing to move up a tee or two, but I believe golf is SO much more enjoyable when it’s at a length you can manage.
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I'm going to give it a shot next time I can go play my home course. I'll play from the forward tees and see how we do. Might be a month until I get to do it though.
 
I guess what surprises me is that anyone needs to be told they’re playing too far back… that it isn’t fairly intuitive. We know when we’re not enjoying ourselves and should know if we’re playing slow. Ego aside, why would folks choose to put theirselves into either situation?
 
My home course has a sign at the first tee with recommendations based on handicap.

Black 7200 yards 0-5
Blue 6800 yards 5-10
White 6100 yards 10-20
Gold 5600 yards 20+

The large majority ignore it and just play the blues.
 
Jman said:
This is where a lot of courses could do better, creating a split set for golfers is SO easy to do.
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We have a similar issue at our course. On the 18 we play most often, the whites are 5838, blues are 6337 - a 500 yard difference between tee boxes. I asked our golf director if they would consider rating a set of combo tees somewhere around 6000-6100. They're making some changes to the course over the Summer and having it re-rated in the Fall, and he said they would incorporate a set of combos and have them rated. I mean, we could make up our own split tees and just play them, the only thing that keeps us from doing it is that we couldn't legitimately post scores from a non-existent tee set.
 
Snowman said:
We have a similar issue at our course. On the 18 we play most often, the whites are 5838, blues are 6337 - a 500 yard difference between tee boxes. I asked our golf director if they would consider rating a set of combo tees somewhere around 6000-6100. They're making some changes to the course over the Summer and having it re-rated in the Fall, and he said they would incorporate a set of combos and have them rated. I mean, we could make up our own split tees and just play them, the only thing that keeps us from doing it is that we couldn't legitimately post scores from a non-existent tee set.
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That last part is why courses are messing up. It’s such an easy thing to do, and offer.
 
Jman said:
That last part is why courses are messing up. It’s such an easy thing to do, and offer.
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I think if our course made a combo between the blue and white it would be a great thing.
 
bill816 said:
I avg 225 with my driver. The problem with most courses we play is the yardage from the white tees is 6100 and the next tees are 5200. More courses need to find some tees 5500 to 5800. We will play from 6100 and move up on the longer par 4s.
Click to expand...
Jman said:
This is where a lot of courses could do better, creating a split set for golfers is SO easy to do.
Click to expand...

Make up your own set of combination tees and adjust the course rating and slope according to Appendix G of the Handicap Manual.

 
GolfFest said:
I think if our course made a combo between the blue and white it would be a great thing.
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I’d best most here would feel the same way. It’s just good business imo. 👍
 
Arccos says my driving average is 268 and we play whatever tees the group wants to play so it’s never consistent. The course we played yesterday from the blues is right around 6500 yards and I shot 6 strokes better than when we played the same course 3 weeks ago from the whites, which are about 5700. Make of that what you will but in all the years I’ve been playing, unless you’re really long or really short I’ve never seen much correlation between length and score.
 
Phil75070 said:
Make up your own set of combination tees and adjust the course rating and slope according to Appendix G of the Handicap Manual.

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Problem comes if/when you try to post your score, though. GHIN doesn't allow you to input a custom course rating/slope (at least not that I can see), you only have the choice of whatever tees the course has rated.
 
Snowman said:
Problem comes if/when you try to post your score, though. GHIN doesn't allow you to input a custom course rating/slope (at least not that I can see), you only have the choice of whatever tees the course has rated.
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If you scroll down under "Tees", the last option is to "Manually Input Course Rating/Slope".
 
Canadan said:
I wish people took these recommendations more to heart. I know it’s a combination of humbling and embarrassing to move up a tee or two, but I believe golf is SO much more enjoyable when it’s at a length you can manage.
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I play 2 different tee boxes with a sprinkling of a third on the course I mostly play. Sometimes it is just to follow the group I am with and sometimes it is to work on shots. I have never played the tips at the course because it just wouldn't be fun for me. I have been humbled way too much in my life already so it don't bother me.
 
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