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USGA Course Length Recommendation

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JB said:
While the majority of golfers do not generally know how far they hit the ball on average off the tee, more data is available than ever from devices such as Shot Scope and their popular V3 watch.

According to the USGA, if you average 225 yards with the driver, the recommendation is to play a course between 5800-6000 yards.

When we talk about handicaps not dropping in large amounts (they are dropping) despite better equipment available, its also important to note how much agronomy plays a role here as courses have become longer, faster and more difficult than ever before.

Going back to that note from the USGA, it simply isn’t happening. The majority of rounds for those in that driving distance are played from 6325 yards or longer based on our research of multiple data device companies.

When we want to look at times on the course increasing, while nobody thinks they are actually slow or deliberate, this is something to consider. What yardage do you play from and what do you believe you average off the tee?

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In Myrtle Beach I’ll play up to 6100, when I’m up on Long Island I’ll play further back. I’m at least a club longer when I’m there, and with driver it’s 20+ yards between the change in elevation and firmer fairways.
I average just over 220 down here with minimum rollout, 240 up there.
I played out in Tahoe last winter and was hitting driver 260+. My 6 iron went from my 150 club to almost 170.
Distance is relative to where you play your golf.
 
A good way to decide the right length course for you is to multiply your 5 iron distance by 36. For example if you hit it 170, play around 6120. If you hit it 150 play 5500.
That should be your guide, but let’s be honest, in the real world that doesn’t happen. Most of us want to play further back than we should, because we think we hthe ball better and further than we do.
 
JB said:
Every data point captured suggests golfers of all abilities having a higher success rate closer to the hole.
It is not unreasonable or even accurate to suggest that the success rate would be the same with an 8 iron vs a 3 hybrid over the course of a round.
More accurate means faster playing, from a general sense.
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No doubt more accurate and fwiw fewer strokes will take the same player more and or less time. But that does not at all translate to it being problematic slow. Nor is it among the dominant reason people are problematic slow.

The idea that some people have about tee choice in relation to slow play is far overestimated. Thats wrongfully given far too much blame.

I am a fan of playing yardage suitable to one's hitting distance. But not for the reason of pace.

My other point wasn't really pace related but more something I was considering about yardage and playing badly.
Proper yardage is much more relevant and worthy only when playing at least ok golf. Bad and outright swing fails which so many us mid to highest cappers do too often just doesn't matter as for tee choice Imo

So when striking balls respectably well enough the 8i is far better than the 3hy for accuracy and success. But chunk either 10 yards and it don't matter.
 
ShotScope puts my driver average at 255 (PAve at 284). I typically play courses around 6200 yards which matches what the USGA recommends. Courses I frequent range from 6000 to 6500, but now and then I will try out 6700+ yards and then quickly learn my place :p
 
SC LEFTY said:
A good way to decide the right length course for you is to multiply your 5 iron distance by 36. For example if you hit it 170, play around 6120. If you hit it 150 play 5500.
That should be your guide, but let’s be honest, in the real world that doesn’t happen. Most of us want to play further back than we should, because we think we hthe ball better and further than we do.
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by that I should be playing 7020 yards...not sure it is a real good method for me
 
darthweasel said:
by that I should be playing 7020 yards...not sure it is a real good method for me
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Going by what you said, you hit your 5 iron 190? what length do you think you should play?
There’s no right or wrong answer btw, you can play any tee you want, obviously. I’m just curious about why you feel this way.
 
I play from tees much longer than the USGA recommendation or the multiply your 5 iron distance by some number method; both of those would put me on courses 5500 to 5700 yds. Last year I tried these short distance tees for 3 or 4 rounds to test this out - my biggest take away was that all the challenge was eliminated, it was just too short & easy. Golf is supposed to challenge you, make you use all your clubs, long approaches, mid length approaches, a real test for your whole bag. From the short tees I found golf to be too simple; nothing but Driver/9i or wedge on par 4's, 9i or wedge on all par 3's, and the par 5's were neutered & easy to score on. Also, when there is no challenge there is no sense of accomplishment with your score. I'm much more happy from further back where I find golf to be exactly what its supposed to be....challenging. I maintain around a 7 hdcp from 6350 - 6600 yds despite only averaging about a furlong off the tee with Driver. And for the notion that from further back you take extra shots which results in longer, slow rounds- also not true. My last 3 rounds from my normal tees have averaged 2 hr 45 mins; and I felt a great sense of accomplishment with some indiv hole scores & the final 18 hole scores.
 
another thing about total course distance is that its very (or can be very) deceiving and misleading. Things like elevations, prevailing winds , and especially doglegs can all make two of the same distance courses play very different length wise. justb play a 390 yrd par 4 that is straight vs one where you can cut the corner of a dogleg. There can be significant yardage difference in the approach distance after the very same tee shot.

Also at many courses there can be a couple or even a few oddball length holes a bit out of sync with the rest of the course. And that can also lead to total yardage not being represented so well. Or perhaps also an extra par3 and or only 3 par5's etc...etc...
 
One problem imo is that too many believe poorer (or better) play should also dictate tee distance choice. I believe ability should only play a small part in that decision but capable distance should play the most largest role. Imo its not the correct thing to take driver out of someone's hand because they are an inconsistent or poorer ball striker. And moving people up due to that is indeed taking driver and even 3w out of their hands.

Tee choice imo should be based on the "average of ones better play distances" not their poor play nor certainly outright miss hits. This imo is where much of the entire notion gets misunderstood. Almost no one gets on a tee with a driver knowing thier decent to good driver hits go 250 to 270 and plans on hitting a miss hit 210 yrds. They plan on hitting it the 260 (thier capable distance via a good enough hit) and use it accordingly with that intent vs the layout of the hole. from there they judge if perhaps they may only need a 3w or 5w or whatever shorter club from the given tee. This is why it makes almost zero sense to dictate one should move forward based on overall play ability or lack of. You dont make one who hits 260 go tee off 30yrds forward where as a hard turning dog leg is only 210 out just because they are a poorer player. That tee would be imo for one whos better hits are perhaps 230 (not 260).
 
In a perfect world 6600-6800. Median driving is around 280 for me. I don't actually care what box I play. I will even play the front tees once a twice a year. Getting comfortable making a bunch of birdies and not freaking out when going low is a skill you need to practice.
 
rollin said:
One problem imo is that too many believe poorer (or better) play should also dictate tee distance choice. I believe ability should only play a small part in that decision but capable distance should play the most largest role. Imo its not the correct thing to take driver out of someone's hand because they are an inconsistent or poorer ball striker. And moving people up due to that is indeed taking driver and even 3w out of their hands.

Tee choice imo should be based on the "average of ones better play distances" not their poor play nor certainly outright miss hits. This imo is where much of the entire notion gets misunderstood. Almost no one gets on a tee with a driver knowing thier decent to good driver hits go 250 to 270 and plans on hitting a miss hit 210 yrds. They plan on hitting it the 260 (thier capable distance via a good enough hit) and use it accordingly with that intent vs the layout of the hole. from there they judge if perhaps they may only need a 3w or 5w or whatever shorter club from the given tee. This is why it makes almost zero sense to dictate one should move forward based on overall play ability or lack of. You dont make one who hits 260 go tee off 30yrds forward where as a hard turning dog leg is only 210 out just because they are a poorer player. That tee would be imo for one whos better hits are perhaps 230 (not 260).
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I hate the taking driver out of the hand argument. Play the front tees, bomb away and move back when you break par. That is how I would teach a new golfer with potential.
 
ntanygd760 said:
I hate the taking driver out of the hand argument. Play the front tees, bomb away and move back when you break par. That is how I would teach a new golfer with potential.
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i respectfully yet greatly disagree with that. Truth is for a slew of reasons that is not (for most people) an achievable method.

But the issue is for just one example a person who can hit (lets say) 270 is on a dogleg that (from forward tees) turns hard at 200. What that does is take driver and even 3w out of thier hands and probably 5w too. So they are not bombing anything away and would be a bad choice to use longer/longest clubs there and in fact are simply playing a non full (for thier capable) length golf game but a partial version of it.

What your suggesting is something others have ....is that one should start and defeat a par3 course then graduate to executive course then defeat that then only go and play a full course and yet still defeat every tee before moving back to the tees suitable for thier capable distance.
Its just not practical nor achievable in any kind of timely enough manor and maybe never achievable. That entire ideology in reality of life is simply much too great a daunting task and can take many years and likely never be reached by most people.
 
My driver is around 225 and generally I play at 6000ish yards. However, moved back to 6300-6400 for the Grandaddy prep.
 
One of the bigger problems I see is that too often there is too big of a yardage difference between rated tees. At the course I belong to, there is about an 800 yard difference between the normal men's "white" tees and the "senior" tees, and 500-600 between every other set of tees. If the longer tees prove to be too long and take away from one's enjoyment, you either move up or create your own set of "combo tees" and adjust the course rating and slope yourself when posting.

I've chosen, at almost 75 years of age, to have fun and move up to the senior tees basically full time. I can handle the White's yardage-wise for the most part (except for the many par 4s well over 400 yards), but I am really having fun from the Senior tees! Additional yardage alone can be a challenge, but I prefer the "challenge" of having to "think" my way around the course instead of automatically pulling the driver out on every par 4 and 5.
 
rollin said:
No doubt more accurate and fwiw fewer strokes will take the same player more and or less time. But that does not at all translate to it being problematic slow. Nor is it among the dominant reason people are problematic slow.

The idea that some people have about tee choice in relation to slow play is far overestimated. Thats wrongfully given far too much blame.

I am a fan of playing yardage suitable to one's hitting distance. But not for the reason of pace.

My other point wasn't really pace related but more something I was considering about yardage and playing badly.
Proper yardage is much more relevant and worthy only when playing at least ok golf. Bad and outright swing fails which so many us mid to highest cappers do too often just doesn't matter as for tee choice Imo

So when striking balls respectably well enough the 8i is far better than the 3hy for accuracy and success. But chunk either 10 yards and it don't matter.
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You missed the point…;)
 
I find multiple players using different tees can cause pace of play issues. I play the whites, my wife plays the reds, and if another group plays the blues, well, that is three moves that take time, and three different setups. Not severe, but does take its toll. But back on topic, I play 6000ish holes, and it translates to my 89mph swing (225-240 driver length).
 
My Shot Scope Average is 262 yards & I normally play either 6650 or 6350 yards (Blue or Gold tees).
 
My really solid drives end up in the 220-230 range. I'm sure my average would be much less than that, considering the few mishits each round. I play the white tees at 6000ish yards to an 8-9 handicap.
 
My average is around 260. I typically play about 6200, sometimes 5900. The course plays harder from 5900 because every tee shot becomes contested.
 
I’m a short knocker. Avg is 221 according to Arccos. I try to play right around 6000-6100. And my hcp is currently a 12.5. So I think I’m ok as far as tee boxes. Most courses offer combo tees these days which can usually accommodate that length. Once I get to 6300 or longer I’m having to use FW woods into Par 4s and the scoring goes up depending on how my short game is. I can score from there but I am forced to play Bogey golf on the longer Par 4s.
 
J.B. Cobb III said:
The course plays harder from 5900 because every tee shot becomes contested.
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That is often overlooked when looking just at yardage. Yes, playing from longer tee boxes can add difficulty just based on length, but make it actually make it somewhat easier if you don't hit it long enough to bring trouble into play.
 
Just curious , in a fiscal sense .
if you play shorter distance on a course which may be 6000 y but only play 5400 y, which means you get compressed rounds in terms of time frames / per round, ergo more opportunity to have additional bookings and increase also profitably?
 
I read a while back that you should take whatever distance you hit your 5 iron and multiply it by 36. That seems to work pretty well for me
 
Hitsnmisses said:
Just curious , in a fiscal sense .
if you play shorter distance on a course which may be 6000 y but only play 5400 y, which means you get compressed rounds in terms of time frames / per round, ergo more opportunity to have additional bookings and increase also profitably?
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Most courses can't cram tee times any closer together than they already have them. And shorter distances don't necessarily make for shorter rounds. Never underestimate the ability of one slow golfer to bring the entire course behind them to a jammed up crawl!
 
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