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Course length - How long is too long for you and your handicap

SuperStroke
Greatly depends on the course layout. Local courses Ill play 6500 just fine and depending on the course Ill go up to 6700 but thats pushing it for this short hitter.
 
I've never really paid much attention to the yardages when I play. Without really knowing I'd guess that a little longer (to an extent) is actually better for me. I have a lot more success hitting 7 iron into greens than I do pitching wedge.
 
7000+ is where it starts to get less fun for me. hitting long irons and fairway woods into par 4s all day isnt fun.
 
At elevation I can play 7200 without much trouble but some holes leave me with longer approaches than I would like. I think 6800 is about perfect for me.
 
I don't like playing over 6,600 yards, ideally I prefer 6,300 yards. It's interesting that a lot of courses I play or travel to will have large gaps from the 6,600 yard tees down to 5,900 yards. At my club we are finalizing a blend of tee's so that instead of a 7,100/6,600/5,900 option we will now have a 7,100/6,850/6,600/6,320/5,900 set for consideration. I'll likely play the 6,320 option frequently.
 
I don't have a fixed distance, I just don't like courses where a good drive (255-295) leaves me with a long iron in on most par 4-holes. I want to hit a variety of shots to the green.

Last year I played a course at 7400 and is was very playable for me due to the setup, hard fairways and landscape. The course closest to my house only plays 6500 from the tips, but no one has ever came in at par or better, pro or amateur, it's a really tough layout, and the tips tends to be too long for me.
 
For me 6400-6600 is real good. I can play 6800, but I need to be hitting my driver pretty well.
 
We generally play between 6200-6600. I don't think the 6600 is too long for me though that course plays easier than some of the shorter ones we've been playing. If I'm hitting my driver well I look for about 240-250 yards off the tee which would put me in the 6200-6400 range with the link DawgDaddy posted. I also look at the Par 3s. I figure I can hit my hybrid 200-210 off the tee so anything longer than that is pushing the envelope for me. I only run into that long a Par 3 on one course we frequent and with the pin back it can be 210 to 215 with a quartering wind in the face. I probably should think of choking down on a 3W the next time we play that if there is wind.
 
BIGBALL said:
Keep it around 6300 - 6400 yards for me and I can work with that. TBH, many times, for me, yardage issues are more based on how the yardage is divided up. Courses that get a lot of their yardages from longer par 4's ( over 400 for me ) are tougher than those that mainly get yardages from long par 5's for me.
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This nails it for me. As a senior, I just don't have the distance anymore. On flat ground with no wind, a 175 yd. par 3 is a 5 iron for me. So, if a course has 3 200+ yds. par 3's and one of 110 yds. or so, I'm basically playing 3 par 4's and 1 par 3. If most of the par 4's are 400+ yds. with a few very short par 4's, again, I'm toast as far scoring is concerned.

I don't like playing courses that are shorter than 6,000 yds. There are just too many very short holes. I look for courses between 6,000 and 6,500 yds. They are challenging but not punitive. The good news is, that's where most of the White Tees are on most courses.

Later,

John
 
Since hitting filling out since my Junior year of high school, I haven't had a problem with distance. When I am striking the ball well, I hit it a long ways. My problem comes with consistently hitting the center of the club face. Tight courses ruin me.
 
I prefer courses 6200 to 6800 yards. I always look at par 3 distances. If it has multi holes over 200 yards for a set a tees I'm moving up. I played a course recently that I think was around 6100 yards but 3/4 par 3s where 200 yards. That seemed silly to me.
 
I prefer 6000 to 6200. I routinely play with a guy who plays from the blues, no matter what the distance is, because he says that playing back helps him score better. It's a bunch of hooey, but it is what it is. I have tried to convince him that playing a set of tees based on a particular distance brings no shame with it, but I can only lead by example.
 
I like anything between about 6400-6800. Anything over that is pushing it for me. Have played 7k+ a few times and did not find it very enjoyable. Its not fun hitting hybrids into every par 3 or par 4. I Like to at least have a few reasonable chances at birdie in every round.
 
I'm comfortable between 6000-6500. Anything over that and its just to long for me. Even 6500 is pushing it but I still like to play from there once in a while.
 
I prefer a course right around 6000, give or take a couple hundred yards, for the tees I would play from.
 
I once read (I think in Golf Digest), that if you are above a 10 handicap you should play from the whites. So while I have a pretty long drive, I'm still a 16 handicap and play from the whites on most courses. Most of them play 6,200 to 6,400 from the whites.
 
MBurnham said:
I'm comfortable between 6000-6500. Anything over that and its just to long for me. Even 6500 is pushing it but I still like to play from there once in a while.
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This. Under 6k it gets a little boring.
 
It amazing how many of us are in the same boat! The bombers are definitely outnumbered!!
 
I like the 5800-6000 range ... I am not a big hitter and golf is social, so hitting every club in the bag is not necessary ... I am good if my approaches are 150 and in, on every hole ... I use the par 5's for the longer shots ...
 
On my course the blues are 6600-6800 depending on the tee boxes and that seems challenging but about the right distance for me - the whites step down to 6100 and the reds to 5400. Haven't played the tips at 7200 yet but will probably try that this coming summer for the fun of it. For the blues, the distance issues are really not par 3s (nothing over 205) but rather the few par 4s which are 425-460, particularly the 450 and 460 ones, which make it pretty tough given the way the fairways play in trying to bomb a drive. From the tips, again, it is more the par 4s which now go as long at 475-490. I don't mind 600yrd part 5s as much as 450-475 par 4s.
 
I should add that sometimes I really like playing the shorter tees and often play the reds with my son. Course plays very differently and allows me to work on different shots - leaving the driver in the bag on a handful of par 4s and playing more for position than distance. It is a lot of fun and has really helped me work my game. Even if you are comfortable with the blues or whites, I'd recommend giving the front tees a try every now and then for fun and change of pace.
 
I'll say one thing about course length: sometimes it doesn't really matter the length, but the layout that really impacts score.

Wentworth Golf Club about an hour away from me, is one of the hardest courses I've ever played when the wind is up at 6200'ish yards. I think it tops out in the 6600's, and I won't step one foot back on those tees.

Oddly enough, it's also one of my favorite courses. If I can play well there, it's a massive confidence boost.
 
My handicap is at about a 12. Any tees that don't afford my approach from a reasonable distance is really not a lot of fun for me. A few holes that demand a 4 or 5 hybrid because of course conditions is fine. But I see guys playing from the BLUE tees that have no business being there. All they do is slow down the pace of play.

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I begin to struggle at about 7000 yards, I'm accurate with long irons I'm just not long.
 
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My league will play anything between 6200-7000 yards. I am comfortable with anything in the 6500 yard range but after that it seems like I have to use a lot of longer irons. Approaches become much harder and drives become way more important.
 
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