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?
I think in my area people have a sense of what distance to play better than others I’ve been at. Bermuda rough is a thing, and we’re soft most of the year overall, so people don’t really pound their chests much. Just play what fits. And the color of tees that won’t kick you right in the egos is more forward than some other areas I think.
Ideally I’d be playing from an average of around 6300-6500, at least in my mind. But as @MWard said, it definitely depends on the course. Really tight courses I like 6000 ish or maybe even under, wide open courses I’m likely feeling ok from 6600 or even 6700.
I’ve been playing mostly from 5500 yards all season even though my typical (not average) driver distance is over 230 yards according to Shot Scope. I play from those shorter tees because of how bad the rest of my game is. Unfortunately, the added driver distance has gotten me in trouble a few times. Today I played from the back tees which are still only 5817. I shot my average score and walked the course in 2 1/2 hours with another walker behind me keeping up. While I always believe it should be up to the individual, it’s hard to b*tch about slow play and not getting better (which I do both on a regular basis) if we’re the ones choosing to play from tees that don’t fit our game.
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Take two courses at 6,000 yards on a given tee box. One course is a mountain course with narrow fairways and even narrower rough before you enter the forest. Lots of odd and extreme doglegs, severely sloped fairways, and small greens with complex undulating slopes. The other is a flat, wide open course with holes that go straight up one direction and straight back another all day long and large, fairly flat greens that aren’t protected. Obviously, these two courses do not present anything close to the same challenge, regardless of what the player’s driving distance might be.
Now add in elevation and a whole bunch of other factors that these guidelines do not take into account and it is easy to see these USGA course distance recommendations aren’t worth much.
I believe my avg is 220 yds with Driver off the tee
l prefer it that way also , the playing to a standard ( hcp – and a particular length hole /tee ) cause that what you are ,
is no encouragement to be better –
( longer in distance and greater accuracy and improved short game )
The other local course, I play it at 6110 yards since they seldom have all the 6500 tee boxes ready. When they do, it plays a hair over 6500.
When I’m hitting well, Arccos says my smart distance with driver is 279 yards.
This is where a lot of courses could do better, creating a split set for golfers is SO easy to do.
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?
Challenging to keep a handicap that way though.
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.
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.
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’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.
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.
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.
That last part is why courses are messing up. It’s such an easy thing to do, and offer.
I think if our course made a combo between the blue and white it would be a great thing.
Make up your own set of combination tees and adjust the course rating and slope according to Appendix G of the Handicap Manual.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/handicapping/roh/Content/rules/Appendix%20G%20Golf%20Course%20Course%20Rating%20Slope%20Rating.htm
I’d best most here would feel the same way. It’s just good business imo. ?
If you scroll down under "Tees", the last option is to "Manually Input Course Rating/Slope".
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.
If I played from 6300 yds. my practice would involve a lot of driver, 5W and hybrids so I could keep breaking 100. I just don’t see a point when I can play shorter tees and have fun.