What Yardage do You Play From?

[Greg McMullin]

After following Jeff Brauer's thread "How far do YOU hit it" I started wondering what yardage most CGA members play from and what yardage produces the most fun, challenge and all round enjoyment.

I'm a single digit and find that in and around 6400-6500 yards with a slope in the 130-135 range is just about perfect for me to enjoy my round. (assuming normal weather conditions)

Much above 6500 yards gets to be a struggle and the 'fun' quotient quickly leaves my game. 

[Joe Bausch]

Ditto for me Greg.

The only exception being is when I play with some of my senior golf buds, all of which are 18 handicap or higher, and cannot walk.  This golf tends to be as much a social event as anything, so I simply play with them from the 6000 tees if they exist.

[JSPayne]

Greg, I'm a single digit as well, and I'll play from anywhere!

But I will say......

6800-7000+ I can handle decently, but will usually have a couple par 4s that I can only expect to par 1 out of 10 times, so I've never shot one of my best rounds at this length, but enjoy the challange of having to consistantly hit solid lengthy shots off the tee to avoid turning it into a round of scrambling for bogies

6600-6800 is where I usually play from and has a good mix for me.....half the par 5s are usually reachable and I have comfortable shorter irons in my hands on most the par 4s...I usually shot my best scores from this distance

6500-lower I usually only play with golfers of higher handicaps that myself, but is still great fun because I have to restrategize alot more off the tee, leave driver in the bag alot and can get away with a few mishits and still bring in a low score.

If I still worked at a private course, I'd go back to playing around with the "Red, White, Blue" format on maintenance-only Mondays where you play from 6 of the red tees, 6 white and 6 blue (tips), just to try to mix up the yardage and have fun!

[Ken Moum]

I'm currently wavering in the 10-12 index range--with the occasional excursion higher when my home course is wet and lush.

I prefer to play 6,000 +/-

Unfortunately, at home end I up playing the whites at 6350 because that's where the game is.

[PCCraig]

Courses around 6800-6900 are probably ideal for me for the fun factor. Anything around 6400 or less gets to the drive and wedge catagory. Anything around 7200 or more requires too many 3-Irons to par-4 greens.

Of course the yardage always depends on the course's design. 6500 yards at Shoreacres feels more like 6900, while 7000 yards on a fazio course seems like 6500.

[Brad Tufts]

I would say +/- 7000, as a scratch.

I used to look at 7000 as a big number, but over par 72, it's not bad at all, and I generally drive the ball 250-260, so a couple long irons or a 5w into a par 4 isn't bad, and if I hit it well, I can be over 260 off the tee no problem.

7000+ at par 70 is pretty hefty, but still doable.  Even a 475-yd par four isn't ridiculously long, but those nearing 500 are.

My general goal for every round is to shoot par, so I generally play the tees where the rating is closest to par, unless the yardage is close to or under 7000.

[John Foley]

Greg,

I'm a 10 and 6400-6500 feels right. I did play 7000 a few times this year and it was just a brutal slog for me.

Sometimes I will look at the par 3 yardages - if they are all long I'll move up. If they are all short I'll move back.

[cary lichtenstein]

6500 to 6700 depending on the course, firmness of the fairways and forced carry's off the tee.

I used to play a course at 6850 but when I switched to 6600 it became more fun and I could handle the big winds and forced carry's better.

Spring in Chicago when you play a soggy course, hit the drive, it stops right next to its ball mark, makes for long courses.

[Bruce Leland]

Play to a 2 at my home course at 6,500 yards, 71.9 and 134.  I am not as long (or straight) as I once was so feel comfortable up to 7,000 at similar elevation.  Have played well under tournament conditions at 7,100 and up but wouldn't want a steady diet of that.

My strengths are iron play and short game so if I start driving the ball better would feel comfortable playing 7,000 every day.

[Cliff Hamm]

As a 16 prefer 6300 yards or so.  Max is about 6500 and min about 6100.  If faced with 6600 or 6000 though, I'll take the 6000 and enjoy the day.  Rather be hitting in short irons than spending the day with hybrids on every fairway shot.

[Matt Bosela]

It depends on:

1. The weather conditions/time of year
2. Fellow players

Here in the Northeast, I find that we usually revert to playing around 6500 yards or so in the spring time and in the autumn, as the soggy course conditions and colder weather mean the ball doesn't fly or roll as far.

In the late spring and into summer, my normal group plays the back deck about nine out of ten times, with the CR being 73.1, the slope 130 and a yardage of about 6800 yards at my home course.

On the road, we'll usually default to the back tee deck if it's around 7000 yards...any longer and I feel we're just asking for a less-than-fun experience.  Tough to make birdies on a course longer than that.  And for full disclosure, my handicap fluctuated between 0 and 3 this year.

[Brent Hutto]

Ideally under 6,000 in the winter and anywhere in the 6,200's or so in warmer weather. The game starts to be less fun on most courses if I move back further than 6,500. That's all here in the USA.

On a links course I'm happy at 5,500 or 6,800 or anywhere in between.

[Sean_A]

It is quite rare for me to play tees over 6400 yards, but I don't mind courses a bit longer.  Anything under 6700 yards does the trick, but I am most impressed by the courses around 6000 yards that are challenging and would be happy playing that distance for the rest of my years.  In fact, I really want to see new courses built at around this yardage with a par of 68ish. 

Ciao

[David Whitmer]

As a 3-handicap who drives the ball around 290 yards or so, length is never really a factor for me. I can have just as much fun playing Camargo, which tips out at around 6,500 yards, as I can Muirfield Village, which can stretch to about 7,300 or so. I'm a 3 handicap because my game from 130 yards and in is mediocre, so the length of the golf course for me does not get in the way of shooting good scores.  No matter what tees I play from, I've got to get the ball in the hole, and whether it's Camargo or Muirfield Vilage, it's always a work in process.

My Dad, who is 61 years old, is a 5 handicap who can't hit it more than 250 off the tee. He routinely beats me from whichever tees we play. I know length is important, but accuracy and a good short game trumps all. I'd gladly trade 30 yards off the tee for a better wedge game.

[John Moore II]

I'm approx. a  20 hdcp, and I like to play at about 7300 so I can hit my driver, but still not have that many wedge shots in...

And we wonder why rounds now take 5 hours...

As for me, well, its been said by a few here that I can hit the ball a fair distance, so, if I really want to bear down and play hard (or I am playing a course for the first time, not likely to return, and its somewhat empty) I will play from all the way back, whether that length is 6500 or 7800. Of course, if its 6500, I will probably play back all the time. But typically, just for a normal round, I'll play from between 6700 and 7000. That is about the distance we play tournaments from for the Carolinas Section.

Oh and Kalen--Next time I'm out in Utah (whenever that might be, no time soon I fear) we got to play TP, you can play up, but I'm tipping it out.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I used to say 6800. Now, 6333-6600 is fine and more of my friends are saying the same.

BTW, I have seen industry stats and they are as follow:

7000+ - <3%
6700+ - 16%
6300 +/- 57%
5800 - 19%
<5300 - 4.5%

Length does matter, as a 190 shooter on a longer course simply can't reach as many greens and ends up taking more shots.  Not sure how to counteract guys like Shiv - like to bang it a long way but only enough control to muster a 20 index.  They sure take more shots, too, but it sounds like playing for control might reduce that number a bit.

[Jim Nugent]

My Dad, who is 61 years old, is a 5 handicap who can't hit it more than 250 off the tee. He routinely beats me from whichever tees we play. I know length is important, but accuracy and a good short game trumps all. I'd gladly trade 30 yards off the tee for a better wedge game.

David, just curious.  Why does a 5 routinely beat a 3?  Are the handicaps from different courses? 

[John Moore II]

I used to say 6800. Now, 6333-6600 is fine and more of my friends are saying the same.

BTW, I have seen industry stats and they are as follow:

7000+ - <3%
6700+ - 16%
6300 +/- 57%
5800 - 19%
<5300 - 4.5%

Length does matter, as a 190 shooter on a longer course simply can't reach as many greens and ends up taking more shots.  Not sure how to counteract guys like Shiv - like to bang it a long way but only enough control to muster a 20 index.  They sure take more shots, too, but it sounds like playing for control might reduce that number a bit.

Jeff--are those numbers lengths from the longest tees for courses, or where golfers usually play? If the number is for total length of golf course, I am not buying it.

[Rob Rigg]

Depends on the day, the mood and who I am playing with.

Sometimes it is fun to test yourself from the tips.

I don't really care about score - I like playing matches and I if I can hit a few "great" shots in a round I tend to be pretty stoked. 

Since I fall into the inconsistent but fairly long hitter category, the distance is not as big an issue as control. I wish I could golf more . . . it sucks when your glory days on the links were in high school/college. 

[Guy Nicholson]

I'm a 13 or 14 and start feeling right out of my league around 6500 yards. I tend to watch slope more carefully than yardage. Anything above 135 typically does me in.

[Philippe Binette]

I'm a 7... my home course is 6100 par 71.
I like playing on course with a yardage of 6400 to 6800

[J_ Crisham]

I enjoy 6500 yds and a slope inthe 130-140 range. The closer the yardage gets to 7000 increases my chances of shooting North of 90! I love short, sporty courses that are laced with risk/reward shots.
                                                                     Jack

[TX Golf]

6800-6900 is perfect for me in normal soft SF/nor cal courses. However, on a nice day and if the course gets any roll is love 7000. I can handle up to 7200ish but after that it gets tough.

[Ash Towe]

In summer conditions but with reasonable role-
6700-6800 fun and challenging
6800-7000 more challenging
7000+ doable but getting to be a slog

[Tim Gavrich]

I'll typically play from the tips wherever I go.  I've never played a golf course longer than 7200 yards or so, however, so I don't know if I could reasonably handle a 7600-7700 yarder reasonably.  I'd love to find out sometime.  I hit the ball 260-275 off the tee, usually, so long par fours can sometimes give me a little trouble.  But at any rate, it is rarely the length of courses that makes them difficult to me.  I'm a pretty decent ball-striker, so it's on and near the greens where I struggle.