Scott - it's an interesting topic.
Frank Thomas reported in his
Growing the Game Survey Report that most male golfers prefer to play courses between 5800 and 6600 yards. Not surprisingly the study found that the preferred course length increased as the handicap decreased. Only 45% of 0-9hcp men favoured courses longer than 6600 yards while those with higher handicaps preferred course length in the order of 6000 yards. For the average 15hcp male golfer - the suggested course length is 6100 yards.
On the flip side, lower than average h'cap women find courses in the 5500 yard range most manageable, while average women golfers (hcp 28) favour a shorter yardage of 5000 yards.
The report highlights the fact that while golfers want to be challenged, the challenge must be appropriate to ability for the game to be enjoyable. It also points to the fact that many golfers overestimate their abilities, play courses that are inappropriate for their skill level and over estimate the distance their ball travels ... as low teen - close to average golfers, perhaps your mates fall into this group??
In any case, the key word that I have picked up in the posts above is that well thought out courses around the 6000yd mark represent -
fun - and that cant be a bad thing.
Cheers - Lyne