[Cristian]

Noordwijk (answer to both questions) 6437 yards (medal).

During winter months I will mostly go medal tee's. During Summer with the course firming up and if there is not too much wind I will regularly switch to back tee's at 6952 yards.

[Thomas Dai]

There are a couple of posts concerning tees and course distances at the moment and I've already posted my normal tee yardages above.

One further aspect I'd like to mention however, is the influence of the Great God of Smoke and Mirrors, namely TV, where the yardages on the course signage and the yardages displayed on the TV screen are not what's actually being played. I think the Senior Tour is maybe rather iffy in this respect.

For example, I spectated live at a televised senior tour on a course I know very well. I didn't recognise the holes and the yardages from the TV. It was only when I went along to the course that I realised that the senior pro's were actually playing from tees placed in front of the men's daily tees that I realised something was amiss.

All the best.

[Tony_Muldoon]

Match on Sunday
Tips. par 71, 6235

Home Clubs
Tips 5434 par 68 (SS65)
Yellow 6529 par 71(SS72)  Will play it off the whites....one day. Then there's another set?
“Boxes” 6140 par 71,  Medals 6464 Par 71.

[Nigel Islam]

Lost in this question is the relevance of "par"

Par 70
Par 71
Par 72
Par 73

6,900+ at par 73 differs considerably from 6,800 at par 70

This concept is spot on.

[Brent Hutto]

I've probably only played one Par 73 course in my life. And I've played a handful that were Par 69 or Par 68. But generally it's 71 or 72 with an occasional 70 thrown in.

I do not find a 6,600 yard Par 71 course to play any "longer" for me than a 6,600 yard Par 72 course. Same for Par 70. If a course is 6,600 yards long unless it is proportioned in a very unusual (by USA standards) manner there will be a metric buttload of 380-440 yard holes facing me over the course of a round. And those are typically driver, fairway wood then somewhere between a half-swing sand wedge and a full 8-iron for a third shot for me. Par whatever I'm going to like that course a lot better by moving up 500 yards and getting some of those Par 4's down into the 340's and 350's where I can reach them with a 5-iron.

[Jeff Spittel]

Usually play home courses (BraeBurn in Houston, TX and Suburban GC in Union, NJ) from the tips. ~6800 yards at BraeBurn and 6500 yards at Suburban.

I'll play one up from the tips when the weather is bad and/or playing with somebody who wants to take it easy.

For me, the conditions typically have a lot more to do with my score than the tees, as long as it's under 7k yards. Played from the set one up (~6200 yards) in the cold and really windy weather at BraeBurn on Saturday and shot 90. Played the tips the next day in the dead calm and warmer conditions and shot 79.

[Brent Hutto]

I think generations of golfers have stumbled upon the principle that hitting the ball tiwce with big swings followed by a couple times with little strokes provides a very pleasant rhythm and pacing to a round of golf. For variety you mix in the occasional one big-swing or three big-swing hole and of course there's all manner of deviations from the pre-planned rhythm due to mishit shots. But the backbone of an enjoyable round of golf is that two-big-swing type of hole that recent generations have labeled a "Par Four".

So to a large extent, maximizing a given player's enjoyment tends to occur when he chooses a course and a set of tees that keeps the majority of "Par Four" type holes in the two-big-swing rhythm. Play too far forward and some of them will be one big swing and one precise, smaller wedge swing. Play too far back and it's a 2 and and 3 and a 3 and a 3 and a 2 and a 3 and a 3....

[Ken Moum]

Here's a hypothetical course: 6540yds (4 par 3's at 170, 10 par 4's at 390, 4 par 5's at 490).  That course illustrates how "short" holes can be and still cause add up the yardage.

Now there's a course that a short hitter like me would consider unplayable.  All the par threes require me to hit a wood, I could only get on the par fours in two if I hit two perfect shots, and none of the fives are remotely reachable. OTOH, a 260-yard driver is probably hitting a 6 iron on the threes, 9-W irons on the fours, and perhaps reaching the fives. I play with guys like that, and I HATE courses with holes that cluster around those lengths. And it's absurdly common to see it on the tees I play @ ~6000  

Let's try again on a hypothetical course.  6580yds (Par 3's at 125, 160, 180, 215..Par 4's at 310x2, 340x2, 390x2, 420x2, 460x2...Par 5's at 470, 490, 530, 570).  

On the other hand, courses like this are MUCH more fun.  On a course like that, I have an iron on half the par threes and fours, and MIGHT be able to get close to the shortest par five.  I would, however, like it even better at:

Threes - 95, 135, 155, 200

Fours - 295, 305, 325, 335, 365, 375, 395, 405, 425, 440

Fives - 455 + 475 + 495 + 555

On that course, those 260 hitters aren't going to kill me.

FWIW, this color is representative of my driving distance.

[Ken Moum]

I've probably only played one Par 73 course in my life. And I've played a handful that were Par 69 or Par 68. But generally it's 71 or 72 with an occasional 70 thrown in.

I do not find a 6,600 yard Par 71 course to play any "longer" for me than a 6,600 yard Par 72 course. Same for Par 70. If a course is 6,600 yards long unless it is proportioned in a very unusual (by USA standards) manner there will be a metric buttload of 380-440 yard holes facing me over the course of a round. And those are typically driver, fairway wood then somewhere between a half-swing sand wedge and a full 8-iron for a third shot for me. Par whatever I'm going to like that course a lot better by moving up 500 yards and getting some of those Par 4's down into the 340's and 350's where I can reach them with a 5-iron.

You and I play about the same game, and IMHO, there's  NOTHING in golf more boring than playing a "metric buttload" of those holes in a round.

Last spring I was recovering from carpal tunnel surgery, and basically playing one-handed so I moved up to the tees that are ~5700 yards.  After a few weeks I started hitting it better and a 2-handicap friend of mine said, "You're playing well enough to move back to the whites."

He was completely clueless about the problems of a 200-yard driver.  He plays our home course @ 6433 hitting it about 250-260 off the tee.   So I said to him, you're gaining at least 40 yards from me on 14 tee shots, right?  And maybe 15 yards a club on four second shots on the fives, and on 18 shots into the green, right?.

He agreed.

So I asked him, "That adds up to almost 1050 yards, do you enjoy playing a 7500-yard course?"

He said, "Hell NO!!"

Well, that's what 6400 yards feels like to me.

FWIW, he played our city tournament this year with one round at Firekeeper, and they played it at about 7500 yards, and he was astounded to have one par five that required THREE wood shots....  I have that happen all the time.

K

[Brad Tufts]

Home course, Tedesco CC, 6450-6500, par 70.  It doesn't seem long, but it plays a good distance.

Par 3s:  190f/240d/135f/145f
Par 4s:  430d/390f/425f/365f/280u (jump from #6 green to #11 tee for next par four) 370u/380u/370d/385u/440d/430f/450f.
Par 5s:  505u/560d (#9 and #10)
d = downhill, u = uphill, f = flat

Last golf....Cabo Del Sol...played both courses from the golds, 6800ish par 72.  Plenty of distance for an off-season round.

I tend to keep par in mind when I choose tees...but it usually ends up in the 6600-7000 range.

Par 70, 6400-6700 would be ideal
Par 72, 6800-7100 would be ideal

Put me over 7000 at par 70, or over 7150 or so at par 72 and I will struggle to stay around par even as a scratch.  The shots I gain are generally in short game...I'm not a high-trajectory player, so a course asking for many long irons will get me eventually.

[Jerry Kluger]

My club has 3 courses.  Two of them are par 72 and I usually play them at 6500 yards.  The third course is a par 70 and from the back tees the front is 2950 and the back is 3525.  I can handle that back nine except for the 17th which requires a carry of around 230 yards over a lake at the shortest point which is really tough for me.  I have decided to play the front from the back and move up a set of tees for the back nine which requires me to post them as individual nines. BTW: This is why I made the comment about Streamsong and the dramatic yardage difference of the front and back on the Red. 

[Jared Kalina]

1.  Bayside, Ogallala, NE - 6195
2.  Sand Hills - 6965

[Sean_A]

Broadway at 5900ish yards

Burnham & Berrow at 6400ish yards

Ciao

I would say that 6400 yards is too long for me in the winter - the course can play ever so long.  In my last go, seven par 4s required a 2 hybrid approach and three holes were not really reachable in two.  Three others required at least 6 irons.  When the 5s are added in and what are two longish par 3s (and two others that aren't playing short), I think the course could easily lose 3-400 yards and still be quite a challenge, yet more fun.  That is what a MILD NE wind does to a course in winter - brutal.  This same wind has been on for three consecutive weeks - heavy sigh.

Ciao  

[J Cabarcos]

Last - D Ross' Biltmore - 6.275 (par 71)

Home-  A Hill's Miami Beach Golf Club - 6,430 (par 72)

My Two Cents- If this poll was conducted in the summertime, I would expect much more pre WWII courses in the Northeast of the US with shorter yardages in the vicinity the low 6,000s.

[Duncan Cheslett]

I don't really understand the relevance of the overall yardage of a course. A 6500 yard course with 3 short holes isn't necessarily going to appear to be longer than than a 6000 yard course with 6 par 3's.

My home course is a case in point; Reddish Vale measures a shade over 6000 yards from the competition tees but certainly does not have the feel of a 'short' course, with several par 4's well over 420 yards. We do however, have 5 one-shotters and only 2 par 5s, giving an overall par of 69.

My most recent away game was at Mottram Hall, at 7000 yards a relative giant (or so it would appear from the card).  Not only did I not really get the impression of any greater length however, one aspect sorely missing was any interesting short par 4's. These are probably my favourite kind of golf hole, and fortunately my home course is blessed with a handful of magnificent examples.

[Sean Walsh]

Last: Thirteenth Beach - Beach Course 6900yds From the back tees. Would usually move up to the middle tee around 6500.
Home: Heathcote Golf Club 6300yds
Once the course goes past about 6500 it becomes a bit of a 3wood fest for me.

[jvisser]

Last & home course the same:
Noordwijk, N:  nearly always off the whites at 6360m (7000yds) as those are the tees
the competitions are using that I enter with my handicap of 4.
However, considering my average driving distance of about 220yds, I struggle reaching
a good number of par4's or have a decent shot to the green due to required carries
to or over dune tops (2,4, 8, 10) or doglegs (5).

[Brent Hutto]

I don't really understand the relevance of the overall yardage of a course. A 6500 yard course with 3 short holes isn't necessarily going to appear to be longer than than a 6000 yard course with 6 par 3's.

Most of us in USA encounter relatively less variety in course composition than you probably do in England. Certainly not universally but to a good approximation if you tell me the total yardage of a run-of-the-mill Par 71 or 72 course in South Carolina (and the vast majority are Par 72) then I know what sort of Par 4's I will be facing without checking the scorecard. There will be probably be 10 or 11 Par 4's and very few courses will have more than one or two of them short enough to really seem like a "short Par 4".

Plenty of exceptions, of course, but if saying you play USA courses at "6,200 yards" or "6,900 yards" or whatever is a pretty valid generalization as long as the course isn't at high altitude.

[Paul Gray]

I don't really understand the relevance of the overall yardage of a course. A 6500 yard course with 3 short holes isn't necessarily going to appear to be longer than than a 6000 yard course with 6 par 3's.

My home course is a case in point; Reddish Vale measures a shade over 6000 yards from the competition tees but certainly does not have the feel of a 'short' course, with several par 4's well over 420 yards. We do however, have 5 one-shotters and only 2 par 5s, giving an overall par of 69.

My most recent away game was at Mottram Hall, at 7000 yards a relative giant (or so it would appear from the card).  Not only did I not really get the impression of any greater length however, one aspect sorely missing was any interesting short par 4's. These are probably my favourite kind of golf hole, and fortunately my home course is blessed with a handful of magnificent examples.

Absolutely. We're just lucky over here to have so many courses where variety is central to the journey through the course. It does however disturb me that so many modern ventures are hell bend on knocking up some kind of test of strength and attaching the label "Championship" to it. The day someone can convince me Swinley Forest (I'll admit it's one I've yet to experience first hand but would be shocked if I didn't love it) is a bad track is the day I'll concede the point.

Late edit: Brent has rather just reaffirmed my point about variety over here. I can see how things differ on t'other side of the pond.

[Charlie Gallagher]

Tom,
   I usually play Boston Bolf Club at about 6300 and Laconia Country club at about 6450. My most recent round was at Sara Bay in Sarasota FL and we played it at about 6200.

[David Bartman]

Home Course Brentwood CC - Black Tees 6850 or so

Last Course other than BCC - Hacienda CC Back tees 7100

[Daryl David]

Last course:  Barnbougle Dunes, 6724 yards

Home course:  Tumble Creek, 6587 yards

[Carl Johnson]

I don't really understand the relevance of the overall yardage of a course. A 6500 yard course with 3 short holes isn't necessarily going to appear to be longer than than a 6000 yard course with 6 par 3's.

My home course is a case in point; Reddish Vale measures a shade over 6000 yards from the competition tees but certainly does not have the feel of a 'short' course, with several par 4's well over 420 yards. We do however, have 5 one-shotters and only 2 par 5s, giving an overall par of 69.

My most recent away game was at Mottram Hall, at 7000 yards a relative giant (or so it would appear from the card).  Not only did I not really get the impression of any greater length however, one aspect sorely missing was any interesting short par 4's. These are probably my favourite kind of golf hole, and fortunately my home course is blessed with a handful of magnificent examples.

Absolutely. We're just lucky over here to have so many courses where variety is central to the journey through the course. It does however disturb me that so many modern ventures are hell bend on knocking up some kind of test of strength and attaching the label "Championship" to it. The day someone can convince me Swinley Forest (I'll admit it's one I've yet to experience first hand but would be shocked if I didn't love it) is a bad track is the day I'll concede the point.

Late edit: Brent has rather just reaffirmed my point about variety over here. I can see how things differ on t'other side of the pond.

I (a USAer) agree [Duncan's opening sentence] and I am curious to know what Mr. Doak's real reason is in posting this question.  I am sure many of you are, too.  There must be an ulterior motive that at some point will be disclosed to us.

[Will Peterson]

Calusa Pines - 7203
Old Corkscrew - 7394

Home course - a bunch in and around Orlando 6800-7400.

[Michael Moore]

Last round - Riverside Municipal, Portland ME - tips, 6448

Home course - Riverside Municipal, Portland ME - I play casual rounds and matches at 6448. But the weekend sweeps are played at 6214. This is a huge difference because it is right at an inflection point, and it lets so many more people be competitive.

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