A golf course will vary in length between 5800 yards and 7400 and offer different tee options depending on your playing ability and overall distance that you can hit a drive. Many amateurs will end up playing a course in the 6000 to 6500 yard range.
Golf is a great game that includes the opportunity to get some excellent exercise if you choose to walk. Recently, I have been walking most of my rounds and when measured with my Garmin GPS Golf Watch, I average around 12,000 steps or close to 6 miles per round of golf walking.
I love the benefits of walking the course, enjoying the outdoors and challenging myself both mentally and physically.
One of the questions we often receive is how long is a golf course.
How Long is A Golf Course
There is a wide variation in the length of a golf course. The many different options on the best course meets the needs for a wide range of golfers. From the beginners to the pros, if the course is short enough and long enough, many golfers can enjoy the same course.
Below we will break down and provide answers to the following questions:
- What are the typical tee options in golf?
- What tee should I play?
- How far will I walk in a round of golf?
- How do I gain swing speed to be able to play the longer sets of tees?
What are the typical tee options in golf?
The traditional tee colors usually consisted of red, white and blue. With the red being considered the “ladies” tees, the white considered the “mens” tees and the blue considered the “pro” tees. However, many golf courses have shifted away from these three colors and have gone with a non gender based tee options.
I think this is a good idea as there are plenty of amateur men golfers should be playing the shortest tees on the golf course. On average, you would find the red tees to average around 5400-5700 yards. The white tees would average between 5700-6500 and the blue tees would range between 6500-7000 yards.
Here is a quick reference chart for what tee boxes traditionally played:
| Color Tees | Name of Tees | Range of Yardage |
| Red | Ladies | 5400-5700 |
| White | Mens | 5700-6500 |
| Blue | Pros | 6500-7000 |
However, when new courses have been built in the past 20-30 yards we have experienced a transition to 4-5 tee boxes per hole. I think this was good for the game and provides many different options that are stuck to ideas of ladies and mens tees.
The numerous sets of tees allows amateurs even within the same group to pick a tee box that is appropriate for their game.
Here is a quick reference chart of tees that we often see on the new courses or even at courses that have transitioned to provide more options for the golfers at their course:
| Sample Coloring | Name | Range of Yardage |
| Silver | No Name | 5000-54 |
| Gold | No Name | 5400-5800 |
| Green | No Name | 5800-6200 |
| Brown | No Name | 6200-6600 |
| Black | No Name | 6600-7200 |
This change has been good for golf as it has provided multiple options for golfers. Within my playing group we will look at different factors when selecting the tee box that include:
- Time of Year
- Wind
- Softness and Firmness of the course
- Difficult of the course outside of yardage
- Who is playing in our group
- Pace of play expected (How Long Should it Take you to Play?)
I have played courses ranging from 5800 to 7000 yards. There are many factors that influence which tee box we select to play. We encourage amateurs to play the shorter if there is a question for that day.
In the part of the US that I live in, the ground is often soft and doesn’t provide a lot of roll out when a driver is hit. Sometimes in the early part of the season and towards the end of the season the ball may even back up a bit. When you add this to the colder air temperatures one can lose 30-40 yards in total distance with the driver.
That 270 yard drive becomes a 230 yard drive.
Our goal is to make sure we can keep pace with the group in front of us. The last thing we want to do is hold up the entire course because we are playing from the teeing ground that is 6800 yards. The reality is that not many golfers can handle the back tees at most courses.
Be smart and make a good selection, you will have a more enjoyable time and save yourself from some major frustration.
Not all courses are created equal, a wide open 6500 yard course will play easier than a tree lined 6500 yard course. This should factor into the decision of what tee box to play.
What tee should I play?
The key is to pick a tee box that you should be able to shoot your average score if you play average to just above average. If the course is less crowded and you want to challenge yourself this might be the best time to move back a tee box to challenge you.
Here is a quick reference based on your average driving distance with your driver.
| Driver Distance | Course Length |
| 180 | 5700 and below |
| 200 | 5700-6000 |
| 220 | 6000-6200 |
| 240 | 6200-6400 |
| 260 | 6400-6600 |
| 280+ | 6600 and above |
*This is assuming that the course is playing somewhat firm and that the drives are rolling out a normal distance. Also, the temperature is warmer than 50 degrees and the wind isn’t extreme.
Keep in mind that handicap does play a role in this. Just because you can smack a driver 275 yards does not mean that you need to pick the 6500 yard plus course. Instead, work on scoring from within 125 yards and give yourself a chance to get better in these areas.
If your handicap is greater than 15 you should probably play one less tee box than in the chart above. Learn to score and then move back to the appropriate tee box. We all have a responsibility not to hold up the course with a round that takes 5 hours.
How far will I walk in a round of golf?
Recently, I have played golf (in the wind) on a 6300 yard course and have averaged in the low 6 mile range with just over 12,000 steps. Considering that there are 1760 yards in a mile, you can expect to walk just less than 6 miles or just over 6 miles if you are playing a shorter or longer course than 6300 yards.
The great thing is that with my Garmin Watch, not only am I able to know my distance and keep score on my watch, but it calculates heart rate, miles walked, total steps and heart rate.
Highly recommended Garmin GPS Watch. Check price below:
To learn more about how many calories you burn in a round of golf, check out our post here.
How do I gain swing speed to be able to play a longer set of tees?
There are several different options to gain swing speed or distance with your driver. These include:
- Better equipment by purchasing a new driver or a driver properly fitted for you.
- Improving your swing mechanics
- Training for additional speed
1 – Better equipment – Is it time for a new driver?
If you driver is more than 5 years old you may be sacrificing a little bit of distance. Or if you have the wrong shaft for your swing speed. I would recommend attending a club demo day or visiting your local golf store that has a simulator to test out different clubs to see if you are losing distance. Equipment is important and you want to know you have the best possible.
I have now owned three different Taylor Made Drivers and think they are amazing. Check out the one below:
2 – Improving your swing mechanics
This is vital and an area that can help you greatly. Recently, I golfed with a person that hit a major slice on every driver swing. This was compounded anytime we were hitting into the wind or a wind blowing left to right. He was easily losing 30-40 yards in stance in these situations.
How do the Pros Hit the Ball so Far? Your answer here.
This high, soft flying, spinning shot is such a destroyer of distance. We would recommend checking out one of your highly recommended teachers below that we have reviewed. Check them out here.
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
3 – Training for additional speed
This is an awesome way to gain an extra 5-8% in swing speed. This could mean an extra 20-30 yards. When you start to put it all together if you have an older driver, you slice the ball and you haven’t trained for speed – you might be sacrificing up to 40-50 yards. Make sure you take the steps including using the SuperSpeed golf system. Here is our review of the SuperSpeed System.
SuperSpeed Golf – Read our Full Review
If you decide to purchase the SuperSpeed and who wouldn’t want an extra 20-30 yards from 8-10 minutes a day for only 3 days a week?
Make sure you use Golfjourney365 for a 10% discount. You won’t regret your decision to purchase this training system that includes three training sticks that you follow the protocols that have been laid out by the experts.
One more alternative to the SuperSpeed Golf SYstem is the SwingMan Golf System. They promise 30-40 yards and receive excellent reviews from their membership site. Check them out here: Gain 30-40 yards in 30 Days – Swing Man Golf
Take Action
Are you ready to finally take your game to the next level and find the distance and consistently that we all seek in our golf journey. We have provided some excellent options and the ball is in your court to take action. Go ahead and get started today.
Ever wonder how much it cost to play golf? – Complete Breakdown
Once you have your SuperSpeed System and have found your online golf instructor make sure you check out our series on getting your game to the next level at one of the posts below:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
The process can be simple:
- Make sure you have the right clubs
- Find an online instructor
- Train for Speed
- Check out our series on getting to the next level