We prefer to use the x36 formula to determine what tee box you should play from. This is the distance you hit your 5 iron times 36. For example, if you hit your 5 iron 150 yards, you should play a course around 5400 yards. If you hit your 5 iron 175 yards, you should play a course around 6300 yards. If you hit your 5 iron 200 yards, you should play a course around 7200 yards.
Golf is supposed to be fun!
Hitting 3 woods or long irons into par 4s all day can take away the fun from the game.
Here at golfjourney365 we highly recommend finding the right set of tees for your game. Often this recommendation is built on the distance you can hit a driver, but there is also an element of how good you are or what your handicap is.
The golf professionals are now playing courses often over 7300 yards, but that doesn’t mean every amateur should head right to the “tips” on every course.
One of the biggest mistakes the weekend golfer makes is playing the wrong set of tees. They quickly grow frustrated, swing harder and end up making poor contact, slicing the ball and having a difficult scoring round.
This leads us to the most important question of the day.
What Golf Tees Should I Play From?
Here is a quick reference chart (Distance of 5 Iron x 36):
| Distance of 5 Iron | Course Length |
| 150 | 5400 |
| 160 | 5760 |
| 170 | 6120 |
| 180 | 6480 |
| 190 | 6840 |
| 200 | 7200 |
A second option is to use the PGA recommendations, which is based on driver length:
| Average Driver | Course Distance |
| 300 yards | 7150-7400 |
| 275 yards | 670–6900 |
| 250 yards | 6200-6400 |
| 225 yards | 5800-6000 |
| 200 yards | 5200-5400 |
| 175 yards | 4400-4600 |
| 150 yards | 3500-3700 |
| 125 yards | 2800-300 |
| 100 yards | 2100-2300 |
Update: I now hit my 5 iron 185 yards, so I should be playing around a 6600 yard course. This distance is very reasonable and one that I could handle. My home course only plays 6300 yards and I hit many wedges into the greens.
I would recommend printing out these two charts and keeping them in your golf bag or taking a picture and storing it on your smartphone. Pick the right tees when you head to the course and start having more fun.
Also, be realistic with how far you hit a driver. Many people overestimate how far they hit their average driver. What happens is one time on a downhill hole with the wind to their back when the fairways are firm, they launch a driver that ends up travelling a total of 285 yards and now that golfer believes they hit their driver 285 when in reality they probably hit it closer to 245 yards. Be realistic and start having more fun!
Why Is Picking the Right Tees Important?
The formulas above give a golfer a fighting chance to be able to hit some greens in regulation. Once again, there is nothing worse than hitting long irons or fairway woods into difficult par 4s and par 3s. And if you only hit your driver 210 yards, a 575 yard par 5 is no fun!
Here are our top reasons to pick the right tees:
- Have more fun by hitting reasonable clubs on your approach shots.
- Play golf the way it was intended to be played.
- Experience more of the golf course such as fairway bunkers and hazards when you play the right tees.
- Build positive experience in your game by scoring better from shorter tees.
- Play a faster round of golf when you can score properly and have realistic shots.
The good news is that many of the newer courses have 4-6 tee boxes to give the golfer plenty of options. Many courses have also started using a “hybrid” on their score cards where a golfer can play a combination of tee boxes, pre-determined by the course based on the length of the hole. This provides even more options within the traditional gaps that might exist on the scorecard. This was one of the best ideas that has come about in the game of golf. Golf courses can now have 7-8 options for golfers with only 4-5 actual sets of tees.
At the end of the day, golf is supposed to be fun and one way to make it more fun is playing the right tee boxes.
Important Key: Get Past the Ego
Too many golfers over estimate how far they hit their driver and what they can handle. The 95 golfer shot up thinking they hit their driver 280-300 and picked the wrong tee box. Everyone on the course suffers because this group takes 5-6 hours to play their round of golf, so everyone behind them is struggling with their round because the group selected the wrong set of tees.
On some of our favorite youtube channels where we follow golfers, we will see professional golfers play the red tees on occasion to see how well they can score. They will challenge themselves to make birdies and shoot 59s from the shortest tees. This is a good idea even for the 12 handicap golfer to learn how to score on the shortest holes on the course and to get better with their wedges.
How Do I Gain Distance?
Let’s face it, we all want to hit the ball further! The good news…there is a way to increase your driver distance that doesn’t include spending $500 on a new driver.
You can train for speed and get some amazing results with SuperSpeed Golf. It worked for me and I believe it can work for many (especially if you make a commitment and actually use it)
I believe many used to believe, well this is just how fast I can swing.
Recent training tools have started to change many minds. We have seen many of the professional golfers get longer and longer with their tee shots as a result of additional swing speed. You will find many touring pros using the SuperSpeed System, which I highly recommend.
SuperSpeed Golf is one option to increase your swing speed through a science based overspeed training approach. In simple terms, you train by swinging a lighter club (20%) faster than you swing your driver. Over time, by training at a higher speed, your mind and body feel safe to swing that fast with your normal driver, resulting in an increase in driver swing speed.
The SuperSpeed System provides 3 different weighted sticks and takes the golfer through a training protocol every other day for about 15 minutes. The golfer can expect to see a 5-8% increase in swing speed, resulting in 20-30 yards for most golfers. The great news is that the 5-8% can be expected as early as the first training session. The additional speed will become more permanent after about 30-60 days of training.
My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!
Phil Mickelson has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!
Check the current price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!
| Original Swing Speed | After 4-6 Weeks | New Carry Distance | Total Distance |
| 95 | 102 | 245 | 265 |
| 100 | 108 | 259 | 279 |
| 105 | 113 | 271 | 291 |
| 110 | 118 | 283 | 303 |
My Secret To Golf Improvement
Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently. About three years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage. I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.
This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer. I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day. I can practice or play rounds of golf. I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.
It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.
Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.