What Does the Average Weekend Golfer Shoot?

[meenman]

What I don't think many high handicap golfers understand is shortening the course improves the quality of you mishits. Until you get to the elite level golf is a game of mishits for most. Nobody struggling to break 80-90-100 or whatever is hitting a succession of really good shots. If moving up takes a couple hundred yards off the course depending on how bad the mishit is the result could be a couple clubs difference for the recovery shot regardless of what the rating is. And from what I've seen length of the course is the biggest rating factor. My goal when choosing tees is to give myself the best chance at par on par 4's.

100% on. I recently convinced my group (all 19-24 index) to move up a setf of tees. The club used to have a rule that you had to be over 55 to play in the tournaments fron the golds. That rule seems to have disappeared over the last couple of years, so we can all now hit the ball like crap and still have a shot of breaking 90. we have gone from playing a 6600 yard course to a 6000 one and the scores go down as the HC rises, so we get the best of both worlds.

[Dave2512]

I play from 6450-6950 and with some instruction my scores/differentials improved. I didn't see any index increase. One thing I have noticed is my score dispersion has tightened up. Here in CO the ratings are low because of the effective playing length due to altitude. To find a course with a rating near par usually means playing from 7000 yards. At the course I have been playing most lately I have to shoot no more than 6 over to play to my handicap. Most of my scores fall somewhere between 76-80. To circumvent the low ratings I often play the higher rated side twice and post two 9 hole scores, if I do that the rating for that side is just .2 (35.8) under, adds about 300 yards to the total length. It also lends itself to faster rounds because late in the day I can scream through the front and play it again with little traffic late in the day.

[Lihu]

Well, I have some statistics for the last 2-3 months:

7100 yards: 90 (one round split into two 9 hole days, monster round, every shot was perfect and I still shot bogey every hole)

6700 yards: 89.7 (average of quite a few rounds, I'm concerned about every shot) This is the course I get on every day.

6400 yards: 87 (one round, felt on the verge of hard, tee shots have to be really good or there was no way I could make a par, second shots also had to be good to make par)

6042 yards: 85 (one round, was relaxing and I think I could shoot 80 on these tees with enough practice. If I duffed a tee shot it was no big deal)

5800 yards: 81 (one round, but it was much easier and felt really relaxing. Would tee off with a 3i or 5i for the fun of it) {THIS IS THE LENGTH THAT MAKES ME FEEL HAPPY TO BE GOLFING}

It does really make a difference. My outlier is the 7100 yard 90, but I played each half on separate days. No doubt I would have shot a lot worse, because the 9 hole round was as tiring as a full 18 holes on the 6700 yard tees.

Tampa TPC Blue tees (6610): 99 (This course killed me with two holes where I got >8 strokes par 4)

Los Serranos South Course white tees (6743): 91 (This was a really hard course, but I had a "guide" to tell me where to hit all my shots)

There is almost a perfect correlation between distance and my score. The longest course length that I have a chance at <=80  is probably 6000 yards.

I need to get more data points for the single round statistics, but I feel that those scores are representative of what I would shoot on any subsequent round. Basically, I can't guarantee I won't make the same or similar stupid mistakes. Also, if I play all 18 holes at one go from the championship tees at Brookside Course 1, I can guarantee that my score will be at least 6 strokes more. I hit every tee shot perfectly and every 2nd shot pretty much perfectly those two days. Each 9 hole end was really exhausting.

One more data point: Brookside Course 1 Ladies tees (6000 yards): 82 (two clearly lucky birdies offset by a triple because I bladed a 20 yard chip in 100 yards to another green and needed to putt off the green, and a double from the most horrendous putting display).

[mcanadiens]

Like I said before, I simply can't stomach playing the ladies' tees, but I take course difficulty (partly due to length), under consideration.

Course one is 5000 yards from the whites. I expect to shoot mid-80s here.

Course two is 6000 yards from the whites. I expect 90.

Course three is 6,700 yards from the whites. I expect 100.

Along with the length, you have more trees, more traps, more hazards as you go from 1 to 3. The greens on course two are significantly undulated. One and three are pretty much green pancakes.

I like to play them all roughly equally. It gives me some good variety and the score is relative to the particular course.

[Lihu]

Like I said before, I simply can't stomach playing the ladies' tees, but I take course difficulty (partly due to length), under consideration.  Course one is 5000 yards from the whites. I expect to shoot mid-80s here.  Course two is 6000 yards from the whites. I expect 90.  Course three is 6,700 yards from the whites. I expect 100.  Along with the length, you have more trees, more traps, more hazards as you go from 1 to 3. The greens on course two are significantly undulated. One and three are pretty much green pancakes. I like to play them all roughly equally. It gives me some good variety and the score is relative to the particular course.

With a data point of only one round to cite, it was not exactly that straightforward. I had a lot more stuff in play on the ladies tees, so many times driver was not really an option. In one case, the ladies tees were adjacent to OB, which made the standard tees for men easier. I do agree that being closer helps a lot. It also takes out a lot of mental anguish. The plan is to stay under 6000 yards for a while.

[Dave2512]

Courses should just forget the blue-white-red thing toss and some different colors out there with mens and womens ratings for all tees. At my home course the silver tees have a dual rating. Some others around here have both M/W ratings for every tee but the back two or three.

Silver tees 5305 yards 65.7/112 for men and 69.9/125 for women par 72.

[carpioleads]

Well i started playing a couple of months ago during our winter and being self taught find myself playing my club par 58 in around 90 and the local par 67 in around 110, i understand the rules and do strictly adere to them, im hoping to improve further in the next months, some do exagerate their scores, im from the uk.

[Daniel Richards]

Any other guys here with a similar story?  I'm 30, I'm a lawyer so I don't have a ton of time.  I live in the Northeast and try to play once per weekend during golf season (April-December).  Usually get out about once every 2 weeks.  I may go to range once per week but I prefer to practice my short game if I take any time to practice.   I play with my two cousins and we play pretty strict usga rules.  I rarely shoot over 85.

I used to play competitive high school in my teenager years and I don't think I ever quite "lost" my swing.  I can go months without practicing or playing and still shoot in the 80s from the back tees.  There has to a lot more people in this range.

[arturo28mx]

This is my experience based on what I have seen in the last few years regarding weekend golfers:

The majority of weekend golfers I see have bad swings, never take lessons, and display poor athletic abilities. They all shoot over 100. They have little interest in improving their scores. Sure, they would "like" to improve their scores, but they are not willing to spend any time or effort on it. They go play more for the social side of golf.

There are exceptions of course, but few.

I'm just an intermediate player. I play once a week. I shoot around 90 on most courses, sometimes a little more sometimes a little less. However, very few times on the courses I play do I see better players than me. That's sad.

[Lihu]

The plan is to stay under 6000 yards for a while.

Except for novelty playing on a longer course every now and then, under 6000 yards is much more fun and very fast playing.

I see a lot more people playing it forward, these days. It seems like the message got through in my area.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

Nonsense. What's hard to buy about this? Almost every single high handicapper would score better if he played only a pair of 7-irons on his first two shots on par-4s or would use a 5W/hybrid, followed by a 7-iron and use a 7-iron to wedge for the third shot on par-5s. If I played ultra-careful, completely uneventful golf, I'm sure it would take 3-5 strokes off my average round. A stroke or two a round can make the difference between subsistence living and being a millionaire on the pro tour, but for a high handicapper, the benefit in scoring lower wouldn't be worth the cost in occasional really satisfying shots. I'd save 10 strokes on some rounds if I left my driver and 3W at home, but it's worth the cost to me to be able to have a round when I've got my swing working and be able to draw a drive 260+ yards down the fairway a few times a round. There's a course I play on vacation that has a signature hole, a 285 yard par-4 with at least a 100' vertical elevation on the tee box. I don't remember the 6-irons I hit to the fairway or the many strokes I've lost slicing or hooking my 3W into the woods. I do remember the 3W I hit that bounced off and over the green and the other one that landed a few feet short of it that I chipped to tap-in distance. I don't play golf to methodically move a small spherical object around an outdoor setting in the fewest possible numbers of physical contacts with the face of my elongated playing instrument . I suspect that a lot of other people feel the same way.

I thought that was the point of the game?

[jcjim]

We've had discussions about the average weekend golfers we know about and unanimously agree that these guys don't play by the rules of golf so who knows what they would score if they played by the rules...Our guess is a bit over 100 is about average...Almost everybody has a goal of breaking 90...

I remember many decades back my goal was breaking 90...then staying under 90...then breaking 80...

These years as I'm getting older staying in the mid 80's is key..I never play over 6400 yards but the courses I play are tough and you have to be accurate and putt well..

[trimbo]

For the first time in my life I broke 90, scored 86 this past weekend @ Jurupa Valley Country Club par 70 course. Not one mulligan, never even had to kick the ball out from behind a clump of grass. Just hit it straight, not far just straight.  Normal play boggy or close golf.

[Cantankerish]

Trimbo, put this in the award thread.  Erik will give you a Broke 90 symbol.

 

And congtatulations!

Edited November 2, 2020 by Cantankerish

[trimbo]

On 8/28/2015 at 4:50 AM, arturo28mx said:

This is my experience based on what I have seen in the last few years regarding weekend golfers:

 

The majority of weekend golfers I see have bad swings, never take lessons, and display poor athletic abilities. They all shoot over 100. They have little interest in improving their scores. Sure, they would "like" to improve their scores, but they are not willing to spend any time or effort on it. They go play more for the social side of golf.

 

There are exceptions of course, but few.

 

I'm just an intermediate player. I play once a week. I shoot around 90 on most courses, sometimes a little more sometimes a little less. However, very few times on the courses I play do I see better players than me. That's sad.

Why would you consider playing for the social side of golf as being sad. As long as they are having fun enjoying the game at whatever level they play can only be good for golf.

Some of the most enjoyable golf i ever played was the men's club at Driftwood Golf Course & trailer Park in Huntington Beach, a little pitch and putt on PCH. We did not care about scores, just the friends we made..

with a bunch of drunks.

[mcanadiens]

On 8/28/2015 at 7:50 AM, arturo28mx said:

The majority of weekend golfers I see have bad swings, never take lessons, and display poor athletic abilities. They all shoot over 100. They have little interest in improving their scores. Sure, they would "like" to improve their scores, but they are not willing to spend any time or effort on it. They go play more for the social side of golf.

If us average hackers didn't play golf, you'd have a lot fewer golf courses to choose from.

I guess the phrase "little interest" kind of hits a nerve. Most of us simply have a lot of limitations that keep us from being much more than casual hackers. We only have so much time, money and, in some cases, physical ability. It's easy to say "take a lesson". Truth is that if you don't follow up a lesson with a series of other lessons working towards specific goals, it's a waste. Digging up $60 for a 15-minute lesson one time isn't too tough, but without the follow-ups, it'll probably do more damage than help.  

Good for you that you've reached the somewhat lofty heights of bogey golf. Search around a bit and I'm sure you'll find that quality competition that you seem to be after.

Edited November 3, 2020 by mcanadiens

[djake]

4 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

If us average hackers didn't play golf, you'd have a lot fewer golf courses to choose from.

I guess the phrase "little interest" kind of hits a nerve. Most of us simply have a lot of limitations that keep us from being much more than casual hackers. We only have so much time, money and, in some cases, physical ability. It's easy to say "take a lesson". Truth is that if you don't follow up a lesson with a series of other lessons working towards specific goals, it's a waste. Digging up $60 for a 15-minute lesson one time isn't too tough, but without the follow-ups, it'll probably do more damage than help.  

Good for you that you've reached the somewhat lofty heights of bogey golf. Search around a bit and I'm sure you'll find that quality competition that you seem to be after.

I agree with you @mcanadiens the fact that we are on golf forum speaks volumes about how we care about the game.  It isn't about the desire to play more, it's more about the time we have to play more.  

Taking a lesson is great, I am all for it.  Posting your swing in your swing thread here is great.  But finding the time to work on the lesson so it sticks is challenging.  Work, family and work and then kids.  So for someone to say us weekend duffers don't care for the rules or even follow the rules is absurd.  Yes I have the friend that just wants to golf and not worry about a score card but I have a lot more friends that do care.

Weekend duffer average I would say is 95 and that is playing by the rules.  What most of us weekend golfers suffer from are the blow up holes and limiting the damage.  Those come from not getting enough consistent time hitting the ball.

I will say focusing on the 5 Minute Daily challenge this summer really helped in knocking a couple strokes off of my score card as well as keeping that average score lower.

Also I would say us weekend duffers support the golf industry more then dire hard daily players.  Why?  Because we lose a lot more golf balls and we probably are more willing to buy a new golf club to fix a problem.  I am basing this on my own personal observations of me.  When I was able to play a lot of golf and practice a lot my golf balls got beat up and thus cycled out of the bag.  Now I personally account for the massive growth in Snell Golf Balls.  Plus when I am playing a lot I hated switching clubs as it disrupted my game to much in trying to get used to them.  

Sorry for rambling

[NM Golf]

On 11/3/2020 at 8:36 AM, trimbo said:

Why would you consider playing for the social side of golf as being sad. As long as they are having fun enjoying the game at whatever level they play can only be good for golf.

Some of the most enjoyable golf i ever played was the men's club at Driftwood Golf Course & trailer Park in Huntington Beach, a little pitch and putt on PCH. We did not care about scores, just the friends we made..

with a bunch of drunks.

To each their own, that's the good thing about golf there are many good reasons to play. While I certainly do not play strictly for the social aspect, It is a completely legitimate reason to play. Not only that, I would say there are more people who play for the social aspect than for the competition like I do.