Incorrect Yardage Markers!!!

[pittpanther]

You know, as a high-handicapper, the LAST thing I thought I needed to worry about was incorrect distances marked on the course. Well, last week I found out I was wrong.

I played Bay Pointe in Brandon, MS, with my buddy and his IPhone with a new GPS golf app. Just a casual round, so he read distances for all our shots.

The yardages at the tee were completely off the mark, sometimes by 20-30 yards. This is not too big of a deal on a par-5, but it's critical on a par-3. One par-3 was marked as 125, but the GPS said 145. That's a HUGE difference, and in every case, the GPS was correct (based on our knowledge of our club distances). Fairway markers (sprinkler heads and such) all seemed correct.

We basically stopped trusting the yardage markers and went with the technology, which never failed us.

I have played this course several times, and often wondered why I missed the green, or over shot it (on the times when my ball was well-struck). Now I know...

Very discouraging, but something for all of us to keep in mind. The distances provided at the tee are just a guideline, and may be off by 10%-15%.

[billm408]

On par 3's, the tee markers get moved daily. You should always pace them off from the official marker-typically a plate in the ground.

The course I worked at years ago set their 150 yard markers by having the pro hit 8 irons from the center of the green to the fairway (off a matt). He hit 9i downhill and a 7i uphill to accomodate elevation changes. It taught me to trust my eyes more than a marker.

[kfowler]

While I've seen this exact same thing happen, it can be the other way around with a GPS also. My is off by about 25 yards on one the holes I play regularly. They must of spotted it from the wrong reference point.

[enduro]

You have to measure it from the USGA yardage marker to the middle of the hole. I can guarantee this is accurate. Often the tee will be moved back or in front of this marker considerably. I play a par 3 here that is measured at 145 yards. But when the tees are back it plays 160 to the middle. If the pin is back it plays 167 or so. When the tee is up it plays 138 or so to the middle. Pin up it's 128. So this hole has a potential 40 yard difference from longest to shortest.

[DJYoshi]

the "hole marker" isn't always what the hole plays at. There should be a plate, a marker or something on the ground that shows you where the actual yardage is from the stated yardage. Then from there, pace out what it is...
have you ever heard on TV.... they say... they have the hole listed as x, but today it's playing at y?

1 hole at the course I normally play can be as much as a 60 yard difference if they decide to position it all the way back of the last tier vs. the front of the last tier.... as much as I love my sonocaddie.. I'll still pace out from markers on the ground.

[Zeph]

I always locate the plate in the ground on the tee to get the correct yardage. Can be very important on a par 3. Played a course last week where a hole was 165 meters one day and 155 meters the next, that's almost a full club for me. I do trust the yardages on sprinklers and otherwise on the course, but have never used a rangefinger or GPS to see if they are correct.

[EGS]

The yardage marker is always to the middle, not to the hole. The numbers on your friend's GPS and the markers is correct because a green can be at least 20-30 yards deep.

[Greg]

a couple courses I play at have the yardages marked on the ground by the teebox, that helps a lot. You might be a yard or 2 off but not 20 or more. Like at one course i play at a lot one par 3 is about 140-145 yards to center of green depending on where the tee marker is but theres a permanent one at 141 yards so I just see how far it is from there and mark it off. same thing on the other par 3 which is much longer, its usually right around 195 yards but has a 199 marker just behind the white teebox i play from, the blue is only about maybe 10 yards farther. I like the permanent markers because you can figure out actual distance by stepping up or back from them, i usually just guess from visually looking at how far away.

[kris]

I had the opposite problem yesterday. It was a short par 3 with water in front and the GPS said 98 yards. Now I have played this course a billion times and it has never even approached that distance. The tees are where they normally are and it just looks a lot longer. Naturally I'm skeptical, trust the yardage on the scorecard (120) and pull my 9i. Land in the back of the green so the yardage on the scorecard was correct. It's just scary because if i trusted the GPS yardage i'd have pulled my gap wedge and easily would have lost it in the water.

[sean_miller]

You know, as a high-handicapper, the LAST thing I thought I needed to worry about was incorrect distances marked on the course. Well, last week I found out I was wrong.

Also be careful with 150 yard markers placed on each side of the fairway - especially on dog-legs. The best way to judge yardage on foot without technology, is to pace from your ball to the dot marker (yellow for 250, blue for 200, white for 150, red for 100) in centre of the fairway. Or, rather, to an imaginary 1/2 circle that goes through the marker.

[Zeph]

On most courses, the on course yardages are to the centre of the green, but I have played on a couple which give you the distance to the front of the green, not the centre. This is of course explained in the course guide and on the score card, which I luckily read before going out. A course should have three different pin locations, dividing the green in three. Each area should be marked on the course guide or score card. When you arrive at the course, you ask which hole placement is the current. Every yardage on the course, from tee, sprinklers or poles indicate distance to the centre of the green. You can then see what hole placement it is and decide if you need more or less club to get pin high. Every tee should have a plate with the exact distance to the centre of the green, so you can pace up the exact distance when the tee is moved around. That's the best way to do it in my eyes.

When finding the distance on the course, I locate the nearest distance marker and pace it up. You must of course visualize a triangle going from the pin, to the distance mark and find the place between your ball and the pin where you have the same distance to the pin. From there you pace the distance back to your own ball.

[zeg]

You know, you can obviate a lot of the complicated computations if you don't have any distance control on your irons. No sense quibbling over +/- 20 yards when your 9I might be 130 or it might be 60 on any given shot! That's MY secret!

[sean_miller]

You know, you can obviate a lot of the complicated computations if you don't have any distance control on your irons. No sense quibbling over +/- 20 yards when your 9I might be 130 or it might be 60 on any given shot! That's MY secret!

Harvey Penick - is that you?

[Zeph]

You know, you can obviate a lot of the complicated computations if you don't have any distance control on your irons. No sense quibbling over +/- 20 yards when your 9I might be 130 or it might be 60 on any given shot! That's MY secret!

Complicated computations? We are talking about adding or removing a couple of yards here. Your secret to playing to a hcp of 36 perhaps, but late you will want better distance control. A really good player can use anything from a 9i to 6i from 180 yards out (f.i. Tiger), but he's doing it with distance control.

On some occasions I use more or less club to get a different trajectory, to adjust for wind, elevation etc., but in most shots, I pick the club I know I hit the distance needed.

[sean_miller]

Complicated computations? We are talking about adding or removing a couple of yards here. Your secret to playing to a hcp of 36 perhaps, but late you will want better distance control. A really good player can use anything from a 9i to 6i from 180 yards out (f.i. Tiger), but he's doing it with distance control.

Do all Norwegians hit a lot of 180 yard 9 irons, or just the really good ones?

[Zeph]

Nah, it's just me and a couple of other guys really. It's actually 180 meters, but to simplify things I wrote yards.

[sean_miller]

Nah, it's just me and a couple of other guys really. It's actually 180 meters, but to simplify things I wrote yards.

Oh, 197 yards - that sounds much more reasonable for a hard 9-iron. Carry on then.

[tjy355]

Complicated computations? We are talking about adding or removing a couple of yards here. Your secret to playing to a hcp of 36 perhaps, but late you will want better distance control. A really good player can use anything from a 9i to 6i from 180 yards out (f.i. Tiger), but he's doing it with distance control.

What he is saying is MOST recreational golfers do not have very precise distance control and therefore spending a lot of time to consider a precise distance to the target is somewhat pointless.