Measuring Holes' Total Yardages

[Shindig]

I'm pretty sure I know how a hole's total yardage is determined: center of your tees through centers of the other tees, then to the center of the fairway, down the center of the fairway, through centers of any turns, and then to the center of the green.

At least, I hope so. Because otherwise I had an unexpectedly long drive on Friday. I was playing hole 7 at RiverView ( scorecard book image: http://www.riverviewgolf.com/images/..._7_9_large.jpg ; tees and green are elevated relative to the fairway ).

355 yards from the white tees. I hit a drive that felt like my normal drive; went straight down the middle, landed, rolled a bit, and came to a stop. One of those shots that feels nice and is hard to complain about.

Except the ball is now at the 50-yard marker. Now, wait a minute. I know I didn't just hit a 305 yard drive here! My 280-yard drives, which I've hit twice, were at a course whose fairways were mainly hard-packed dirt, and I hit that downwind. And my usual drive is in the 200-215 range. So hitting a 300-yard drive at a decently well-cared for course isn't likely, unless I really misread the wind.

Thing is, it happened twice that day - I had 50 yards to the green after a drive on a par-4. And I hate that shot. I'd rather be 70-100 yards out, so my full wedges come into play.


So, is there any way of determining the 'playing' distance of a hole from the tees in such a way that I can hit something else off the tee for these and leave myself a full-swing left? I didn't think that a hole that is marked as 355 yards would cause me to have a partial wedge left after my drive!

[WhiteSoxFan]

From a golf / course design standpoint, I can't help you. But, one thing you can do is download Google Earth. Find your course, and using the measuring device (set to yards) you can figure out (within a few yards) exactly how far you hit that shot.

Check out this article - http://thesandtrap.com/extras/tap-in...as_a_golf_tool

[Shindig]

From a golf / course design standpoint, I can't help you. But, one thing you can do is download Google Earth. Find your course, and using the measuring device (set to yards) you can figure out (within a few yards) exactly how far you hit that shot.

Oh man, I totally forgot about that. I used to work for them too, so it's a silly thing for me to forget Thanks!

[Fourputt]

I'm pretty sure I know how a hole's total yardage is determined: center of your tees through centers of the other tees, then to the center of the fairway, down the center of the fairway, through centers of any turns, and then to the center of the green.

I don't think it has anything to do with going through the centers of any tee but the one you are playing from. And it is of necessity usually measured from a point near the middle of the particular teeing area. Otherwise, you have it right as it is done on most courses. There is no way you can measure a drive by just subtracting what you have left from the card yardage... too many variables...

[Shindig]

I don't think it has anything to do with going through the centers of any tee but the one you are playing from. And it is of necessity usually measured from a point near the middle of the particular teeing area. Otherwise, you have it right as it is done on most courses. There is no way you can measure a drive by just subtracting what you have left from the card yardage... too many variables...

That's probably what the plate is on the teeing ground, then? In any case, I just measured it on Google Earth and came back to post it as an update. Straight distance was 215 yards, give or take whatever the problems were with my estimations. It was much more believable for me than the 300 yards, and I'm sure for everyone else too :) Thanks for the help guys.

[Quinn07]

A good thing to remember is the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

[Fourputt]

That's probably what the plate is on the teeing ground, then?

I've used Google Earth for the same thing. The par 4 18th on my home course shows 430 yards on the card, but with almost a right angle left dogleg. But there is a plaque next to the tee box that says it's 240 yards (lasered and accurate) to carry the left hand bunker on the inside of the dogleg. I carry the bunker quite regularly, but I've never really known what my best drive on the hole actually measured. I checked it earlier this year... I had only 50 yards to the center of the green, which would mean that drive was 380 by the card. On Google Earth, the actual measurement was 321 yards... still a monster for me, but within believable limits, and 60 yards short of what the card calculation would indicate.

My best drive ever, in late fall (dry fairways) with a strong tailwind was about 360 yards, and that was a good 15 years or more ago, when I still had SOME flexibility left in my body. I will finally have to admit that I'm aging (2 weeks from 61 now) when I can't carry that bunker on 18 any more...

[JaY_B]

A good thing to remember is the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Lol