Key Takeaways

• Golf Courses in the United States vary in back tee length from under 1,500 yards to over 8,000 yards for 18 holes. The median length forward tee is 4,952 yards and the median length back tee is 6,518 yards.
• Using a variety of systems to evaluate golfer tee selection, there is a strong indication that most golfers play a course that is too long for them – either by choice, or because there isn’t a tee available that matches their hitting distance ability.
• As front tees get shorter and back tees get longer, on average there are more teeing options available, and more scores are posted by golfers per course.
• While adding teeing options on either end of the spectrum increases score posting, adding shorter forward tees will accommodate more golfers than adding longer back tees at most golf courses.
• Male golfers use the back tee less than 10% of the time on courses longer than 6,600 yards and only 3% of the time on courses over 7,000 yards. This suggests that most U.S. courses currently have adequate back tee yardage for the vast majority of golfers.
   

When these courses are reclassified by forward tee length, the distribution peaks with 38% of courses having forward tees in the range of 4,800-5,200 yards as shown in Table 2. The median forward tee yardage for 18-hole U.S. courses is 4,952 yards. These tables provide the current playing length ranges offered as a baseline for the analysis that follows.

Most golf courses also offer a range of teeing options between the forward and back tees. The number of tees rated for male golfers per course increases from an average of 2.6 for courses with a back tee less than 6,000 yards to 5.9 for courses with a back tee longer than 7,000 yards as shown in Table 1.

For female golfers, the forward tee course length is a better way to analyze tee supply because 47% of scores posted by female golfers are from the forward tees. Table 2 shows that the average number of tees rated for female golfers increases from 2.1 to 3.8 as forward tee lengths get shorter. To summarize, courses with shorter forward tee yardages also tend to offer more rated teeing options for female golfers.

Comparing both tables, male golfers have more rated tees to choose from on average. Our research also suggests that male golfers have more options to choose from in a range of distances that better matches their hitting distance ability. Female golfers often have fewer rated teeing options, and many of those options are often too long for their hitting distance based on golfer performance data derived from a variety of sources, including recent field testing conducted by the USGA.

Demand – Patterns of Tee Use Based on Score Posting

For this section, let’s start by looking at how often courses of different lengths are played. This analysis uses score posting data, so it may not perfectly represent the distribution of overall rounds because the majority of rounds played in the U.S. do not have their scores posted within the World Handicap System. Figure 1 shows that the average number of postings per course by male golfers increases as back tee yardage increases. Figure 2 shows that postings by female golfers increase as forward tee length decreases. These results suggest that adding forward or back tees may increase play by accommodating more golfers. However, as we will demonstrate below, longer back tees at most courses will likely see limited use while shorter forward tees can experience more demand. Given the observed tee use patterns, the increase in scores posted at courses with longer back tee yardages may be partially attributable to marketing factors or other considerations not included in this study.

Now let’s focus on which playing lengths are most utilized by golfers. Figure 3 shows the frequency of tee use by total yardage and gender. The average teeing length selected by male golfers is 6,089 yards and the average teeing length selected by female golfers is 5,071 yards. The distribution of playing lengths chosen by female golfers is narrower and more concentrated near the average, indicating that male golfers play a wider range of tee lengths. This is likely because male golfers have more teeing options available to match their capabilities. We believe that if more courses offered shorter forward tees, female players would take advantage of the wider range of options and the two curves would look more similar with a shorter peak and wider distribution on the curve for female golfers. Playing length is strongly correlated to Handicap Index for both genders. On average, better golfers play longer courses, which is not surprising.

It is challenging to analyze golfers’ teeing choices because the number of rated tees varies from course to course and by gender within a given course. One method is to define the forward tee as the shortest rated tee for each gender and the back tee represents the longest rated tee for each gender. All tees in between are grouped into the category of middle tees regardless of how many there are.

Table 3 shows that on average, 85% of men who post scores in the U.S. have a choice of a tee in front and behind the tee they selected. In other words, they had options shorter and longer but selected a middle tee for their round. They had flexibility of choice. On average, only 47% of female golfers enjoy this same flexibility. This suggests that many courses need tees farther forward to deliver a comparable experience for male and female golfers.

Table 4 and Table 5 break down tee usage by male and female golfers based on back tee and forward tee course length, respectively. On the male side, the limited use of back tees beyond 6,600 yards is a noteworthy observation. More than 85% of male golfers select a tee other than the back tee once the back tee yardage reaches a range of 6,401-6,600. The median back tee yardage for 18-hole courses in the U.S. is 6,518 yards. This suggests that most U.S. courses currently have adequate back tee yardage for the vast majority of golfers.

The median forward tee yardage for 18-hole courses in the U.S. is 4,952 yards. Based on score posting data, we see that when forward tees are longer than 5,000 yards, they are used by female golfers at least 70% of the time – largely because there is no option to move farther forward. When forward tees are between 4,600-4,800 yards, they are used by female golfers 50% of the time. This shows that a significant number of female golfers would gladly move forward from a set of tees that is 5,000 yards or more, but more than 40% of 18-hole courses in the U.S. don’t offer a forward tee less than 5,000 yards. Based on use patterns in the score posting data, having forward tees no longer than 4,400-4,600 yards is more suitable because in this range the majority of female golfers shift from using the forward tee to another option farther back while 37% continue choosing the forward tee. It is not until forward tees are offered shorter than 4,200 yards that female golfers have the same flexibility of choice that male golfers enjoy on average – i.e., more than 85% of golfers have a tee shorter and longer than the one they choose to play.

Another approach to analyzing tee use patterns is to start with the back tee and count forward for male golfers. The results from this analysis, illustrated in Figure 4, show that the back tee is only the most-utilized tee by men for courses shorter than 6,000 yards. The back tee is used less than 10% of the time on courses longer than 6,600 yards and only 3% of the time on 7,000-yard courses. The “One-Up” tee is most utilized by male golfers on courses with a back tee between 6,001 to 6,800 yards. A tee shorter than the longest two playing options is utilized the most by male golfers on courses longer than 6,800 yards.

For female golfers, rather than starting with the longest tee and counting forward, the analysis starts with the shortest tee and counts back. In Figure 5, the most-forward rated tee for females is utilized the most for courses 4,600 yards or longer. The “One-Back” tee is most utilized for courses with forward tees between 4,401-4,600 yards. Finally, the most-utilized tee is not the forward two tees when the forward tee is less than 4,400 yards. This shows that when forward tees are offered shorter than 4,400 yards, they are used, although not as frequently. The benefit of analyzing tee use by counting from the forward and back tees is that this approach accounts for the fact that a disproportionate number of female players select the forward tee.

Are golfers choosing tees that fit their game?

The most complex analytical question examined was what percentage of golfers are choosing tees that are too long for their ability, too short or just right. A variety of tee recommendation systems – including the “Longleaf Tee System” popularized by the ASGCA, “Tee It Forward” popularized by the USGA and PGA of America, and “Setting Up Golf Courses for Success” popularized by the PGA of America – were used to identify recommended playing lengths based on golfers’ Handicap Index and corresponding driving distance distribution. Based on the recommendations of these systems, at least half of male golfers and at least three-quarters of female golfers are playing a course that is too long for their ability. There is certainly room to debate the recommendations in these systems, but even with significant adjustments to the recommended yardages there would still be a large number of male and female golfers using tees that are too long for their ability and hitting distance.

Opportunities

Multiple indicators from this study demonstrate that there are opportunities to improve the supply of tees on U.S. courses to better meet demand and that the biggest impact is from adding forward tees rather than adding back tees. Filling in gaps between existing teeing options by creating combination tees may also help golfers refine and improve their decision-making when it comes to teeing options. Many golfers may currently be choosing tees that are too long for their hitting distance even when shorter options are available because those options are seen as being too short, where something in between could be an acceptable option.

Our analysis of tee inventory and tee selection shows that there are significant mismatches between golfer ability, the teeing options available and the tees they actually choose. Working to address these issues has the potential to improve golfer experience and facility revenue. For example, female golfers play more rounds at courses that offer shorter forward tees – probably because they prefer tees that are a better fit for their game. Given the number of courses that offer forward tees that are too long for most female golfers – and likely too long for most beginners, seniors and others with slower swing speeds – improving forward tee options is a potential source of increased revenue for most U.S. golf courses.

We know that golfers score better and have more fun when they move up to play tees that are proportional to their hitting distances, but they need to accurately understand their hitting distances in order to make better choices. Encouraging all golfers to measure their hitting distances and play tees that match their capability is another significant opportunity to improve golfer experience for a large number of golfers. In a recent USGA survey of 20,000 golfers, 56% said they had never collected performance data about their game like swing speed or digitally measured hitting distances. That information has the potential to improve decision-making when it comes to tee selection. Better teeing choices lead to increased golfer satisfaction and ultimately to increased revenue because satisfied golfers are less likely to quit the game and are more likely to play more golf.

David Pierce is the director of research for the USGA Green Section. The research team develops data-based solutions that advance golf by helping courses improve golfer experience and resource management.