10/13/2022
Historically, golf course architects paid very little attention to the course length for female golfers. The majority of golfers were men, clubs were governed by men and the focus was on satisfying the needs of that demographic. Courses were designed for men starting with the back tees and the women’s tees were built without a lot of supporting data to ensure the length was appropriate. In fairness, less data was available to them, but offering a variety of tee options for women was not the norm.
As I mentioned earlier, most courses had three sets of tees, blue, white and red, normally about 6,600, 6,200 and 5,800 yards in length. How many courses do you play today with only three sets of tees? Most have at least 5 and with hybrid tees 8 to 10 options. Why is this?
It boils down to enjoyment of the game, variety, flexibility of options and smart business.
Strategically, the Board and Management are thinking of ideal course offerings and set-up for today and tomorrow to ensure Mad River is in the best possible position to retain and attract members and continue to build on our success as a golf club.
For the purposes of this report, I will continue to use the men’s and women’s nomenclature when outlining our tee plans, current projects and reflecting on the work we’ve done in recent years.
Interesting Facts
Do you know that a
5,500 yard course for the average female player (remember this number) is about equivalent to an 8,000 yards course for the average male. Can you imagine requiring an average male player to play a golf course 1,000 yards longer than our current men’s gold tees everyday!
- Do you think the men would have fun and continue playing the game on an 8,000 yards course?
- Would the game of golf be as popular as it is today if the average male had to play an 8,000 yard course?
- The world’s best golfers on the PGA Tour don’t play 8,000 yard courses
Do you know that women are underrepresented in golf (21%) when compared to other sports and population statistics. There are a variety of reasons, but principally it’s because golf course set-ups (length) were brutally long for the average female golfer when compared to their male counterparts and so golf was less enjoyable.
Golf course length is the primary reason the average women’s handicap is about 28 and the average men’s handicap is about 16. It's not because men are that much better, it's because they play tees of an appropriate length for the distance they hit the ball, so they score better and have a correspondingly lower handicap.
Average Swing Speeds and Recommended Course Yardages*
If your average swing speed is;
- 65 mph = average drive about 140 yards = ideal course length of 4,000-4,200 yards
- 75 mph = average drive about 165 yards = ideal course length of 4,800-5,000 yards
- 85 mph = average drive about 190 yards = ideal course length of 5,600-5,800 yards
- 95 mph = average drive about 215 yards = ideal course length of 6,200-6,400 yards
- 105 mph = average drive about 240 yards = ideal course length of 6,800-7,000 yards
- 115 mph = average drive about 280+ yards = ideal course length of 7,000+ yards.
Swing speeds for female golfers;
- An average female golfer has a swing speed of 65 mph = average drive about 140 yards
- An above average female has a swing speed of 75 mph = average drive about 165 yards
- A high-speed female has a swing speed of 85 mph = average drive about 190 yards.
Swing speeds for male golfers;
- An average male golfer has a swing speed of 90 mph = average drive about 200 yds
- An above average male has a swing speed of 105 mph = average drive about 240 yards
- A high swing speed male has a swing speed 115 mph = average drive about 280+ yards.
*Don’t try to compare speed per yard equally, because higher clubhead speed players compress the ball more and see a greater spread in distance per mph of speed.
How does Mad River Compare?
When Mad River was built 32 years ago, the initial tee lengths were;
- Gold - 6,800
- Blue - 6,400
- White - 6,000
- Red - 5,500 (remember this distance from the interesting facts section).
So Mad River, like most courses, had an excellent set-up for men with a variety of tee options to accommodate the low handicap players, the above average and average golfers. But, for the women, there was only one option and based on statistical data, an incredibly long course set-up given the average swing speed for women is in the 65-75 mph range.
Playing the golf course the way it was designed to be played - another important item to consider
An often-overlooked item is, are you playing the course the way the architect designed it to be played? What do I mean by that?
- Are the hazards (fairway bunkers, other) in play when they are supposed to be in play?
- Are you hitting appropriate clubs and a variety of clubs into greens the way the architect designed?
- Can you reach holes in regulation when you hit your best or a combination of best shots?
If you notice you can’t reach fairway bunkers from the tee, can’t reach greens in regulation even with your best shots, rarely putt for birdies, then despite the overall difficulty,
you are not playing the course as it was designed to be played and it’s probably because you’re playing from the wrong tees based on how far you hit the ball.
Unfortunately for women in many cases, there was only one tee option available, so only the strongest female players actually played a similar course to an average male and only the strongest female players are experiencing the golf courses the way the architects designed them to be played.
Enjoyment of the Game
Of course, the game and beautiful setting can be enjoyed despite the length or difficulty of the course. Unfortunately, the problems these original course lengths created were;
- Female golfers would take up the game, but many quit because the game and courses were so difficult, which is why women are under represented in the game
- Female golfers have become so used to playing inordinately long golf courses that they’ve developed beliefs that the lengths are normal and how the courses are supposed to be played, when that's not the case.
Another way to explain this is using the average swing speeds and lengths for male and female golfers;
- An average male = swing speed 90 mph = average drive about 200 yds
- An above average male golfer = swing speed 105 mph = average drive about 240 yards
- A high swing speed male golfer = swing speed 115 mph = average drive about 280+ yards.
If they play golf together and decide to all play from the same tee box the handicap system balances scoring but there is a problem with the enjoyment factor. The enjoyment of the game is negatively impacted if the average player must play from the most appropriate tee for the high swing speed player (blue or gold at Mad River). They can't reach greens in regulation, are constantly hitting woods into par 4's and generally speaking they will shoot a higher score but more importantly they won't have much fun.
Conversely, it's not as much fun for high swing speed players to play from tees more appropriate for the average player (white or green) because they can't hit driver on many holes and are hitting wedges into most holes. The course may play easier but again, it's not as much fun for that player.
The same situation applies to female golfers;
- An average female = swing speed 65 mph = average drive about 140 yards
- An above average female = swing speed 75 mph = average drive about 165 yards
- A higher speed female player = swing speed 85+ mph = average drive about 190+ yards.
Once again, it would be difficult for these three golfers to play the same tees and enjoy the game and challenge equally. Someone has to compromise and historically, it’s been the average female having to play a course that’s far too long.
The Business Case
About 15 years ago, golf’s major worldwide organizations (R&A, USGA, PGA) got involved to study why golf’s participation rates were dropping, why women’s participation rates were so low and why so many females took up the game only to leave shortly thereafter.
After considerable research it was determined golf course length was the primary factor. The "tee it forward" initiative was born, appropriate lengths were determined, additional tees promoted and added by clubs.
The female golf demographic steadily started to grow and females now represent over 40% of new golfers to the game.
Doug Carrick
In 2017, after the passing of Bob Cupp, at Bob’s request, the Club retained Doug Carrick to be our architect of record. Doug is a world-renowned architect and interestingly, when he first assessed the course, he noted the overall yardage of the course did not accurately reflect the actual playing length of the course.
What he meant was, the golf course, from all our tee decks, actually plays much longer than the yardage due to the number of uphill holes and the predominant northwest wind which makes many of our most difficult holes play even longer. So, in his view the course plays considerably longer than the actual yardage, which further exacerbated problems with some of the tee lengths, particularly the yardage of the women’s tees.
Among Doug’s recommendations to us, was to ensure appropriate tee lengths were available for all players. This meant the introduction of forward tees (yellow) and revisiting the lengths of some of our green, white, red and purple tees with an objective of ensuring we set more appropriate lengths and offer a wider variety of options for players (male or female) with swing speeds under 75 mph.
Since the installation of our new yellow tees, many members have noted it’s enhanced their enjoyment of the game, some were considering leaving, but have since continued to play due to the increased enjoyment. Additionally, these tees will benefit many other players for years to come.
Variety and flexibility with more tee options
Where we started Where we’re going
Gold – 6,800 Gold – 7,000
Blue – 6,400 Blue – 6,600
White – 6,000 Green – 6,200
Red – 5,500 White – 5,700
Purple – 5,300
Red – 4,700
Yellow – 4,200
The yellow tees were an important step, others included new tees on #2 and #9 and this year on #1, #2, #5, #8, #15 and #17.
By expanding our options, filling these voids in tee options and eliminating the disparity, the golf course will become more enjoyable to play for a broader portion of the membership including those lower speed players. But importantly offering a larger variety of options for all players to enjoy will enhance the overall experience, which in-turn will be helpful to retain, attract and satisfy members (both men and women).
With respect to the work being completed this year, most of the tees are red and purple and in the case of our female players this might mean some of our stronger female players will want to move back from the red tees to the purple, white or longer, or they may simply enjoy the opportunity to make more pars and birdies, shoot a lower score and possibly lowering their handicaps.
From a socializing perspective, our female members are more accustomed to playing from the same tees and this may change if occasionally some prefer to play a longer or shorter course, but socializing at the tee is only a small portion of the time spent on the course and overall, the benefits far outweigh the cost and will make for more enjoyment for more players over the long term.
I hope this communication helps to clarify our plans and provides the strategy behind them. If you have any question, comments or concerns, please contact me at
[email protected]
Respectfully Submitted,
Gary Ward
General Manager/Chief Operating Officer