On your next Myrtle Beach Golf Vacation feel free to change the distance of the courses you play . That’s right, change it , I do it all the time. Distance does matter and despite multiple tee-boxes some times the proper distance for your group will not be available. For example I recently played a course that had the Whites at 5721 yards and the Blacks at 6587 yards. This happens from time to time. Now 5721 is too short for me and 6587 is out of my ” I play golf to have fun” range. We are both pretty decent hitters and we usually play Whites somewhere between 6000 to 6300 yards. Now my friend , lets call him Gerald “The Legend” Little was hesitant to go back to the Blacks but he knew 5721 yards was definitely too short . Gerald quickly shut me off when I started my , lets do a “combo” speech because he wanted to” play one or the other”. So we played the Blacks which was a big mistake. The course was very wet , there was always a steady wind, always into us ,and we didn’t know this course. It was a painful round but at least I won $8.00 with a 91, thanks Gerald!

As luck would have it , somehow and by accident we ended up at this same course 2 days latter! However , this time, the night before I highlighted holes on the card which would create a course distance at 6267 which is in my ” I play golf to have fun” range . When I arrived at the course that day Gerald accepted my changes happily and with out hesitation, and so did the others. So we played 7 holes from the Whites and 11 holes from the Blacks. Some wind and wet conditions still existed which made this change even more appropriate. We all had a pleasant round and I shot an 81 instead of a 91 which means I had fun!

Now, if you have a big group you may want to check distances in advance so you can let everyone know in advance. I suggest that you get a highlighter and mark the cards or print a separate sheet because you will always have a few “challenged people” that will whine and moan because this is just too complicated for their brains! You could just pin the sheet to their shirt so they don’t lose it!

What about Slope and Course ratings for handicaps? Just calculate them based on percentages, or use the Double Inverted Reverse Callaway System. In any case, don’t worry about it, they were “made-up” to begin with. Course & Slope Ratings are another golf enigma for another day !

Check the score cards on our web site for distances on all courses or call us for help!

Tags: Golf Facts and figures //