Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Golf is a game that can be enjoyed by everyone. No matter your age or skill level, there’s an opportunity to tee it up and have a little fun.
To maximize your enjoyment, though, it’s important to play a course that fits your skill level. But just picking a course that’s a fit for your skills is just the first step. To really enjoy the game, you’ve got to play the tee boxes that are right for your you.
Truth be told, there’s no perfect way to select a tee box that’s right for your game. The general rule of thumb says that the lower your handicap, the longer the course you should play, but that’s not a hard-and-fast rule. Thanks to some new research from the USGA, though, choosing the right tees has never been easier.
How to choose the right tees
According to new research from the USGA, most golfers are playing tees that are too long for their games. In their recently published findings, 57 percent of golfers are playing tee boxes that are too far back.
So, how should you go about choosing the right tees? With the chart below, you can select the right tees based on the distance you hit your 7 iron.
| 7 iron distance | Optimal course length |
| 80 yards or less | 3,500 – 3,700 yards |
| 95 yards | 4,100 – 4,300 yards |
| 110 yards | 4,800 – 5,000 yards |
| 125 yards | 5,400 – 5,600 yards |
| 140 yards | 5,900 – 6,100 yards |
| 155 yards | 6,400 – 6,600 yards |
| 170+ | 6,700 – 6,900 yards |
This trick for selecting tees is not perfect for selecting tees, but if you’re struggling to decide where to play from, it’s a good place to start.