Most golfers know the typical par lengths of golf holes instinctively. We’ve played enough holes that we can usually be told a hole’s length and, based on that length, know whether the hole is a par-3, par-4 or par-5 hole (or, rarely, a par-6).
But are there are rules within the golf world for exactly what lengths a par-3, par-4, par-5 hole can be? Or must be?
There are not hard rules about that. The par rating of a golf hole is up to the hole designers and golf course personnel. But there are guidelines. The USGA has periodically issued guidelines for the par ratings of holes based on their lengths; for example, if a hole is 180 yards, it is rated as a par-3.
Those guidelines have changed over the years, and the way they are used has changed, too.
Current Yardage Guidelines for Par Ratings
Keep in mind what, exactly, par represents: A hole’s par is the number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to complete the hole. And all pars (3, 4, 5 or 6) include two putts. So a 180-yard hole is called a par-3 because an expert golfer is expected to hit the green in one stroke, then take two putts to get the ball into the hole, making for three strokes total.
With that in mind, these are the current yardage guidelines for par ratings per the USGA:
Men Women
Par 3 Up to 250 yards Up to 210 yards
Par 4 251 to 470 yards 211 to 400 yards
Par 5 471 to 690 yards 401 to 575 yards
Par 6 691 yards+ 576 yards+
Current Guidelines Represent ‘Effective Playing Length’
It’s important to note that the USGA guidelines cited, the current recommended par yardages, are not, in fact, based on actual, measured yards, but on a hole’s “effective playing length.” Effective playing length is one of the factors taken into account when a course is given its USGA course rating and USGA slope rating.
The easiest way to understand “effective playing length” is to picture two golf holes of exactly the same measured length. Let’s say 450 yards. But one of those holes plays uphill from the tee to the green, while the other plays downhill.
Which is the easier hole? Everything else about the holes being equal, the downhill hole will be easier than the uphill, because it will play shorter. Even though both holes measure 450 yards, the downhill hole’s “effective playing length” is shorter than that of the uphill hole (everything else being equal), because of the effect the way the holes’ slope (uphill vs. downhill) has on a how far a golf shot rolls.
How the Par and Yardage Guidelines Have Changed
Prior to the introduction of effective playing length into course ratings, the yardage guidelines for hole pars were based on actual, measured yards. It’s interesting to see how they’ve changed over the years. We have three examples below; in each case, the yardages listed are for men:
1911
(Note: The USGA adopted the use of “par” in 1911, which makes these its first-ever guidelines on par yardages.)
Par 3: Up to 225 yardsPar 4: 225 to 425 yardsPar 5: 426 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1917
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 445 yardsPar 5: 446 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1956
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 470 yardsPar 5: 471 yards or more
Meet the Golf Course
Muirfield Village Golf Club: Jack Nicklaus’ Course
What Is a Bogey? Definition of the Golf Score
Quail Hollow Club: Major Championship Site and PGA Tour Golf Course
Explaining the Par-3 Hole in Golf
Riviera Country Club
What Is a Par-4 Hole in Golf?
Meet Shinnecock Hills, One of America’s Historic Golf Clubs
Oak Hill Country Club
Golf Course Terms
Par 5 (Par-5 Hole)
What Is the Meaning of ‘Par’?
Bethpage Black Golf Course Photo Gallery
The Hole Yardages and Pars at Augusta National Golf Club
Birdie: What This Scoring Term Means in Golf
The Par-3 Course in Golf
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LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies
Most golfers know the typical par lengths of golf holes instinctively. We’ve played enough holes that we can usually be told a hole’s length and, based on that length, know whether the hole is a par-3, par-4 or par-5 hole (or, rarely, a par-6).
But are there are rules within the golf world for exactly what lengths a par-3, par-4, par-5 hole can be? Or must be?
There are not hard rules about that. The par rating of a golf hole is up to the hole designers and golf course personnel. But there are guidelines. The USGA has periodically issued guidelines for the par ratings of holes based on their lengths; for example, if a hole is 180 yards, it is rated as a par-3.
Those guidelines have changed over the years, and the way they are used has changed, too.
Current Yardage Guidelines for Par Ratings
Keep in mind what, exactly, par represents: A hole’s par is the number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to complete the hole. And all pars (3, 4, 5 or 6) include two putts. So a 180-yard hole is called a par-3 because an expert golfer is expected to hit the green in one stroke, then take two putts to get the ball into the hole, making for three strokes total.
With that in mind, these are the current yardage guidelines for par ratings per the USGA:
Men Women
Par 3 Up to 250 yards Up to 210 yards
Par 4 251 to 470 yards 211 to 400 yards
Par 5 471 to 690 yards 401 to 575 yards
Par 6 691 yards+ 576 yards+
Current Guidelines Represent ‘Effective Playing Length’
It’s important to note that the USGA guidelines cited, the current recommended par yardages, are not, in fact, based on actual, measured yards, but on a hole’s “effective playing length.” Effective playing length is one of the factors taken into account when a course is given its USGA course rating and USGA slope rating.
The easiest way to understand “effective playing length” is to picture two golf holes of exactly the same measured length. Let’s say 450 yards. But one of those holes plays uphill from the tee to the green, while the other plays downhill.
Which is the easier hole? Everything else about the holes being equal, the downhill hole will be easier than the uphill, because it will play shorter. Even though both holes measure 450 yards, the downhill hole’s “effective playing length” is shorter than that of the uphill hole (everything else being equal), because of the effect the way the holes’ slope (uphill vs. downhill) has on a how far a golf shot rolls.
How the Par and Yardage Guidelines Have Changed
Prior to the introduction of effective playing length into course ratings, the yardage guidelines for hole pars were based on actual, measured yards. It’s interesting to see how they’ve changed over the years. We have three examples below; in each case, the yardages listed are for men:
1911
(Note: The USGA adopted the use of “par” in 1911, which makes these its first-ever guidelines on par yardages.)
Par 3: Up to 225 yardsPar 4: 225 to 425 yardsPar 5: 426 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1917
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 445 yardsPar 5: 446 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1956
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 470 yardsPar 5: 471 yards or more
Meet the Golf Course
Muirfield Village Golf Club: Jack Nicklaus’ Course
What Is a Bogey? Definition of the Golf Score
Quail Hollow Club: Major Championship Site and PGA Tour Golf Course
Explaining the Par-3 Hole in Golf
Riviera Country Club
What Is a Par-4 Hole in Golf?
Meet Shinnecock Hills, One of America’s Historic Golf Clubs
Oak Hill Country Club
Golf Course Terms
Par 5 (Par-5 Hole)
What Is the Meaning of ‘Par’?
Bethpage Black Golf Course Photo Gallery
The Hole Yardages and Pars at Augusta National Golf Club
Birdie: What This Scoring Term Means in Golf
The Par-3 Course in Golf
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies
Most golfers know the typical par lengths of golf holes instinctively. We’ve played enough holes that we can usually be told a hole’s length and, based on that length, know whether the hole is a par-3, par-4 or par-5 hole (or, rarely, a par-6).
But are there are rules within the golf world for exactly what lengths a par-3, par-4, par-5 hole can be? Or must be?
There are not hard rules about that. The par rating of a golf hole is up to the hole designers and golf course personnel. But there are guidelines. The USGA has periodically issued guidelines for the par ratings of holes based on their lengths; for example, if a hole is 180 yards, it is rated as a par-3.
Those guidelines have changed over the years, and the way they are used has changed, too.
Current Yardage Guidelines for Par Ratings
Keep in mind what, exactly, par represents: A hole’s par is the number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to complete the hole. And all pars (3, 4, 5 or 6) include two putts. So a 180-yard hole is called a par-3 because an expert golfer is expected to hit the green in one stroke, then take two putts to get the ball into the hole, making for three strokes total.
With that in mind, these are the current yardage guidelines for par ratings per the USGA:
Men Women
Par 3 Up to 250 yards Up to 210 yards
Par 4 251 to 470 yards 211 to 400 yards
Par 5 471 to 690 yards 401 to 575 yards
Par 6 691 yards+ 576 yards+
Current Guidelines Represent ‘Effective Playing Length’
It’s important to note that the USGA guidelines cited, the current recommended par yardages, are not, in fact, based on actual, measured yards, but on a hole’s “effective playing length.” Effective playing length is one of the factors taken into account when a course is given its USGA course rating and USGA slope rating.
The easiest way to understand “effective playing length” is to picture two golf holes of exactly the same measured length. Let’s say 450 yards. But one of those holes plays uphill from the tee to the green, while the other plays downhill.
Which is the easier hole? Everything else about the holes being equal, the downhill hole will be easier than the uphill, because it will play shorter. Even though both holes measure 450 yards, the downhill hole’s “effective playing length” is shorter than that of the uphill hole (everything else being equal), because of the effect the way the holes’ slope (uphill vs. downhill) has on a how far a golf shot rolls.
How the Par and Yardage Guidelines Have Changed
Prior to the introduction of effective playing length into course ratings, the yardage guidelines for hole pars were based on actual, measured yards. It’s interesting to see how they’ve changed over the years. We have three examples below; in each case, the yardages listed are for men:
1911
(Note: The USGA adopted the use of “par” in 1911, which makes these its first-ever guidelines on par yardages.)
Par 3: Up to 225 yardsPar 4: 225 to 425 yardsPar 5: 426 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1917
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 445 yardsPar 5: 446 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1956
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 470 yardsPar 5: 471 yards or more
Most golfers know the typical par lengths of golf holes instinctively. We’ve played enough holes that we can usually be told a hole’s length and, based on that length, know whether the hole is a par-3, par-4 or par-5 hole (or, rarely, a par-6).
But are there are rules within the golf world for exactly what lengths a par-3, par-4, par-5 hole can be? Or must be?
There are not hard rules about that. The par rating of a golf hole is up to the hole designers and golf course personnel. But there are guidelines. The USGA has periodically issued guidelines for the par ratings of holes based on their lengths; for example, if a hole is 180 yards, it is rated as a par-3.
Those guidelines have changed over the years, and the way they are used has changed, too.
Current Yardage Guidelines for Par Ratings
Keep in mind what, exactly, par represents: A hole’s par is the number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to complete the hole. And all pars (3, 4, 5 or 6) include two putts. So a 180-yard hole is called a par-3 because an expert golfer is expected to hit the green in one stroke, then take two putts to get the ball into the hole, making for three strokes total.
With that in mind, these are the current yardage guidelines for par ratings per the USGA:
Men Women
Par 3 Up to 250 yards Up to 210 yards
Par 4 251 to 470 yards 211 to 400 yards
Par 5 471 to 690 yards 401 to 575 yards
Par 6 691 yards+ 576 yards+
Current Guidelines Represent ‘Effective Playing Length’
It’s important to note that the USGA guidelines cited, the current recommended par yardages, are not, in fact, based on actual, measured yards, but on a hole’s “effective playing length.” Effective playing length is one of the factors taken into account when a course is given its USGA course rating and USGA slope rating.
The easiest way to understand “effective playing length” is to picture two golf holes of exactly the same measured length. Let’s say 450 yards. But one of those holes plays uphill from the tee to the green, while the other plays downhill.
Which is the easier hole? Everything else about the holes being equal, the downhill hole will be easier than the uphill, because it will play shorter. Even though both holes measure 450 yards, the downhill hole’s “effective playing length” is shorter than that of the uphill hole (everything else being equal), because of the effect the way the holes’ slope (uphill vs. downhill) has on a how far a golf shot rolls.
How the Par and Yardage Guidelines Have Changed
Prior to the introduction of effective playing length into course ratings, the yardage guidelines for hole pars were based on actual, measured yards. It’s interesting to see how they’ve changed over the years. We have three examples below; in each case, the yardages listed are for men:
1911
(Note: The USGA adopted the use of “par” in 1911, which makes these its first-ever guidelines on par yardages.)
Par 3: Up to 225 yardsPar 4: 225 to 425 yardsPar 5: 426 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1917
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 445 yardsPar 5: 446 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1956
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 470 yardsPar 5: 471 yards or more
Current Guidelines Represent ‘Effective Playing Length’
It’s important to note that the USGA guidelines cited, the current recommended par yardages, are not, in fact, based on actual, measured yards, but on a hole’s “effective playing length.” Effective playing length is one of the factors taken into account when a course is given its USGA course rating and USGA slope rating.
The easiest way to understand “effective playing length” is to picture two golf holes of exactly the same measured length. Let’s say 450 yards. But one of those holes plays uphill from the tee to the green, while the other plays downhill.
Which is the easier hole? Everything else about the holes being equal, the downhill hole will be easier than the uphill, because it will play shorter. Even though both holes measure 450 yards, the downhill hole’s “effective playing length” is shorter than that of the uphill hole (everything else being equal), because of the effect the way the holes’ slope (uphill vs. downhill) has on a how far a golf shot rolls.
How the Par and Yardage Guidelines Have Changed
Prior to the introduction of effective playing length into course ratings, the yardage guidelines for hole pars were based on actual, measured yards. It’s interesting to see how they’ve changed over the years. We have three examples below; in each case, the yardages listed are for men:
1911
(Note: The USGA adopted the use of “par” in 1911, which makes these its first-ever guidelines on par yardages.)
- Par 3: Up to 225 yardsPar 4: 225 to 425 yardsPar 5: 426 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1917
- Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 445 yardsPar 5: 446 to 600 yardsPar 6: 601 yards or more
1956
Par 3: Up to 250 yardsPar 4: 251 to 470 yardsPar 5: 471 yards or more
Meet the Golf Course
Muirfield Village Golf Club: Jack Nicklaus’ Course
What Is a Bogey? Definition of the Golf Score
Quail Hollow Club: Major Championship Site and PGA Tour Golf Course
Explaining the Par-3 Hole in Golf
Riviera Country Club
What Is a Par-4 Hole in Golf?
Meet Shinnecock Hills, One of America’s Historic Golf Clubs
Oak Hill Country Club
Golf Course Terms
Par 5 (Par-5 Hole)
What Is the Meaning of ‘Par’?
Bethpage Black Golf Course Photo Gallery
The Hole Yardages and Pars at Augusta National Golf Club
Birdie: What This Scoring Term Means in Golf
The Par-3 Course in Golf
Meet the Golf Course
Meet the Golf Course
Muirfield Village Golf Club: Jack Nicklaus’ Course
Muirfield Village Golf Club: Jack Nicklaus’ Course
What Is a Bogey? Definition of the Golf Score
What Is a Bogey? Definition of the Golf Score
Quail Hollow Club: Major Championship Site and PGA Tour Golf Course
Quail Hollow Club: Major Championship Site and PGA Tour Golf Course
Explaining the Par-3 Hole in Golf
Explaining the Par-3 Hole in Golf
Riviera Country Club
Riviera Country Club
What Is a Par-4 Hole in Golf?
What Is a Par-4 Hole in Golf?
Meet Shinnecock Hills, One of America’s Historic Golf Clubs
Meet Shinnecock Hills, One of America’s Historic Golf Clubs
Oak Hill Country Club
Oak Hill Country Club
Golf Course Terms
Golf Course Terms
Par 5 (Par-5 Hole)
Par 5 (Par-5 Hole)
What Is the Meaning of ‘Par’?
What Is the Meaning of ‘Par’?
Bethpage Black Golf Course Photo Gallery
Bethpage Black Golf Course Photo Gallery
The Hole Yardages and Pars at Augusta National Golf Club
The Hole Yardages and Pars at Augusta National Golf Club
Birdie: What This Scoring Term Means in Golf
Birdie: What This Scoring Term Means in Golf
The Par-3 Course in Golf
The Par-3 Course in Golf
Home
Entertainment
Careers
Activities
Humor
About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy
LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.
Home
Home
Entertainment
Careers
Activities
Humor
About Us Advertise Careers Privacy Policy Editorial Guidelines Contact Terms of Use EU Privacy
About Us
Advertise
Careers
Privacy Policy
Editorial Guidelines
Contact
Terms of Use
EU Privacy
Entertainment
Careers
Activities
Humor
LiveAbout is part of the Dotdash Meredith publishing family.
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept Cookies
