Golf, as enjoyable as it is, can sometimes test our patience, especially when things don’t go as planned. It’s even worse when you’re stuck on the course for hours with little progress.
Enough about how irritating golf is, though. We’ll get straight to the topic.
The average time it takes to complete a round depends on various factors, whether it is weekend, if you have a manual or an automatic trolley, and your place in the queue if there are any.
Data from the United States Golf Association (USGA) says that golf rounds last 30-40 minutes longer on weekends than on weekdays.
So, again, back to our question: How Long Does it Take to Play 18 Holes of Golf?
How Long Does It Take To Play With A Group?
Your group size will obviously impact the time it takes to complete an 18 Holes round. If you are playing alone, it should take you around Two and a Half hours to complete an 18-hole round.
But, if you are playing with your friends, each of your friends would add 30-35 minutes to the game’s length.
For example, For two players, it would take around three hours to complete the game. For three players, it would be three and a half hours, and so on.
How Long Does It Take To Play Each Hole?
Thinking of time, let us see how long it would take for a group of four friends to complete an 18-hole game and how long it would take per hole.
Traditionally, a golf course has three holes: Par 3s, Par 4s, and Par 5s. Now, we’ll calculate the time it will take per hole and for the entire game:
| Hole | Time (Per Hole) | Time Taken In An 18-Hole Game |
|---|---|---|
| Par 3 | 10 min | 4 Par 3s * 10 min = 40 min |
| Par 4 | 13 min | 10 Par 4s * 13 min = 2 hrs. 10 min |
| Par 5 | 16 min | 4 Par 5s * 16 min = 1 hr. 4 min |
| Total | 39 min | 3 hrs. 54 min |
If you consider course traveling time, it would take your group around 4 Hrs. and 15 minutes to finish an 18-hole golf round.
How Long Does It Take To Play 18 Holes Of Golf With Two Players?
As per our previous calculation, it takes approximately 4 Hours to complete an 18-hole game with a group of four players.
Reducing around sixty minutes, or thirty minutes per person, it should take around three to three and a half hours to play an 18-hole game with two players.
How Long Does It Take To Play With A Cart?
It depends!
Using a cart can save you time and make you lose time.
How? Let’s start with the saving part: If your course is empty, a cart can save you time.
But if you are playing on a busy day, the cart will not make any difference in the playtime. Instead, it’ll take longer to finish the game due to the crowd.
Although, if you’re not very sensitive regarding your time, it’s still recommended to use a cart if you have one. It might not be the fastest option, but it would save you from an exhausting day and make the game lively.
Effects Of Tee Time On Playtime
Tee time is a scheduled time slot when a golfer or a group can begin their golf rounds. Tee time scheduling is an efficient way to prevent overcrowding and smoother playtime.
You can book a tee time in advance in accordance with when you want to start your round, depending on the course’s policies.
Now, moving on to our area of concern, what effect do tee times have on your gameplay?
Generally, there are three types of tee time intervals in most golf courses:
| Interval Period | Approx. Tee Times per hour | Approx. Players per hour |
|---|---|---|
| Seven To Eight Minutes | 8 | 30-32 |
| Twelve Minutes | 5 | 20 |
| Fifteen Minutes | 4 | 16 |
So basically, tee times decide if there will be double the number of players instead of the usual crowd.
Weather Conditions
In the second episode of things-out-of-your-control while golfing, we’ll see what the weather conditions have to say. Usually, a golfer either thanks or curses the weather during the entirety of playtime. However, this depends on the area in which you live.
Cold temperatures can affect your game as the weather consists of heavier and more humid atmospheres. On a good warm day, your ball covers more distance in a swing than on a cold day.
Also, if you’re sensitive to colder temperatures, you would have to wear heavier clothing, which would restrict your swings and overall performance.
We cannot forget the winds when talking about miserable weather. Even light winds can disrupt your ball’s flight pattern and, ultimately, your entire game.
Apart from that, heavy winds dry out the course, which causes terrible rolling patterns.
And the worst one, Rains. Even if it’s not actively raining, a post-rain course is not the ideal place to play. Rains make the greens heavier, and the water absorption interferes with the ball-rolling patterns.
However, if you’re still going to play, wearing rain suits can also affect your swing.
Course Difficulty And Maintenance
How complex the course setup is and how well it is maintained plays a huge role in how long it would take to complete a game.
Golf courses don’t have a standard design, and all courses are designed differently. Some courses are made to be complex with obstacles, deep sand bunkers, and narrow tree-lined fairways, which also add to the length of the game.
Some courses have higher ball speeds than others, whereas faster greens sound easier, but they are trickier than usual for golfers who don’t have much experience.
The level of maintenance also plays a role. A course with well-maintained greens and fairways will take less time to complete a game than an unmaintained one.
Prerequisites To A Good Game
We have only talked about the course till now. What about the players?
Whereas the course plays a huge role, your preparation also decides how good the game is going to be.
Warming Up
Instead of going exactly at your scheduled time, you can check in to your course half an hour early and start doing warm-ups.
This will allow you some time to relax after your travel, catch up with some fellow players, practice your swings, and set up the momentum for the game.
Getting A Good Start
After your warm-ups, when your tee time arrives, a starter will brief you on the rules and regulations. After you are done with that, you are ready to start.
If you are with a group, it’s better to decide beforehand the order of players to prevent wasting further time and future confusion. Another way to save time during wayward drives is to observe and analyze each player’s tee shots.
Ready Golf
Ready golf is a pace-of-play strategy that doesn’t follow the ‘honor system’, which usually comes under USGA and PGA games.
The honor system implies that a golfer with the lowest score during their last swing plays first. After this, the person who was farthest from the hole plays first. This takes a lot of time and is not the most efficient if your priority is a short game.
In Ready Golf, players take their swings as soon they are ready, rather than the traditional ordering.
Keeping Your Clubs Ready
While you are on the greens, make sure your clubs are as near as possible to the next hole. The same goes for your cart. Park it as near as possible to the next hole. This will save you a bunch of time and reduce 20-30 minutes off your entire game.
Tee It Forward
Tee it Forward is a joint initiative between USGA and PGA in the United States. It encourages players to use tees best suited for their skillset and their driving assistance. Teeing it Forward is a great way to improve your group’s pace.
Conclusion
So, a final answer to How Long Does 18 Holes Of Golf Take? There is no one-line answer to that, but to approximately and taking one scenario in mind, we’ll say Three to Four Hours.
Golf is a game of patience, skill, and planning. You should utilize it as much as possible but don’t forget to enjoy your game by looking at your watch.
Keep your mind fresh, follow the rules, bond with other players, plan your swings, have fun, and have a wonderful game!
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