Many golfers have been asked countless times by their spouses when their round will be over. It’s not a simple question though, despite what others may think.
For those looking for a specific answer, determining how long your round of golf will take can be tricky. While you may think it’s straightforward, there are a number of factors at play.
How long does a game of golf take?
Generally speaking, a round of golf takes 4 hours and 30 minutes.
You get to that number with a pretty simple calculation. The USGA provides pace of play best practices to help steward quicker play, something we all can get behind.
| Par 3 | Par 4 | Par 5 | |
| Groups of Three | 13 minutes | 15 minutes | 17 minutes |
| Groups of Two | 11 minutes | 13 minutes | 15 minutes |
On a typical course there are four par 3’s, ten par 4’s and four par 5’s. In a group of three that equals 270 minutes.
Again, these are just estimates, there are a lot of other factors at play.
Pace of play factors determining how long a game of golf takes
All of these contribute to your round length.
A solo golfer, riding, during a weekday morning, in perfect weather on an easy course could finish their round in under 3 hours. In fact, I finished an early morning round by myself in about 2 hours and 30 minutes recently. I was definitely moving quickly.
A group of four high handicap golfers, walking, on a saturday afternoon, in poor weather on a hard course could finish their round in over 6 hours.
Those are both extreme examples, but now you can see why it’s not really a straightforward answer to how long a round takes.
Feel free to use those examples next time your spouse asks how long the round will be.
How long does it take to walk 18 holes of golf?
4.5 – 5
Hours
Generally speaking, walking 18 holes can take anywhere from 4 hours and 30 minutes to 5 hours. Keep in mind on longer courses, or on a hot day, you could start to slow your pace of play down. In turn you would play a longer round.
Of course, you could walk 18 holes much quicker but there are so many factors at play. One slow group could throw these estimates out the window.
How long is it to golf 18 holes with a cart?
4 – 4.5
Hours
Under normal circumstances, riding 18 holes can take anywhere from 4 hours to 4 hours and 30 minutes. This doesn’t account for any of the factors covered earlier in the post, however, this is a good rule of thumb to plan around.
How long does it take to walk 9 holes?
2.25 – 2.5
Hours
Walking 9 holes can take anywhere from 2 hours and 15 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes under normal circumstances.
How long is it to golf 9 holes with a cart?
2 – 2.25
Hours
On average, riding 9 holes can take anywhere from 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes. Some can play even quicker depending on how good they are and course conditions that day. In fact, I’ve played 9 holes riding in under an hour and 15 minutes before, which was incredible time.
How many tee times are there per day?
There are a few factors at play in determining how many tee times are available each day, like the total time a course is open and how frequently tee times are scheduled.
For instance, some courses will start play as early as 6:30AM in the middle of the summer when the sun rises early in the morning. During the fall and spring, the sun rises later, so courses will be open for fewer hours resulting in less tee times.
All that said, every course is different.
On the low end a course could offer 48 tee times a day and on the high end 96. I would gather most courses fall in between that number.
It’s also worth noting that at member clubs, members are prioritized with early bookings. That would leave less tee times available to the public.
How much time do golf courses leave between tee times?
Most courses will schedule tee times every 10 minutes, but 7 to 15 minutes apart is not uncommon. This calculation is based on how long the course management deems a round should take. An average round is 4 hours and 30 minutes, which would equate to tee times every 15 minutes.
