Why don't all courses have these? I think they speed up play, you can guess-timate how far you are out by those (for 99% of us, we don't need an exact, exact yardage). Plus they give you something to aim at on many drives...

Inb4whatifmydrivehitsit

I've broken 2 in half with my second shot #truestory

True story (as best as I can recall)... A friend of mine was playing in a Houston City Am qualifier. Long par 5, he hits a good drive, then what he though was a perfect layup, only to watch the ball hit the 150 stick and ricochet into the water 30 yards away. Said it just completely rattled him for some reason and he ended up making a triple or quad. Missed qualifying by a shot or two if I remember correctly.

I don't like them if they're in the middle of the fairway. For example: Campus Course. Makes a nice course look .....I dunno...cheap, in my opinion. I think they're fine on the sides of the fairway.

I've played with people on courses where there are 150 stakes / poles in the middle of the fairway and they still ask "where's the green" or "which way does this hole go?". I give up.

I like the courses that have crepe myrtles at the 150 mark.

Seriously though, short stakes in the side of the fairway can't be that hard right?

Agree that you don't need a pole most of the time. The real breach is courses that have those poles and think that is good enough so they don't mark yardages on sprinkler heads.

How about the gps in your cart.

I like them mostly because when playing a course I'm not as familiar with, I like the extra perspective they provide of the layout of the hole when I'm on the tee.

I also like a painted stripe or colored reflector on the cart path. Seems like a $1 improvement but not many courses have them.

I love when courses have the candy cane stick in the middle at 150. Always helps me aim better and estimate distances

Stripes on the cart path is fine

played Sienna Plantation one time with some buddies...cant remember the exact hole # but its a short slight dogleg left with water all down the right side. We were playing wolf and my buddy steps up and hits a great drive right down the middle. His ball hits the 150 pole dead square and comes straight back toward the tee about 40-50 yards....terrible luck, but it CAN happen.

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True story (as best as I can recall)... A friend of mine was playing in a Houston City Am qualifier. Long par 5, he hits a good drive, then what he though was a perfect layup, only to watch the ball hit the 150 stick and ricochet into the water 30 yards away. Said it just completely rattled him for some reason and he ended up making a triple or quad. Missed qualifying by a shot or two if I remember correctly.

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They should he, and have been in tournaments that I know of, just like a power line. If you hit one you have to hit again.


Played Deleware Springs today and they have them. I don't have a problem with them.

I don't mind them. Better than the rocks on the side of the fairways.

True story.

2007 summer championship for STPGA Little Linksters I saw a girl hit her drive and the ball hit the top of the 150 marker perfectly and kept going right down the middle of the fairway. #10 at Cypresswood Traditions in Spring. Probably added 20 yards for her.

As far as markers in general I'm indifferent. I don't think they belong on high end places. But your average public course I think they are helpful for many golfers.

I played a dumpy muni in Clovis, New Mexico that had white crepe myrtles on each side of the fairway at 150 and pink at 100. Most where half dead, but I thought it was a cool idea. I can't remember the course.

I do not mind them on budget conscious courses, cart and green fee is less than $55, but at nice courses I expect some level of detail in either the tee box depiction of the hole or the scorecard.

As far as 200, 150, 100 yard markers on the cart paths, that is a given, and I do not care how the do it. Colors (blue, white, red) or engraved plates all work fine for me, just make sure the sprinklers inside of 250 are labeled please.

I don't mind yardage poles.

I'm not a big fan of stripes on the cart path. They're hard to see and and if you miss them when driving by you're F'ed.

I like to keep it simple with 100/150/200/250 color coded plaques in fairway and it's even better if sprinkler heads here and there are labeled.

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Why don't all courses have these? I think they speed up play, you can guess-timate how far you are out by those (for 99% of us, we don't need an exact, exact yardage). Plus they give you something to aim at on many drives...

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to address the first question, we took them down because they slow down mowing and our members don't like the look.

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I do not mind them on budget conscious courses, cart and green fee is less than $55, but at nice courses I expect some level of detail in either the tee box depiction of the hole or the scorecard.

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I played a scramble at Cimarron Hills in Georgetown 4 years ago. The tee boxes had no information, not even the hole number because the members thought that the markers were tacky. The scorecards didn't even have a drawing of the hole.

It sucked being on a tee and not knowing if the hole doglegged left or right over the hill.

By the way, it was the worst organized scramble I ever played in. We gave up as darkness neared. We played 13 holes in 6.5 hours.

Oops

Some courses have the stakes positioned as an aiming aid for newbies.

Wood Forest GC in Montgomery and Crystal Falls in Leander come to mind. Aiming at the stakes is key at both courses.

If the stakes are for yardage only and don't help with tee box alignment, then they are useless.

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just make sure the sprinklers inside of 250 are labeled please.

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100% agree, except that they should be marked 300 and in on par 5's. Need to know if 3w is appropriate on approach.

I'm impartial to the 150 markers, but it is definitely annoying to see a sprinkler without the yardage marked. Even with my laser, I often can't tell if it is a front or back pin.

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just make sure the sprinklers inside of 250 are labeled please.

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100% agree, except that they should be marked 300 and in on par 5's. Need to know if 3w is appropriate on approach.

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Nice humble brag

Gaines County has 2 yardage markers outside of 250 yards. One say .270. The other 30.06

I do enjoy seeing the 30.06 as well as the "Keep dreaming" sprinkler heads on par 5's. I think Pecan Hollow had those on a par 5 one point before the renovation a few years ago.

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just make sure the sprinklers inside of 250 are labeled please.

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100% agree, except that they should be marked 300 and in on par 5's. Need to know if 3w is appropriate on approach.

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Nice humble brag

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How so? Would you hit your 3w if there was an unmarked sprinkler head and you suspected you were 251 out? Most young guys I know would fly the green with a 3w from 250.

Average PGA Tour Carry Distances (yards)

Driver (Total) - 289
Driver (Carry) - 269
3-Wood (Carry) - 243


Link

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Would you hit your 3w if there was an unmarked sprinkler head and you suspected you were 251 out?

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On a Par 5, there's no way I'd hit a 3 wood from that distance.

I'd play smart golf and hit a butter cut 6 iron to land softly on the middle of the green...3/4 swing if the pin is in the front.

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just make sure the sprinklers inside of 250 are labeled please.

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100% agree, except that they should be marked 300 and in on par 5's. Need to know if 3w is appropriate on approach.

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Nice humble brag

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How so? Would you hit your 3w if there was an unmarked sprinkler head and you suspected you were 251 out? Most young guys I know would fly the green with a 3w from 250.

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Not at all, just figured you were saying you hit your 3w 300 yds with ease. Ease up, it was a joke.

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just make sure the sprinklers inside of 250 are labeled please.

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100% agree, except that they should be marked 300 and in on par 5's. Need to know if 3w is appropriate on approach.

I'm impartial to the 150 markers, but it is definitely annoying to see a sprinkler without the yardage marked. Even with my laser, I often can't tell if it is a front or back pin.

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That's what the different colored flags are for

I liked the way they did the yardages in Scotland. Everything was measured to the front of the green, and the pin sheets told you how many yards on the flag was, how far away it was from the nearest edge (side to side), green depth, and green width.

More info than I could effectively make use of, but sometimes here in the US the course's definition of what is front, middle, or back is different than mine.

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just make sure the sprinklers inside of 250 are labeled please.

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100% agree, except that they should be marked 300 and in on par 5's. Need to know if 3w is appropriate on approach.

I'm impartial to the 150 markers, but it is definitely annoying to see a sprinkler without the yardage marked. Even with my laser, I often can't tell if it is a front or back pin.

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That's what the different colored flags are for

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Not all courses use colored flags....