How long does a round of golf take?
It depends most on when you tee off. When the USGA put GPS loggers in golfers' pockets at Rancho Park, a busy city-owned course in Los Angeles, the first groups of the day finished 18 holes in under four hours. Groups teeing off between 11 a.m. and noon took almost six. The course was the same length all day; the queue on it was not.
Source: USGA, "On the Tee at Rancho Park, USGA Works to Lessen the Wait", 2017.
Why the time climbs through the day
Courses send groups off at a set interval. The USGA found that when a group takes longer to clear each hole than the gap between tee times, it passes that difference to every group behind it. At Rancho Park the gap between groups on the course was 90 seconds longer than the gap between starts, so by the 60th group of the day a round was 90 minutes longer than the first. The fastest round you can book is the first tee time of the day.
Why a tee time can start late
In 2015 Rancho Park booked groups six minutes apart, too close for a group to tee off and clear the landing area, and a group booked for 10:30 a.m. often went off well after 11. When the city moved to eight minute intervals, the wait before the first tee nearly disappeared, even though round times stayed about the same. If a course books groups very close together, expect to wait before you start as well as on the course.
How far ahead courses open tee times
Each course sets its own booking window, and 71 courses on this site state theirs on their own website. The most common window is 7 days (24 courses), then 14 days (15 courses); 12 courses open bookings 30 days or more ahead, and the middle value is 10 days. For the quickest round, book the first slot of the day as soon as the course's window opens.
Where to book
Pick a city below, open a course, and the "Visit the course website" button takes you to its own booking page. Florida has 259 courses with a website on file; Arizona has 125 courses with a website on file; Texas has 86 courses with a website on file. A 9 hole golf course is the short version of the day, and what a round of golf costs covers the price of each slot. Every topic is in the golf guides.
Questions golfers ask
How long does a round of golf take?
It depends most on when you tee off. In the USGA's GPS study at Rancho Park, a busy public course in Los Angeles, the first groups of the day finished 18 holes in under four hours, and groups teeing off between 11 a.m. and noon took almost six.
Why does golf take longer later in the day?
Because the waits add up. The USGA found that when groups take longer to play a hole than the gap between their tee times, each group passes the difference to every group behind it. At Rancho Park a 90 second gap meant rounds were 90 minutes longer by the 60th group.
How far ahead can I book a tee time?
It is set by each course. Of the 71 courses on this site whose website states a booking window, 24 open tee times 7 days ahead, 15 open them 14 days ahead and 12 open them 30 days or more ahead.
How do I book a tee time?
On the course's own website or by phone. Every course page on this site links to the course's website, which is where its tee times are sold. Golf Course Scout does not sell tee times.