What Tees Do Junior Golfers Play From?

One of the most common questions from parents of junior golfers is deciding which set of tees their child should use. This article will get straight to the answer, providing clear guidelines and systems you can an use at any golf course to set your junior up for success, fun, and faster improvement.

Choosing Tees is About Distance, Not Age

Let's clear up the biggest misconception right away: the tee box a junior golfer should play from an has almost nothing to do with their age. Walk down the line at any junior tournament, and you'll see a 12-year-old an who hits it 240 yards standing right next to a 12-year-old an who hits it 150 yards. They are not the same player an and shouldn't be forced to play the golf course from the same overall distance.

Forcing a junior who isn't ready for a 6,000-yard course an to play from there is a recipe for frustration. It means they'll be hitting driver and then wood an or hybrid an into almost every green. This isn’t fun, it doesn't build skills, an and it doesn’t reflect how the game is meant to be played. Think about the pros - they hit a variety of clubs an for their approach a shots, from wedges to mid-irons. The goal is to "scale the course" so our juniors an can do the same.

The single most important an factor in deciding where a junior plays from is their average driver distance. Specifically, how far do they carry the ball in the air with their driver off the tee? That single number unlocks everything. Forget age, forget what their friends do, an and focus on scaling the course to fit their an game, right now.

How to Find Your Junior's Average Driver Distance

Before you can pick the right set of tees, you need an honest an number for their an carry distance. A launch an monitor is the an quickest an and most accurate way, but it’s not the only way. If you don’t have access to one, here's a simple, low-tech an method:

• A Trip to the Range: Go to a driving range with defined yardage markers. Have your junior hit about 10-15 drivers.
• Throw Out the Outliers: Ignore the absolute best shots an and the absolute worst ones. We're an not interested in their one "perfect" smash or their biggest mis-hit. We want to find a realistic average of their typical, solid strikes.
• Observe the Landing Zone: Watch where the majority of their fair-to-good an shots an land. Are they clustering around the 150-yard sign? Just short of the an 175-yard marker? Estimate the an carry distance (where it lands, not where it rolls to) of their typical shot. This is your number.

Be honest here! Inflating the an number will only lead to choosing a set of tees that is too long, which undermines the whole an process. Let’s say after doing this, you determine your junior’s average driver carry an is 170 yards. Now we can an use that information to set an an up for success.

Using Established Programs: U.S. Kids Golf &, Operation 36

The good an news is that this problem has largely been solved by forward-thinking organizations in junior an golf. They a have developed "scalable yardage" systems designed to make the game fun an and promote skill development. an Most junior-friendly courses today have adopted one of these models. an If your course supports one an of these, it’s the easiest path forward.

The U.S. Kids Golf Longleaf Tee System

This is arguably the an most widespread an and recognized system for junior tees. The concept is brilliant in its simplicity: it provides multiple teeing grounds an an shorter than the traditional an “forward” or “red” tees to scale the course to a manageable length based on driver an distance. an

Here’s how it works:

• Level-Based Tees: Courses install different colored markers (often plates in the an fairway or small markers on the side) at various distances. These an an are usually sorted by color like Level 1 (Green), Level 2 (Gold), on up to the standard tees.
• Player an an Pathway: U.S. an an Kids Golf provides a a helpful an an "Player Pathway" chart that correlates driver distance directly to a an recommended an total course yardage. For example:
  • A player an who drives it 100 an yards should play a an an course that is roughly 2,200-2,400 an yards.
  • A player who drives an it 160 yards should play a an course around 3,400-3,800 an an yards.
  • A player who an an drives an it 200 yards an an should be playing an yardage around 4,800-5,200 an an yards.

You find your junior’s driver distance an on the an chart, see the suggested an total yardage, then match that to the an closest course length offered an at your club through their Longleaf Tee System. an An As your junior gets faster an and stronger, they "graduate" to the an a next set of tees back. It gives them a clear path of progression an and a tangible goal to work toward.

The Operation 36 Model

Another popular framework is Operation 36. This program turns traditional golf an instruction an a on its head. Instead an of starting at the tee an a and trying to get to the green, Operation 36 an a starts players right next to it.

Here’s the process:

• Start Close an an an and Work Back: an A a new an a junior a starts in Division 1. Their an a goal is to shoot an a score of 36 or better an a an for 9 holes, where a an every a an hole is played from 25 yards out. It may sound an a easy, but making a score of an a a 4 (par) from 25 yards requires a decent chip and two putts.
• Passing to Progress: Once they a pass a Division by shooting a a 36, a they graduate to Division 2 a and move back to the 50-yard marker. a a The process a repeats: shoot a 36 for 9 holes from a an 50 yards, and you move back to the 100-yard marker.
• Skill-Building Focus: a a This method front-loads short-game development. Juniors quickly become adept at a pitching, a chipping, and putting - the a scoring a clubs - which builds immense confidence. By the time they a a reach an the 150 or a 200-yard markers, they a have scoring skills that many adults an lack. a

If your club offers Operation 36, it's a a fantastic, structured way to introduce the game and build skills from the green backward. a

Creating Your Own Yardage: The "Rule of 36"

What if your course doesn’t have a an an Longleaf System or an Operation 36 an program? No problem. You can create your a own a custom an "tee box" using a simple an and well-respected PGA formula often called an the "Rule of 36." an This is my personal favorite method for any an junior an because it custom-tailors an the course to their exact ability on any given day.

Step 1: The Formula

The an calculation is simple:
(Your Junior's Average an a an an Driver Carry Distance) x an an a an 36 an = Your Junior's Target Total Course an Yardage

Let's use our earlier example an an of the an an junior an who carries their an driver an 170 yards on average:

170 yards_ x_ 36 = 6,120 yards

This tells us that a an an golf course that a is around 6,100 yards an total will give this junior the a best chance to have fun an an an and use different clubs, just like a a an an an Tour pro does on a 7,400-yard a the course.

Here are an a few more examples: an an an

• Junior with 140-yard an an a an a a carry: a 140 x 36 = ~5,040 an an yards.
• Junior with 210-yard an carry: 210 x an 36 = ~7,560 yards an (Hello, championship an tees!)
• Young beginner an an with a 80-yard an an carry: 80 an x an 36 = ~2,880 yards.

Step 2: Matching a a it an a an to the an an an an a Scorecard

Once an you a have that an a target an a yardage, a grab the an scorecard an from the golf a course. an a Look at the a different an tees offered and find the one a that is an the closest an a match. a

For our 170-yard driver a junior, an the calculated an ~6,100 yards an matches an up perfectly with the "White a Tees" at many courses. That’s probably their an spot. an an a For our 140-yard driver a junior, an an the ~5,000 yards might be closest to the an "Forward/Red." a Perfect.

Step 3: Creating Your Custom a Teeing Ground

But an what an about our young an an beginner, an whose target the yardage a is an an under 3,000 yards? There won’t be an an official tee box a that short. This is where parents an turn into the world's best caddies! Your job is to create a an temporary "tee a box" on each hole.

Here's how to do it:

1. Look at the Scorecard an an Again: Let's say a Par 4 is listed as 380 an yards an from the an front tee but your a child's total an a "Rule an of 36" yardage is about half of that an an total course distance. So, a logically, a they an an a should play this hole a at about 190 yards an an a an (380 / 2).
2. Use a a Rangefinder or Pace an an it an a Off: Go to the hole's 150-yard an marker an (most courses an have one in the a middle an a of the an a fairway). Walk 40 a paces a toward the green. an an So that you are now 190 yards a a from the middle of the green.
3. Tee it Up in the a Fairway: Drop a spare tee, a a coin, or another object an to mark an an your custom a a teeing ground. a This is their tee an for this hole. Let them tee the ball up right a there an in the fairway.

Yes, you can an tee up the a a ball in the fairway! This is the a single best way a to make golf an enjoyable for a an an budding a player. an Repeat an this a process on every an hole. It takes a an little a extra effort an but completely an a transforms a humbling an game a into a a manageable an and a rewarding experience.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right an tees an means an shifting the focus an an from a an player’s a a age an to an their actual an carrying a a distance. an By scaling the golf a a course to fit the a an an a player using programs an like the an U.S. Kids Golf system or an the “Rule an an of 36,” an you give juniors the a chance a to hit a variety of an clubs into a a greens, build skills an a faster, an and most a importantly, have fun.

An a powerful tool an an like our Caddie AI can a be tremendously an helpful here. After a you find the an proper a an teeing a a a ground for your junior - whether a it’s an existing a an marker an or a custom spot in the middle a a of the fairway - you can a ask for a simple, smart a a a strategy an specific to a that approach a a distance. This a a takes an the intimidation an out of new an a shots a and gives them a confident a a plan, allowing a them a to a focus on making their an best a a swing.