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 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 has almost nothing to do with their age. Walk down the line at any junior tournament, and you'll see a 12-year-old who hits it 240 yards standing right next to a 12-year-old who hits it 150 yards. They are not the same player 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 to play from there is a recipe for frustration. It means they'll be hitting a driver and then a wood or hybrid into almost every green. This isn't fun, it doesn't build skills, and it doesn't reflect how the game is meant to be played. Think about the pros - they hit a variety of clubs for their approach shots, from wedges to mid-irons. The goal is to "scale the course" so our juniors can do the same.

The single most important 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, and focus on scaling the course to fit their 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 number for their carry distance. A launch monitor is the quickest 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 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 and the absolute worst ones. We're 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 shots land. Are they clustering around the 150-yard sign? Just short of the 175-yard marker? Estimate the carry distance (where it lands, not where it rolls to) of their typical shot. This is your number.

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

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

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

The U.S. Kids Golf Longleaf Tee System

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

Here's how it works:

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

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

The Operation 36 Model

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

Here's the process:

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

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

Creating Your Own Yardage: The "Rule of 36"

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

Step 1: The Formula

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

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

170 yards x 36 = 6,120 yards

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

Here are a few more examples:

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

Step 2: Matching it to the Scorecard

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

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

Step 3: Creating Your Custom Teeing Ground

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

Here's how to do it:

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

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

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