How Long Does It Take to Play 18 Holes of Golf?

Golf is a beautiful game that continues to grow in popularity every year. Currently, there are over 41 million golfers in the United States alone.

People that are just getting into the sport may be eager to play 18 holes of golf. However, they may be in for a rude awakening when they find out how many hours a round of golf can take.

How long does it take to play 18 holes of golf? Here are some of the biggest factors that go into it.

Your Group Size

One factor that you have to consider when determining how long a round of golf will take is how big your group is. Various group sizes go out on a golf course together.

Generally, groups can be as large as four players and as small as one player.

The reason why this comes into play is because of the waiting time that occurs between shots. For example, if four people are playing together, you have to wait for each person to hit their tee shot before you walk over to your ball. The same thing occurs for each shot on the hole after that.

So, instead of moving right along after your shot, you have to wait for three people to finish their shot every time.

Group Skill Level

Another thing that you have to consider is how good your group is at golf. Even if it is just you out there, you can shave some time off of a round of golf if you have a high skill level.

Now, imagine if this level varied with the large groups that you play with. If you have four people that are generally scratch golfers, you should have no problem keeping things moving.

However, if you end up with four players that are very inexperienced golfers, you could be waiting a long time for them to finish each hole. This is why skill level among your group is almost always going to be a factor when it comes to how long it will take for you to finish a round of golf.

Groups Around You

Sometimes, your group is not the only factor when it comes to how long your round is going to take. Unless you are the first group that goes out on a golf course for the day, the groups in front of you could play a part in that time length.

An example could be if you are playing by yourself and there is a group of four golfers in front of you. Because that group has more people to account for, it is going to take longer for them to complete each shot.

It can also come down to differences in skill level between these groups. If your group has all scratch golfers but the group in front of you rarely plays a round of golf, you are likely going to get stuck waiting for them.

Take a look at the size of the groups in front of you and their skill level to get a better idea of this.

Course Difficulty

With so many different golf courses available in the United States, you are bound to run into some that are more difficult than others. Sometimes, this can even happen at the same golf club.

Some golf courses are more friendly to amateurs or those that do not play golf often. Then, there are some golf courses designed specifically for professionals. In other words, the inexperienced golfer may have a rough time on the latter golf course.

Look into how difficult your golf course is supposed to be before you start your round.

Course Size

Golf courses can generally take up a lot of land. However, depending on the way that the golf course was designed, you could end up having to spend a lot of time just walking to your ball or the next hole.

In PGA Tour events, actual stroke play only takes about 45 minutes. However, a round of golf can take over four hours to complete.

What goes into the rest of that time? Well, one of the things that takes up time is walking to your ball after every shot on top of the distance it takes to get to the next hole.

You may want to look up how many miles your golf course takes up and if the holes are located next to each other.

Walking vs. Golf Cart

Finally, you have to consider whether your golf course allows you to drive a golf cart or not. There are some golf courses out there that force players to walk the entire golf course unless they have a medical condition.

Considering that a golf cart is a vehicle that you can drive to your ball and the next hole, it is bound to save you a lot of time in between shots throughout a round. So, if your golf course prohibits golf carts, you could be in for a longer round.