Tee to Green Series, Part 4: Fairways

It’s the first place the player aims. For each player (Scratch and Bogey, Men and Women) we go to the center of the Fairway for our Landing Zone.

Fairway is the evaluation of the difficulty of keeping the ball in the fairway from tee to green. We measure the width of the fairway where the ball lands and along the area until the point where the ball would stop. Average roll out is approximately 20 yards. On courses that are uphill or downhill, shot lengths are adjusted for the different roll out lengths. We consider fairways where mowing patterns change from narrow to wide or meander back and forth. Fairways are ONLY rated for Par4s and 5s. Long par 3’s where a Bogey player cannot reach the green in one full shot are evaluated elsewhere.

Fairway ratings are based on:

• Fairway width in all landing zones
• Hole Length
• Nearby trees, hazards and punitive rough

There is very little subjectivity in Fairways.

If a player Lays Up (either forced or by choice) it decreases the difficulty of the shot. Think about how if a shot is shorter, hitting with a lesser club, the less trouble the player can get into.

Width Adjustments can INCREASE or DECREASE the difficulty of a Fairway rating

The following will INCREASE Fairway difficulty:

• Is the fairway width reduced by a dogleg?
• Are there tree limbs that overhang the edge of a fairway?
• Is the fairway so tilted that a ball may roll out of the fairway and into the rough? (hole #4 at Stone Ridge?)
• Are there severe obstacles (dense trees, deep bunkers, penalty area, OB) on one side of the fairway that forces the player to play to the opposite side?
• Is none of the landing zone visible from the tee, making it difficult to determine the line of play? This one doesn’t occur often in OGA courses as we typically have trees that indicate the general line of play. But if you are lucky enough to play in the desert, maybe you’ve had this happen.

The following will DECREASE difficulty:

• Is there a hillside that will allow a golf ball to roll into the fairway? It effectively makes the fairway wider, less difficult to hit.
• Is the fairway landing zone narrow, but the area around it is mowed short so that a player can hit out of the rough with ease?

Here is what Fairways are not:

• It does not include stance, lie or swing issues, those are Topography (see May ‘25 article)
• It is not the pond that has to be carried to reach the fairway; that is rated under Crossing
• It is not the area in front of the Green on a long Par 3-hole; that is adjusted in Recoverability & Rough
• It is not rough height grass, extreme rough, or desert area that must be carried; depending on the situation, that may be R&R and/or Crossing

Did you know that if the mowing pattern changes the width of fairways from 32 to 27 yards wide (or vice versa) it could impact the Course Rating by 0.3 and the Slope Rating by 1?

Next month, we’ll cover Green Target, the ability to hit and hold the green. Until then, if you have any questions, contact Gretchen Yoder, gretchen@oga.org.