A yardage book is a hole-by-hole map with distances, hazards and green information. Learning to read one turns guesswork into a plan for every tee shot and approach.
A yardage book is a hole-by-hole guide to a golf course. Tour caddies are famous for their heavily annotated books, but a good yardage book helps golfers of every level by replacing guesswork with a plan. Many clubs sell them in the pro shop, and digital versions are increasingly common.
What a yardage book shows
The hole layout
An overhead drawing of each hole showing tees, fairway shape, rough, bunkers, water, trees, out-of-bounds lines and the green. Look at the shape before you think about distance: where does the fairway narrow, and where is there room to miss?
Reference points and distances
Books mark distances from fixed reference points: sprinkler heads, fairway markers, the edges of bunkers or a distinctive tree. Distances are usually to the front of the green, and sometimes to the middle and back. Note whether the book uses yards or metres.
Hazard carry numbers
Two numbers are often shown for a bunker or water hazard: the distance to carry it (clear the far side) and to reach it (the near edge). Together they tell you which club lays up safely and which carries comfortably.
Green information
Green pages show the green's outline, depth, tiers and slopes, often with arrows indicating the direction the ground falls. These help you choose where to land approach shots and which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Using the pin sheet
Many clubs provide a daily pin sheet showing the flag position on each green, typically as paces from the front edge and from one side. Add that number to your front-of-green yardage and you have the distance to the flag, even without a rangefinder.
Plan each hole before you play it
- Pick a target, not just a direction. Choose a specific landing area that leaves your preferred approach distance.
- Use your real carry distances, not your best-ever shot. A launch monitor session gives you an accurate carry chart.
- Identify the safe miss. Note which side of the fairway and green has trouble, and aim away from it.
- Consider the green slope when choosing where to land your approach.
- Write notes. After each round, mark what worked: "driver runs through the fairway here", "green slopes more than it looks".
What the Rules allow
Yardage books are permitted under the Rules of Golf. However, the Rules limit the scale and level of detail of green-reading materials: printed or handwritten information about the putting green must meet restrictions on scale and size. Most commercially published club yardage books are designed to comply, but if you play in competitions, check the current Rules and the committee's terms.
Digital yardage books
Apps and devices increasingly combine yardage book information with GPS distances, flyover videos and shot tracking. They are convenient, but the same rules about green-reading information and distance devices apply in competition.
Why accuracy matters
A yardage book is only as good as the survey behind it. If a club renovates a hole or rebuilds a green, the book must be updated. Our guide to how golf course mapping works explains how this data is produced.
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