Interesting! I went through my scorecards for the past season which was twenty four rounds. Three birdies on Par 3's from 160 yards to 195 yards. Five birdies on Par 4's from 329 yards to 410 yards. One birdie on a Par 5 of 560 yards! I have a habit of "putting a little extra" on my tee shot on a Par 5 and it rarely turns out well!
What's YOUR birdie yardage?
"long hitter" is relative, I guess.
I don't have any idea what length of par 3s, 4s, or 5s that I birdie most frequently. I have never tracked it.
I prefer par 3s to be from 115 to about 175, and I like there to be some variety in their lengths. Par 4s over 400 yards are rarely birdies for me. I like 320-390. For par 5s, the longest that I could potentially reach in two would be about 470-480, and it would require two great shots. But it's easier to birdie par 5s than any other type of hole; I generally have shorter approach shots to most par 5s around here.
Again, all guesses, though, since I have no data.
9 months later
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Update! I have played a bit more this season, probably 45 rounds. Here are the birdies(no eagles) in past twenty rounds. Two birdies on Par 3's 161 and 144. Six birdies on Par 4's 325 twice, 333 twice, 344 and 360. One birdie on a Par 5 485. Very similar to my post in January. I am playing better overall but the improvement is mostly just eliminating double or triple bogeys!
livegolf This is a necropost, but the more I think about this, the more I think that these data are meaningless without a control.
For example, what are your bogey lengths? Is there a difference between your birdie lengths and your bogey lengths? That would provide something to really think about. (Sadly, I'd be racking up bogey data a heck of a lot faster than birdie data.)
Maybe I'll do this next year. Just make a spreadsheet with so-called birdie lengths, par lengths, bogey lengths, and double-bogey lengths, and see whether there is anything to this idea.
@ZWExton and @rsvma the point of tracking the yardage is to determine a set of tees you would enjoy the most. The author, Brad Klein of Golfweek wrote, " I’m most comfortable and having the most fun when I’m playing tees in the 6,200-yard range" which is what HIS spreadsheet results were for him.
I don't need to track the yardage of my bogeys or worse. I make a notation on my card what CAUSED the poor play on that hole and work to eliminate them between rounds. If I can get my "Ah Shits" to 5 or less a round, I'm probably scoring in the low 80's or occasionally breaking 80, especially if I'm playing yardage that "I'm most comfortable and having the most fun".
It does lead to a good discussion. The resulting yardage may give you number that provides a good mix of greens in regulation you can hit with an iron to give you a shot at birdies while not playing something so short it becomes a driver and an 8,9, or W all day.
mikeintopeka I had my "ah shits" down to just a few recently. Triple bogeyed the 18th for an 80. 
The yardage stuff comes down to fun I guess, but golf is easier for everyone at every level when it's shorter. That isn't rocket science. Who is making more birdies from 400 than 350?
An 81 from 5,800 is not more impressive than an 88 from 6,800, is it? Score is relative. Longer is harder.
5i distance x 36 still seems the most accurate measure of appropriate course length.
ZWExton right. So I play an old set of irons. My 5-iron would be labeled a 6-iron on today's clubs. So do I multiply the distance I get with the iron that says the number five on it, or do I multiply the distance I get with my 4-iron, which is really a modern 5-iron loft?
Trickier than it seemed, right?
ZWExton An 81 from 5,800 is not more impressive than an 88 from 6,800, is it? Score is relative. Longer is harder.
Good post! I'd take the 88 from 6,800 any day rather than the 81 (or 78 or whatever) from 5,800 as I'd feel I was challenged and rewarded. From anything under 6,000 I still have enough distance off the tee that I'd be hitting a lot of 8,9,W for my approaches and that gets mundane (been there, done that). The caveat is I know there is a day coming when I'll cherish playing from those forward tees AND enjoying it.
Yes, 36 x 5i distance is a lot quicker and doesn't need any further calculations. And in my case, using this method results in just a little longer yardage than the formula I'm tracking...6,255 vs 6,300, so I believe it's another good method too.
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We play from 6400-7000. I don't mind as I like to hit my hybrids and we play a different course every week. My handicap would probably be a stroke or so better if I played the same course most weeks, but that will never happen unless I retire on a course. I feel I can make birdies from any distance and I actually like long par 3's, 180-220, they are challenging. As long as I am still having fun and can hit the ball a decent distance, I do not see me dropping down below 6300-6400ish.
DC300 I get jacked up when I get those intermedia distances that stick me with 50 to 90 yards after the driver... hate those!
You don't carry a 3wd?
My birdies this year have been few and far between. I doubt I've gotten 2 in a single round at all. I'll list them all below.
Par 4, 458 yards
Par 5, 484 yards
Par 5, 513 yards (ok, these two par 5's were the same day)
Par 4, 303 yards
Par 5, 456 yards
Par 4, 307 yards (ok, here were two more the same day. The par 5 was very short. I was playing black tees with a group I met on the first tee and ended up playing the same tees with them)
EAGLE - Par 5, 450 yards
Par 3, 131 yards
Par 4, 313 yards
Par 4, 397 yards
This is back to 7/19. I can add more later, but this shows decent data. Looks like my birdies are the result of me pulling my head outta my arse to hit a decent drive. I don't get many on par 3's.
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puttnfool - I plugged your yardages into my spreadsheet and your "fun distance" would be from tees that measure around 5983 yards. The lone birdie on a short Par 3 and too many birdies on really short Par 4s weighed your averages down. I'm guessing your average distance for a 5i is greater than 166 yards in the alternate calculation being kicked around here.
It's all about putting for me. I don't make birdies cause I can't putt, period. Anything outside 3 feet is an adventure. I shot an 80 in a tournament with 37 putts. Hit 5 of the first 6 GIR and three putted 4 of them. And I'm talking from 8-15 feet.
I don't like par 3's where I need to hit anything longer than a 7 iron. I feel a par 3 should be a scoring hole.
mikeintopeka
My almost certain yardage is 6".
I think I've only had maybe 6-8 birdies all year. I just don't have length enough from the tee box to get into decent birdie range anymore. I can only think of two birdies that I made with a putt. The others came from chipping in from short of or beside the green. I would call decent birdie range on a par four as being 85-100 yds.out after my drive. Our 9-hole course has three par 3 holes. #3 is 190 yds. somewhat uphill and into a prevailing wind that reaches 20-30 MPH a good share of the time. I can no longer reach that unless there is no wind. #6 is 172 yds. and I rarely hit it although I can reach it much of the time. #8 is 184 yds. with the green 40-50 feet below the tee box. The wind is mostly from the left here. I rarely hit this green either unless the wind is behind me or there is no wind. I'm told that it's quite unusual to have three par-3's with each of them playing more than 170 yds. from the tee box.
Interesting read. I really don’t make enough birdies or eagles for that matter to develop a real number. Thinking about it, the yardage number that would carry more meaning for me is what some call ‘go to number’. The approach shot, be it the par 3 tee ball, the par 4 or par 5 shot to the green is to me what sets up the scoring opportunity.
The other number that is of interest to me is the number of shots that find the putting surface from various yardages, 75, 100, 125, 150, etc.
An average can mask too many variables that could lead to disappointment in scoring.
Course length is another subject altogether IMO.
The 5 iron rule of thumb originated back in the 70s as I recall. A 5 iron was about 32 degrees. Today a 6 or even 7 iron is about 30 to 32 degrees, so maybe the rule should be updated. The PGA and USGA published a Tee It Forward chart based on driving distance. I most would be surprised at the recommended course length.
Driver Recommended
Distance 18-Hole Yardages
275 6,700-6,900
250 6,200-6,400
225 5,800-6,000
200 5,200-5,400
175 4,400-4,600
150 3,500-3,700
125 2,800-3,000
100 2,100-2,300
My guessing few of us follow the guidelines…