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Testimonials, mark long is a veteran pga tour caddie. but he doesn’t work for just one player anymore. for many years he has made the yardage and greens books the caddies and players use on the pga tour as well as for the united states open championship, the pga championship and the ryder cup..

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Inside the Yardage Book

It was as if Scottie Scheffler were being asked to divulge some top-secret document. The 2022 Masters champion was in the Press Building earlier this week to take questions as the current prohibitive favorite.

Any clue about his success would get the world closer to understanding the edge he currently holds in the world of golf, particularly if Carl Jackson, a veteran caddie of 54 Masters Tournaments, had dropped a little wisdom on Scheffler prior to his victory. Jackson had opened his yardage book, the Dead Sea Scrolls version of the pocket-sized guide of hole diagrams and yardage numbers that every player and caddie scrutinizes.

“I'm not going to expand too much on Carl's secrets in front of people, but ...,” Scheffler began. “Yeah, he gave me a yardage book [showing] where the grain is, where some of the slopes are. And it's just a yardage book that has some arrows in it. I'm not going to tell you where the arrows are pointing.

“But it's something that I'll kind of review at night, and I always look at it in the lead-up to the Tournament just because there is kind of some weird stuff that goes on around the golf course.”

Even Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, was a bit reserved about sharing his own book when working for Bubba Watson years ago. “I can’t show the inside of the book,” Scott said. “Got to keep some secrets.”

When Augusta National’s all-Black caddie corps worked the Tournament prior to 1983, yardage books were not a thing. Most of the caddies walked the grounds so often they knew the place by heart. The wind swirls at Amen Corner and varies greatly from No. 11 green to No. 12 tee. Most putts break toward Rae’s Creek. And they went from there. Eventually, simple yardage guides were prepared by the course superintendent, or the Club’s caddies simply checked a diagram of the day’s hole location that had been placed on each tee box.

Some Masters participants had compiled their own books prior to Augusta National’s initial supply in 1983, when players were first allowed to bring their own caddies. Using a scorecard, Arnold Palmer trimmed pages from a yellow legal pad and stapled them inside the scorecard to build his own yardage book, probably sometime in the early 1960s. Each hole was drawn in ink with greens, bunkers and notable yardages, including penciled-in math on one hole. Cori Britt, then the vice president at Arnold Palmer Enterprises, discovered the yardage book while searching through a cabinet in Palmer’s Orlando, Fla., office in 2017, six months after Palmer’s death.

Jack Nicklaus was credited with beginning this type of documentation, probably in cahoots with Deane Beman, the future PGA Tour commissioner who was also a detailed planner as a player. In the early 1960s, Nicklaus began charting Augusta National, and in 1963 the Golden Bear had a small notebook jammed in his back pocket. He was believed to be the first player to use such a system in a major championship.

Their books were rudimentary with basic outlines of holes, some yardages for the distance to hazards, layup areas and green complexes with notes drawn in over time.

The first yardage books provided by Augusta National offered the new caddies more information. “Gorjus” George Lucas, a former PGA Tour caddie and experienced course surveyor, was hired by the Club to visit and precisely measure the course to devise his hand-drawn, wallet-sized yardage guide for all caddies and players to use.

Lucas had caddied for many players, including Palmer, from the early 1970s until the early 1980s. Lucas’ calling of creating yardage books began in 1976 and was starting to become a trademark on the PGA Tour – and continues today by other caddie sources – as caddies were provided with more and more guidance as they prepared their players.

Lucas used a wire cable to measure the golf course and later a laser gun and reflective prisms. His books gave exact distances from various spots on the holes, utilizing the usual landmarks, such as sprinkler heads and trees and unusual ones, such as abrupt changes in elevation. He also denoted the depth and rolls in the greens and added the subtle, humorous references such as “J.I.C.” (just in case) for odd positions on the course, “Grand Daddy Choco-Drop” for mounding in the 15th fairway and “H2O” with a fish figure for water hazards.

Most players praised the new books when the caddie ranks opened. Even Nicklaus started to use the new information. “I’ve thrown mine away,” Nicklaus said.

The books have evolved to the point where every detail is shown with more technical drawings and yardages from just about any point on the course. The guides are even more exhaustive in their information with elevation changes and distances all around the greens and their surrounds.

But the key is added notes from walking the course over the years, hearing from other caddies and players and keeping a book updated until the 11th hour. Sort of like Scheffler did with Jackson’s input, talking with the former caddie for Ben Crenshaw, now age 76, in the caddie facility.

Jackson’s knowledge came by learning the course from Willie “Pappy” Stokes, who won five Masters with four players, including Ben Hogan in 1951 and 1953. One of the emphases was finding out where Rae’s Creek is from each green. Jackson felt comfortable in sharing since he retired from caddying in 2015 and because Scheffler was a Texan like Crenshaw. Jackson’s input was instrumental in Jordan Spieth’s 2015 victory.

“It was nice just being able to sit with him and hear his thoughts about this place,” Scheffler said. “He’s such a peaceful guy.”

But for years, Jackson kept his little secrets away from other contending players and their caddies. Bruce Edwards (with Tom Watson) and Steve Williams (with Tiger Woods) had asked Jackson about different aspects of Augusta National. Jim “Bones” Mackay (formerly with Phil Mickelson) was in such awe that he unofficially calls the Golf Services Building, which houses the caddie facilities, the “Carl Jackson House.”

“I remember every year, when I came to Augusta, I would bring an extra pair of shoes,” Williams said in 2017. “I knew what size shoe he was. And I knew, if I'd bring him a brand-new pair of shoes, he would answer a few of my questions, which he did.”

Every little bit helps when it comes to understanding Augusta National via the written elements of the yardage book.

Using Golf Yardage Books to Play Like the Pros

• DESCRIPTION Golfer looking at yardage book
• SOURCE Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images Sport
• PERMISSION Getty Image License

Have you ever wanted to use a golf yardage book? Any televised golf event shows plenty of caddie-player interaction. Before they can decide what club to hit, they must first determine the yardage. PGA Tour and LPGA Tour pros use golf yardage books to help navigate their way from shot to shot. Let's take a look to see if a yardage book could be a good tool for your game.

What is a Golf Yardage Book?

A yardage book is a player’s guide to the golf course. Yardage books contain specific yardages to and from countless points on the golf course so players know exactly how far they stand from their target at all times. Yardage books also detail distances to hazards, what it takes to clear them, and what surrounds them.

Yardage books cover elevation as well, with the course's topography so players know where the high and low points are in the fairways. Yardage books also contain great detail about green complexes, which can be a tremendous advantage not only while putting but also on approach shots and chip shots.

Why Do You Need One?

While yardage books are vital to the success of a professional golfer, their importance correspondingly decreases with the level of competition. That's why you don't see many recreational golfers pulling out a yardage book during a Thursday evening twilight round at your local muni.

Yardage do books come in handy for recreational play in some situations. This is particularly true if you find yourself playing a golf course that you’ve never seen before. Any player can benefit from a yardage book on a course with severe elevation changes. Golf is difficult enough, the more advantages you can give yourself the better off you are. Yardage books give you every measurable course detail, so if one’s available it’s worth having in your back pocket.

Yardage Book vs GPS

You might be wondering why you need a golf yardage book with all of the advancements in golf GPS technology. First, professional golfers are not allowed to use any kind of GPS device. They are, however, allowed to use laser rangefinders in practice rounds. Also, in 2021, the PGA of America began allowing laser rangefinders at its championships, including the PGA Championship, KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and Senior PGA Championship as long as the slope feature is turned off.

Comparing a yardage book to a GPS device can be difficult because, while both serve the same purpose, the difference is in the details. A GPS device gives you satellite yardages, and most allow you to drop a pin where you need to know a distance. A yardage book is a true, pre-measured distance guide that gives you exact yardage without the potential for error when relying on a satellite.

It’s worth noting that you can’t go wrong with having a golf yardage book or a GPS because your yardage is much more accurate with one of those options than if you’re simply relying upon on-course yardage markers.

Where to Buy a Yardage Book?

Most high-end courses sell yardage books in the pro shop, where they cost around $20 to $30.

• DESCRIPTION StrackaLine yardage book and green guide
• SOURCE StrackaLine
• PERMISSION Permission given by StrackaLine

If the course you’re playing doesn’t have a yardage book you can always check out StrackaLine . This company offers both digital and hardcopy yardage and green books. They also offer a yearly subscription where you have unlimited access to all of the courses they have mapped out.

Yardage Book Covers

If you decide to use yardage books you can buy yourself a cool yardage book cover to keep it protected from the elements. You can find classic leather covers or even one in your favorite team’s colors.

Yardage books might seem archaic to the average golfer, but once you use one to save a shot or two, you’ll be hooked. And if you really get hooked, make sure to put them on display or fill up a fishbowl with them for a great souvenir or conversation piece.

Why one caddie holds secret key to success on the PGA Tour

Ancient Egyptians created the Rosetta Stone. Harry Potter began his education at Hogwarts with “The Standard Book of Spells.” Moses carried stone tablets with the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai.

On the PGA Tour, players and caddies have Mark Long’s yardage books .

For more than 20 years, Fred Funk’s former caddie has been putting together the books that players and caddies regard as sacred texts and indispensable guides for navigating every hole on the PGA Tour.

Long recently put together the yardage book for Detroit Golf Club, which will host the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic this week. He shared the method for constructing the books as well as some thoughts on the venerable Donald Ross course that opened in 1916 but is brand new to the players this week.

[ Fans guide to 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic: Everything you need to know ]

The yardage book are ubiquitous on the PGA Tour. Players and caddies carry them in their pockets and consult them before each shot. They show yardages to various targets on each hole, different points of elevation, and a close-up of the green that shows detailed contours and yardages.

To the average recreational golfer, the books might resemble something like hieroglyphics. But to elite players and caddies, the yardage book’s intense detail unlocks the secrets of the course.

“It’s half-an-inch accurate, which is plenty for a yardage book,” Long said. “I still don’t know any pros who can hit within a half an inch. (Former analyst and player Johnny) Miller says he can hit it within half a yard. That’s not a half an inch, though. Pretty good for Johnny.”

Long and his team of assistants get that level of accuracy with some pretty cool high-end equipment.

“We have to map the golf course and there’s different sources of information,” he said. “We can use an aerial photo now and then. We can fly a drone to get information. We have surveying instruments; that’s our main thing. We literally walk around and map the outline of a fairway or map sprinkler heads and things like that. All that goes in out of a (computer-aided design) program.”

From there, the data is entered into a specifically tailored computer program that helps construct the book.

“After that,” Long said, “the fun begins because it’s not just the data. It’s organizing it and measuring everything.”

That’s where Long’s expertise comes in. He caddied on the PGA Tour from 1989 to 2012 and learned exactly what players and caddies need to know about each hole.

“You’ll notice in the book there’s a specific line at a tree for a tee-shot distance,” he said. “I stand on the tee and I can identify what is a tour pro going to ask the caddie. What does he want to know about this tee shot? So that takes a lot of time to write in the books. That’s kind of a big deal to do that well.”

Every hole is different, and Long said that requires him to make a decision about which reference points he measures on each hole.

“Getting the angles right, where do you put lay-ups in?” he said. “You’ve got to know what kind of information do you want on a lay-up. Maybe it’s how much to carry that left part of the fairway or maybe it’s just how far is it to the 78 (yard) sprinkler?

“The knowledge that makes the book good is doing the tee shots and the lay-ups properly. And that’s something that helps to have been a tour caddie for 25 years because you kind of know what everybody wants to know.”

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Long also does a separate greens book in partnership with Michael Mayerle, who owns JMS Geomatics, a mapping and data-acquisition company based in Tucson, Ariz. Mayerle’s company uses a laser to scan over a million points on each green to measure within one-eighth of an inch of accuracy.

This kind of information is priceless. The funny thing is that it’s practically free. The yardage books cost between $40 and $100. At Detroit Golf Club, the yardage books were free to caddies and players.

“Most of the tournaments buy them at a disgustingly huge discount from me,” Long said. “That way we can give them to players and caddie for free, because I’ve got to take care of all my millionaires. I’m just talking about caddies there, by the way.”

The greens books cost $165 and are sold directly to players and caddies. Long, who caddied most of his career using the yardage books compiled by former Arnold Palmer caddie George Lucas, said every player and caddie on the PGA Tour uses his yardage books. He estimated about 70% of caddies use a greens book.

To illustrate the essential importance of the yardage book and the rigorous requirement for its accuracy, Long has to return to every PGA Tour course every year to record even the slightest changes for that season’s tournament. He has done over 60 versions alone of a yardage book for Pebble Beach Golf Links, the site of this year's U.S. Open.

“The thing that the general public might find hard to believe or wrap their head around,” Long said, “is that these guys are so good when they’re playing well, when they’re on, that if you told a guy he’s 138 (yards away) or 140, that could change everything in how you play a shot. It could completely change club selection, how you play a shot into a hole. Two yards at 140, that could change everything.”

Long also does work for the LPGA and constructs the yardage books for all USGA amateur championships. He has done yardage books for over 200 courses. Seeing a multitude of championship-level courses gives plenty of weight to the praise Long bestowed on Detroit Golf Club.

“I think the guys are going to love the golf course,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a single guy who’s going to have a negative comment about that golf course. I think it’s one of the better courses on tour for sure. Everybody’s going to love it.

“It’s just a nice, classic, nothing-silly golf course and every hole’s kind of different and memorable. I just love it. It’s right up there. I wouldn’t put too many courses on the tour ahead of it.”

Contact Carlos Monarrez at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

Yardage Book: A page from a pro

Vijay Singh confers with his caddie Paul Tesori before putting on the third green during the first round of the 2006 Masters.

Vijay Singh from Fiji, talks to his caddie Paul Tesori, on the first fairway prior to a shot during the third round of the 2001 Masters.

The data Paul Tesori collects in his Masters Tournament yardage book goes beyond the distance from tee to green.

A glance at one of veteran PGA Tour caddie Paul Tesori’s Masters yardage books shows just how specialized “the book” can be.

APPROACH SHOT: Tesori charts eight pieces of information on each approach shot to the 18th green. His marks are outlined in red and explained below:

PIN PLACEMENT: Tesori recorded where the pin was located on No. 18 in each round of the Masters from 2006-10. His marks from the second round of the 2007 tournament are explained below.

Augusta's Jerry Beard caddied in 26 Masters, including for Fuzzy Zoeller in his 1979 win. Beard memorized yardage from trees and other course landmarks.

Veteran PGA Tour caddie Paul Tesori and Webb Simpson congratulate each other on the 18th green after Simpson triumphed at the U.S. Open last June at Olympic Club.

Webb Simpson, bottom, looks over a putt with caddie Paul Tesori during the first round of the BMW Championship PGA golf tournament at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. in 2012.

Webb Simpson and his caddie Paul Tesori line up a shot on the first hole during the final round of the Greenbrier Classic PGA Golf tournament at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. in 2012.

AN OPEN BOOK

PGA Tour caddie Paul Tesori has detailed information in his Augusta National yardage books that he accumulated in 10 years of caddying in the Masters Tournament, but he isn’t worried about revealing some of the secrets to other caddies and their players.

“That’s nothing for me to hide,” Tesori said.

“Before they let us walk the golf course, I might have been a little more fretting about some of the information because it took me so many years (to compile it).

“But now, they let the caddies go out (and walk the course) without the players, so most of the caddies have good information.”

CHAPTER 2: CADDIES TURN THE PAGE

These days, there’s a lot more than numbers in the yardage books used by veteran caddies in the Masters.

Caddie Paul Tesori has added eight pieces of information – only three of which involve yardages – to his copy of the book provided by Augusta National.

He charts the wind direction that day, whether it is an uphill or downhill shot, the yardage to the front of the green, the yardage to the pin, what club was hit, how the club was hit, the distance the shot flew in the air and where the shot finished.

That’s a far cry from the pre-1970s, before yardage books. Back then, Augusta National caddies memorized yardages from landmarks such as trees.

“When I caddied, I knew what the yardage from that tree on the right side of the trap on No. 1 was to where the pins would be,” said 71-year-old Augustan Jerry Beard, who caddied in 26 Masters (1956-65 and 1967-82) and helped Fuzzy Zoeller win the 1979 Masters as a Masters rookie.

The advent of yardage books did away with “landmark yardage.”

“Why would you want to use a landmark that is way over there when you can use a sprinkler head that is right here?” asked Mike Cowan, who will be caddying in his 30th consecutive Masters this year.

Jim Mackay has caddied for three-time champion Phil Mickelson in all 20 of his Masters appearances. He said he has cataloged every one of Mickel­son’s shots in the Masters, but because of the advances in the golf ball and equipment, “95 percent of those numbers have become unusable.”

Mackay has kept every yardage book from the Mick­el­son years in the Masters, with those from the three victories stored “in a special place in my closet,” he said.

“What I have that I really like for me, as a caddie, is the pin sheets,” he said. “You can go to them and see he had 212 (yards to the pin on his second shot) on (the par-5) No. 15. It helps you remember the shots from his wins there.”

Mackay doesn’t have a yardage book for each year Mickelson played in the Mas­ters.

“Some of it would come down to superstition,” Mackay said. “If he’d won the previous year, I would certainly use it again.”

CHAPTER 3: A PAGE FROM A PRO

THE FINE PRINT

APPROACH SHOT: Tesori charts eight pieces of information on each approach shot to the 18th green. His marks on the fifth line (first line below the box) are explained below:

166f: The distance to front of the green was 166 yards.

177pn: The distance to the pin is 177 yards.

+8: The shot was uphill, 8 yards.

18: The wind was blowing 18 mph, slightly to the right

7: The player used a 7-iron to the green.

HC: The player’s shot was a high cut.

169: The shot flew 169 yards in the air

175: The shot traveled 175 yards after it rolled out.

PIN PLACEMENT: Tesori recorded where the pin was located on No. 18 in each round of the Masters from 2006-10. His marks from the second round of the 2007 tournament  (second column, third row) are explained below:

28: The number of paces from the front of the green to the pin was 28.

4R: The pin was positioned four paces from the right edge of the green.

4o: The number of paces over an obstacle, such as a bunker, was four.

6B: The distance from behind the pin to the edge of the green was six paces.

ON THE GREEN

The arrows indicate the direction putts will break, based on Tesori’s past experience at Augusta National Golf Club.

Tesori marks the percent of the slope on the 18th green in three areas: 5 percent, 6.5 percent and 4.8 percent.

At the bottom right of the green, “R.C.” stands for Rae’s Creek and what Tesori calls the Rae’s Creek Influence on putts at Augusta National. Putts will break toward the portion of Rae’s Creek behind the 11th green, the lowest point on the course.

From AugustaChronicle.com »

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How to Use Golf Yardage Books and Pin Sheets

If you’re like most golfers, chances are you’ve wondered… “Are yardage books worth it?”

A lot of times a yardage book will be on the counter in the pro shop, but most guys skip them entirely. But chances are, you probably see the guys on the PGA Tour using them every week and assume they’re only for professionals.

But here’s the thing, a yardage book (or digital yardage book) can make a huge difference in your golf game. For one main reason: they give you more information to select and commit to a shot .

As golf continues to evolve, so has yardage books, which can feel like a personal caddy on the course . You can then use that information to select the right club off the tee , avoid trouble, and they can even help you on the greens.

To help you avoid overwhelm, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the new types of yardage books, how to use them, and more. Let’s take it one step further and break this down into yardage books and pin sheets. Once you learn how to use both, your golf game can reach heights you never thought possible.

Yardage Books 101

Let’s get right into it…

What is a Yardage Book?

A yardage book is a small guide to help you navigate the golf course. Each book is custom-made for the specific golf course to help you map out each hole and have a solid strategy.

All yardage books include:

• Hole number and layout.
• Total distance from each tee box.
• Distance to hazards and fairway bunkers.
• Distances from the fairway/rough based on sprinkler heads.
• An overview of the green, including green depth/size and tiers.

Additionally, some yardage books have even more information like:

• Slopes of fairways.
• Hole direction (to help factor in wind).
• Slope of the green for your approach shot.
• Detailed analysis of the green including breaks, slopes, and tiers.
• Distances between tee boxes which make it easy to calculate carry distances to hazards, bunkers, and other features.

How to Use Yardage Books

Yardage books are pretty straightforward to read and use compared to pin sheets (more on that in the next section). To use your yardage book, follow these steps:

• Locate the hole and tee box you’re playing.
• For example, it might say #1 is a Par 4 and 444 yards from your tee box.
• Then, scan the page to see the distances to hazards that you want to avoid (like fairway bunkers, water, and/or tree clusters).
• Then, identify your ideal landing spot and use the right club off the tee.

Depending on the yardage book type, it can also help you with your approach shot as well. Some detailed yardage books will help you understand the slope of the green, size of the bunkers, and more.

Also, if you’re more of a visual learner, make sure to watch this one-minute explainer video on how to use a yardage book. Click here to watch now.

Types of Yardage Books

There are three main types of yardage books that I’ve encountered over the years. Here is a breakdown of each one and estimated price.

• Level 1 : These are more of a “generic” yardage book that focuses more on hole by hole overview than anything else. These are usually available in pro shops and cost between $10-20. They’re great for beginners and have just enough numbers to not overcomplicate things. Don’t expect any green reading features with these books, but still much more information than a typical scorecard provides.
• Level 2 : These are more advanced than level one and usually between $20-$40, depending on if you buy online or in the pro shop. These books are favored more by lower handicap golfers and include extra information about greens, fairway slopes, distances from the back of the tee boxes, and more.
• Level 3 : The final level is the most comprehensive type of yardage book. These are not for beginners as they have so many numbers and arrows it’s easy to get confused. Instead, they are for elite players who want as much information as possible. These types of yardage books usually include a hole overview and tons of information about the greens. A good example of these books is PuttView . These are usually $40-$50 and provide everything you need to know about each hole on the golf course.

Yardage Book Accessories

If you choose to purchase and use a yardage book, make sure to buy a yardage book holder as well. This will help them last much longer and ensure that moisture from sweat or rain in your pocket doesn’t affect the paper.

Here are a few great picks on Amazon to carry your book, pin sheet, and scorecard:

• Craftsman Crocodile Scorecard Holder : This is made from high quality Pu leather and available in five different colors.
• USA Stars and Stripes Holder : This is a great way to protect your book, hold your pencil, and show off your patriotic spirit too.

These are small investments and well worth it! Paired with a rangefinder, your game will be lethal from tee to green.

Digital Yardage Books (Golf GPS Devices)

If you don’t like carrying a yardage book, no problem. Now, you can use a golf GPS device which provides a ton of the same data or use a golf app. Some of the best golf apps to try out are:

• Yardage Book (by BlueGolf)

Pin Sheets 101

Now that you have a good understanding of yardage books, let’s take it to the next level. The next thing that will really help your game in tournaments is learning how to read a pin sheet.

Unless you’re playing a really high-end golf course, don’t expect pin sheets for every round though. But whenever I do show up to a fancy course and see daily pin sheets, I know it’s likely a great course. Sadly, pin sheets are usually reserved for competitive events as they take extra time and effort by the course to provide.

What is a Pin Sheet?

A pin sheet is a single piece of paper that has the pin locations for all 18 holes on the course. It provides in-depth information about the location of the pin and the size of the green to help your approach shot strategy.

A pin sheet might look like hieroglyphics though if you don’t know what you’re doing. But once you learn the basics, they’re pretty easy to understand.

Why is a Pin Sheet Important?

A pin sheet is important as it tells you a ton about your approach shot. When you know exactly how far a pin is located on the green or from the edge, it makes it easier to choose your target.

It also makes it clear if the pin is front, middle, or back so you can be strategic about what distance you want to play. Most importantly, a pin sheet can help you miss in the right spot by making sure you don’t short side yourself.

How Do You Read a Pin Sheet?

Like I mentioned above, a pin sheet might feel a little like trying to read hieroglyphics if you’re new to the game. But once you learn how to read a pin sheet, they’re actually pretty simple.

A pin sheet has 18 circles, each representing 1 of the 18 holes on the course. Usually the 18 circles are divided into three columns of six to make it easy to fold and store in your yardage book. The left side is holes 1-6, the middle column is 7-12, and the right is holes 13-18.

Here’s how to decipher each pin location:

• Green size: 90% or more of the time the pin sheet will have the total depth of the green. This can get a little confusing as the pin sheet always has a circle but as you know, most greens aren’t perfect circles. For example’s sake, let’s say it’s 38 yards deep.
• Pin Numbers : Once you locate the hole you’re on, then you’ll see two numbers. Let’s say it’s 21 to center and 7 from the right. This means that the pin is located 21 yards away from the front of the green and 7 yards away from the right side of the green. I t’s important to note that these are always measured in yards, not feet!
• Plus/Minus Yardage : Finally, the pin sheet might also have a plus or minus sign that represents if the pin is short or long of center. For this example, if the green is 38 yards deep and the pin is 21 yards on, that means it would say 2 or +2. Since the center of the green is 19 yards (38 divided by 2), 21 yards is two paces (aka yards) long of center.

Additionally, some pin sheets might also have a box to help you keep track of your stats. Some will have a checkbox to mark if you hit the fairway, green, total number of putts, and your score.

FAQs About Yardage Books and Pin Sheets

Do you have even more questions about yardage books and pin sheets? Hopefully, we’ll cover them in our frequently asked questions and answers below.

Do all golf courses have yardage books?

No, not every golf course has a yardage book, which is very unfortunate as they are super helpful for some golfers. But just because your local golf course doesn’t offer yardage books in the pro shop, doesn’t mean you can’t get them.

Instead, you just need to find them online. Here are some of the best custom yardage books that you can buy online:

• PuttView – 30,000 courses worldwide
• GolfLogix – 35,000 courses worldwide
• Strackaline – Yardage books & putting books
• Long Yardage Books – The #1 choice of professional golfers

Should I use a yardage book or a golf GPS?

It’s 100% personal preference. Both can help you miss in the right spot and not minimize course management mistakes.

Do yardage books help you read greens?

Yes, some yardage books can help you read greens too. Not only do they help you with full swing shots, but more yardage books also offer tons of information about the green.

A lot of them have slopes, arrows showing the break, and even more features. But remember, not every book has green features, so double check before buying online or in the pro shop.

Are yardage books legal?

Yes, yardage books are legal for tournament play.

Do they make blank yardage books?

Yes, thankfully they do make blank yardage books now. If you play a course regularly and can’t find a professional one, you can always map out your own yardage book.

This blank yardage book from Score Snapshot is perfect. Here’s why we love it:

• USGA conforming.
• Comes in a 4-pack.
• Has a blank space for course/yardage.
• Contain pages for distances, notes, and green mapping pages too.
• Made of high quality, 80 pound text paper stock which won’t rip easily.

How much do yardage books cost?

Prices of yardage books can range greatly from course to course and more importantly, what the yardage book tells you. Some might cost $10 and provide a layout of the hole and a few numbers to help you off the tee.

While other yardage books will help you pretty much everything from:

• Carry distances.
• Green contours/slopes.

And more. These in-depth range books can range from $30 to $50 but well worth it as they provide tons of useful information.

Where do pro golfers get their yardage books?

According to several sites, most (if not all) of the PGA Tour players use Mark Long yardage books. Mark Long is a former PGA Tour caddie for Fred Funk and now makes these indispensable guides for the best players in the world.

Click here to learn more about these yardage books and see if they have one for your favorite course(s).

Should I use a yardage book?

So, are yardage books worth it?

My answer: It depends.

If you’re someone who can’t break 90 yet, then I would skip the yardage books for now. In all likelihood, it’ll only slow down the pace of play and might make things harder on you.

But if you’re someone who can break 90 and wants to lower your handicap, then yes a yardage book is so worth it. A yardage book might help you have 3-5 (or more) strokes as you can have a better strategy on each shot and keep the momentum going.

Final Thoughts

Yardage books aren’t for everyone, but if you’re a committed golfer, I highly recommend using them. I’ve gotten to the point where I have 20+ yardage books for all my local courses as I’ve acquired over the years.

I write detailed notes and identify targets so I can show up ready to play, even if it’s been a while since I played the golf course.

Additionally, if you play a lot of competitive golf , learning how to use a pin sheet is vital to help you shoot lower scores. Paired together, they make a powerful 1-2 combo to help your game go from good to great!

If you choose to use one or both of these aids, please do not let it slow down the pace of play. This will frustrate your playing partners and likely make you play worse, not better. But once you get the hang of them, they’re a great resource to add to your pre-shot routine .

What Do Pros Have in Their Yardage Books? Things Have Changed

Written by Graeme Hay | Last Updated: 12/03/2024

One of the key advantages pro golfers take onto any golf course is preparation.

They are clearly superb golfers and massively more skilled than amateurs but how they prepare to play a golf course is another major differentiator from regular players and one vital aspect of that for many Tour pros is the information and notes they have in their yardage book.

As a whole pros have information on wind direction, yardages to and from various targets, fairway and green elevation changes, and images and diagrams of holes in their yardage books. Pros also add reminder notes specific to their own game and details collected during practice rounds or past tournaments at the same course.

The depth of information that PGA Tour pros have in their yardage books is incredible and to the layman it can often look like a baffling array of numbers and notes which belong more in an academic textbook rather than a golf notebook.

The volume of information in pro yardage books has also got ever more complex over the years and added to this myriad of numbers that already come in a yardage book issued at a PGA Tour event individual caddies and players will then add their own notes based on past experience and their practice rounds.

Indeed some players, like the great Tiger Woods, add notes based on where TV towers and grandstands have been placed in past tournaments!

However the rules on what players can and can’t write in their yardage books have changed and may change again in the future.

Also different pros have different relationships with yardage books.

While some feel they can not live without them others prefer not to carry one at all on the basis that they believe they do them more harm than good!

“I don’t know if I could actually play the golf course (The Old Course at St Andrews) without the TV towers because in all my yardage books it’s all based on grandstands and TV towers for alignment. We check them as we play our practice rounds to make sure they are in the exact same spots as they were. If not you shift your [aiming] lines over.” Tiger Woods (Source: The Open)

PGA Tour Yardage Books Are Accurate to Half an Inch!

The yardage books the pros have in their back pocket have come a long way.

In the 1970s nobody really had any real measurements to carry about notebooks and often relied just on pacing out certain shots.

Then caddies such as Pete Coleman, who worked for many major champions including Bernhard Langer, Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros, started to bring their expertise from outside of golf into the game and used measuring wheels to put together much more accurate and reliable yardage books.

Since that time the technological revolution which has hit golf clubs has also hit the world of yardage books and today multiple devices, including drones and high tech surveying instruments, are used to put together notebooks which contain all the details about a golf course the pros could ever want.

On the PGA Tour, pros and caddies have relied on the yardage books of Fred Funk’s former caddie Mark Long for over 20 years and these have an incredible amount of information in them including:

• Photo of the hole from the tee
• Alternative overview diagram of the tees, the fairway and green
• Wind direction compass
• Yardages to and from various areas to the front, middle and other specifically identified points on the green.
• Different points of elevation
• Close ups of the greens illustrating contours and yardages.

Indeed pro yardage books are so precise that the detail included for every hole is unique as different points are used to provide reference yardage points.

“[PGA Tour yardage books] are half an inch accurate …. We have to map the golf course and there’s different sources of information. We can use an aerial photo now and then. We can fly a drone to get information. We have surveying instruments; that’s our main thing. We literally walk around and map the outline of a fairway or map sprinker heads and things like that. All that goes in out of a (computer-adied-design) program.” Mark Long, producer of PGA Tour Yardage books

So much data and information are now available about PGA Tour golf courses that in recent times separate ‘greens books’ have been produced, in addition to the full hole yardage books, to provide exact details about the contours of each and every green.

Examples of the images included in these ‘greens books’ are shown below and amazingly these are put together through the use of a laser which measures each green to within one-eighth of an inch of accuracy!

And the quest for the perfect information in pro yardage books does not end there as every year these books are updated to record any changes that have been made at the course since the tournament was played the season before.

This is also not mentioning the ‘pin sheet’ which is provided to the pros each day of tournament play which includes how far the pin is from the centre of the green and from the edges of the green it is closest too!

[Editor’s note – Yardage books at Augusta for the Masters are different to the standard PGA Tour ones and only give one yardage from specified fairway spots to the front of the green]

Things don’t stop there however when it comes to the information the pros have in their yardage books.

The yardage books which are issued on the PGA Tour for each event are just the start. Each individual player and caddie can then start to add more notes to them specific to how they want to play the hole.

At its most basic some pros and caddies will simply transfer the information from the day’s pin sheet into the yardage book while others will make important reminders they don’t want to forget when they reach that hole.

A great example of this is the image below from Collin Morikawa’s yardage book for the famous par-3 12th hole at Augusta where he quite clearly does not want to forget that lots of great players have found a watery grave by aiming too far right on that green!

Others, including the great Tiger Woods, will add notes to their yardage books in relation to where they want to aim based on where grandstands and TV towers are positioned and will then check whether they have moved from the previous tournament when they return a year or number of years later.

As a consequence some pros yardage books can be seen as a bit of a time capsule recording the yardages, how a course was set up and what different clubs and approaches to holes they took in a specific tournament and year.

Indeed some pros such as Ian Poulter have made a feature out of all their yardage books in their homes! Check out the video below!

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ian Poulter (@ianjamespoulter)

Different Pros Use Yardage Books in Different Ways

A yardage book is handed to every pro and caddie at the start of every tournament.

And given the detailed information which they include you may think that all the pros carry them in their back pocket and refer to them constantly throughout their round.

However just like every pros swing is different, individual pros use yardage books in different ways.

Some pros rely on them totally, see them as a vital tool and will add a huge amount of extra notes to the already massive amount of data they already include when handed over to them.

“My head’s in [my yardage book]. I’m always looking at yardage books … I feel like the yardage book is really crucial to kind of know where you want to position the golf ball, how far you want to hit off the tee and what club you need to use.” Former Masters Chamption, Patrick Reed

Former Masters champion Patrick Reed for example says he is constantly looking at his yardage book while former USPGA champion Keegan Bradley uses it as a key part of his routine taking it out and checking it for every shot.

He also uses it as a guide adding extra notes to it such as “one shot at a time” to help remind him to stay focused.

Others, including 2-time PGA Tour winner Matt Jones, not only use them as much as they can but also use them in co-ordination with their caddies with both using their own individual notebooks on every hole to get a yardage and then cross-checking their numbers to confirm they are right.

There are then other groups of pros however who actually don’t use their yardage books at all and rely entirely on their caddies to give them the correct yardage and details for every shot they play.

2-time Masters Champion, Bubba Watson, former British Open Champion Shane Lowry and 4-time major winner Brooks Koepka are examples of pros who don’t carry a yardage book for a variety of reasons.

Brooks Koepka for example used to carry a yardage book but stopped because he felt he got too detail-orientated as a result and it led him to focus too much on the negatives, such as where all the bunkers and hazards were, before each shot.

Bubba Watson doesn’t carry one meanwhile because he feels he remembers everything well enough in his head from past tournaments and indeed tests himself each tournament against his caddie who carries a yardage book complete with details from the last 5 years!

“I don’t carry a yardage book. Teddy (caddie) carries that thing around. Teddy writes down the last 5 years roughly until a new yardage book comes out but I remember it all. I can tell him 7 years ago what club we hit, which way the wind was going and he’ll look in his book and go. Yeah, you’re right.” 2-time Masters Champion, Bubba Watson

And the different habits and quirks between pros and their yardage books don’t end there.

The great Tiger Woods for example will always carry his yardage book in his back right pocket but if he’s only carrying a pin sheet without a yardage book then he will place the pin sheet in his front left pocket!

So as you can see while all the pros and their caddies get issued with yardage books they all use them in whatever way they feel will allow them to play their best.

What Pros are Allowed to Write in Yardage Books Has Changed

Technology, in the same way it has done with golf clubs, has transformed the yardage books pros use.

High tech survey instruments, lasers and even drones are now used to put together the supremely detailed yardage books PGA Tour pros and their caddies carry around but one thing that has not changed is the additional notes players and caddies add to their notebooks.

However much information they have contained in the past up to the present day pros and caddies have always written extra notes in their yardage books.

As a general rule golfers write notes in their yardage books that are specific to their game and course strategy. Added details include wind strength and direction, clubs played, club speeds and spin rates recorded in practice rounds and past years’ events. Reminder notes on how to play the hole are also often written.

However like the distance debate in golf many people have become concerned about the level of detail now included and available to be added as notes to yardage books believing that is reducing the amount of skill required.

As a result in 2022 the PGA Tour introduced a new ‘player driven’ rule that not only reduced the information available to pro golfers and their caddies about the greens on a course but also the type of handwritten notes they would be allowed to add to their yardage books.

From 2022 onwards PGA Tour pros and their caddies will therefore be given a ‘Tour approved’ yardage book at every event they play and although it will contain the same information from tee to green the data provided when it comes to the greens has been hugely reduced.

All the detailed information shown in the example green images above has been removed and the green diagrams in the new yardage books only include the shape and depth of a green, as well as small lines and arrows that highlight any slopes that measure 4.5% or more.

In addition pros are only able to add handwritten notes about the greens that come ‘directly from the naked eye.’

As a result golfers and caddies can add handwritten notes about greens and slopes only if it has been gathered with their own eyes and not if it has been told to them by someone else or been gathered with the help of slope-reading technology.

On PGA Tour,if,before the round,your coach comes to you and says “8 is playing extremely long. No one has gotten it to the green today.”You can write that down.If he says “that putt on 8 today is extremely slow. No one has gotten it to the hole.” You cannot write that down. — John Wood (@Johnwould) January 6, 2022

This rule change about handwritten notes has in particular proved controversial as lasers, launch monitors and another tech can still be used anywhere other than on the greens to measure and add notes on distance or slope percentage or any other data the pro wants.

“The purpose of this rule is to return to a position where players and caddies use only their skill, judgment and feel along with any information gained through experience, preparation, and practice to read the line of play on the putting green,” said a memo the PGA Tour sent to players.

However many, including the youngest member of Golf Magazine’s “Top 100 Teachers in America” Chris Como and renowned putting coach Phil Kenyon, have questioned the sense of the new handwritten notes rule on the basis of it only being applied to putting and the greens and not other areas of the course.

“What a ridiculous rule. It’s stupid in fact. It serves no purpose. It’s indeed skill limiting.” wrote Kenyon on Twitter and this comment was quickly agreed with by Bryson DeChambeau who has long been a big believer in a data-driven approach to golf.

Chris Como added: “Anything that impedes innovation of thought or practices takes away from the beauty of the game. I think it’s a mistake to go down the ‘if you’re going to do it in putting do it across the board’ rabbit hole. Just don’t do it!!! One of the great joys of this game is the endless treasure hunt of finding small edges that add up over time.”

Whether the rule remains or not however one thing is clear.

Pros and their caddies will continue to write any handwritten notes into their yardage books that they feel will help their game and are within the rules of the game.

Other great articles related to this topic:

• Are There Any PGA Tour Pros Without a Hole in One?
• What Percentage of Putts Do Pros Make? TV Does Not Tell the Story
• How Often Do Pros Hit Driver? Not As Much As You Think!
• How Far Do Pro Golfers Hit Each Club? A 2022 Guide
• What Clubs Do Pro Golfers Use? Top 100 PGA Tour Player Guide
• Most Popular Driver on LPGA Tour? Top 50 Player Guide
• Do Golf Pros Wear Metal Spikes? But They are Banned!
• The PGA Tour’s Rising Driver Ball Speeds Mean One Thing – $$
• How Many Balls Do Pros Hit Before a Round? That’s Not the Point!
• What is Considered a Long Golf Course? The Long and Short of It
• Going the Distance? How Far Should Beginners Hit A Golf Ball?
• 10 Best Golf Stats to Keep Track of. Start with ‘Major Mistaks’
• Good Putting Numbers – It’s About 3 Putts Not Putts per Round

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Masters 2021: Collin Morikawa's yardage book reveals the work pros put in to prep for Augusta National

Augusta National has been dissected front to back, fall and spring, inside and out. If you’re a Masters nut like we are, you know the intricacies of every hole. You know where they put the pins on Sunday. You may even know how the course has changed throughout the years .

The players know this stuff, too. But, as you might imagine, their x’s and o’s knowledge of golf’s most iconic venue runs much deeper.

Each participant in the Masters is given a yardage book when they register on tournament week. As you’ll see in a minute, these AGNC yardage books are significantly less detailed than the ones a PGA Tour player gets at “normal” events. Think of it as a canvas—it provides the bare bones information you need to play the course. After that, it’s up to the player and his caddie to add detail.

The cover of Collin Morikawa's Augusta National yardage book

Learning the quirks of the golf course is an indelible part of the Masters mystique. Augusta is known as perhaps the ultimate “local knowledge” course; it’s so unique in design and specific in the questions it asks players. There’s a reason so many past champions hang around the leader board long after they’ve reached PGA Tour Champions eligibility, and why no one has won the Masters in their tournament debut since 1979.

Collin Morikawa learned this first-hand. The World No. 4 and Golf Digest playing editor took his first-Masters lumps when he finished T-44 last November, and he struggled with both his swing and getting comfortable on the grounds. Seeing as Monday of tournament week marked the first time he’d ever played Augusta National, his yardage book is not nearly as detailed as someone who’s played the event 20 times.

“Look how new this one looks!” jokes the 24-year-old. “I want this to look pretty beat up by the time I’m done.

But being the cerebral student of the game that he is, there’s already plenty in there to give you an insider’s look into how a tour pro prepares for the Masters.

The first thing that jumps out about an Augusta yardage book compared to a normal PGA Tour yardage book is the level of detail. Here’s a normal yardage book showing the first hole at Bay Hill.

Take a look at the bottom section, which shows the fairway. Each dot corresponds to a sprinkler head on the ground. Traditionally, sprinkler heads show the distance from that spot to the middle of the green. But tour pros typically aren’t concerned with the middle yardage; they want to know how far it is to the front of the green. They take that number and then look at their pin sheet for the day, which tells them how many yards on the green a flag is.

So the big, bolded number under each dot is the number to the front of the green. The number in parentheses, above the dot, is what the sprinkler head actually says on it. But remember, this is the distance to the middle of the green, so it’s irrelevant in calculating distances.

You’ll also notice two other numbers next to each dot. The number on the left is how far it is to that spot from the back of the main tee box. The number on the right of the dot is the slope.

If this is all getting a bit much, let’s run a quick example. Say the tee markers were 5 yards off the back of the tee box, and a player’s tee shot finishes right next to the dot with 117 under it. That means he hit his tee shot 320 yards off the tee (325 from the back of the box, minus five because the tee markers were closer). The sprinkler next to his ball will say 128, but the player and caddie will focus on the 117 number to the front edge. Then, the slope reading is +2, meaning it plays two yards uphill to the green. So, we’re at 119 to the front. He then looks at his pin sheet and sees the flag is 8 yards on the green. So, now we’re at 127. Now say he wants to land it three yards short of pin high. We’re at 124. It’s a little into the wind. Now we’re at 129. That is, more or less, how a PGA Tour player calculates a yardage.

Now have a look at the Augusta yardage book for the 11th hole.

You’ll see that there is only one number next to each dot—the front of the green yardage. There’s no information as to how far it is to that spot from the tee, nor is there any slope information for the approach shot. This leaves a little more work for the player/caddie.

“Our caddies are so amazing,” Morikawa says, “and J.J. [Jakovac] is awesome—any number that I would need at any other event, he’s already calculated it.”

Morikawa has -7 and -8 in his book for different parts of the fairway, meaning he’s either playing seven or eight yards downhill, depending on where his ball ends up. Players are permitted to use distance-measuring devices with slope during practice rounds at the Masters, but Morikawa doesn’t follow them blindly.

“Normal yardage books have elevation, but what I’ve learned is that they’re not as accurate sometimes, and sometimes they’re a little more than what I like to play. Sometimes I like to play slightly less. And sometimes it’s all about feel. I don’t care if the laser tells me it’s down 10. I don’t feel that, I might want to play down seven.

Next comes the fun part: Augusta National’s famous putting surfaces.

For better or for worse, green-reading books have become a critical tool for PGA Tour pros. These are sold separately from the yardage books, and they include a laser rendering of every putting green—showing not just which way the green breaks, but what percentage each slope is.

Augusta does not permit green-reading books, mainly because they’ve never permitted someone to bring the laser technology onto the property and document the greens.

The only rendering available of Augusta’s greens available to players is what’s in the yardage book, and it’s as bare-bones as it gets. Each square represents five yards, which helps give information on what you’ll need to carry a water hazard or a bunker. And there are a few straight lines to show slopes, but even those don’t provide much information.

“I’m always drawing arrows on the greens, just to make it more visually appealing and visually brighter in my head,” Morikawa says. “Knowing this is where a slope is … to the average golfer, those straight lines won’t mean anything.”

While his green drawings are pretty minimal, most players keep making notes each time they play the course. Here’s Ian Poulter’s yardage book for the fifth hole, posted on Instagram in 2019, with enough doodles and notes to make your head spin.

For many pros, the Masters is the one week a year they have to read putts without the aid of a green-reading book giving you additional information. And for the guys who use Aimpoint and other methods that rely heavily on knowing the exact percentage of a slope—they know a 2 percent slope putt from 10 feet breaks a certain amount, for example—this makes the already undulating greens that much more difficult to navigate.

The 12th hole in Morikawa’s book gives a good idea at how players approach perhaps the most famous par 3 in America.

Going off the squares, you’ll see a player needs to carry the ball at least 10 yards further than the front number—which, as you can see on the bottom, is 154 yards from the back of the box and 142 from the front—to carry the bunker that guards the middle-right portion of the green.

Most notably, you’ll see “Center of green!” written near the tee box and a giant “NO!!” on the right portion of the green.

“For me, anywhere on that right side is just a no-go. Depending on what the wind is like, or if I have a really good number, I might try to squeeze it a little farther. But we’ve seen too many guys aim right, miss a little right, it falls in the water. There’s really no need. It’s such a small green, that if you just get your distance right you’re gonna have a good 20-footer at the pin.”

So if you watch Morikawa rinse a tee ball this weekend on 12—or if you see him stick one close to a back-right pin—you’ll know he did not follow his trusty yardage book’s directions.

MORE MASTERS 2021 STORIES FROM GOLF DIGEST: • Masters 101—Everything you need to know about the major • How to watch the Masters on TV and streaming online • The entire 2021 Masters field, ranked • How to win a green jacket in 7 simple steps • Our 13 best bets to win the 2021 Masters • 50 defining moments in Masters history, ranked • The complete changes to Augusta National • When should a past champion call it a career at Augusta? • 9 famous Masters myths—separating fact from fiction • The most memorable rules issues in Masters history • At Augusta, the jockeying for position begins with practice rounds • What’s it like to play at Augusta National as a guest

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My Caddie Tour DIY Yardage Book is designed for recreation and competitive golfers.

Our newest do-it-yourself My Caddie Tour yardage book is as simple as they come. With a blank bottom page and green grid on the top, this book measures 6.50" x 3.85 when closed. The green grid boxes are 3/8 inches each and the entire grid has a scale for 50 total yards. THIS BOOK CONFORMS WITHIN THE RULES OF GOLF.

With a total of 40 pages, this book has an area and green grid for all 18 holes. It also includes a club yardage chart, legend, player stat for 4 rounds, and note area. This book is modeled after professional tour books. The Tour is used by the David Leadbetter and several other top academies in the country.

Use phone apps to simple draw diagrams of fairways and greens and yardages to bunkers, penalty areas and landing areas. Play with confidence by utilizing a yardage book!

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Golf Yardage Books: What Are They & What do The Pros Keep in Them?

If you’ve been watching and playing golf for long enough, no doubt you’ve seen PGA Tour pros and their caddies looking over a small book that seems to magically appear from the back pocket of every player.

But what is that book? What’s inside it? Is it magic? Does it hold the secrets to the game of golf ? In short, none of the above; that little book is called a yardage book, and it contains every little detail about not only the course but each of the 18-holes in intricate detail. The yardage book is the very first thing both caddy and player pick up when they arrive at the tournament desk of a PGA Tour event.

As a former caddy and coach , I can tell you that the caddie’s priority is to know every inch of every hole before the tournament gets underway . Caddies are out walking the course long before any of the players arrive and long after they’ve gone back to the hotel for dinner. The caddy literally becomes the “go-to” authority on the “ins and outs” of the entire golf course .

PGA Tour pros and their caddies sit down before the tournament and each round to discuss a game plan and identify areas or holes they can attack and others they need to play more conservatively. These yardage books can quickly look like sketchbooks as both player and caddy scribble notes and draw their own diagrams to better understand each hole.

So a yardage book helps players and caddies play each and every shot with confidence and eliminates doubt, which can absolutely destroy the confidence of even the best players. PGA Tour pros want to look at the yardage book, trust what’s written down, and pull the trigger; in effect, they don’t want to think about the shot or “double-guess” themselves.

Can your average club golfer and high-handicapper benefit from a yardage book? Absolutely and in his article, we’ll look at some of the ways amateurs can improve their game by imitating the pros and learning to love the yardage book.

What is a Yardage Book?

The yardage book contains detailed information that allows the players and caddy to develop a strategy and game plan for the week ahead.

In short, a yardage book helps to eliminate the possibility of making mistakes that, for the pro golfer and caddy alike, could potentially mean the difference between a big paycheck or missing the cut and going home empty-handed.

In particular, the yardage book contains information and accurate measurements on the following

• The distance of each hole
• The elevation of the hole
• Measurements to bunkers and water hazards
• The undulations of the greens
• Previous pin positions and even
• Wind direction based on last year’s play

The yardage book also contains intricate sketches of the greens and fairways’ undulations and elevation. This information is critical because it allows players and caddies to plan the best positions to approach the green from and the best landing spots based on possible pin placements from last year’s tournament.

You won’t find one PGA Tour pro or caddy who walks onto the course in either a practice round or the real deal without the yardage book in their back pocket. When players are standing on the tee, they’re faced with several decisions, all of which can be affected by factors like the wind and the leaderboard. Players and caddies can refer to the yardage book to make quick and, more importantly, correct decisions.

PGA Tour pros and their caddies have in-depth knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses, and the yardage book makes it much easier to visualize where the trouble lies and where the chances to attack are.

A yardage book would help amateurs immensely because the most common mistake they make is either coming up short or flying long over the greens; this is called “under or over” clubbing. Knowing exactly how far to the green or to a specific bunker would eliminate the vast majority of easy misses and give the club golfer much more confidence while addressing the ball.

Ask any PGA Tour pro, and they’ll tell you there’s nothing worse than hitting a pure long iron to the green only to see it fall agonizingly short and end up in the water hazard. The yardage book doesn’t eliminate this entirely, but it does help to mitigate it.

What PGA Tour Pros Write in their Yardage Book

Next time you watch golf on TV, observe how many times players and their caddies refer to their yardage books, and you’ll quickly find that it’s on every shot. Golf yardage books have extensive and detailed information about every hole, green, fairway, and bunker, to name a few.

But have you ever wondered what players and pros scribble down in their notebooks and why? Here’s a list of just some of the information players and caddies will jot down.

• The way certain putts break on each green
• Specific “trouble” spots they need to avoid
• A list of possible clubs they’ll use on each hole
• Targets to aim at from the tee, like a TV tower in the distance
• How the wind and weather may affect each hole
• Good landing spots off the tee
• Good places to lay up

When players and caddies arrive at the tournament, the PGA provides a yardage book that has been created by golf club management.

Occasionally, the yardage books are developed by a third-party group, generally ex-professional caddies who have an in-depth understanding of the course. In my experience, the yardage books created by former caddies are much more valuable and provide nuanced details of everything from green undulations and speeds to areas to avoid at all costs.

So let’s delve a little bit deeper into three areas that players and caddies focus their attention on in their yardage books:

• Approach shots and the

Notes to Help with the Tee Shot

For those of us who play golf , we understand that the most challenging aspect of playing any new course is knowing where to hit your tee shots. You’re essentially “hitting blind,” especially if you’re playing on an undulating course or a hole that doglegs, meaning you can’t see your landing spot.

PGA Tour golfers can hit the ball both ways, meaning they can “fade” it and “draw” it but typically, they prefer one over the other, so knowing exactly where each hazard is, helps them to plan which club they hit off the tee and the shape they choose to play.

Knowing and picking out targets off the tee gives the player and caddy confidence in their shot and decision and helps them avoid potential disaster.

For example, if a right-handed player likes to fade the ball, meaning the ball will move from left to right, both player and caddy will pick out a target in the distance, such as a distinctive tree or even a TV tower to use as their guide. If the shot brings about the desired result, then the caddy and player will note it in their yardage books.

When tee shots are relatively straight, then targets off the tee are not necessarily crucial. Rather, distance markers such as specific trees, bunkers, or a TV tower will be very handy. Holes that demand tee shots over water require a target off the tee and a distance marker; both allow the golfer to swing confidently.

Dogleg holes are probably the hardest to navigate because you simply can not see the landing area as the fairway bends around the corner. In this instance, players and caddies rely solely on their yardage book. They would’ve taken detailed notes during their practice rounds prior to the start of play and relied heavily on them.

Players can hit tee shots well over 300-yards these days, which gives them the ability to “cut the corner” on many doglegs; cutting the corner is risky, but having detailed notes on the wind, targets, and fairway undulations can help mitigate some of the risks. In the case of howling winds or bad weather, the player and caddy will have two or possibly three backup plans for each hole.

Have you ever heard of the Chinese saying “the smart rabbit has three holes”? Well, PGA Tour pros and their caddies use this same philosophy on each hole they play. For example, the plan might have been to cut the corner by hitting the driver over the trees; however, when they arrive on the tee, the wind has changed, and now the better play is to take a shorter club and play more conservatively.

Notes to Help Approach Shots to the Green

Professional golfers have one fundamental goal in mind every time they play, and that’s to hit every green in regulation. This means they will have the chance to putt for eagle or birdie on each of the 18 holes; granted, even for the pros, this is a lot easier said than done.

Placing themselves consistently in the correct position in the fairway will allow them to attack the pin and capitalize on their approach shot by making the putt for a birdie. Without the yardage book, knowing where to “lay-up” and then approach the green would be nearly impossible; it would be guesswork; not exactly the precise details PGA Tour pros are looking for.

• One aspect of the pro’s game plan that amateurs would find fascinating is assessing the best place to approach the green. Pros equally focus as much attention, if not more, on knowing where to miss. Knowing where to miss is a smart way of approaching the green because it can help eliminate major catastrophes like having the ball roll back into a water hazard or a deep and treacherous bunker.
• Generally, the last thing golfers want to do is “short-side” themselves which means they have very little green to play with on their next chip or bunker shot. Short-siding yourself can be avoided by knowing the best places to miss. Meaning that if the shot you played didn’t go as planned, then hopefully, it misses in a place you have plenty of green to play with on your next shot; knowing where to miss can be the difference between getting up and down for par or taking double-bogey.
• Yardage books will also provide detailed information about the rough around the green . Obviously, players are looking to avoid the rough at all costs, so if a pin is cut tantalizingly close to the edge of a rough area, the pro is better opted to play conservatively for the center of the green. Again without the yardage book and the notes jotted down, approaching the green is pure guesswork.
• The next most important factor in determining the approach shot is the undulation of the greens . PGA Tour pros always prefer to putt on either a flat area of the green or slightly uphill, as both of these putts are much easier than putting downhill which can be notoriously quick. Chipping uphill is also much easier, as you can get the ball to “check” and stop much quicker.
• Before the tournament starts, players and caddies will play two or three practice rounds so they get to know the undulations and the slopes of each green. The yardage book is where they jot down their notes which they can refer to once play gets underway in the first round. Some of the notes are incredibly complex and intricate, depending on the caddy. At the same time, other players and caddies prefer simple details so as not to overthink too much and further complicate an already tricky shot.

Your strengths and weakness as a pro golfer also play a significant factor in where you want to “miss.” For example, a golfer who is an excellent bunker player might be more than happy to miss and play from the sand, while other players might prefer chipping and leaving their ball just short of the green. One thing is for sure, though, regardless of game style, every professional’s yardage book will have valuable information to help them make the right choice.

On occasion, the pin will be cut in a position where getting up-and-down by chipping and “one putting” will be much easier than two-putting; these particular holes will be noted by both caddy and player in their yardage book. This is also a good lesson for amateur golfers who think that hitting every green gives the best chance to make par.

For example, you might be playing an approach shot to a “two-tiered-green.” Let’s say the flag is cut on the lower tier, then the last thing you want to do is finish on the upper tier; this will make your putt almost impossible to stop anywhere near the hole. Both caddy and player can refer to their yardage book and pin placement sheet and plan to miss short, not long.

So as you can see, yardage books not only come in handy, but it would be fair to say that without them, players and caddies would have a much more difficult time trying to make the right decisions; one thing is for sure; scores would definitely be much higher.

Notes to Help with Putting

If you’ve been playing golf for long enough, you’ve heard of the saying “drive for show and putt for dough,” and when you look at the notes inside a pros yardage book, you’ll soon understand they live that very same mantra.

Now, although yardage books will have notes and diagrams on the undulations of the greens, most times their very basic, and pros generally want more detailed information when it comes to putting.

Some of the information pros want to know is:

• The speeds of the greens
• The way the grain of the grass grows
• Is there water located near the green? (E.g. If a water hazard is to the right of the green, this might suggest the green also runs in the same direction.

Players and caddies will take general notes such as “much quicker than we thought” and also more specific notes like “this putt breaks three cups to the left.”

As I’ve mentioned, the grain of the grass plays a significant factor in determining the outcome of a putt. Pros are very aware that putting into the grain is much slower than putting with the grain. A good rule of thumb is that putting with the grain, the greens will tend to look “shiny,” while putting against the grain, the greens appear much duller in color. Notes on the grain of the grass will definitely be found in the yardage books.

PGA Tour events are set up on the most challenging courses globally, and as such, reading greens is no easy feat. Often, the player’s and caddies’ eyes will “deceive” them, and this is where the value of the yardage book from previous years comes into play. Player and caddy can refer to putts from the same position in years gone by and use that as a guide; in this instance, the yardage book is invaluable.

Being able to refer to older yardage books helps to give both the player and caddy confidence that they’re making the right decision when choosing which line to putt on or the speed of a particular putt. There’s nothing worse than standing over a putt and “hitting and hoping,” especially when millions in prize money is at stake.

The 18th Hole

Well, there you have it; hopefully, you now understand the type of information that’s contained inside the yardage books of the PGA Tour pros and their caddies and why they are so valuable.

Most local clubs do have yardage books, and club-level golfers would benefit significantly from keeping detailed notes. It’s a great habit to get into and provides an extra layer of confidence when hitting your drive, approaching the greens, or making that putt for a birdie.

So next time you tee off, make sure you have your yardage book firmly in your back pocket.

Happy golfing!!

Brenton is an Australian with 20 years of experience working with professional athletes. These athletes have combined to win more than ten international events. He holds a Degree in Sports Coaching and was the former Head Advisor to the Japanese Government Sports Institute. He was the former Manager & Head Coach to Tennis Australia and was a Dunlop International Advisory Board member for eight years. His expertise is in Goal Setting, Health & Nutrition, Internal and External Motivation, Technical Analysis, and Program Design and Delivery. Brenton currently consults with several professional athletes and clients from varying backgrounds and sports.

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PGA Tour caddie posts mesmerizing photo of 24 years of yardage books

Caddies, they’re just like us!

PGA Tour caddies have interesting lives, most of which are spent on the road. Even though they enjoy incredible behind-the-scenes access to the game’s greatest players , you’d think they have little time to collect much in the way of sentimental items. (After all, traveling light is sort of their M.O., on and off the course.) But John Wood, who loops for Matt Kuchar and also contributes to GOLF.com , unveiled a 24-year-old collection of yardage books on Twitter Friday afternoon. It’s hard to imagine that rows of pocket-sized handouts could form a compelling photograph, but it’s a cool shot. Here’s Wood:

What 24 years worth of yardage books looks like…notify “Hoarders” #caddylife pic.twitter.com/StIinPbgOX — John Wood (@Johnwould) June 28, 2019

We won’t call “Hoarders” on him just yet – after all, these probably fit in a single, small box. But the image does remind us that caddies can can pick up some cool mementos, too.

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Restrictions coming to yardage and greens books for PGA Tour players, caddies

By t.j. auclair · november 2, 2021.

Changes are coming to the PGA Tour for players and caddies in regard to yardage and greens books beginning in January 2022.

Brian Wacker, of Golf Digest, tweeted out a memo sent by the PGA Tour to players and caddies .

According to the report, rather than players and caddies being able to utilize the ultra-detailed yardage and greens books currently at their disposal, they will instead be required to use yardage books that are “Committee Approved” by the Tour’s competition committee.

Those books, “will be very similar to a traditional yardage book and, with respect to green details, will have only general information on slopes and other features.”

RELATED: Meet Mark Long — the former caddie responsible for creating the incredibly detailed yardage and greens books used on the PGA Tour each week

The entire memo read:

“It’s all going to come out in the wash,” caddie Scott Sajtinac, president of the Association of Professional Tour Caddies (APTC), told the Caddie Network. “Good putters will still putt good; bad putters will still putt bad. I’ve been told that this is not a pace of play issue. This is about the integrity of the sport and that reading a green is an inherent skill and shouldn’t be spoon-fed through data. If they really want to speed up the pace of play on the greens, they should do away with the Sharpie line on the ball, which guys take 10, 20, 30, 35, 40 seconds to line up.

LISTEN: Our podcast with yardage book and green book creator Mark Long

“So, I’ve been told this is not a pace of play thing — this is purely an integrity of the game situation and putting is a skill using your eyes, feel and intuition. It’ll all come out in the wash. My only concern is not only the greens-book ban, but every yardage book the caddies have spent thousands — tens of thousands — of dollars on over the last 5, 10, 15, 20 years are now also banned and we have to buy brand new books starting in the New Year because the greens in our yardage books used the same technology for the limited arrows they have in the yardage books. So, by default, they’re also banned. So, there’s a financial burden that’s been put on the caddies here for what we’ve been told is a player-pushed policy.”

Kenny Harms, caddie for Kevin Na — an exceptional putter — is happy with the decision. But he also sees it as a double-edged sword.

“I’m glad they’re gone,” Harms said. “I think the guys that can read greens — players and caddies — are at an extreme advantage. I’m glad they got rid of them. But I don’t think it’ll speed up play. I think it’ll be worse because more guys will try to learn Aimpoint . It’ll take longer than a book. I watch guys that do Aimpoint and think they’re slow. It’s going to backfire if that’s the purpose — to speed up play.

“What I don’t agree with is that players and caddies can write notes into the new books,” Harms added. “There are guys who will take their old books and write notes. They should have just said, hey, you can do whatever you want, but no notes in your book when it comes to greens. Don’t get me wrong, golf is an integrity sport, but there will be guys who bend the rules.”

“I personally think green reading is a skill and I’m glad they’re banning these books,” said Jeff Willett, caddie for Luke List. “As far as speeding up play… no it won’t help. When players and caddies are ready to play when it’s their turn then play will speed up. No greens books will have a very minor effect on pace of play.”

“Beginning in January I’ll no longer be able to use any of these greens books or YARDAGE books due to the changes the Tour has made to ban green reading material. What a waste of paper. R.I.P. yardage book collection.” — PGA Tour caddie Kyle Peters on the changes coming in 2022 pic.twitter.com/TJVwjYyQUZ — Caddie Network (@CaddieNetwork) November 2, 2021

Unlike caddie Kyle Peters (social post above), veteran caddie Kip Henley was happy with the news.

“A Big Ole Golf Clap to the powers to be on making this move that will surely be argued!” Henley tweeted. “I got to believe this is more like it should be and will speed the game a little!”

Matt Minister, caddie for 2021 PGA Tour Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay, is also fine with seeing the greens books go away.

“Golf was not meant to be played with aides,” he said. “I feel the greens book is an aide. I’m glad they decided to ban them. I don’t think it will change the pace of play. Tour play is slow and the greens book won’t make a difference.”

The news wasn’t a big surprise.

Back in June, the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council voted to outlaw the intricate green-reading books setting up the ban. Many believe that green reading is a skill to be learned and that the detailed books take the skill out of the art of putting.

Click here to see what caddies had to say about the vote against green-reading books over the summer .

Our Caddie Correspondent John Rathouz — a former caddie for 22 years with 16 on the PGA Tour — tracked down several of his fellow loopers. Here’s what they had to say about the decision to eliminate the greens books:

Paul Tesori: “I’m obviously pro green books. I’ve spent over $4,000 taking lessons and learning all the ins and outs of the equations. I’d say less than 10 percent really knew how to read the books correctly. It speeds up Webber (Webb Simpson) with quick decisions. BUT, I fully and utterly get the decision. It does take a portion of feel out of the process. My worry is that the rule leaves a lot of gray area. A lot. If I roll balls and find the straight spine on the approximate hole locations, how detailed can the notes be?”

Don Donatello: “It’s frustrating to be honest. Not so much to not be able to use the greens book, but all the work that has to be put in for the second time in a couple years. It’s costing caddies thousands of dollars and our time is valuable.

Corby Segal: “I actually like it. I don’t mind it at all. Back in the day, we would roll balls and chart putts that way. I’m not a fan of knowing exactly because it takes away the feel and skill of reading greens and putting.

Steve Hulka: “The Tour wants to go back to the way things were. They’re trying to roll back the clock. It’s not the tour and players that are pissed off, it’s TV… Bryson’s out there reading War and Peace while he’s playing golf… They don’t want to see the books.

“Your eyes get better at reading greens because of the greens books. It allows you to see the shaping and the contouring. I don’t agree with the ruling and taking this away from players, especially some that have used nothing but those in their professional careers on the PGA Tour.

“The green reading devices that they’re telling us we can’t use even for practice. Are you going to tell these guys, you can’t bring a Trackman or the GCQUad onto the golf course? That’s a distance measuring tool that you’re allowing on the actual game surface. Putting is a facet of the game no different than a full shot. So if you’re not allowing any instruments to read the greens, you shouldn’t allow any instruments to measure your specific distances for your shots on the course as well. I think they’ve definitely missed the mark there.

“The only one positive thing is it possible could speed up play. But players now are so slow. It doesn’t really matter. What’s another 15 seconds? Virtually nothing.

“I don’t think they thought this through as much as they needed to and got the feedback from a big enough pool of players before they made this decision.”

T.J. Auclair

T.J. Auclair is the Director of Content for The Caddie Network and has covered professional golf since 1998, traveling to over 70 major championships.

who really cares what book your reading the ball has no clue its the one striking it that matters , now if your using the whatever books and slow playing because of it then the responsibility lies on the officials who try and do as little as possible , and one more thing about these miracle books , players are still missing 3 footers even with the book in their pockets

Lasers are all you need and a good read on the green, and then just hit the ball

This will not speed up play. Lasers will not speed up play but they should be allowed. If you don’t like them don’t use them. “The back in my day” stuff is self-serving. Those days are frankly gone and some need to get over it I.E. TV announcers. Funny how the same people don’t talk about going back to persimmon clubs and the heavy leather golf bags ? I guess they’re not really that “old school.” If they wanted to bring “skill” back in the game shorten the time a player has to hit the ball and enforce it. Pros will kick and scream but they aren’t going to quit.

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PGA Tour to require golfers use committee-approved yardage books beginning in 2022

Let's just go right ahead and call this the 'bryson dechambeau rule'.

There will likely be some changes coming to equipment on the PGA Tour in 2022. Though no technological rollback is on the horizon as it relates to the golf ball and clubs, modern green-reading books are probably about to be outlawed at PGA Tour events.

On Monday, a memo was sent by the Tour to players and caddies that stated, "Beginning January 1, 2022, during competition rounds, players and caddies will only be able to use a 'Committee Approved yardage book. The Committee Approved book will be very similar to a traditional yardage book and, with respect to green details, will have only general information on slopes and other features."

This local rule is currently "being developed by the USGA and R&A" and it will still require a PGA Tour Player Advisory Council vote later in November , but it seems almost certain that this rule will go into effect for the first event of 2022 when golfers tee it up at the Tournament of Champions.

This is a subtle but meaningful shift away from the super-detailed green books players carry around that include gradient and laser-detailed information, and it's an attempt to "return to a position where players and caddies use only their skill, judgement and feel along with any information gained through experience, preparation and practice to read the line of play on the putting green," according to the memo.

Think of this as the "Bryson DeChambeau Rule". DeChambeau has become famous for the detail in his yardage books, and while he can still write all the mathematical formulas he wants to note, he can no longer obtain them outside of his own experiences.

This is also where the rule gets interesting. The memo notes that players can transfer all previous handwritten notes that "also meet the new restrictions into the approved book" but "no devices, levels or other technology may be used to gather information to be kept as notes, and no information may be copied from another source into the approved book."

The reason that might be confusing is because players and caddies might not remember exactly where they got some of the information that's in their current books. Was it from an exterior source -- perhaps a company that shot a green with its lasers -- or was it from the third round of an event the player played in 2019 when he remembered a putt breaking a cup the opposite way he thought it was going to break.

Regardless of the minutia and how it gets worked out, this is a good move for the PGA Tour. It adds back in an element of skill and athleticism and should create some (small) separation between the most skilled golfers and those who are not as skilled. It reintroduces elements of wisdom, trust, commitment and mindfulness -- often present among the very best players -- and removes math, which levels the playing field and probably hurts stars and superstars a bit.

Some people think this hurts somebody like DeChambeau, who has leaned heavily on his book over the years, but I think it actually helps him. He's been deep in the gradient game for years now, and he'll be able to recreate it with his own eyes better than almost anyone else in the world. Remember, you can still use your own experience and expertise to create your own green-reading book, you just can't use external sources to create it for you. It may take him a bit of time to adjust, but I suspect he'll continue to thrive.

This will be a welcome change overall at the professional level and a good move in the right direction when it is likely implemented starting two months from now.

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PGA Tour goes to Quail Hollow ahead of PGA Championship. Nelly Korda goes for 6 in a row

Nelly Korda smiles after winning the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Sunday, April 21, 2024, at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Charlotte, North Carolina.

Course: Quail Hollow Club. Yardage: 7,558. Par: 71.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $4 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Wyndham Clark.

FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.

Last week: Taylor Pendrith won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Notes: This is the sixth of eight $20 million signature events and the first of two such events that precede a major championship. ... Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg are the only eligible players not in the field. Scheffler had planned to miss all along because of the impending birth of his first child. Aberg has a knee issue and said he needed a week of rest. ... Quail Hollow will host the PGA Championship next year for the second time. ... Webb Simpson, a Quail Hollow member, received one of four sponsor exemptions. He has received four exemptions to signature events this year. ... The top three finishers from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson — Taylor Pendrith, Ben Kohles and Alex Noren — played their way into the Wells Fargo Championship through the Swing Five. Dominican Republic winner Billy Horschel also is part of the Swing Five and makes his debut in a signature event this year. ... The winner gets into the PGA Championship next week if not already eligible.

Next week: PGA Championship.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

COGNIZANT FOUNDERS CUP

Site: Clifton, New Jersey.

Course: Upper Montclair CC. Yardage: 6,656. Par: 71.

Prize money: $3 million. Winner’s share: $450,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+); 3-6 p.m. (NBC Sports App and Peacock); 7-9 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay); Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ESPN+); 3-6 p.m. (NBC Sports App and Peacock); 8:30-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).

Defending champion: Jin Young Ko.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Last tournament: Hannah Green won the JM Eagle LA Championship.

Notes: Nelly Korda has won five consecutive tournaments and goes for the LPGA Tour record of six in a row. She shares the record with Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05). ... Korda took seven weeks off after her first win in the streak. She is coming off her second major championship title. ... The field has eight of the top 10 players in the world. Missing are Lilia Vu, who is recovering from injury, and Charley Hull, who is playing in the Aramco-sponsored Ladies European Tour event in South Korea. ... Danielle Kang also is skipping the Founders Cup to play the Aramco event. ... Hannah Green has two wins this year and moved into the top 10 in the world for the first time in her career. ... This is the first of four straight LPGA events within driving range. Three tournaments are in New Jersey. The other is the U.S. Women’s Open about an hour west of Philadelphia.

Next week: Mizuho Americas Open.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

REGIONS TRADITION

Site: Birmingham, Alabama.

Course: Greystone Golf & CC. Yardage: 7,249. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.6 million. Winner’s share: $390,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 5-7:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Steve Stricker.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Steven Alker.

Last week: Scott Dunlap won the Insperity Invitational.

Notes: This is the first of five majors on the PGA Tour Champions schedule. ... Steve Stricker starts a stretch of three straight majors. He is in the field for the PGA Championship next week at Valhalla and then defending his title in the Senior PGA Championship the following week. ... Two of the last three tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions have been shortened to 36 holes because of bad weather in Texas. ... Bernhard Langer tied for 31st in his return to competition after three months from tearing his left Achilles tendon. ... Stricker has won this major three of the last four years. Another victory would tie him with Jack Nicklaus for most victories in the Tradition. ... John Daly is playing on a sponsor exemption. ... Jim Furyk has a new caddie this week after encouraging Mike “Fluff” Cowan to leave and work for C.T. Pan on the PGA Tour.

Next tournament: Senior PGA Championship on May 23-26.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

MYRTLE BEACH CLASSIC

Site: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Course: Dunes Golf & Beach Club. Yardage: 7,347. Par: 71.

Prize money: $4 million. Winner’s share: $720,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 9:30-11:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 3-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: New tournament.

Notes: This new tournament is held opposite a signature event 180 miles away. ... The winner gets a spot in the PGA Championship next week but not in the Masters or a guaranteed spot in the remaining two $20 million signature events. ... Among the PGA Tour winners in the field are Wesley Bryan, Daniel Berger and Aaron Baddeley. ... Bryan was in line to play in the Wells Fargo Championship with its $20 million purse and no cut. But he was bumped from the Swing Five after the Byron Nelson. ... Bryan’s brother, George Bryan, was given a sponsor exemption after failing to qualify. This is the second time the brothers have played in the same tournament. ... This gives South Carolina two events in one year. The last time that happened was when the CJ Cup went to Congaree. The other is at Hilton Head Island. ... More than 10 players in the field previously have won opposite-field events on the PGA Tour.

EUROPEAN TOUR

Last week: Adrian Otaegui won the Volvo China Open.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

Last week: Brooks Koepka won LIV Golf Singapore.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Houston on June 7-9.

Points leader: Joaquin Niemann.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

KORN FERRY TOUR

Last tournament: Tim Widing won the Veritex Bank Championship.

Next week: AdventHealth Championship.

Points leader: Tim Widing.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

OTHER TOURS

Epson Tour: Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic, TPC Scottsdale (Champions), Scottsdale, Ariz. Previous winner: Gabriela Ruffels. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

Japan Golf Tour: For The Players By The Players, The Club Golf Village, Gunma, Japan. Defending champion: Shintaro Kobayashi. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/

Challenge Tour: Challenge de Espana, Real Sevilla GC, Seville, Spain. Defending champion: Martin Couvra. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/challenge-tour/

Ladies European Tour: Aramco Team Series, New Korea CC, Goyang, South Korea. Defending champion: Pauline Roussin-Bouchard. Online: https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

Sunshine Tour: FBC Zimbabwe Open, Royal Harare GC, Harare, Zimbabwe. Defending champion: Neil Schietekat. Online: https://sunshinetour.com/

Japan LPGA: RKB Mitsui Matsushima Ladies, Fukuoka CC (Wajiro), Fukuoka, Japan. Defending champion: Chisato Iwai. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

Korea LPGA: NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship, Suwon CC, Yongin, South Korea. Defending champion: Jinhee Im. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf