- On nine famous championship courses, our illustrative 14 handicap shoots between 85 and 90 from the back tees: 13 to 19 over par.
- Most of the gap is distance, not disasters: about 30 yards shorter off the tee, a 14 handicap often can't reach long par 4s in two, and then needs a chip and two putts.
- Oakmont is the toughest of the nine for our 14 handicap (90 on a par 71); Pebble Beach and the Old Course at St Andrews are the kindest (85).
- On the island green at TPC Sawgrass's 17th, a 12-yard miss is in the water: a double bogey 5.
What would an average golfer shoot at St Andrews, Augusta or Pebble Beach? We mapped nine of the world's most famous courses from OpenStreetMap and played two illustrative rounds on each: a par player, who hits every green in regulation and two-putts, and a 14 handicap, the average Handicap Index for men in the US. Both rounds are planned shot by shot along each hole, with real distances measured from the map.
Where the shots go
The average golfer gives away most shots before reaching the green. Our 14 handicap drives about 225 yards, roughly 30 yards shorter than the par player, and misses the fairway on around half the holes. On a 450-yard par 4 that leaves well over 200 yards, more than a 3 wood. So instead of hitting the green in two, they finish short of it, chip on and two-putt: a bogey, without a single bad shot.
That matches published amateur data: a 14 or 15 handicap hits about a quarter of greens in regulation, around four or five a round, against roughly half for a scratch golfer. Our 14 handicap hits between two and six greens a round on these courses and takes 34 to 38 putts.
Play the whole round
Press play to watch both rounds of the Old Course at St Andrews, hole by hole. The card shows each player's clubs as they play, and the score after every hole.
The island green
TPC Sawgrass's 17th is only 137 yards, a wedge for the par player. But the green is an island: our 14 handicap's 8 iron finishes 12 yards short and 11 right, which on most par 3s is a chip. Here it's in the water, a penalty drop, a chip and two putts for a 5.
The scores, course by course
Oakmont is the hardest of the nine for our 14 handicap, with 90 on a par 71: long par 4s and close to 200 bunkers. Augusta National, Carnoustie, Royal Birkdale and TPC Sawgrass all come in at 89. The Old Course at St Andrews and Pebble Beach are the kindest at 85: St Andrews has wide fairways and short par 4s, and Pebble Beach has the shortest par 3 of the nine, the 108-yard 7th.
Try it with your own game: open any chart above, pick a course, and type your clubs and distances. The planner has ten courses: these nine plus Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club in Nottinghamshire.
Sources and method
- OpenStreetMap: course maps (holes, greens, fairways, bunkers and water), © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL
- USGA: handicap statistics (average Handicap Index for men)
- Arccos: driving distance and greens hit by handicap
- MyGolfSpy: how greens in regulation affect putts per round (Shot Scope data)
Illustrative rounds, not real scores. Each course's holes, pars and features come from OpenStreetMap (October 2026), and each hole's length is measured along its mapped line from tee to pin, close to the back tees. The par player hits every green in regulation, aims tee shots at the mapped fairway and away from bunkers and water, and two-putts. The 14 handicap carries a typical amateur's distances (about 225 yards with a driver, 205 with a 3 wood) and misses fairways and greens at rates in line with published amateur shot-tracking data: their misses, chips and putts are fixed per hole by a formula, not chosen by hand, so the same plan comes out every time. Real rounds vary a lot more, both ways.