Every golf lover knows that golf tournaments can be exciting to watch right until the end, especially when the scoring is tight.
However, what not everyone might know is how long golf tournaments last.
In this article, we will explain to you exactly how long the different types of golf tournaments last.
How Long Do Golf Tournaments Last?
A typical professional golf tournament will last 1-4 days, from Thursday to Sunday. 1 round of 18-hole golf will be played every day. Tournament organizers can shorten a professional golf tournament if there is bad weather.
A typical professional golf tournament will last between 1 and 4 days. This means professional golf tournaments usually play 1 to 4 rounds of 18-hole golf, or 18 to 72 holes.
Longer tournaments are favored because longer tournaments usually mean the best player should emerge, as consistency is hard to achieve for lesser players.
Longer tournaments also allow for more sponsorship opportunities, more expensive tickets for spectators, more concessions sold, more viewership, and more revenue generated overall.
If heavy rain or other weather limitations occur that could impede play, tournament organizers may shorten the tournament. One method of shortening the tournament is removing 1 round of golf.
Although most people are looking to know how long professional golf tournaments last, there are also other types of golf tournaments. The different types and levels of golf tournaments last for different lengths of time, and we will tell you how long in the rest of this article.
How Long Do PGA Tournaments Last?
A typical PGA golf tournament will last 4 days, from Thursday to Sunday. 1 round of 18-hole golf will be played every day. Tournament organizers can shorten a PGA golf tournament if there is bad weather.
A typical PGA Tour event lasts a total of 4 days, usually from Thursday until Sunday. However, some events go from Friday until Monday, notably in the case of holiday weeks.
After 2 days of the PGA Tour event unfolding, the worst scoring players get cut out of the tournament, leaving only the best players to compete.
At the end of the 4 days, if there is still no winner, the tournament will go into golf playoff. Golf playoff is a type of overtime tiebreaker to determine a winner, and it is sometimes sudden death.
The type of playoff will depend on the tournament. The playoff format could be a sudden death single hole format until one player does better than the others on a single hole.
Other formats include adding an extra round of 18-hole golf, or adding a smaller number of holes, such as 9 holes.
There also exist some 5-day events that extend from Wednesday up to Sunday.
However, before tournament time, there are also qualifiers that typically start on Monday. These qualifiers allow people without a PGA Tour Card to compete for a chance to play in the PGA Tour event.
A PGA Tour Card helps you get into PGA Tour events more easily.
In terms of the time of the day, PGA Tour tournaments can start anywhere between the morning and the afternoon. You may be able to watch a golf tournament for about 10 to 12 hours a day.
Not every player in a tournament will start playing at the same time because that would clog up the golf course. Players are grouped in small groups and each group has an assigned start time to allow for a steady and fast pace of play.
Golf tournament days are usually shorter on Saturday and Sunday because of all the players that got cut after 2 days. There are less players competing, so there is less golf to be played and to be watched.
How Long Do Amateur Golf Tournaments Last?
A typical Amateur golf tournament will last 9 days. 1 round of 18-hole golf will be played every day. Tournament organizers can shorten an amateur golf tournament if there is bad weather.
Amateur golf tournaments last a long time (9 days) and are truly a test of skill, consistency, mental fortitude, and grit. Some of the most skilled young players in the world battle it all out to be number 1.
Amateur golf tournaments start with 2 days in a stroke-play format before cuts occur and only 64 players keep playing.
From there, the 64 remaining players enter a match-play scoring format until there are only 2 players left, 5 days later (7 since the beginning).
Finally, the 2 finalists play each other in an epic 36 hole match that spans over 2 days. At the end of the tournament, each finalist will have played 9 rounds of 18-hole golf, unless…they tie again.
If there is a tie, there will be a playoff tiebreaker that could be a sudden death single hole format until one player does better than the others on a single hole. The playoff tiebreaker could also be an extra round of 18-hole golf, or adding a smaller number of holes, such as 9 holes.
How Long Do College Golf Tournaments Last?
A typical College golf tournament will last 2 days. 1 round of 18-hole golf will be played every day. Tournament organizers can shorten a College golf tournament if there is bad weather.
College golf tournaments typically last 2 days, with 2 rounds of golf being played over that time period. This means that each player plays 36 golf holes during a college golf tournament.
The lower the level of golf, the more tournament length variance is possible between different tournaments at the same level.
How Long Do Youth Golf Tournaments Last?
A typical youth golf tournament can last only half a day, with only 9 holes being played. Youth golf tournaments can last longer, depending on player skill and age.
Youth golf tournaments can last as little as half a day, with only 9 holes of golf played. Youth-aged players may not have developed enough stamina, power, endurance & grit yet to be able to play more than 9 holes consistently.
However, youth golf tournaments can last longer than 9 holes in some instances.
The lower the level of golf, the more tournament length variance is possible between different tournaments at the same level.
How Long Do Champion’s Tour Golf Tournaments Last?
A typical Champion’s Tour golf tournament will last 3 days. 1 round of 18-hole golf will be played every day. Tournament organizers can shorten a Champion’s Tour golf tournament if there is bad weather.
A Champion’s Tour golf tournament can feature professional golf players, but the main eligibility requirement is to be over 50 years old.
Since the Champion’s Tour player pool is older, the players only play 3 rounds of golf, one round per day. A Champion’s Tour tournament lasts for 3 days.
3 rounds of golf over 3 days should be more than enough to determine the best player without any flukes, while saving the older players from tiring out.
How Long Do Olympic Golf Tournaments Last?
Olympic Golf Tournaments typically last for 4 rounds of golf and are played over 4 consecutive days. 1 round of 18-hole golf is played every day. Tournament organizers can shorten an Olympic Golf Tournament if there is bad weather.
Olympic Golf Tournaments last for 4 rounds of golf played over 4 consecutive days. Each day of the Olympic Golf Tournament, a full round of 18-hole golf is played.
The best golf players from around the world are selected for the Olympics according to their ranking.
Men and women do not play their Olympic Golf Tournament at the same time, as there is a delay of a few days between both sex categories.
Conclusion
There you go! After reading this article, you have learned how long each type of golf tournament lasts, whether it is a PGA event, the Olympics, or any other tournament!
You have learned why golf tournaments are preferably longer, and you also discovered which tournaments have shorter play lengths!
Which golf tournament length do you prefer? Let us know in the comments down below!
