Like most golfers out there, you’re probably wondering how you stack up against people in your age group. In this article, we’re going to show you the average golf score by age.
In general, you’ll find that those in their twenties have the best scores. Scores will gradually decrease as you age. This likely happens because your swing speed isn’t as quick as it once was.
To figure out the average golf score by age, we researched and collected data about various scores. The average is then recorded across each age group.
Golf Score Terms
For those who are still learning golf score terms, let’s quickly go over them.
| Term | Definition |
| Hole In One | Taking only one shot to get the ball in the hole |
| Par | A neutral score (Taking seven strokes to complete a seven par hole) |
| Birdie | One stroke less than par |
| Eagle | Two strokes less than par |
| Albatross | Three strokes less than par |
| Condor | Four strokes less than par |
| Bogey | One stroke more than par |
| Double Bogey | Two strokes more than par |
| Triple Bogey | Three stroke more than par |
What is a Good Score?
Before we get to what the average golf score by age is, we want to quickly go over what a good golf score is and what a bad golf score is. A good score is anything less than 120 strokes. You may be confused later on in the article since this number is actually higher than the average, but we’re discussing a pretty respectable score.
For example, if you were to pick up your clubs tomorrow and play for the first time, a score of 120 would be considered very good. As you get better at the game, you will improve in no time and reach an average score of 90. If you end with 120 strokes or lower, it means you scored no more than 30% higher than the average player.
What is a Bad Score?
Based on what we stated in the “what is a good score?” section, you can probably assume that any score over 121 strokes is a bad score. We want to stress if you’re at this level, that’s okay; it’s nothing to be ashamed of! All this means is you need to practice more.
Average Golf Score By Age
According to the USGA, also known as the United States Golf Association, the average score for hobby players on a par 72 golf course is 91. The numbers you see in the chart below take into account everyone who has actively recorded their scores and reported them online. We would like to note that a lot of golfers don’t do this, so the average score is likely closer to one hundred.
| Age Range | Average Score |
| 20-30 | 90 |
| 30-40 | 92 |
| 40-50 | 92 |
| 50-60 | 91 |
| 60+ | 92 |
| All Golfers | 91 |
Age Range of 20 – 30
The average score for someone between twenty and thirty years old on a par 72 golf course is 90. As stated previously, this number is based on players who keep track of their handicaps and report their scores. Since the majority of people don’t do this, it’s safe to assume that the average score is probably around ten strokes higher.
Another thing to keep in mind is people in this age range are usually just getting started with the sport. This means they don’t have a lot of experience. The reason they score better on average is that they’re generally fitter in comparison to those that are older.
Age Range of 30 – 40
The average score for someone between thirty and forty years old on a par 72 golf course is 92. It’s slightly worse than those in the twenty to thirty age range. However, just like the younger group, the average score is likely nine to ten strokes higher.
It’s safe to assume that this age group shoots a bit higher of a score because there are a lot of new golfers who have never played before. They’re also not as fit as they were when they were in their twenties. That combination is probably why they score a bit higher.
Age Range of 40 – 50
The average score for someone between forty and fifty years old on a par 72 golf course is 92. You may have noticed it’s the same number as the thirty to forty range. Most people play casually on rare occasions at this age and don’t have much time to practice in between games.
Age Range of 50 – 60
The average score for someone between fifty and sixty years old on a par 72 golf course is 91. Slightly better than the previous range. It’s hypothesized that the average score is a little bit better in this range because people have more time to both practice and play. They’re around retirement age, so they have more free time, and they’re still in decent athletic shape.
Age Range of 60+
The average score for someone over the age of sixty on a par 72 golf course is 92.
People in this age range have a lot of time to play golf but are unfortunately getting older, which means their body doesn’t work as well as it used to. Obviously, this is going to vary from person to person because everyone is different. Remember, these numbers are just averaged.
What’s Your Handicap?
Now that we’ve gone over the average golf score by age, you might be wondering what your handicap is. If you’ve never heard of a handicap, you may be wondering what that even is! Don’t worry. It’s a relatively new term, so we’ll go over it. The term handicap refers to your average score for eighteen holes. If you’re a ten handicap, then you’ll get ten strokes to start the round.
If you shoot between seventy and seventy-five, your handicap will be between one and two. If you shoot between seventy-six and eighty, your handicap will be between three and five. If you shoot between eighty-one and eighty-five, your handicap will be between six and nine. If you shoot between eighty-six and ninety-one, your handicap will be between ten and thirteen. If you shoot between ninety-two and ninety-seven, your handicap is between fourteen and nineteen. If you shoot between ninety-eight and one hundred and one, your handicap is between twenty and twenty-four.
| Average Score | Handicap |
| 80 | 5 |
| 86 | 10 |
| 93 | 15 |
| 98 | 20 |
| 109 | 25 |
| All Golfers | 13-14 |
Tips To Improve Your Score
Lastly, let’s go over what you can do to improve your score.
Believe it or not, it’s not as difficult as one may think. You may be doing something that has such a simple fix that can make all the difference. Of course, one of the best things you can do is practice.
The first thing that we want to address is to make sure you know the fundamentals. This may seem like nothing, and you may feel pretty confident that you know everything you need to know, but it’s easy to slip up. It’s so vital that you have things like stance, posture, and grip right. Before you begin any advanced drills and methods, you want to ensure you have the basics down. You’d be surprised at how much it makes a difference.
The next thing you can do is make sure you’re using the right golf ball for you. This may seem minuscule, but it has a lot more of an impact than you would think. Most people use whatever ball they can find, which is understandable but, unfortunately, not ideal. This could really be hurting your game.
Golf balls are made differently. Some were created for slow-paced swing speeds, while others are for faster-paced swing speeds. For average golfers playing with a ball that’s easy to compress and flies straight is extremely important.
The third thing you can do is focus more on the fairways and less on the distance. Trust us; we’re guilty of putting a lot of our attention on distance when playing as well, but once you focus on the fairways, you’ll see an improvement in your scores almost immediately. If you’re constantly hitting the ball from the rough, you’re not going to get good scores.
You need to keep your ball in play as much as you can if you want to improve your scores. Often times players will end up benching their woods and drivers and hit with a hybrid off the tee instead. You’re not going to get as much distance, but you’ll find you’re in the fairway a lot more.
Those are the three things you can do to improve your scores overnight. We’re not saying this is guaranteed to work for you, but it should help, even if it’s just a little bit. Once you have these three things mastered, you can start working on advanced techniques and tactics.
