Players to face longest hole in professional golf this week

The players competing in this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event will have to navigate the longest hole in professional golf.

The par-5 13th at TPC Colorado, host venue for the second annual TPC Colorado Championship, measures an eye-popping 773 yards. 

That’s just a fraction short of half a mile. Or, to put it another way, it’s the equivalent of 38 double-decker buses lined up, nose to tail, one after the other.

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The hole is 83 yards longer than the previous longest hole on any worldwide tour.

As you might have guessed, altitude has a big part to do with it. TPC Colorado is located less than an hour north of Denver, which sits exactly a mile above sea level and is the second highest city in North America. 

With the air thinner, the golf ball typically travels further. Steven Aoyama, a Principal Scientist in the Titleist Golf Ball R&D team, has previously explained how.

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“You can calculate the distance gain you will experience (compared to sea level) by multiplying the elevation (in feet) by .00116,” said Aoyama. “For example, if you’re playing in Reno, at one mile elevation (5,280 ft) the increase is about 6% (5,280 x .00116 = 6.1248). If you normally drive the ball 250 yards at sea level, you will likely drive it 265 yards in Reno.”

In last year’s tournament, the 13th played to a stroke average of 5.072, making it only the eighth most difficult hole on the course. 

Still, though, 773 yards is no joke. Do you think you could even reach it in three?