Golf unit converter
Yards to metres and mph to km/h, the two conversions a golfer actually needs. A hole marked 150 yards plays 137 metres, and the gap grows with distance — a 300-yard card and a 300-metre card are not the same hole.
Distance
Speed
How to use this converter
- Type a number
Enter the distance or the speed you have. The conversion appears as you type; nothing to submit.
- Swap the direction
The ⇄ button reverses the conversion, so the same field turns metres into yards or km/h into mph without retyping anything.
Yards and metres on a golf course
A yard is exactly 0.9144 metres, so a distance in metres is always about 8.5 % shorter than the same number in yards. On a 150-yard par 3 the difference is 13 metres, which is a full club for most players.
metres = yards × 0.9144 yards = metres ÷ 0.9144
| Yards | 100 | 150 | 175 | 200 | 250 | 300 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metres | 91 | 137 | 160 | 183 | 229 | 274 |
Which unit is on your scorecard
It depends where you are playing, and the card rarely shouts about it. Courses in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland print yards; most of continental Europe, including every French course, prints metres. A GPS app set to the wrong unit will hand you a number that is right and useless. If a par 4 reads 320 and you expected 350, you are probably reading metres.
Swing speed: mph and km/h
Launch monitors sold in the United States report clubhead and ball speed in miles per hour; European coaches and most fitting software use kilometres per hour. A mile is exactly 1.609344 km, so a 100 mph driver swing is 161 km/h.
km/h = mph × 1.609344 mph = km/h ÷ 1.609344
Frequently asked questions
How many metres is 100 yards?
91 metres, since a yard is exactly 0.9144 metres. The useful shortcut on the course is that metres are roughly 10 % fewer than yards: a 150-yard shot is about 137 metres, and a 200-yard one about 183.
Are golf scorecards in yards or metres?
Both exist, and it depends on the country rather than on the course. The United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland use yards; continental Europe, France included, uses metres. Nothing on the card usually says so, which is why the same par 4 can read 380 in one country and 347 in another and be the same hole.
How do you convert swing speed from mph to km/h?
Multiply by 1.609344. A 90 mph swing is 145 km/h, 100 mph is 161 km/h, and 120 mph is 193 km/h. Going the other way, divide by the same figure — the conversion is exact, not an approximation.
Why do American golf courses measure in yards?
Because golf reached the United States before the metric system did, and the yard stayed the unit of the game there as it did in Britain, where golf began. Continental Europe adopted the sport after metrication, so its courses were laid out and measured in metres from the start.
Should I set my golf app to yards or metres?
Match it to the cards you play most. Reading a card in metres while your app announces yards means every number you hear is about 10 % longer than the one printed in front of you, and that gap is a club at the distances that matter.