Pin Sheet
A pin sheet is a printed diagram that shows golfers where the hole is cut on each green for a given day’s round. Some courses call it a hole location sheet, pin chart, or hole chart.
What is a pin sheet?
Holes do not stay in the same spot. Course staff move the cup on every green from one day to the next, so a pin sheet records where each hole sits for the day a golfer is playing. It usually shows a small drawing of each green with one or two numbers beside it, printed on a card small enough to fold into a pocket or a yardage book.
The reason it helps comes down to how yardages are normally measured. A rangefinder reading or a sprinkler-head number almost always points to the middle of the green, not to the actual cup. On a green that runs 35 paces deep, a hole cut near the front instead of the center can change the real distance by a couple of clubs. A pin sheet closes that gap by telling the golfer where the flag actually is, which shapes club choice and where to aim. It works as a reference for the day rather than a full guide to the course.
What the numbers on a pin sheet mean
Most pin sheets carry two or three numbers per hole, and once a golfer knows what each one stands for, the card stops looking like a puzzle.
The first is green depth: the total distance from the front edge of the putting surface to the back edge. A green listed at 38 is 38 paces deep from front to back. This sets the scale for everything else on the diagram.
The second number is how far the hole sits from the front edge, sometimes labeled “on.” A reading of 23 means the cup is cut 23 paces onto the green from the front. The third number is the sideways position, measured from the left or right edge and marked with an L or an R. A “7L” places the hole 7 paces in from the left side. Some courses swap this for a plus or minus figure counted from the center of the green instead.
One point trips up newcomers: a pace is treated as one yard. When a sheet reads 23, that is 23 yards. Reading a single hole, listed as 38 / 23 / 7L, breaks down like this:
| Number | What it tells the golfer |
|---|---|
| 38 | The green is 38 paces deep, front to back. |
| 23 | The hole is cut 23 paces from the front edge. |
| 7L | The hole is 7 paces in from the left edge. |
Put together, those three figures pin the cup to a precise spot on the green, which a golfer can turn into an exact yardage from the fairway.
Pin sheet vs. yardage book vs. hole location chart
These three terms get mixed up because golfers often carry more than one of them at once. A yardage book maps the whole course. It covers hole layouts, distances from the tee, the location of bunkers and hazards, and a sketch of each green, and the same book works round after round. A pin sheet is narrower and more current: it only records where the holes are cut on a given day, which is why it is reprinted for each round.
A hole location sheet or hole location chart is, in most cases, another name for the same thing as a pin sheet. The wording changes from course to course. The one wrinkle is that some clubs use “hole location chart” for a simpler style that shows general zones on the green rather than exact paces, covered in the next section.
| Tool | What it covers | How often it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Yardage book | The whole course: layouts, distances, hazards, and green sketches. | Reused every round; found in the pro shop or ordered online. |
| Pin sheet | Only where the holes are cut on each green. | Reprinted every round; handed out at tournaments or the first tee. |
| Hole location sheet / chart | Usually the same as a pin sheet; sometimes a simpler zone-based version. | Same as a pin sheet when the terms are used interchangeably. |
Types of pin sheets
Not every pin sheet looks the same. Golfers tend to run into three broad styles.
The most detailed style gives exact measurements, with the depth and side numbers described above. This is the version used at tournaments, where players want the flag located to the pace.
A second style is the sectioned hole location chart. Each green is split into numbered zones, often six of them, and the course tells golfers which zone is in play that day, either at check-in or on a sign at the first tee. It points to a general area rather than an exact cut. A related version uses a three-by-three grid, where a dot in the top-left square means a back-left hole.
The third style relies on flag color rather than a sheet at all. A red flag signals a hole on the front third of the green, white marks the middle third, and blue the back third. It gives no left-or-right detail, though it still warns a golfer whether to add or drop a club.
Where golfers find a pin sheet
Pin sheets turn up mainly at tournaments and higher-end courses. A casual weekend round at a local public course often runs without one, while a club championship or a tour event hands a fresh sheet to every player before the round.
Producing one is straightforward. The course superintendent or a club professional cuts the day’s holes, then marks their positions onto a blank sheet that already shows the green shapes, and copies go out to players. Holes move daily for two reasons: it spreads wear across the putting surface so one area is not walked and putted flat, and it varies the challenge from day to day. The USGA has its own tool, the DEACON platform, that clubs use to print championship-grade hole location sheets.
One quick way to read difficulty: according to Golf News Net’s Ryan Ballengee, a hole cut less than five paces from any edge is a demanding, professional-grade position, while anything more generous than that plays fairly for most golfers.
Related Golf Terms
- Back tees — The longest tee positions, often called the tips.
- Scorecard — The card used to record strokes, par, handicap, and yardages.
- Forward tees — The shortest tee positions, offering an easier overall length.
- Championship tees — The longest tees, set up for tournament play.
- Tee markers — Colored markers that define the front edges of the teeing area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are pin sheet measurements in yards or meters?
In the United States, they are almost always in yards, and a pace is treated as one yard. Some courses in other regions print them in meters, so a golfer unsure which is in use can check with the starter.
Whose left and right does the sheet mean?
It is from the golfer’s point of view while facing the green from the fairway. An “R5” hole sits five paces to the right as the player looks at the target.
Does every golf course have pin sheets?
No. Plenty of everyday public and municipal courses never provide one. A golfer is most likely to be handed a pin sheet at a tournament or at a higher-end course that prints fresh copies for its players before each round.
Is a hole location sheet the same as a pin sheet?
In most cases, yes. Hole location sheet, hole location chart, pin chart, and pin sheet usually describe the same card. A few courses reserve “hole location chart” for a simpler zone-based version.
What does “paces” mean on a pin sheet?
A pace is roughly one yard. Course staff pace off the distances when setting the hole, and golfers can read each pace as a yard when working out their number.
Sources
- USGA Green Section Record. “Championship-Quality Hole Location Sheets for Any Course.” Accessed July 12, 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/60/04/championship-quality-hole-location-sheets-for-any-course.html - Golf News Net, Ryan Ballengee. “How to read a golf pin sheet, and what the numbers mean.” Accessed July 12, 2026.
https://thegolfnewsnet.com/ryan_ballengee/2025/01/01/how-to-read-golf-pin-sheet-what-numbers-pictures-mean-109877/ - LiveAbout, Brent Kelley. “What Are Pin Sheets in Golf and How to Read Them.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.liveabout.com/how-to-read-pin-sheets-1562685 - Golf Genius Knowledge Base. “Hole location / pin sheets.” Accessed July 2026.
https://docs.golfgenius.com/article/show/12248-hole-location-pin-sheets - CaddieHQ. “How to Read a Golf Pin Placement Sheet” and “How to Read a Golf Hole Location Sheet.” Accessed July 12, 2026.
https://www.caddiehq.com/resources/how-to-read-a-golf-pin-placement-sheet
https://www.caddiehq.com/resources/how-to-read-a-golf-hole-location-sheet - Live Tourney. “How to Read Pin Sheets and Master Your Golf Strategy.” Accessed July 2026.
https://www.livetourney.com/blog/how-to-read-pin-sheets - The Left Rough. “How to Use Golf Yardage Books and Pin Sheets.” Accessed July 2026.
https://theleftrough.com/golf-yardage-books-and-pin-sheets/
