Practical guide

How to read a golf pin sheet

A pin sheet tells you where the flag sits on each green. Once you know the six signals below, the daily sheet becomes quick to scan.

Hole number

Identifies the green and matches the flag number shown inside the diagram.

The distance from the front edge of the green to the flag, measured along the green’s playing direction.

The sideways distance from the nearest edge of the green to the flag.

A positive number means the pin is beyond the marked green center; a negative number means it is short of center.

The red dimension arrows show the overall playable size of the green.

The black approach arrow marks the front of the green, while the compass shows its real-world orientation.

Compare layouts from several golf courses and open the printable PDF beside each example.