Caddie TapDo Doglegs Bend Left or Right? We Measured 13,749 Holes
July 9, 2026 · Caddie Tap course data team
Every golfer has an opinion about doglegs. Nobody had the number — so we measured the bend of 13,749 holes (tee-to-midpoint heading vs midpoint-to-green heading, 18° threshold, holes over 240 yards).
American golf leans left
By 76 holes out of 13,749, left edges right. One plausible reason: a dogleg left rewards the right-hander's draw — the shot classic architects assumed good players hit — and keeps the slicer's miss in play off the tee. Whatever the cause, the effect is nearly a coin flip, which is itself the story: course architecture is remarkably balanced.
The most dogleg-heavy courses
| # | Course | Doglegs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Greens Country Club | 14 of 14 measured holes |
| 2 | Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club | 13 of 14 measured holes |
| 3 | Racoon Creek | 12 of 14 measured holes |
| 4 | Miami Springs Golf Course | 12 of 14 measured holes |
| 5 | Links Golf Club | 12 of 14 measured holes |
| 6 | Interlachen Country Club | 12 of 14 measured holes |
| 7 | Fred Arbanas Golf Course | 12 of 14 measured holes |
| 8 | Crosswater Club | 11 of 15 measured holes |
| 9 | Woodlands | 11 of 14 measured holes |
| 10 | Wild Horse Golf Club | 11 of 14 measured holes |
| 11 | The Views Golf Club | 11 of 14 measured holes |
| 12 | TPC Summerlin | 11 of 14 measured holes |
| 13 | Oro Valley Country Club Golf Course | 11 of 14 measured holes |
| 14 | New Albany Country Club | 11 of 14 measured holes |
| 15 | Kapalua Plantation Course | 11 of 14 measured holes |
Playing a bend on purpose
The dogleg question is always the same: cut the corner or take the fat side? It's a carry-distance question — how far to clear the corner, and what's left if you do. The full-hole map in Caddie Tap shows the bend and the line before you commit.
How we measured
Bend measured on 13,749 holes over 240 yards with a mapped playing line, across 1,197 courses. A hole counts as a dogleg beyond ±18° — the same threshold the app uses. Distances are computed along each hole's GPS playing line (middle-tee geometry), the same data the Caddie Tap app uses on the course. Facility records that map the same course twice are collapsed, and obvious data outliers are excluded rather than published. Counts reflect what is mapped in our database — a famous course's hand-counted total may run higher. Spot a mistake? The app has a built-in "report a course issue" button.
Get Caddie Tap — Free on the App StoreFAQ
Are there more dogleg lefts or rights?
Left, barely: 23.4% of measured holes bend left vs 22.8% right — a difference of only 76 holes across 13,749.
What percentage of golf holes are doglegs?
About 46% in our data — the other 54% play essentially straight (within 18 degrees).
Data: Caddie Tap GPS course database — distances measured along each hole's playing line, middle-tee geometry.