Different tournaments may have different styles of pin sheets. Most pin sheets are simple circular diagrams, while others are drawings of the actual golf course.
Many people like to fold pin sheets and keep them in their back pockets. Oftentimes, you’ll see golfers fold their pin sheets vertically so only 6 numbers show at a time so they’re easier to slip into a pocket.
These numbers are often underlined to differentiate them from the hole numbers.
For example, maybe the pin is 18 paces from the front and 7 paces from the left. The diagram would have a right angle with 18 on the vertical line and 7 on the horizontal line. Some pin sheets are actually small maps that show the true shape of the green. In that case, they’ll usually have a small dot inside of the shape that shows you the rough approximation of the pin.
Typically, the center of the green will be marked with signposts, so you can find it when you’re actually on the course. For example, if the center of the green was 100 yards, and the pin sheet said -7, you’d know that the pin is 93 yards from the front of the green.
For instance, let’s say your pin sheet tells you that the pin is on the upper left side of the green. If there’s a bunker on the lower left side of the course, you probably know that you want to approach this one from the right side of the fairway.
