I "Tee'ed it forward" today... my thoughts >>---->

[colin007]

According to my length, I play too far up, but I'm ok where I'm at because I'm a high capper. My issue is with all the old farts at my course that insist on playing the whites (we go yellow, red, white, blue) but can't reach a 140 yard par 3 with a driver. Are you kidding me?? You're 74 freaking years old!! Some of you are 80+!! Move the hell up!

[trackster]

Originally Posted by Meltdwhiskey

I don't know if I can agree with the bold statement above.  I'd say a 99 has you out over your skis a little and you aren't quite ready for the backs.  I would think that a truer statement would be "If you can break 80 regularly from the whites, then it is time to move to the blues".  That might be a little tough, but I think a better statement.  If you can't break 90, tee it forward.  Probably enjoy the game a little more by having a little more success.  And I think the players behind you would enjoy it a little better too.

The difference between someone shooting a 90 and some one shooting a 72 is one stroke per hole (on average).  If some one takes a 5 on a hole and someone takes a 4 on a hole the pace of play for the hole and the overall play of the hole will be very similar.

[Pablo68]

My club has Gold/Blue/White/Green/Red tees. My handicap is from the Blue tees at my club(s). Most are 6,300-6,500 yds with slopes of 120+. I can hit some drives 280 when I nut it but my average is 250-270 but I have rounds where I'm all over the place. Should people play the tees according their average drives in the fairway or according to their ability to score? I've played rounds where I've hit 12 fairways, 12 greens and didn't break 80. I've also played rounds where I hit 6 fairways, 6 greens and broke 80. Point being that I never know which one of my games is going to show up, so I play the Blues as a concession. And it depends a lot on the course too. Some courses have real short Par 3s (140 yds or less) and then several long Par 4s (400+ yds). Others might have very long par 3s & 5s but shorter (less than 350 yd) par 4s. Play what you're comfortable with. We're not going Pro.

[Hacker James]

Originally Posted by Old Timer

This is a very interesting observation.

I generally play from the "middle" tees and typically drive the ball 225 on the average but will reevaluate my own play based on this..

I think a lot of golfers are influenced by tv tournament play in that they do not consider themselves manly men unless they can hit from the same tees as the pro's.

I also suspect this attitude keeps up the sales of the Pro V1's and other must have golf gear.

I probably should consider moving forward. The chart provided indicates I am playing at the limits for my drive (220-240), but at the same time, I seldom get on in two and I think 15 or 20 yards would make a difference.. At the military course I sometimes play, the RED tees are still marked "women" on the scorecard.  I really don't care if it made the game more enjoyable Also lately, those drives are more in the range of 195-215 for whatever reason, but I seem to hit more fairways and some days I get several 1 putts making par obtainable for me.  One day the starter put me with this group of 3 women. I thought this would give me the chance to hit from the Reds, but even the ladies remarked on this "You are REALLY going to play from OUR Tee ?". Maybe they thought I was patronizing them, in any event, I ended up playing from the whites.  (so much for sticking to your convictions).  Hell, one of those gals should have been playing from the whites. She was a lot better than me.

[Lihu]

Originally Posted by dave s

I've been interested in this topic and have done some research since being 'snubbed' by a coworker a few years back who said, 'well, uh ... you know we play the back tees, so it might be too much for you.'  Truth is, HE isn't that good, either!

Anyway, there are plenty of formulas to help us easily identify course yardage and corresponding tee position based on how far you drive the ball on a regular basis.  Guess we can call this formula the "Driver x 28" to help us determine correct tee position.  Here's the very basic and easy to understand formula:

Examples:

Driving Distance

150

175

200

225

250

275

Course Distance

4200

4900

5600

6300

7000

7700

Questions regarding “Driver x 28”:

My average driving distance is 200-225 so I stick to tee positions where the course plays 5800-6200 yards.  Anything more than 6200 and par-4s can easily become 3-shot holes for me.

Lots of reading and good articles available through a google search on the term, 'play it forward.'

Great idea.  Wish everyone would sign up for this.

dave

I tend to agree with this. If you play too short a course, you would most likely tee off with shorter clubs, and that would not necessarily help your score.

However, if you were a lower handicapper it might, especially if you are strong with your irons (accurate 200 yard 4i? or 5i?). The caveat is that the lower handicapper probably drives much straighter and farther as well.

[Meltdwhiskey]

Originally Posted by trackster

The difference between someone shooting a 90 and some one shooting a 72 is one stroke per hole (on average).  If some one takes a 5 on a hole and someone takes a 4 on a hole the pace of play for the hole and the overall play of the hole will be very similar.

It is the length of time to:

Get yardage

Make a club decision

Pull a club

Routine

Hit shot

18 times.  Also, in my experience, these guys are often pretty wild off the tee - possibly because of trying to get yardage they don't possess or maybe just trying to crush it every time.  And they hit a lot of driver - which is wilder off the tee than the other clubs.  This leads to a lot of provisionals and mulligans, looking for balls in the woods, and in the rough, at water's edge, etc. - which might not come into play if they had gone with a nice controlled hybrid or something off the tee.  Then they could go straight to it in the short grass, hit less shots, and score better.

As long as someone plays at a reasonable pace, it is ultimately none of my business.  But from a philosophical standpoint, why would you try to play at level 4 if you are not very good at level 3.  Hitting from longer tees kind of implies a better golfer.  Saturday after Saturday, I watch guys tee off from the blues and hit it directly toward the 9th tee box and the woods in between.  And we start the day with a ball search - or waiting for the guys on the 9th to finish teeing off so we can continue.

My course recommends the blues for 6-10 handicaps.  That is not happening.  I think people who hit around or over 100 from the blues look silly playing from them.  And I do think it is more time consuming.

[teed off]

Originally Posted by Lihu

I tend to agree with this. If you play too short a course, you would most likely tee off with shorter clubs, and that would not necessarily help your score.

However, if you were a lower handicapper it might, especially if you are strong with your irons (accurate 200 yard 4i? or 5i?). The caveat is that the lower handicapper probably drives much straighter and farther as well.

I typically drive my ball 270-275 yards and I usually play from the "blue tees" (on a system of red,white, blue and gold) on my home course which measures 6950 yards (from the blue tees). I find this enough challange for me as I do not want to punish myself from the gold tees, after all I am not trying to qualify for the PGA, I am out enjoy a round of golf and get some exercise.

However, I have played from the red or "front" tees many  times with my wife but I do not use any of my "woods". I only use my 5-SW and a putter of course. I find these rounds most enjoyable, and it is a great way to practice my short game at the same time.

[jtw89]

One hole she poured it on thick from the tee to the hole. We were shot for shot, and she sunk a bogey put and I was left with a 15 footer to match her. (i nailed it by the way)

But, did you sink the put?