Tee help needed, colors?

**scooterguitar** · July 20, 2008

Ok, I've always played public courses and such with red, white, and blue.
Now I am starting to get on better courses and they have numerous tees to choose from.
black, white, green, yellow.
black= pro
white= regular for me?
green= ladies?
yellow= seniors?

***iacas*** · July 20, 2008

Though there are some general conventions, they don't always hold. I have two courses where the black tees are 6700 yards. On some courses the gold tees are for seniors, and on others they're the tips.

Just play the appropriate tees for you. It's a combination of looking at the length as well as the rating and slope.

**NM Golf** · July 20, 2008

This is a general rule, and not all golf courses are exactly this way but...5 sets of tees normally go like this from longest to shortest:

longest normally black: 0-4 handicap or professional tees

next normally blue: Championship tees, which are still for single digit handicaps generally. They are still too difficult for mid and high handicappers most of the time.

middle tees: These are for the average male golfer they are normally white but different courses have them different colors.

next tee: These are often called the senior tees, but many high handicappers and accomplished lady golfers use them as well.

Forward tees, often red: These are the ladies tee boxes but I see many super seniors play from there as well.

Thats the good thing about senior golfers. They leave the ego at home and have no problem playing the forward tees as they can enjoy the game easier. To many younger guys who hack it up still play the championship or professional tees because even though they can't break 100 they want to play the entire course.

**scooterguitar** · July 20, 2008

Thanks.
Here's today's scorecard, should I be playing the white or green?
http://www.whitepinesgc.com/id15.html

**NM Golf** · July 20, 2008

Thanks.

The whites unless you are an extremely short hitter. That course is rated pretty easy so the whites should be a good fit for your handicap. Just have fun and keep up with the group in front of you. Good Luck!

**b-squared** · July 20, 2008

Thanks.

Try the whites as they should be just right for you. If you feel it's too long, go for the greens as that should ease it up a bit. Enjoy your round!

**ks8829** · July 20, 2008

I played Stanford's golf course in Palo Alto, CA and their colors are red so the red tees are the back tees.

**GaijinGolfer** · July 20, 2008

Do the different tees really make that much of a difference in your scores and your handicap?
I normally play from the white tees and it seems like from the red to the white to the blue tees is only a different of about 30' from one teebox to the next.
Personally, I play from the whites because thats where I figure a 28-year-old man should play from. I dont think my ego could take playing from the ladies'/juniors/seniors tees (red) and Im DEFINETLY no pro, so I dont belong on the blues. I figure that the whites is where I belong.
Theres a course in NE Wisconsin where my parents live that I play on a lot when Im in that area and it has red, white, blue and black tees. They usually postion the black tees way back and off to the side, so you either have to hit your tee shot over or around the trees.

**Wazzu8** · July 20, 2008

At my course that I work at they have the red (ladies and seniors), white (men), blue (pros/single digit guys), black (championship)

Very few people play from the blacks at my course, they don't even use blacks for tournaments, just the blues.

**Shindig** · July 20, 2008

Do the different tees really make that much of a difference in your scores and your handicap?

The OP question got answered, so I'm not going to address that, but here's what I think:

In large part, it depends on your game. If you can only hit it, say, 200 yards with a driver and 100 with a PW, the tips will hurt your game simply by keeping greens (and maybe even fairways) out of reach. On the other hand, many city courses around here just put the blues 10-15 yards behind the whites on most holes, so does hitting a 7-iron instead of an 8-iron really change things? Depends on your short game more at that point, I figure. But if you played, say, Balboa Golf Course in Encino out here, the blues are something like a 70.5/117 - safe for just about anyone who can break 95 from the whites there (~69/114, IIRC). I look at the CR and SR and, in extreme cases, compute the score I'd get if I played to my handicap exactly. Then I choose which score/tee combination I like. At Woodley Lakes, another course around here, the forward (red) tees are 6200 yards and rated for the men and the women. Before I could break 100 from the whites there, I contemplated playing from those. I spent a round telling someone I would do it my next round if I didn't break 100 that day... and somehow shot a 95 while thinking of my score. This was about a year ago.

**scooterguitar** · July 20, 2008

Good stuff guys.
Just got back, nice course. Played pretty decent first 9, then blew my shoulder out on the turn and should quit right there, but didn't. The tee you suggested are what I played and they were the right match.

Per the other ? above...the tees do matter. I usually play the whites, one group of pals always demand to play the tips so I go along with it if no one is around. A mere 15 yards on the box can truly make a huge difference. Gives another perspective totally. Hazards can REALLY come into play or out of play opposed to the whites. I do enjoy the back tess on occasion, but know I shouldn't be as stated above. If no one is behind ya, go for it, but if you do play the backs and people are around better make sure your pushing that ball down the middle pretty darn good. We all hate being back of people hacking or slow playing.

**RemyM** · July 20, 2008

Play from the tees that give you the best chance to hit greens in regulation. Based on your handicap I would play from tees that give you short to mid irons at worst for your second shot.

**mellojoe** · July 21, 2008

That's what I like about the courses here in Bella Vista.... no colors, just numbers. Tee's are numbered #1, #2, #3, and #4. 1 is the longest and 4 is the shortest.

Most people don't call them Ladies or Seniors or Juniors, thank goodness.

I play from the 3's, where as most people play from the #2's. But, I swallow my pride and step up and play from the 3's. Since people just call them 3's instead of "juniors", I don't feel too bad.

**DJYoshi** · July 21, 2008

different tees absolutely make a difference. in your scoring and handicap. por ejemplo, there's a course out here called berkshire valley. it's a pretty tough course & it penalizes you if you don't select the right club off of the tee.
it's easy to score from the whites b/c you can hit a hybrid off the tee and clear all the trouble. then you go play the blues or the championship tees and that hole that was just 352 playing into the wind over the water which was a 210 carry to the 140 area now becomes a 402 into the wind and you'll have to bomb it to carry the water to have a decent shot from 150 out.
each tee has a different rating and slope. some courses, if you're a longer hitter driving 240 at the minimum, the course becomes a simple: drive, pitch, putt, and you're home. All of my scores in the 70's have been from the whites from any course I've played (except for LV National, that was from the back)
and the course looks a lot different when your blue tees are on avg 30 yards back of the whites. on a 420 par 4, up hill, I'm still a long iron away after the drive as compared to being a 6 or 7 iron out after the drive.

**Big_M** · July 21, 2008

Ok, I've always played public courses and such with red, white, and blue.

Holly crap... I just moved away from Toledo and used to play White Pines all the time... it is a great little course, perfect for walking. I agree with the other posters... whites should be about right. Just make sure you watch for the OB on number 11 and leave the driver in the bag on number 5.

for the record my 5 favorite in the Toledo area (public) 1) Maumee Bay... nice 'links" style design 2) The Legacy... up on Sterns Rd. in Ottawa Lk MI 3) South Toledo... great student rates, great walking course 4) White Pines... also great rates, great walker 5) Red Hawk Run... OK, this ones in Findlay, but is well worth the drive.

**MonkeyClaw** · July 21, 2008

This is a general rule, and not all golf courses are exactly this way but...5 sets of tees normally go like this from longest to shortest:

It's funny they call the reds the 'ladies' tees. My wife and I played with one of her old friends yesterday. She played the reds only because my wife was, she normally plays the whites. She hasn't played 18 holes in over 2 years - she scored a 76

She pretty much ate our lunch, spit it out, then ate our dinner! We all had a great time though. Oh yeah - she went to Auburn on a golf scholarship.

**scooterguitar** · July 21, 2008

Holly crap... I just moved away from Toledo and used to play White Pines all the time... it is a great little course, perfect for walking. I agree with the other posters... whites should be about right. Just make sure you watch for the OB on number 11 and leave the driver in the bag on number 5.

Well how cool! We are actually going to go play Red Hawk this week. They have anniversary special of $25 for 18 w/cart any day after noon.

I'm originally from Defiance, Auglaize (White Pines' owner used to be the super there) is where I used to play 75% of the time, now I'm in Napoleon so I have been driving all around. If I do join a club next year, it will be White Pines.

**bruce** · July 22, 2008

The whites are perfect for you.

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