For love of the game...

Why, why, why...do people insist on playing "from the tips" when they have NO chance of breaking, say, 90.  None.  Like 123.  "Couldn't make a putt"

Is that fun?  Do they ENJOY struggling just so that they can say they played from "the backs?"

Is it total D-Bag prerequisite to do so??  Would it kill them to play the tees that suit their game and the course they have chosen to darken?

HELP ME UNDERSTAND.

Thanks.

10 extra yards per hole makes little difference to most men, especially when they can drive really well 1 or 2 times a round and think that's their average.

Honestly, I can't see how 10-20 yards matters all that much. People usually aren't terrible golfers because of lack of distance, or at least consistent lack of distance. Many bad golfers would probably score about the same on a 6000 yard course as a 6500 yard course. I, on most days, have just as little prayer of reaching with my 5 iron as with my 7.

That said, I play from the whites at most courses, it prevents people like you from complaining while I line up my double bogey putt.

Yea, its the worst being stuck behind some of these guys. Although, on a funny sidenote, the last time I was stuck behind a group of 30 handicaps playing the tips, one of them got so mad he threw his driver in the lake and then waded knee deep into it to retrieve it. That almost made it worth it... almost.

I applaud your choices.  Thank you.

I am not so much complaining as wondering.

Sure, maybe the 500 yards over 18 holes isn't an issue.  Maybe it is.  Just trying to understand the thought process.

You are absolutely entitled to play whatever tees you want...you paid the freight.  But not being able to clear the forced carry just to say you played "the tips" seems...

Sue me.

10-20 yards could mean a 1 or 2 club difference to some, usually a longer club. For me, I become a lot more comfortable in my approach shots if I can get a short iron in. The longer I have in, I go to clubs where I'm less consistent with.

From what I see, the course and slope ratings only go higher the further the tee gets. Some people who play from the tips (when they know they can't) just have too much ego and not enough consistency. The other reason is because one of their buddies wants to play from the tips so they reluctantly agree.

Ego. Pure and simple.

I remember playing the tips at Ironhorse in Palm Beach Gardens because the guys that invited me wanted to experience the course.  There is a hole that is 220 with a forced water carry of 195.  I was the only one on the green.  It was a long day.

At a decent course, the blacks aren't just farther. They're strategically set to make holes more difficult ... offset to carry more water or force a fade or draw etc.

Having said that, I play whatever tees my group wants, which is usually the whites, but when I play with my father in law at his club, we play the 'gold' tees just behind the ladies tees ... and yeah, we've often waited for groups spraying drives from the tips.

I would also point out that people complain about slow play regardless of which tee box the offenders play from, if the people had better etiquette and were more willing to play through, I doubt there'd be much concern.

There's a psychological disadvantage to being far away too. It give you a slight extra feeling of "gotta pound it out there", which is probably the worst urge the average hacker can have on the teebox. Assuming they get off the teebox the same as if they were playing shorter tees, it's still 1 or 2 more clubs onto the green. Greater chances for screwing up and less chance of hitting the green mean more chips and bunker shots. Also, for every forced carry, it means a slightly greater chance of not making it. I don't think that playing an extra set of tees is a huge contributor to slow play, but I think it plays a factor. I could see it add a half minute per hole on average if 3 or 4 players are playing too far back, and that's about 10 minutes by the end. That's a respectable amount of time. The course and slope ratings usually only indicate about 2 or 3 strokes of difficulty difference for the 90s shooter between tees, and that may ultimately be true. But the delays are more than just taking an extra couple strokes over the course of the game. Why do they do it? Ego, buddy pressure, fun... Already mentioned. Most golfers want to blast drives. The teebox is half the fun for them. They'll choose the farthest tees that let them feel close to their comfort zone (whether or not it should actually be in their comfort zone :-P ).

This is the argument I seem to hear the most from people who play the back tees when in my opinion they should be playing farther forward.  It also usually seems to be guys who aren't regular players who pose the argument for "experiencing" the course.  The guys who have experienced the course tend to do a better job of tee box selection.

For me I play tees that are too far back for me solely because that is where the tourneys and money games are played from.  Although I should play from the "middle" tees I play from the "back" tees so I can "practice" the shots I could have in the tourneys or money games.

Funny that you bring this up as I talked with the pro at my club about this every thing.  He was promoting "tee it forward" but could not figure out why no one would participate.  I told him if he would "tee it forward" for the tourneys/money games that month everyone would do it.  Of course he disagreed with me... but it is what it is.  I tried.

Back when I couldn't break 100, the tips were considered the "Championship Tees". They were off limits. Even low index players went off the regular tees unless it was a tournament or league play.

Don't you love that excuse? I was at Bethpage State Park (playing the green that day, but was watching some people tee off on the black before my own tee time) and there was a foursome just about to tee off. One guy proposes to the group "You guys wanna play from the tips? We'll experience the whole course." Another guy responds "Sure, I want to play it like they did at the Open last year."

The only issue here is slow play, and people who play slow tend to do so from whatever tees they choose.  If the individual golfer playing from the tips sprays his drive into the water and then proceeds expeditiously to the drop area, I don't see a problem with it.

As someone who always plays from the back, and usually plays with other guys who are much less skilled than I am, this usually happens in my groups.  It's usually the others in my group who are saying "you don't want to play with me--I suck."  My response is always that I love playing with people who love the game, so long as you don't linger too long, then play whatever tees you want.

Somehow we need to get people to think of tee boxes like they do ski trail ratings.  Most sober poor to average skiers tend to avoid double black diamond ski trails

Somehow, I doubt you can equate golf to jumping off a mountain...

Maybe, but the mentality that you must experience a course from the tips is analagous to wanting to ski an entire mountain trail regardless of skill level.  Golfers don't fall to their death when they play from the wrong tee boxes but maybe there needs to be more of a penalty than exists today to discourage the behavior.