Can you switch Tee box color mid-round?

lazyoldme · July 28, 2013

I played today with my dad and was getting quite frustrated because I asked at the start what tee's we were going to play from, I said I wanted to play the blues - which were the second longest on the course. He said he was okay with that then on like the fourth hole he says he is going to switch to the white because he is playing bad (which are a bit further up), then later he switches back to the blue.

Is this against golf rules? I know at the very least it must be against golf etiquette, it seems dishonest to switch tees in the middle of a round but maybe I am being stupid. Some input would be appreciated.

**MS256** · July 28, 2013

You can switch tee boxes, and IMO it should happen more than it does.

When somebody realizes they have bitten off more than they can chew instead of plowing on from the back tees, being miserable, losing their golf balls, and slowing everybody down they should move up.

**Fourputt** · July 28, 2013

Originally Posted by lazyoldme

I played today with my dad and was getting quite frustrated because I asked at the start what tee's we were going to play from, I said I wanted to play the blues - which were the second longest on the course. He said he was okay with that then on like the fourth hole he says he is going to switch to the white because he is playing bad (which are a bit further up), then later he switches back to the blue.

Is this against golf rules? I know at the very least it must be against golf etiquette, it seems dishonest to switch tees in the middle of a round but maybe I am being stupid. Some input would be appreciated.

You can't do it if you plan to post the round for handicap, or otherwise use it to mark a milestone. To do that you have to play what amounts to a stipulated round, which would be played from the same set of tees. Otherwise the course rating and slope don't have any validity and there is no way to figure a differential for applying it to your handicap.

If the round doesn't count for anything then it doesn't matter. Just keep in mind that if by some miracle you happened to post a personal best, it doesn't mean anything because it isn't a true round under the rules.

**sacm3bill** · July 28, 2013

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazyoldme

I played today with my dad and was getting quite frustrated because I asked at the start what tee's we were going to play from, I said I wanted to play the blues - which were the second longest on the course. He said he was okay with that then on like the fourth hole he says he is going to switch to the white because he is playing bad (which are a bit further up), then later he switches back to the blue.

Is this against golf rules? I know at the very least it must be against golf etiquette, it seems dishonest to switch tees in the middle of a round but maybe I am being stupid. Some input would be appreciated.

You can't do it if you plan to post the round for handicap, or otherwise use it to mark a milestone. To do that you have to play what amounts to a stipulated round, which would be played from the same set of tees. Otherwise the course rating and slope don't have any validity and there is no way to figure a differential for applying it to your handicap.

If the round doesn't count for anything then it doesn't matter. Just keep in mind that if by some miracle you happened to post a personal best, it doesn't mean anything because it isn't a true round under the rules.

According to http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Handicap-System-Manual/Rule-05/, section 5-2/g, you can post a score from unrated tees by just calculating the difference in yardage between the tees you played and the closest yardage for rated tees, then use the tables given to adjust the rating and slope. It's been claimed before on this site that the same method can be used if you bounce around between tees. Is that not true?

**MS256** · July 28, 2013

Originally Posted by Fourputt

You can't do it if you plan to post the round for handicap, or otherwise use it to mark a milestone.

I'm pretty sure you can under section 5-2 g.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Handicap-System-Manual/Rule-05/

**Fourputt** · July 28, 2013

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazyoldme

I played today with my dad and was getting quite frustrated because I asked at the start what tee's we were going to play from, I said I wanted to play the blues - which were the second longest on the course. He said he was okay with that then on like the fourth hole he says he is going to switch to the white because he is playing bad (which are a bit further up), then later he switches back to the blue.

Is this against golf rules? I know at the very least it must be against golf etiquette, it seems dishonest to switch tees in the middle of a round but maybe I am being stupid. Some input would be appreciated.

You can't do it if you plan to post the round for handicap, or otherwise use it to mark a milestone. To do that you have to play what amounts to a stipulated round, which would be played from the same set of tees. Otherwise the course rating and slope don't have any validity and there is no way to figure a differential for applying it to your handicap.

If the round doesn't count for anything then it doesn't matter. Just keep in mind that if by some miracle you happened to post a personal best, it doesn't mean anything because it isn't a true round under the rules.

According to http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Handicap-System-Manual/Rule-05/, section 5-2/g, you can post a score from unrated tees by just calculating the difference in yardage between the tees you played and the closest yardage for rated tees, then use the tables given to adjust the rating and slope. It's been claimed before on this site that the same method can be used if you bounce around between tees. Is that not true?

Originally Posted by MS256

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

You can't do it if you plan to post the round for handicap, or otherwise use it to mark a milestone.

I'm pretty sure you can under section 5-2 g.

http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Handicap-System-Manual/Rule-05/

Tell me what slope you use? The GHIN computer on my home course asks you to either select a course and tee, or to enter a rating and slope. Where do you come up with a slope when you are jumping from tee to tee?

**MS256** · July 28, 2013

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

According to http://www.usga.org/Rule-Books/Handicap-System-Manual/Rule-05/, section 5-2/g, you can post a score from unrated tees by just calculating the difference in yardage between the tees you played and the closest yardage for rated tees, then use the tables given to adjust the rating and slope. It's been claimed before on this site that the same method can be used if you bounce around between tees. Is that not true?

Sorry. Your comment wasn't up yet when I started typing mine. (I guess I need to type faster next time).

**sacm3bill** · July 28, 2013

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Tell me what slope you use? The GHIN computer on my home course asks you to either select a course and tee, or to enter a rating and slope. Where do you come up with a slope when you are jumping from tee to tee?

Check out the link. Both the rating and slope are determined by taking the closest rated tees' rating and slope, then adjusting based on the difference in yardage.

**saevel25** · July 29, 2013

Yep, there is a method for calculating the handicap if you want, its a bit more troublesome if you intermix through out the nine. What i do sometimes is try to hit 3300-3400 per nine, so i will play blues front nine, and white back nine. USGA saves there slope and ratings by nine's, so its easier that way.

**dsc123** · July 29, 2013

If you do it at the turn you can just post two 9 hole rounds using different tees.

**Dave2512** · July 29, 2013

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Tell me what slope you use? The GHIN computer on my home course asks you to either select a course and tee, or to enter a rating and slope. Where do you come up with a slope when you are jumping from tee to tee?

We had this come up last season when they rehabbed some dried out tee boxes on the front 9 at my former home course. After they closed the boxes the blues and whites were moved up to the senior tees for those holes. They used the tables to establish the temp ratings and when we logged in to post scores we selected the "can't find the course" option and named the tee temp and used the adjusted ratings.

My parents club has combo tees but they are permanent and have been evaluated by the rating team. The only other time I've seen it as a temporary situation is in the offseason so it doesn't matter for posting purposes. I played a lot of winter golf last year and there were a few courses that put mats out in between boxes and put all the markers together next to the mat on some holes. Pretty sure it was just the par 3's and a few short par 4's with forced layups. I assume they didn't want people hacking the dormant grass to bits with irons over the winter.

**Golfingdad** · July 29, 2013

I did this once last year. Joined a threesome as a single, one of them was a decent golfer and the other two were beginners. There were three sets of tees fairly close to each other (separated by about 10-15 yards only) on the first tee box ... black, blue and white (back to front). Me and the other decent golfer chose the blues and the 2 beginners chose the whites. Everything was fine and normal until we got to the 5th hole - a par 5 where the white tees were about 100 yards in front of the blues - when we thought something was odd. Nobody had looked for, or noticed, the red "ladies" tees but we assumed they existed. Once the guys realized those white tees were the furthest forward, they wanted nothing to do with them. So we each backed up a set from that point on.

I did happen play a really good round that day and I did post it from the back tees. I didn't realize there was a way to figure your own combo set. Oh well, no matter, its long off my last 20 at this point anyway. :)

**MEfree** · July 29, 2013

If I log in from home, I am able to enter a "manual" score with slope and CR...personally, I don't think it is that hard to estimate the slope and course rating using the link provided, but recall getting criticized on this forum for the one round I posted this way last fall when the course I played had aerated many of the tees and put the markers between the tee boxes (or at the very front/back edge) in a way that the back tees were playing about halfway between the true backs and the next set up. http://thesandtrap.com/t/62855/aerated-greens-and-fairways#post_779826

**dennyjones** · July 29, 2013

Playing golf with your Dad... Was the bet your mortgage? Did it really matter? I realize the conversation revolves around different tees but I believe there is nothing wrong with playing it forward.

Sign In

Can you switch Tee box color mid-round?

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Topics Being Discussed Right Now on The Sand Trap

TST Partners

Posts

Important Information