Moving Up a Tee Box - Do You Play Better or Worse?

[TourSpoon]

So I track my stats and usually play at the 6600 yards but occasionally have moved up to 6150 for a little confidence in scoring lower but its relative to course rating. I say that because at my skill level, I can see improvement in proximity to the hole on par 3s and par 5s. Its the same on the long par 4s that may go from 420 to 385 making it a much easier hole and higher GIR number. There are 3 holes that I have to gear down to 3 wood and 2 hybrid just to keep from running it out of the fairway but still have wedge or 9 iron left. With all that said, I think I am about 2-3 strokes better just by moving up tees but the course rating is exactly 2 strokes and the differential virtually the same. So taking my last 5 rounds from the Blue tees ranging from 75-82 averaging 79 and then 5 rounds from the men's tees ranging 75-78 I average 77 which is exactly the difference in course rating.  I will note that all my white tee scores were used in handicap calculations while from the blues I have more rounds that don't figure into the mix and I contribute that to some double bogey avoidance from the shorter tees. I have posted outside of the last 5 blue ratings in the mid 80s occasionally but from the whites have never seen 80. Good topic! 

[Sandy Lie]

22 minutes ago, TourSpoon said:

So I track my stats and usually play at the 6600 yards but occasionally have moved up to 6150 for a little confidence in scoring lower but its relative to course rating. I say that because at my skill level, I can see improvement in proximity to the hole on par 3s and par 5s. Its the same on the long par 4s that may go from 420 to 385 making it a much easier hole and higher GIR number. There are 3 holes that I have to gear down to 3 wood and 2 hybrid just to keep from running it out of the fairway but still have wedge or 9 iron left. With all that said, I think I am about 2-3 strokes better just by moving up tees but the course rating is exactly 2 strokes and the differential virtually the same. So taking my last 5 rounds from the Blue tees ranging from 75-82 averaging 79 and then 5 rounds from the men's tees ranging 75-78 I average 77 which is exactly the difference in course rating.  I will note that all my white tee scores were used in handicap calculations while from the blues I have more rounds that don't figure into the mix and I contribute that to some double bogey avoidance from the shorter tees. I have posted outside of the last 5 blue ratings in the mid 80s occasionally but from the whites have never seen 80. Good topic! 

Good reply.  Experiencing the same.  In our Men’s Golf Association we play the Green tees or Green/White Hybrid.  Other days I play White with an occasional Blue.

[klineka]

The last round I played we played from one up tee boxes, so like 5,500 yds, relative to par I was about 6-8 shots better than I typically am, but relative to differential it was 3 strokes better than my handicap at the time. But to be fair I also played a nearly mistake free round of golf and holed multiple 10-15 footers which isn't normal for me.

[billchao]

I tend to have to learn how to navigate a course through experience, so moving up a set of tees for a single event is probably not going to help me at all.

If I score well from a shorter set of tees it’s more than likely just because I’m hitting the ball well that day and not because of 300 yards or something.