Tee Restrictions by Handicap

[DaveP043]

4 hours ago, dove694 said:

 You have the right to play a course at any yardage you want! 

I don't agree, you have whatever rights the golf course's policy allows you to have.  And really, if you get to play a "tour course", don't you want to have about the same experience the pros have?  If you do, you need to play the tees that give you similar shots into the greens, and that means teeing it up quite a long ways forward from the pro tees.

Just an aside, but a relevant one, this is from the website for Ballybunion Golf Club in Ireland:

Quote

Medal Tees

At the General Manager or Head Professional’s discretion and on production of a handicap certificate, play from the medal tees may be permitted to Category 1 golfers. - See more at: http://www.ballybuniongolfclub.com/visitors/#sthash.pIHnizEg.dpuf

 

[9wood]

Seneca Hickory Stick golf course which I go to has the following on the back of their score card . . .

TEES                             SUGGESTED HDCP

Black Tees                               0-5

Blue Tees                                6-11

White Tees                             12-25

Green Tees                             26-35

Red Tees                                 36+

[Lihu]

3 hours ago, 9wood said:

Seneca Hickory Stick golf course which I go to has the following on the back of their score card . . .

TEES                             SUGGESTED HDCP

Black Tees                               0-5

Blue Tees                                6-11

White Tees                             12-25

Green Tees                             26-35

Red Tees                                 36+

This is a very reasonable setup, I probably would play the white tees until I got used to the course then move back to the blue tees.

So, do you play the white or green tees? I would think that the difference between the white and green is mostly driving distance?

 

 

 

 

[jetsknicks1]

6 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

I don't agree, you have whatever rights the golf course's policy allows you to have.  And really, if you get to play a "tour course", don't you want to have about the same experience the pros have?  If you do, you need to play the tees that give you similar shots into the greens, and that means teeing it up quite a long ways forward from the pro tees.

Just an aside, but a relevant one, this is from the website for Ballybunion Golf Club in Ireland:

 

I played Ballybunion last June and that course looks to be a bear from the tips! One of the guys I got paired with was allowed to play from there and I'll tell ya one thing, there's no way I'd enjoy playing the tips.

[DaveP043]

Just now, jetsknicks1 said:

I played Ballybunion last June and that course looks to be a bear from the tips! One of the guys I got paired with was allowed to play from there and I'll tell ya one thing, there's no way I'd enjoy playing the tips.

I played there about 12 years ago, in a howling gale with just enough rain to make it not-quite-completely miserable.  Its not crazy long from the back tees on the card, 6800 yards, but I remember the white tees at 6350 being plenty to handle.  I'll be back in June, and I will NOT be asking about playing the back tees.

[9wood]

2 hours ago, Lihu said:

This is a very reasonable setup, I probably would play the white tees until I got used to the course then move back to the blue tees.

So, do you play the white or green tees? I would think that the difference between the white and green is mostly driving distance?

 

 

 

 

First outing, green, until I get familiar with the course, then move back to the whites.

[DrvFrShow]

One local course repainted the red tees to green, which unfortunately makes them hard to find. They should have painted them yellow, but it's county run and I guess they didn't have any yellow paint on hand. The Green tees are 5600 yds. When they were red, men didn't play them. Now that they're green, senior men are starting to play them. They now have a rating for both men and women on the card.

The course also has the following

Green course: 5600 yds

Green/White course: 5850 yds

White course: 6100 yds

Blue course 6500 yds 

Black course 7100 yds

But this is also one of the few courses in the area where the trees on the course make sense. They separate the holes from one another and are not there to be overly penal. 

[kevin2]

I can still play from the backs on most courses, but I've started teeing off on the whites at my home course. I just don't enjoy it from the backs anymore. I laugh when I play with guys that insist on playing from the backs & yet they struggle to shoot in the mid 80s. I've gone threw times when I would even tee off at the whites with the other 3 guys playing from the backs. I figured it would be worse to be stinking it up from back there THEN the few laughs that come from me NOT manning up at the start of the round. Oh well!

 

[Aguirre]

I just frankly don't see this a major problem and I play plenty of country clubs.  One ridiculous thing I'd point out about Oakmont is that the "member tees" are about 6600 yards.  They're blue and not traditional white but this is where pretty much every member plays from, whether or not they should.  That's kind of dumb.  

The entire--and I mean all of it--tee it forward program is horribly out of touch with the average golfer and smells of stuffy white assholes like David Fay, who are so removed from how the game is experienced by the majority of players that I want to shit in his mouth.

Edited May 26, 2016 by Aguirre

[bkuehn1952]

When a player of similar ability to mine insists on "seeing the whole course" or playing the "big boy tees", I take him to our little county-owned course.  He can play the back tees (7,005 yards - 74.3/140) and I will spot him 6 strokes while I play the "Blue" tees (6,105 yards - 69.6/131).   There aren't many times he is going to beat me, if ever.  That is unless he is one of those relatively common 11-12 handicappers who hit their driver 275 yards dead straight, work their 170 yard 7-iron both ways but just can't get a handle on putting & chipping, which is why they can't score.  That type of person will have a chance. 

 

[Grumpter]

7 hours ago, Aguirre said:

The entire--and I mean all of it--tee it forward program is horribly out of touch with the average golfer and smells of stuffy white assholes like David Fay, who are so removed from how the game is experienced by the majority of players that I want to shit in his mouth.

I don't get the hate for the program. It is just a guideline and too many times I play with guys who are definitely playing from the wrong set of tee's. Just a few weeks ago we were paired up with 2 seniors who felt the need to play from tee's at about 6,300 yards. They were miserable because they couldn't reach most of the par 4's in 2 with their best shots. They would have enjoyed the round more and we would have enjoyed the round more if they had been playing from an appropriate tee.... which was forward. All they did was make themselves and everyone else around them enjoy the day less.

[Lihu]

20 minutes ago, Grumpter said:

I don't get the hate for the program. It is just a guideline and too many times I play with guys who are definitely playing from the wrong set of tee's. Just a few weeks ago we were paired up with 2 seniors who felt the need to play from tee's at about 6,300 yards. They were miserable because they couldn't reach most of the par 4's in 2 with their best shots. They would have enjoyed the round more and we would have enjoyed the round more if they had been playing from an appropriate tee.... which was forward. All they did was make themselves and everyone else around them enjoy the day less.

The case you presented makes sense, but for most golfers the difference is pretty minimal as many take 4 shots to get to the green.

[Groucho Valentine]

Im on the fence with this idea. I play at bethpage fairly often and people playing from the back on the blue or black courses when they shouldn't is a big reason why you can catch a 6 hour round there. Depending on how they're tending the rough and high grass areas, I dont even play from the blues on the Black. Miss a fairway and you can kiss your ass goodbye. 

But I also feel like if its a muni situation and they're paying the money, they should be able to play from where they want. I admit It can be frustrating watching some guy duff his way to 115 while he plays from 7100 yards, but you just have to endure it sometimes. But i generally think the game is more enjoyable from shorter distances. 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2016 by Groucho Valentine

[DaveP043]

7 hours ago, Aguirre said:

The entire--and I mean all of it--tee it forward program is horribly out of touch with the average golfer and smells of stuffy white assholes like David Fay, who are so removed from how the game is experienced by the majority of players that I want to shit in his mouth.

I'd suggest that the "tee it forward" program is a very logical effort to help "the average golfer" enjoy golf more, by playing a golf course that is suited to his or her abilities.  I don't see it as being at all elitist or stuffy.  On the contrary, when people have more fun playing golf, they're more likely to play MORE golf, so it seems pretty inclusive to me.

[Lihu]

Playing forward does not guarantee a fast pace of play, and teeing too far back does not mean people will take longer to play.

Teeing it forward can likely improve a person's score, but definitely not all the time.

[Grumpter]

11 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Playing forward does not guarantee a fast pace of play, and teeing too far back does not mean people will take longer to play.

Teeing it forward can likely improve a person's score, but definitely not all the time.

It's not about the individual round or individual group it is about the overall group. Just shaving 10 minutes off the average time to play 18 holes and a few strokes off of average scores can make the game that much more enjoyable (except for that special group that feel they are less of a man if they play from shorter tee's).

[Lihu]

12 minutes ago, Grumpter said:

It's not about the individual round or individual group it is about the overall group. Just shaving 10 minutes off the average time to play 18 holes and a few strokes off of average scores can make the game that much more enjoyable (except for that special group that feel they are less of a man if they play from shorter tee's).

Yeah, it could likely save time for bogey or better golfers, but there are golfers who are so bad that even teeing from the kid's tees won't really save time. You could argue that they should play an easier course, and that's probably correct, but not everyone has the opportunity to do so.

I have no issue with someone taking more shots to get to the green than myself or just in general. I'd end up just waiting more at the tee box anyway, even if we are playing a 4 hour round.

Over 90% of the people (mostly regulars) at my home courses play up, and it's great and all but I can't blankly state that it saves even 10 minutes off an 18 hole round.

[EMC2144]

For me I doubt it saves anything honestly. Most courses near me don't have a distinct difference between white and blue or red and gold. There may be a few that it adds like 25 or 30 yards, and maybe one where it may make you pull a different club. Only one where I play a lot that's a huge difference takes it from 370 with a relatively easy shot to cut the dogleg over tall trees to 450 and no chance, where I'm likely playing 3 wood, 5 iron. I play back there against my dad cause I out drive him 40-50 yards easy and it keeps it competitive. He still smokes me around the green though.

But if it will take someone 5 shots to reach a par 4 green, it'll be roughly the same (maybe 1 shot here and there) when they move up.