How much better are you playing one set of tees up?

[chriskzoo]

I generally play whatever set of tees comes in around 6500 yards, give or take a hundred, but sometimes when playing with lesser skilled friends I'll play one se up, usually around 6000 yards. What I find is that I am a good 5-6 shots better from the closer tees - usually shooting in the mid to upper 70's while from my "normal set" of tees I usually shoot in the 80-85 range.

Anyone know what is "usual" when you move up/back one set of tees?

[Surefire]

Surely it would depend on the course, and could be calculated by the SSI or Rating?

[PiKapp23]

Like you I usually look for a particular yardage when playing. I like 6300-6500 yards. Most of the friends I play with though should be playing from 6000 or less so I will usually play with them from that forward yardage. One thing I have found is that 6000 yards is a good yardage for me to score on, but much shorter than that I end up with some trouble for some reason. Of course this depends a lot on the design and layout of the course, but it seems if I get below 6000 yards I put myself into a lot of ackward distances. Course management is one of my strong suits and I pride myself in making good decisions and hitting to correct spots. However, on these shorter courses I often end up being long or short way too often. I think it's a mental thing - I start thinking it's a shorter course so I need to hit shorter clubs, less drivers, etc. and end up underswinging which causes me to come up short or lose accuracy. My entire approach just changes.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I dont find playing one yardage or another affects my score much. The way my game is set up, i need to putt well in order to keep my scores low. So it doesnt matter what the yardage is for me. Where i used to play alot the middle tees where about or 6600 yards. The back tees were close to 6900. If i broke down the posted scores over a season between the two tees they would probably be exactly the same. So i just play the regulation tee wherever i play.

[David in FL]

IMHO, 5 or 6 strokes is pretty significant. Realistically, if you take a look at the difference between the course ratings and slopes, you can get a pretty good feel for what you should expect to shoot moving forward or back a set of tees if you're going to continue to play to your current handicap.

Rather than asking why I'm 6 strokes lower when moving up a set of tees, it might be better to ask why am I 6 strokes higher when I move back a set of tees........ when the difference in course rating is only 1.3 strokes (or whatever the heck it is)? A little analysis there, might point you towards some opportunities in your game that, with some attention, could bring those scores down a bit. For instance, if I found that I was hitting more greens because I've got more short-iron approach shots from the shorter tees, I'd look to opportunities to improve my mid-iron ball striking and greenside chipping........or if I'm hitting 3 woods off the tee from the shorter tees, but have to hit driver more often from the longer tees, the opportunity might lie with the big stick. Again though, some personal analysis is needed to see where the opportunity lies.

At least that's the way I would look at it......of course, YMMV.

[Fourputt]

I think that it makes a bigger difference for a higher handicapper, assuming that he also has the good sense to play the club he needs from the tee instead of blindly wailing away with the driver. When most of the high cappers I know leave the driver in the bag, they immediately improve their scoring. Moving up one tee should mean that they can hit 3W, hybrid, or mid irons on most tee shots (assuming that they are playing from the right tee in the first place ), and that is almost guaranteed to keep them in play better than they are with the driver.

A low handicapper is more likely to be in play no matter what club he plays off the tee, so changing tee boxes won't usually make as much difference to him.

[TheNatural]

I think that it makes a bigger difference for a higher handicapper, assuming that he also has the good sense to play the club he needs from the tee instead of blindly wailing away with the driver. When most of the high cappers I know leave the driver in the bag, they immediately improve their scoring. Moving up one tee should mean that they can hit 3W, hybrid, or mid irons on most tee shots (assuming that they are playing from the right tee in the first place

WELL PUT. In my case like in the previous posters case his putter determines his score so tee has little effect. However with me its the driver. I cant hit a 3w and have not really practiced too much, but with a driver if my driver swing is "on" then i could play from tips and post as good a score as from the ladies with poor driving. I would give up 50 yards of drive to be 230- 240 down the middle every time. Well maybe 30 yards. issue is i dont slice or hook but top the ball and get a 40-100 yard drive, or I carry 260+. Its feast or famine, and when I hit a bomb the distance is long and straight that the tips present no problem. Its the tops that put me into bogey+ golf

[lumpuckeroo]

For me, I think it all depends on the type of course. For example, the course I play at regularly is very hilly, there are certian flatspots you need to drive the ball to in order to have a good lie and play your second shot. So if I play from the back tees I hit driver, move up a set and I hit 3 wood, but I am still hitting the same iron on my second shot so the difference in my score is negligible.

On the other hand, the course I play a lot with my brother has a lot of forced carries, doglegs, waste areas with water, and par 3's over water. From 6600 yards I can't break 90, moving up to 6200 yards and I can get to the spots I need to, hit shorter clubs into the par 3 and I have flirted with breaking 80 several times.

For me hitting driver, 3 wood, 3 wood, chip and putt for a par, or hitting driver, 4 iron, wedge and 2 putts for a par it's all the same, I just enjoy the game more with the latter.

[chipper2]

I enjoy the 6200-6500 yard tees. My driver is the most consistant club in my bag. If my short game and putting is on, I'll be the 90s. If not in the 100-105 range. Moving up to a shorter tee does not seem to make much difference as my problem area is the short game and putter.

[TN94z]

At my course, playing from the next shorter tees are a pain in the butt for me. I end up in between clubs too often. We play the next to longest tees and sometimes play from the tips. I have noticed that from the tips, I can shoot pretty much the same if not better because it seems to take much of the trouble out of play...at my course. The distances don't really bother me because I usually hit all my irons fairly well, so having to hit a 5i instead of a 6i doesn't really hurt me.

[ChiChiIsMe]

Actually I normally play better from the back tees. 3-4 strokes. White 6100 Blue 6500. My particular course just set-up so much better from the back for me.

[Dub]

Not too terribly bad at my home course shifting between the whites and blues....blacks are a different story....ouch....whole different course from there.


We have one par 3 that the tee position makes a huge deal on.....aside from this hole it's just a matter of hitting more hybrid approaches vs. iron approaches.....not a bad thing most times.

[SubPar]

I generally shoot the same scores from either the white (middle) tees or the blues (back). The difference is usually one or two clubs in distance and that does not seem to have much effect on my scores. I miss a lot of greens anyway and still rely on getting up and down and a steady putter to score.



SubPar

[denver_nuggs_15]

I usually shoot the same from the blue (6500 yards) and back (6950 yards) tees. I think right now with how I've been playing, I'd be about 2-3 shots lower from the blue tees than the back tees. I hit fairways, get up by the green, then either 2 putt (maybe a 1 putt for bird or the 3 putt) or chip up (then 1 or 2 putt). Since my short game and putter are just coming on for me (still not where I'd like to be) and I should hit more greens being farther up, I'd expect a 2 or 3 shot difference. As of last year though, there was no difference at all.
When I play from the back tees, it's usually for money. Sometimes we play from the blues for money, but the "long" hitters want every advantage they can get. Maybe I concentrate more, but I think that I should do better on a shorter course...it just hasn't happened yet.

[mirv]

moving up one box typically doesn't alter my score much - maybe 2 or 3 strokes. now if i went from the tips to the ladies tees, i imagine there'd be a pretty drastic difference.