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How do you know which tees to play from?


Lovgoel
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Hi,

I've been kind of wondering which set of tees are the "appropriate" ones to play from. If I'm playing a new course, I'll look at the par three distances and gauge which ones just seem absurd and which ones seem realistic. Is there a better way to make this decision? I'm about an 11 handicap and hit my 7 iron 160 and carry a driver about 265-275.

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Hi,

For your distance, I'd say either the back tees or one up, at most.

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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Our league picks a tee box that's closest to 6500 yards and 125 slope. Our league handicap ranges from 2 to 20.

I found this to be comfortable so when I play in a new course, I follow the above rule to pick a tee box. But often I let my playing partners decide.

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Wood - Cobra 5 wood 18* R flex
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I like playing off the back tees at new courses. If I play them again in a competition I'll know what to expect.

If you can't reach the par 3's with an iron you should step down a tee.

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Wood - sam snead persimmon 2 wood (for windy days)
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Irons - Tour Mode 3i,4i stiffIrons - FP's 5-PW R-flexWedge - spin milled 54.14Wedge - spin milled 60.07Putter - Victoria Lowest round 2010: 79 (par 70)Latest rounds at...

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Two ways to decide.
1. Look at the par 4s. If you're going to hit a long iron into the green on more than four of them, those tees are to long for you.
2. Even better, look at the course/slope ratings. That's what they're for. Select the tees that are rated closest to the ratings of the tees you are comfortable with on your home course.
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Two ways to decide.

This - I tend to shoot for something with ratings equivalent to the tees I play from on my home course (about 72 and 132, 6700 yards give or take). Anything higher than 73.5 and 135, I'll definitely move up unless I'm just playing for the experience.

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I've been kind of wondering which set of tees are the "appropriate" ones to play from. If I'm playing a new course, I'll look at the par three distances and gauge which ones just seem absurd and which ones seem realistic. Is there a better way to make this decision? I'm about an 11 handicap and hit my 7 iron 160 and carry a driver about 265-275.

At my home course, I play the blue tees (6300 yards or so). That's what my handicap range plays in tournaments. When I get my handicap to the point that I'm playing black tees in tournaments, I'll move back.

When I play a course I haven't played before, and if there aren't handicap guidelines, I'll look at the slope and course rating, and play a set of tees such that I'll break 90 if I play to my handicap. I also look for comfortable yardages. I've heard a general rule saying that, all other things being equal, multiply your stock 5-iron yardage by 36 and try for that total distance. I'm not sure I buy it, but for you, it comes out as 6500 or so.
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Driver:  Titleist 915D2.  4-wood:  Titleist 917F2.  Titleist TS2 19 degree hybrid.  Another hybrid in here too.  Irons 5-U, Ping G400.  Wedges negotiable (currently 54 degree Cleveland, 58 degree Titleist) Edel putter. 

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I usually pick a tee anywhere from 125-135 and anything over 6500 yards.....but not too far past 7000

Kyle Paulhus

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A good rule of thumb is to take how far you hit a 5 iron and then multiply that by 36 and you have a good yardage for your game.


For example, if you hit a 5 iron 180 yards, you should play at about 6500 yards (180 x 36 = 6480)......200 yard 5 iron = 7200 yard course.

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A good rule of thumb is to take how far you hit a 5 iron and then multiply that by 36 and you have a good yardage for your game.

I'll try to remember that next time out.

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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[QUOTE=BallStriker;490357]A good rule of thumb is to take how far you hit a 5 iron and then multiply that by 36 and you have a good yardage for your game.

That rule seems to be a bit shy. I hit my 5-iron ~160 and have plenty of distance to play my home course at 6,402.

I play on one course every year, carved out of a forest in the Cascades, Elkhorn Valley Golf Club. If you miss a fairway there, and they're more generous than most, don't even bother looking for the ball. It's 6,242 yards from the blues, which are rated 71.0/131. The whites are 5,628, rated 68.9/117. I always play from the whites and work hard to shoot my handicap.
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If there are 4 sets of tees I play the 3rd ones back.
S9-1 Offset 10.5*
S2 3-W
S9-1 5-W
CPR Rescue 3 Hybrid
AP1 IronsVokey Wedges 56* and 60* Ghost Putter                                                                     Low Score l 71, Par 72 Tiffany Greens (6 Birdies/5 Bogeys)
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Some courses in our area put suggested HDCP ranges for tees on the back of the scorecard:
* Black = 0 - 6
* Blue = 7 - 14
* White = 15 - 22
* Red = 23 and above

One course even has silver tees: On certain holes you play the Blues, others you play the Whites.

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I've played from the whites my whole life... Although I'm a single digit handicap I'm of pretty/very small stature (5'4") and average about 240-260 off the tee... I don't know when it's time for a change.
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A good rule of thumb is to take how far you hit a 5 iron and then multiply that by 36 and you have a good yardage for your game.

Yeah-that actually seems to work out for me. Puts me at 6840-7020 depending on the clubs I use, and that is about the absolute longest I feel comfortable playing.

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I think it depends more on the individual distances on each hole. For me when you do 36 x 5i distance I get 7200. I would not feel comfortable playing from this distance as any course that goes out to 7200 yards is going to be extremely difficult and Im sure that there would be a couple of holes that a just too long for me. However when you divide 7200 by 18 you get 400, this is the average length of each hole. 400 yards Im comfortable with, but not a course that is 7200 yards.
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I think it depends more on the individual distances on each hole. For me when you do 36 x 5i distance I get 7200. I would not feel comfortable playing from this distance as any course that goes out to 7200 yards is going to be extremely difficult and Im sure that there would be a couple of holes that a just too long for me. However when you divide 7200 by 18 you get 400, this is the average length of each hole. 400 yards Im comfortable with, but not a course that is 7200 yards.

There are probably barely a dozen guys on this forum that could tackle those 400 yard par 3s, but just imagine all those par-5 eagle putts!

Mizuno MP600 driver, Cleveland '09 Launcher 3-wood, Callaway FTiz 18 degree hybrid, Cleveland TA1 3-9, Scratch SS8620 47, 53, 58, Cleveland Classic 2 mid-mallet, Bridgestone B330S, Sun Mountain four5.

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Note: This thread is 3823 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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