9/18 - First Annual Sand Trap "Forward Tees Tournament"

[DaSportsGuy]

I'm in!

I will be playing at The Fairways at Arrowhead. I play from the back tees(71.1/124). I usually shoot 88 from there. I'll be playing from the forward mens tees(65.8/111). I'm expecting to shoot around a 75. I'll be playing with a member on here, buckeyben. He'll probably sign up later.

[bwdial]

I'm in. I bought a pass to a course called Pine Hill Country Club. I haven't played the course yet, but I plan on it this weekend as well. From the back tees, it measures 6191 yards with a slope of 127 (according to a website... no course website). From the front tees, it measures 5545 yards with a slope of 122.
Looking forward to it.

[Skragbait]

I gotta' try this. I'll be playing Blossom Trails in Benton Harbor, MI. The course is nothing special but I get to play it for free. :D Par 70 CR 68.3 Slope 121 from the blue tees. I'll play the red tees. They list the slope as 118 for the red but don't list the CR. 5978 yards from the blue tees, 4957 from the red. Should be fun. I averaged around a 95 over my last 10 rounds from the blue.

[Meddle]

I'll play.

My usual course is Arroyo del Oso in Albuquerque, NM. From the middle tees (70.2/128) I have averaged ~93 this year.

The reds (70.0/120) are significantly shorter, so I should find myself using more short irons into greens, which should mean a few more GIR's. I think it will make a big difference. I'm guessing I'll shot an 87.

[Jay-Bird]

I'm in.

I will play Alvamar from the Red tees.

How I play will be a mystery. I was playing very good before my injury. I should be recovered almost fully by 9/18. If I play to my ability, and avoid disastrous mistakes - I think I can break 70.

Should be fun.

[Shindig]

Zeg and I are looking to play Hansen Dam at or around 2PM on 9/18. That's when Twilight rates begin; I think it will cost $24 to walk. The course is very walkable; holes 10 and 11 may take a bit out of you, but the rest is an extremely easy walk. On the plus side, 11 is a drivable par-4 (I once drove it into a green side bunker, not playing from the forward tees).

We're looking for one, possibly two, additional players. Certainly, it can be a problem if we have to fill the foursome with whoever is hanging around. I dunno, I can see someone giving us trouble for playing forward tees, so we'd like to fill it with sand trappers if we can.

Course webpage: http://golf.lacity.org/cdp_hansen.htm

[zeg]

Like Shindig said, planning to hit Hansen Dam. The reds there are 68.4/114, which is actually about the same as the usual tees I play at my normal courses. My expectation is to shoot a 95-98 there, but my goal is to reach or beat 90. It's just a question of whether I can keep my swing and short game together.

Like Shindig said, getting another couple local Sand Trappers would make it an ideal outing.

[iacas]

Just one quick reminder... remember, guys, that when playing from the reds the calculations you'll often see are the women's course ratings and slope.

[M2R]

I believe you are required to post a score when playing from the womens/forward tees regardless of if they have an official mens rating or not (as long as the requirement for acceptable scores are meet).

From the USGA website:

Section 5 Posting a Score From an Unrated Set of Tees Q. How do I post a score from an unrated set of tees on a rated golf course? A. Example: A woman plays from the middle tees, which are not rated for women. The USGA Course Rating™ from the forward tees is 71.6 with a Slope Rating® of 119. The middle tees are 396 yards longer than the forward tees. Using the chart in Section 5-2g of "The USGA Handicap System," she will post her score with a USGA Course Rating of 73.8 (71.6 + 2.2) and a Slope Rating of 124 (119 + 5). Note: The resulting values are subtracted if the unrated tees are shorter than the rated tees. Section 5-2g may also be used if a player plays a combination of tees. First determine the total yardage of the combination tees, then apply the above procedure. This adjustment in USGA Course Rating/Slope Rating is only meant to serve as a temporary adjustment and not as a formal USGA Course Rating/Slope Rating. If necessary, the authorized golf association can provide a permanent rating for these tees according to the appropriate gender. Please visit Section 5-2g of "The USGA Handicap System" for further reference.

We have been playing a "Pink Thursday" tournament at Crystal for the past three years that is almost this exact format, play within two club lengths from the front of the most forward set of tees (you also have to wear pink and some guys go so far as playing pink balls). I've included the statistics below (and one Cyprian round from the green tees). My 2010 result can be verified by looking up Mike Pratt from MA (not the good one) on the GHIN website. FWIW I also play practice rounds almost exclusively from the red tees (at Crystal) exactly for the reason Eric outlined in the original post.

I will play Crystal Lake again on 9/18, anyone interested in joining please PM me. I expect to score the same as if I were playing the white or blue tees meaning 75 to 91 or more specifically 81.

Crystal Lake 2010 (~10.5 index)White average 82.1, slope/rating 67.6/110, (8 rounds) Blue average 82.6, slope/rating 68.7/111, (7 rounds) Red score 78, slope/rating 64.9/104Crystal Springs 2009 (~12.2 index)White average87.4, slope/rating 69.4/113, (14 rounds) Blue average 84.7, slope/rating 70.6/116, (3 rounds) Red score 83, slope/rating 65.6/104Crystal Springs 2008 (~13.7 index)White average 89.4, slope/rating 69.4/113, (14 rounds) Blue average 87.5, slope/rating 70.6/116, (2 rounds) Red score 84, slope/rating 65.6/104 Cyprian Keyes 2009White average 88.6, slope/rating 72.4/132, (9 rounds) Blue average 88.75, slope/rating 73.3/134, (5 rounds) Green score 92, slope/rating 68.9/128

[MGP]

I'm in definitely. Never played my home course from the Reds, should be interesting. It's not a long course to begin with but course management should be interesting. Will take the teeth out of the really long par 3 and par 4's that usually eat my lunch.

Shawnee Golf & CC

I'm in.

I've played Alvamar a lot of times but not this year and never from the forward tees. That should be interesting.

[PhilsRHman]

This is a great idea, I'm definitely in. Actually, I played mine today because my home course is aerating the greens tomorrow (and it was empty as could be this afternoon so there were no pride issues for playing the forward tees LOL).

My recent average from the Glenwood CC blue tees (72.8/134) is 84 and from the tips (74.6/137) is 86. From the Gold/Senior tees, the men's rating/slope is 66.8/125. I went out there today expecting to shoot 77. Glenwood is very tight and penal. Taking a lot of the trouble out of play off the tee should bring my score down. But I know there are shots I lose around the greens that seem to happen if I'm playing the tips at Glenwood, or a piece of cake muni.

I will hold off on posting my score and my thoughts until the rest of the group has gotten to play.

Very fun idea though, great thinking Erik.

[kpaulhus]

Well guys, I played my round(s) today. This morning I went out and played the tips (73.1 141). I was driving the ball well, but my putting just didn't feel right, and I couldn't get up and down to save my life. I ended up shooting a 90....not happy. Well after my morning round the course was pretty empty so I played from the whites (67.8 119). It was pretty fun being able to almost drive a few greens, but at the same time, this brought in a little more trouble that I usually don't have to worry about. I drove into trees that I usually drive over, and was tempted to take the "Phil" shot more often. IDK if I was just really tired, or because it was pretty hot, but I didnt play as well as I think I could have. I ended up shooting an 81 +10. This was pretty discouraging, since I have shot an 83 from the tips, which are 1100 yards longer.

All in all, it all came down to the difference between a 15 handicap and a 5 handicap. I played like a 15 today, since my short game was crap. There really isnt too much of a difference in the two tee boxes, because some holes you cant hit driver because of the new found trouble, and so either way, you still have about the same distance on your approach shot. It all came down to getting up and down. I had at least 5, 30 yard or less pitches into greens, and two putted. A 4 is a 4, whether or not you hit a 185 or 270 yard drive. Its all about the short game.

[jlh1508]

Will be doing this. Haven't decided which course I want to play at though. If anyone in the Lansing or Jackson areas of Michigan wants to play let me know, my regular partners didn't sound like they wanted to participate

[James_Black]

I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it this weekend.

I have rowing on saturday and a golf competition on sunday.
I'll try fit 9 holes in on friday and another 9 on saturday

[birdiedream]

Any one in San Diego wants to try Torrey Pines North? Usually I shoot around 86-90 from the blue tees.

[kilbyman]

So I'm guessing I will shoot around 95 or so at my home course from the golds (67.3/119, par 70). We'll see how it goes...

[maj0rglitch]

Zeg and I are looking to play Hansen Dam at or around 2PM on 9/18. That's when Twilight rates begin; I think it will cost $24 to walk. The course is very walkable; holes 10 and 11 may take a bit out of you, but the rest is an extremely easy walk. On the plus side, 11 is a drivable par-4 (I once drove it into a green side bunker, not playing from the forward tees).

I would join you but I am out of town on the 18th. Maybe we can do it tomorrow?

[hoser]

I played my 'tournament' round this weekend. I played the front and back on separate days, both times with my wife. As luck would have it, both nights we were able to sneak on just after a shot gun tournament had completed so we had the entire course to ourselves. More importantly, there was no one to point and laugh

Tournament Details
Course: Springfield Gold & Country Club
Blue Tee: Par 70 67.6/119 5700 yards
Red Tees: Par 60 65.3/107 4500 yards (rating/slope are for women)
Scoring Avg Last 20: 77.75
What I think I will shoot from forward tees: 68


Round Results
Score: 71

Par 3: +3
Par 4: +2
Par 5: -4

GIR: 78% 14/18
FIR: 50% 6/12

Total putts: 35
Putts per GIR 2.0
Putts per missed GIR: 1.75
Scrambling: 25%
Up and Down: 50%


Stats From Last 20 Rounds - Blue Tees

Average Score: 77.75

Par 3: +3.65
Par 4: +3.5
Par 5: +0.6

GIR: 49%
FIR: 46%

Total putts: 31.3
Putts per GIR: 1.97
Putts per missed GIR: 1.52

Scrambling: 36%
Up and Down: 40%

Summary
This really couldn't have come at a better time. I've been making some late season swing changes and my scores have ballooned so golf really hasn't been that fun lately. So, an opportunity to string some good holes together was a welcome change.

On the front 9, a lot of the par 4s were in the 220 - 250 range, so I tried driving a number of the greens. This resulted in some awkward recovery shots, so quickly abandoned that strategy in favor of hitting short/mid irons off the tee to set up wedges from my favorite distances. I thought that given enough GIRs, I'd sink a few birdie putts. I couldn't get my putter going, but the strategy removed any bogey possibilities (for the most part).

I hit a lot of greens, so my putts per round went up significantly. This wasn't really surprising to me since I haven't been working on my putting much due to constrained practice time. My lag putting tends to go quickly and requires a lot of maintenance. I 3 putted twice from about 30 feet. Gah.

I birdied every par 5 which was good. However, I had 3 eagle opportunities inside of 10 ft which again, tells me my putting needs some work.

I think the only surprise of the day is that I didn't birdie a single par 3 or par 4. Given that I had a wedge in my had for a lot these holes, my putter really let me down. I had a number of putts in the 10 - 18 foot range that didn't fall.

Statistically speaking my putting and short game numbers were in line with where they normally are. My GIRs were up, which was to be expected and my FIR was constant due in part to trying to drive the greens. I was 0/2 for sand saves which hurt me in this round.

My takeaway from today: wedges, chipping and putting need to improve for me to score well again.

A really fun round that I might try again later in the year!