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

[The Recreational Golfer]

OK. I'll play on the 17th, though, since I'll be in Eugene watching the Oregon game on the 18th. The red tees at Cross Creek Golf Course are 5,111 yards, 70.1/114. Doesn't say on the scorecard if that is M or W. Whites are 6,402, 70.6/119.

On one of his Playing Lessons shows, Brad Faxon said he and his college buddies used to play from the red tees occasionally because it puts you on parts of the course than you normally play from and makes you hit shots you don't normally hit.

I'll predict a 78.

[slash5969]

I'll play. My home course is 70.8/124 @ 6507 yards from the blue tees. I'm averaging 85 over the last month or so, with an 81 for low round and a 95 for high. I shot 88 yesterday.

The red tees are 67.6/118 @ 5125 yards. My regular group plams to play the reds on Saturday the 18th. Should be interesting. I'm predicting an 80 for my score. The greens are a little rough right now, so it's hard to get a putt to roll like it should. I figure to hit a few more greens in regulation, and I'm assuming I'll make at least a couple of birdies. *Crosses fingers*

[CyclistOK]

I'm actually going away for the weekend but will have to try this out at a course in Oklahoma.

[Shripe]

I may be playing my course on Thursday or Friday, since they're calling for rain potentially on Saturday.

[Uncle Peter]

This is such a great idea, Erik! I'm in for this.

I'll be playing at Mill Run Golf and Country Club. I normally play from the white tees (71.2/129). They're about 6000 yards long, and I usually shoot around a 95 (Sorry, I haven't played this certain course 10 times or more, so my score is based on the last few rounds on that course) on it. I'll be playing from the red tees (68.2/118) on Saturday the 18th, which is about 5200 yards long.

Since I usually shoot about a 95 or so from the white tees, I'm hoping for low 90's or even breaking 90, from the reds.

Plus, I'll be trying out a new putter so we'll see how that goes.

[wubskis]

I intend to try this out on friday, but I can't get any serious data out of it, as I'm not actually aware of a course in my local area that has a slope rating. It really doesn't seem to be a common system at all in the UK, I guess our SSS (Standard Scratch Score) is a parallel? At any rate, I'm hoping to shave around 5 strokes off my average score at the course I'm going to, and looking forward to playing a par 3 there that goes from 175ish from the men's tees over water to 95ish for the ladies over a little stream. Interesting!

[Paradox]

Think I'm going to go out and play it today..I'm having a hard time deciding between the whites and the golds! My tees are 71/125 6508 yards and the whites are 68.8/121 6002 yards while the golds are 67.4/114 4869 yards

I'm a mid 80's shooter from the blues and I would suspect from the whites...It will be a low 80..I'll say 82 and from the golds, I'm gonna say 77.

[Paradox]

So what do we do with our results? Wait until the 18th or post them here or what?

[iacas]

So what do we do with our results? Wait until the 18th or post them here or what?

We'll all post them on the 20th or 21st. Probably will have you quote your first post so it'll include what you thought you'd shoot.

[srjorion]

I'll be working this weekend and can't play then or some of the days following, but I did play a round recently somewhat by accident from the white tees that ended up being forward enough for me to say they were furhter forward than I would normally play. It's a new course to me and I just didn't look at the score card close enough to make the distinction until after the round. Here's the data:


2. Course: River Bend Golf Club, Sandy, UT.
- Rating/Slope of tees I normally play: 69.7/121 (only played three times, but the same yardage of the average I normally play)
- Rating/Slope of tees played: 63.9/106
3. What I think I'll shoot: After the fact. Didn't have expectations. If I were to take a guess now, I would have said 80.
4. Played alone

Shot a 76, best I have ever shot. Don't consider it my "Broke 80 Round" because the yardage was only 5081 from the whites. Having said that, my ball striking that day was the best I have ever had. Even on the few holes I used driver on I hit it well. I did have one hole where I sprayed it right into a hazard, and that was with a hybrid. I hit a lot of greens and my putting was good that day.

I'll do this in the next couple of weeks again from the forward tees to see what I really shoot. I'm curious!

[mdbuschsr]

I'm hoping to do this either today, or tomorrow. I will be playing Meadowbrook GC in Garner, NC from the reds.

I normally play from the whites 66.4/116 @5812 and shoot 92-95.
The reds are 64.4/104 (womens rating) @4422. I expect to shot 85-88.

I'll be playing with my wife.

[JohnQVegas]

Playing Saturday @ 8:24 with a group of guys.

Playing the Yakima Elks G&CC; in Washington. Normal tees are 71.2/122. Forward tees are ??/116. I am a course 17 handicap from my normal tees, so I've recently shot as low as 83 and as high as 97.

The distance difference on most holes from the forward tees is only 5-10 yards, but on some holes there is a great advantage, something along the lines of 30-65 yards. I feel confident I can drive the greens on some of the holes. I expect to shoot low 80's.

[Paradox]

I didn't clarify but I ended up playing the white tees.

[Chilli Dipper]

I'll be playing Woodmont Golf Club in Canton, Georgia, either tomorrow or Saturday. I usually play the course from the Medal tees (6,440 yards, 70.6 rating, 131 slope); based on a course handicap of 22, a 94 would be a good round for me from those tees. (For the record, my low round from the Medal tees is a 93.) I will play from the Forward tees on all par 4s and 5s, but from the Match tees on the par 3s, since none of the five par 3s at Woodmont measure more than 100 yards from all the way up. The resulting course measures 5,376 yards, has a course rating of 66.7, and a slope of 121. According to the resulting course handicap of 20, I can only expect to shoot a 92, which seems rather high.

Of course, that's because I'm doing the math wrong. Adding 20 the course rating, and not to par, would suggest a potential score of 87, which is much closer to the mid-80s ballpark that I think I should be able to shoot.

[Shindig]

Oh yeah, I need to post the details.

To Participate

I needed to find a course that had the forward tees rated for men; the course I normally play doesn't have it. The red tees at Hansen Dam are 68.4 / 114 for the men. I believe I'll shoot 83. At the moment, Zeg and I are planning to go -- we're playing 9/18 a little after 2pm -- and would love to find two more players in the Los Angeles area to join us.

Unfortunately, the courses I play regularly only have one teebox ahead of mine rated for men, and it's rarely a difference of more than 10 yards per tee box, if that.

[Shripe]

Sadly, the golf cart I purchased so I wouldn't end up hurting myself again walking to and from the golf course (1 mi each way) was a dud, and a wheel fell off... I was planning to walk over there today, as I don't have access to a car all the time. If it's nasty tomorrow (they're calling for rain), I likely won't golf. I'll just have to use the prior round I played at the same course.

[The Recreational Golfer]

I just got back from playing my FTT round. Predicted a 78, shot a 79. It was great fun the whole day.

First, it took me about six holes to adjust my thinking to a new shorter course. What club to use off the tee to set up the club I wanted to use into the green. The red tees were placed in some pretty nasty spots -- there wasn't always a clear look at the fairway, or hazards got brought into play that kept the driver in the bag. In short, the way I played every hole had to be thought through fresh.

So, here's what the rest of you are looking forward to tomorrow:

You still have to get the ball in the fairway, and getting greedy off the tee because the hole is short can bite you.

You still have to put the ball on the green, and you might well have to hit shots you rarely, if ever, hit to get the job done.

You still have to putt.

You have to think. This is not going to be a birdie fest. Play intelligently for pars and let the birdies come (I got one).

Play well and have fun.

[Uncle Peter]

This is such a great idea, Erik! I'm in for this.

Awww! There was a last minute tournament booking at Mill Run. Looks like I'll have to find another course. Stay tuned...