Is it rude to play tees further from partners?

[walk18]

Ok thanks everyone. I am going to politely insist to play the tees I want and I will make clear that they have no obligation to join me.

[David in FL]

No more "rude" than the player that plays from more forward tees than the remainder of the group because they better suit his ability......

[NickDarius]

Last weekend my brother and I headed out for an early morning round of 18. Right after wee tee off the first hole the marshal stops us to pair up a late arriving twosome with us.

I normally play the blue tees, but since it was just my brother and me originally I decided to play whites with him. When the twosome asked what tees we were playing I said the whites so they proceeded to tee off the whites with us.

I wasn't keeping track of their scores but I finished the front 9 with a 48, and they were well north of that. One of the guys, a doctor no less, was a long hitter but all over the place, missing every fairway.

Well when we made the turn they announced they'd be playing from the blues on the back nine and even suggested I join them. I kindly declined and went on to witness the most all over the place hitting I have ever seen.

All this to say, I was not offended by them playing the further tees, I normally do so myself, but it was a great chuckle to seem them get worse and about 3-4 holes later remark that maybe we should get back to the whites!!!

Just make sure you have the game to play from the back tees, otherwise you might be providing some comic relief for your playing partners.

Either way enjoy the golf game.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Why is it antisocial for 2 guys to play from different tees, but not for a guy and his wife to play from different tees? The reason for playing different tees is exacly the same in either case, isn't it? (I.e., Play the tees that best suit your abilities/handicap.)

I see your side of it too. While it may be true that the *reason* for playing different tees is the same in both scenarios, the *magnitude* of the disparity between appropriate tee boxes might be much less when a person moves up from one men's tee to the next closer one, vs. moving all the way up to the women's tee.

I honestly think there's no hard and fast answer to what's rude and what isn't. I play once in a while with a 3 handicap friend. I play blues or whites, but he plays from the tips because he can, and I've never thought it rude. OTOH I'm playing with another buddy this weekend who only has the game for whites, and while I'd ordinarily play the blues at this course I'm going to play the whites with him. If we played on a regular basis I wouldn't want to move up for him every time, but we don't get to see each other much.

No more "rude" than the player that plays from more forward tees than the remainder of the group because they better suit his ability......

Well, that's not quite the same though. A shorter hitter doesn't really have the option to back if his game doesn't warrant it, whereas the longer hitter *does* have the option to go forward without holding up play. However I agree this is another example of why it's not cut-and-dried - when it's just 2 people it might seem more rude for only one to play the back tees, but not so much if there's 2 or 3 who want to play back there.

[mdl]

I wonder about this. I have the opposite problem usually. I generally play the shorter of the two men's tees at the courses I play (it's just black, blue, and women's at my courses). I'm actually quite a long hitter by amateur standards (ie my very best drives end at 300+), but I'm an 80s shooter and spray the driver on all but my most consistent days, and I've decided to start playing the back tees (or even the tips) only when I achieve the consistency to shoot regularly in the 70s and hit a much better percentage of fairways, despite my long good shot distance off the tee.

But as everyone here has seen, most players, even those who don't shoot 80s and whose very best drives never clear 240, have an ego thing and play from the rear tees. I usually just play the back tees when I'm in a foursome with 3 other players playing from the black tees, just to try to keep up the pace, since that's the biggest problem at the public LA course I play. But I've often wondered if I'm just being overly courteous and anal about pace, or if a substantial percentage of players would actually be annoyed if I insisted on being the only player playing from the forward tees...

[David in FL]

Well, that's not quite the same though. A shorter hitter doesn't really have the option to back if his game doesn't warrant it, whereas the longer hitter *does* have the option to go forward without holding up play. However I agree this is another example of why it's not cut-and-dried - when it's just 2 people it might seem more rude for only one to play the back tees, but not so much if there's 2 or 3 who want to play back there.

You're kidding, right? Far too many short hitters and high handicappers play from back tees every day though they shouldn't.

My point was that I never consider it rude if someone actually chooses the tees that best suit their game. I often play in a 4-some where we play 3 different sets of tees. That's what they're there for. I just wish more people realized that. Kudos to anyone who plays from those best suited to their own game and not to the tees that someone else thinks they should be playing from.

[sacm3bill]

You're kidding, right? Far too many short hitters and high handicappers play from back tees every day though they shouldn't.

You apparently misunderstood my post. As I said in the part you quoted, "A shorter hitter doesn't really have the option to go back if his game doesn't warrant it."

My point was that I never consider it rude if someone actually chooses the tees that best suit their game.

That's what I said in my first post in this thread. In the post you quoted I was simply pointing out that I can also understand the views of those who think it's more social for the longer hitter to move up to be with the shorter hitter, in the case of 2 buddies playing. I don't think anyone in this thread has condoned the converse (shorter hitter moving back).

[tulefog]

OK, so I have a question. Before we start, I say to my playing partner "What tees do you want to play, blue or white? It doesn't matter to me." Playing partner picks blue. Two holes later, playing partner decides blues are too far and he is going to start playing from white. Do I move up to white too? Am I rude or anti-social if I don't?

[sean_miller]

OK, so I have a question. Before we start, I say to my playing partner "What tees do you want to play, blue or white? It doesn't matter to me." Playing partner picks blue. Two holes later, playing partner decides blues are too far and he is going to start playing from white. Do I move up to white too? Am I rude or anti-social if I don't?

Of course

you move up - we've already estblished that it doesn't matter to you .

[sacm3bill]

OK, so I have a question. Before we start, I say to my playing partner "What tees do you want to play, blue or white? It doesn't matter to me." Playing partner picks blue. Two holes later, playing partner decides blues are too far and he is going to start playing from white. Do I move up to white too? Am I rude or anti-social if I don't?

Well, if you were planning on posting a score for handicap purposes, changing tees midstream means you can no longer do that and have now just declared it a practice round. So if you were indeed hoping to post an official score and your playing partner understands that, then I think it's more rude for him to expect you to change tees.

If it was an issue for either of you, you could compromise and wait till the back 9 to change - then you could enter two 9-hole scores.

[tulefog]

As I read the responses, I realize that I was indeed not clear with my playing partner. Instead of saying "Do you prefer to play blue or white? It doesn't matter to me." What I should have said is "I prefer to play from the same set of tees throughout the entire 18 hole round. Do you prefer to play blue or white? It doesn't matter to me."

[sacm3bill]

As I read the responses, I realize that I was indeed not clear with my playing partner. Instead of saying "Do you prefer to play blue or white? It doesn't matter to me." What I should have said is "I prefer to play from the same set of tees throughout the entire 18 hole round. Do you prefer to play blue or white? It doesn't matter to me."

I understood that's what you meant. I figured it was safe to assume you did not want to switch tees mid-round. I was just pointing out that doing so invalidates your score for handicapping purposes.

[M2R]

Well, if you were planning on posting a score for handicap purposes, changing tees midstream means you can no longer do that and have now just declared it a practice round. ...

Not true if you are referring to a USGA handicap. In fact just the opposite, you would be

required to post that score with adjusted rating and slope. Refer to Section 5.2-g. (Posting a Score from an Unrated Set of Tees on a Rated Course) in the USGA handicap manual for details. In fact there is a statement specific to this exact situation.

This method may also be used if a player plays a combination of tees. The player first determines the total yardage played then applies the above procedure.

[sacm3bill]

Not true if you are referring to a USGA handicap...

I stand corrected. Good to know, thanks.