TEE IT FORWARD

[bkuehn1952]

Play the tee that is most enjoyable to you.  Personally, I prefer shooting 78 on a 6,200 yard course with a rating of 69.8/125 versus 89 on a 7,500 yard 74.1/144 rated course.  I will typically need to hit a greater variety of shots on the shorter less difficult course versus driver, 3 wood on the long layout.  Others want the full experience and that's fine too but not my preference.

[RetroJFrancisco]

Originally Posted by nosmo king

Long time lurker, first time poster. Since I have lurked here for a good while, I know there are many golf "purist's " here, along with many who play the game for fun. My question involves teeing it forward to the gold, or senior tees. Is it strictly an age issue or more of an ability issue? In my usual golf network, most of us  play from the white tee's. We're all retired, but not all "seniors" in the sense of the word. For instance, I'm 53, but not a long hitter by any stretch of the imagination. On a good day I'll be scoring between 94-97. On a not so good day I'm in the 100-105 range. My group all played from the gold tee's this past Monday and to be honest, I enjoyed my game much more than usual. I didn't set the world on fire with my score, but the round seemed much more enjoyable. One guy in the group ( there's usually anywhere from 8-12) was quite annoyed that we decided to play from the closer tee's. He wasn't playing with us but in the 4some ahead of ours, but still part of the group. We don't play for money. It's all simply for fun. Actually there's 2 guys who usually play with him, that tee it forward.

I'm just curious as to how most feel about it here. BTW.....even if I played from the tips, although my score would skyrocket, I certainly would not hold up play for anyone behind me. I enjoy a  fast paced round, but I'm not in a race to get done in 3 hours. I'm perfectly content to get a round in @ 4 hours and am a big believer in playing "ready golf".

So, is it age or ability?   Inquiring minds want to know.

I know here in the UK, if you are over 50 you can play off the senior tee's given permission off the course professional, but in reality I VERY much doubt anyone would come onto you for playing off the senior tee's.. Surely if you're paying to use the course, you deserve the choice to go off any tee's you damn well want to (obviously not ladies or kids tee's).. Check with the head professional, I honestly cant see there being any problem.

[MS256]

In our groups we go by ability.

There is one guy that we let play from the senior tees that is only around 40 years old.

Another guy is 64 years old and there's not a chance we are letting him play in our games unless he plays from the blues.

[RayG]

Not sure about this. I want to measure myself against the Pros even though I know I am not as good as them.

No offense, but judging by the 31 point something handicap index listed, that shouldn't be on the table until you can get into low singles.

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by RayG

No offense, but judging by the 31 point something handicap index listed, that shouldn't be on the table until you can get into low singles.

Second that.   Tee it forward movement is for all about reducing golf round pace for everyone (especially for groups behind yours), and better enjoyment of golf.   When one is a beginner and play at longest tee, it will be long round and possibly a humiliating and angry one.

[Golfingdad]

Tee it forward movement is for all about reducing golf round pace for everyone

I sure hope not! Seems like that would be a bit counterproductive. ;)

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

I sure hope not! Seems like that would be a bit counterproductive. ;)

LOL.   I meant to say golf round duration (or something like that).   I should not post right after a glass of wine.

[trackster]

I just played a course recently that was very into teeing it forward.  They even added an extra shorter tee so that men would feel comfortable playing from a more forward tee.  On their scorecard they had a "how far you drive/what tees you should play from chart"  They said that a 250 yard driver should play tees about 5800 and a 275 yard driver would be able to play 6100+.  I think that these numbers were completely insane and were just used to promote people to tee it forward.  I average 260 off the tee and have no problem playing up to 6900 yards.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by trackster

They said that a 250 yard driver should play tees about 5800 and a 275 yard driver would be able to play 6100+.  I think that these numbers were completely insane and were just used to promote people to tee it forward.  I average 260 off the tee and have no problem playing up to 6900 yards.

Yeah, those numbers are odd.  I would think a 275 yard driver could easily go 6700 yards or more.  And 250 should be able to go 6400 at least.

[muttbag]

I play from the whites, which are middle tees on my home course. I've felt obligated to play from the tips once when a group I joined with played all the way back. I shot a 91, which is decent for me. But I still stick to whites regardless and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I can't tell you how many times I've seen guys tee up on the blues and diff their drive less than 150 yards. If you can't get off the tee box consistently, blue shouldn't even be an option. 'Big dogs' are humbled very quickly when there's an audience stacked up behind them waiting to tee off while they fart the ball left into the drank.

[MS256]

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Yeah, those numbers are odd.  I would think a 275 yard driver could easily go 6700 yards or more.  And 250 should be able to go 6400 at least.

From what I see it depends just as much how straight you are hitting the ball, the weather, and the golf course, which tees should be played. Going strictly by distance is going to make for some very miserable days (and losing a ton of golf balls) on some courses. (Even for some people that are relatively straight and can bomb the ball).

Like this one. Distance is no problem from the black tees (but you better hit the ball straight).

http://www.hiddenmeadowsgc.com/page05.html

[boogielicious]

Originally Posted by nosmo king

Long time lurker, first time poster. Since I have lurked here for a good while, I know there are many golf "purist's " here, along with many who play the game for fun. My question involves teeing it forward to the gold, or senior tees. Is it strictly an age issue or more of an ability issue? In my usual golf network, most of us  play from the white tee's. We're all retired, but not all "seniors" in the sense of the word. For instance, I'm 53, but not a long hitter by any stretch of the imagination. On a good day I'll be scoring between 94-97. On a not so good day I'm in the 100-105 range. My group all played from the gold tee's this past Monday and to be honest, I enjoyed my game much more than usual. I didn't set the world on fire with my score, but the round seemed much more enjoyable. One guy in the group ( there's usually anywhere from 8-12) was quite annoyed that we decided to play from the closer tee's. He wasn't playing with us but in the 4some ahead of ours, but still part of the group. We don't play for money. It's all simply for fun. Actually there's 2 guys who usually play with him, that tee it forward.

I'm just curious as to how most feel about it here. BTW.....even if I played from the tips, although my score would skyrocket, I certainly would not hold up play for anyone behind me. I enjoy a  fast paced round, but I'm not in a race to get done in 3 hours. I'm perfectly content to get a round in @ 4 hours and am a big believer in playing "ready golf".

So, is it age or ability?   Inquiring minds want to know.

I really think it should be about your own yardage.  If you hit 250 yard drives or more, then play further back.  If you hit your drives 200 - 250, then middle.  Below 200, then senior.  The idea is to create the same difficulty approach shots as the longer hitters and not necessarily your skill level or handicap.

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by nosmo king

Long time lurker, first time poster. Since I have lurked here for a good while, I know there are many golf "purist's " here, along with many who play the game for fun. My question involves teeing it forward to the gold, or senior tees. Is it strictly an age issue or more of an ability issue? In my usual golf network, most of us  play from the white tee's. We're all retired, but not all "seniors" in the sense of the word. For instance, I'm 53, but not a long hitter by any stretch of the imagination. On a good day I'll be scoring between 94-97. On a not so good day I'm in the 100-105 range. My group all played from the gold tee's this past Monday and to be honest, I enjoyed my game much more than usual. I didn't set the world on fire with my score, but the round seemed much more enjoyable. One guy in the group ( there's usually anywhere from 8-12) was quite annoyed that we decided to play from the closer tee's. He wasn't playing with us but in the 4some ahead of ours, but still part of the group. We don't play for money. It's all simply for fun. Actually there's 2 guys who usually play with him, that tee it forward.

I'm just curious as to how most feel about it here. BTW.....even if I played from the tips, although my score would skyrocket, I certainly would not hold up play for anyone behind me. I enjoy a  fast paced round, but I'm not in a race to get done in 3 hours. I'm perfectly content to get a round in @ 4 hours and am a big believer in playing "ready golf".

So, is it age or ability?   Inquiring minds want to know.

It depends on your skill set specifically.  Many will argue that teeing it forward is not a remedy for slow play, it is purely for more enjoyment of the green.  Anyone who is mad about which tees others choose to play from is likely not mad at golf, but maybe at his wife or dog instead.

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by boogielicious

I really think it should be about your own yardage.  If you hit 250 yard drives or more, then play further back.  If you hit your drives 200 - 250, then middle.  Below 200, then senior.  The idea is to create the same difficulty approach shots as the longer hitters and not necessarily your skill level or handicap.

The second shot is the reason for tee boxes, yes.  There was a point where my mid and long irons fell apart.  I scored significantly better from the 6800yd tees because every approach shot I used a 4 hybrid.  420 yard par 4,  235 drive, 180 4 hybrid.  Long and straight, on or around the green.  Whereas that same approach shot on a short tee would've ended up 30 yards closer, calling for a 6 or 7 iron, which during that "month of hell" would've pulled straight left and costed me strokes.

[rehmwa]

Originally Posted by TJBam

Many will argue that teeing it forward is not a remedy for slow play, it is purely for more enjoyment of the green.

I would.  And I don't consider it teeing forward either, I'll pick the tee that gives me the game I want to enjoy that day - usually based on what kind of approach shots I want to work on.  (5 different tees = 5 different options.  and for some courses = 5 totally different experiences)

For pace of play - The tee doesn't matter much in the scheme of things.  (I also don't think the guy with the laser and a few practice swings - within reason - matters much either).

IMHO on what impacts Pace of play?  less than ready golf, having to take turns, and course design.  A super slow single is MUCH faster than a 4-some.  for the fairway shots and chips, etc - I just prefer we hit away and not take turns unless we have to (too close, in another's line, etc etc) - call it "VERY ready golf" and get that pace down towards/close/inthedirection what it would be playing alone.  The slow down on the tee box and the green is just gonna be slow with a 4 some.

[Dave2512]

I'll be teeing it forward for the rest of the week. Our roomy accidently took my car keys this AM on his way to El Paso TX and my clubs are locked in the vehicle. He had to move it to get his car out of the garage. I am in the car biz and turns out no spare key for that vehicle. We tried to slim jim it but it's a Land Rover and tough to break in to. Anyway I have several iron sets but the longest club I have other than that is a 5h. I'll probably mix it up, whites on 3's and 4's and forward tees on 5's. May leave the 5h out and just play forward tees with irons because I am too lazy to do the mixed tees ratings conversion.

[Meltdwhiskey]

Originally Posted by TJBam

It depends on your skill set specifically.  Many will argue that teeing it forward is not a remedy for slow play, it is purely for more enjoyment of the green.

Originally Posted by rehmwa

I would.  And I don't consider it teeing forward either, I'll pick the tee that gives me the game I want to enjoy that day - usually based on what kind of approach shots I want to work on.  (5 different tees = 5 different options.  and for some courses = 5 totally different experiences)

For pace of play - The tee doesn't matter much in the scheme of things.  (I also don't think the guy with the laser and a few practice swings - within reason - matters much either).

IMHO on what impacts Pace of play?  less than ready golf, having to take turns, and course design.  A super slow single is MUCH faster than a 4-some.  for the fairway shots and chips, etc - I just prefer we hit away and not take turns unless we have to (too close, in another's line, etc etc) - call it "VERY ready golf" and get that pace down towards/close/inthedirection what it would be playing alone.  The slow down on the tee box and the green is just gonna be slow with a 4 some.

I'm not sure I can agree with that in general.  I think it can be true for some - notably those with a really straight driver.  But I think they would be the exception to the rule.  If you play from farther back, then you are sometimes going to need a longer club.  And you might feel inclined to hit it farther.  Generally speaking, longer clubs and more aggressive swings land more balls in the woods.  This results in more ball searching and more shots.

And even if you didn't hit it in the woods, course ratings and slopes basically quantify that it will take golfers of all levels more shots to get in the hole at longer tees.  More shots equals more time.

I'm not saying that teeing it forward turns a 4 hour round into a 3 hour round, but I think it is hard to argue that for most of the people on the course, longer is going to take some amount of time more than shorter.  And IMO, it is a bit embarrassing to watch a guy play from the blues who is clearly not going to break 100.

I would agree with rehmwa on a couple things though.  I don't think practice swings and range finders are time killers.  Not for most anyway.  It is faster to use that range finder than to pace off distances or search for course markers.  If the course is marked really well, you won't need to work so hard to find the distance.

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

I'll be teeing it forward for the rest of the week. Our roomy accidently took my car keys this AM on his way to El Paso TX and my clubs are locked in the vehicle. He had to move it to get his car out of the garage. I am in the car biz and turns out no spare key for that vehicle. We tried to slim jim it but it's a Land Rover and tough to break in to. Anyway I have several iron sets but the longest club I have other than that is a 5h. I'll probably mix it up, whites on 3's and 4's and forward tees on 5's. May leave the 5h out and just play forward tees with irons because I am too lazy to do the mixed tees ratings conversion.

Looking forward to see the result on "what you shot thread today."