What tees do you hit from? Is it based on your handicap or superego or peer pressure?

[JBird]

I usually play from the whites.  Works out to being about 6350 on the course I play most often.  Thats about the longest I would like to go for now.

[awmgolfer]

I play from the whites when I'm with anyone as that is usually what they do and it keeps it easier. Our course is fairly short compared to most, though it makes up for it in other ways, just over 5,700 yards. If I play it from the blues which is anytime I am on my own it comes in just over 6,000 yards which is what I'd rather play as it's closer to what most courses have for distance.

[newtogolf]

I thought it was appropriate for your comment

Originally Posted by sean_miller

We need more VARIETY in our emoticons.

[Hogan Project]

Originally Posted by azgreg

If I could get away with it, I'd play from the 150 marker.

LOLOL!

[Hogan Project]

Now I'm curious about guys that are single digit or scratch that shoot from the tips. Let's say you average 73 from the tips....would you average 65 if you played the whites? Just wondering how much tee box distance plays into it.

[MiniBlueDragon]

I get the feeling tee colours are different from UK to US. Here normally we have red tees for ladies, yellow for regular men's tees and whites for the tips.

I normally play yellows.

[Bullitt5339]

At my home course, there is a HUGE difference between the back (blue) tees and the middle (white) tees.  I have played from the Blue a few times, and it simply makes the course too long for me.  I end up hitting Driver/Long Iron on every Par 4, which gets old.

Blues are 7001 yards

Whites are 6319 yards

[meenman]

At my home course, I play the same tees that I am required to play during tournament rounds which is our white tees (a little over 6500 yards.) The only exception would be if I take a weekday off and play with the retirees then I move up to the senior tees to play with them.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

I get the feeling tee colours are different from UK to US. Here normally we have red tees for ladies, yellow for regular men's tees and whites for the tips.

I normally play yellows.

Here, if there are three tees, they are usually as follows:

Red (forward/ladies/seniors)

White (mids/forward mens)

Blues (back)

If there are 4 sets of tees:

Red

White

Blue

Black/Gold (tips)

There are some courses that use odd colors, but that is pretty standard.

Brandon

[Bullitt5339]

At most of the local courses here:

Blue - Tips

White - Middle

Gold - Senior

Red - Ladies

Originally Posted by bplewis24

Here, if there are three tees, they are usually as follows:

Red (forward/ladies/seniors)

White (mids/forward mens)

Blues (back)

If there are 4 sets of tees:

Red

White

Blue

Black/Gold (tips)

There are some courses that use odd colors, but that is pretty standard.

Brandon

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by Hogan Project

Now I'm curious about guys that are single digit or scratch that shoot from the tips. Let's say you average 73 from the tips....would you average 65 if you played the whites? Just wondering how much tee box distance plays into it.

I always play the tips unless I'm playing in a social (i.e. work or church related) setting that mandates I join the consensus tee.  Unless there is a significant (500 yards or more) difference, it will probably have no more than a 1-shot difference on my score, and that would come from a par-4 that I can drive to within pitching distance, or a par-5 that's reachable with a mid iron.  I'm not really feeling the distance unless the course is 7300 yards or the winds are really high.  A par-4 over 470 starts to get my attention.

That's not to say that I always play well, just that I can play equally crappy on a 6600 yard course as on one that's 7100 yards.  If I'm hitting the ball solidly, I'm going to play well.  If I'm blocking my driver way right, or missing putts, then it won't matter much what tee I'm playing from.

[bplewis24]

Originally Posted by Bullitt5339

At most of the local courses here:

Blue - Tips

White - Middle

Gold - Senior

Red - Ladies

Yeah I think you're right.  There are only two local courses I know of that use Gold for the tips, but there are a handful that use gold for intermediate womens or seniors tees.

[Beachcomber]

I play from the back tees as long as the course isn't any longer than 6,800.  If they're longer than 6,800... Then I'll move up a box (Blue, etc.).  This makes it a nice challenge, but isn't too short or too long.

I'll never forget playing Muirfield Village in Dublin, OH from the tips at 18yrs old.  That was a freaking monster at 7,200+ yds, and I quickly realized how punishing a long course can be. And back then I was much shorter with my driver.  I still don't feel like I could handle that course from the tips, even with today's technology.

[Tomboys]

Originally Posted by Fozcycle

I run a Saturday morning golf league for 75 players.  We established tees as follow:

Black  6800 yds....Handicap at 3 or under

Blue    6300 yds....Flat bellies under 60 years of age

White  6000 yda....age 61 thru 64

White/Green 5700 yds...65 yrs old  & older

As I am 61, I play from the whites.....and usually my tee shots are even with those playing the blues.  This system seems to work well.

If it's flat when I lay down, does that count?

[turtleback]

At my home course I play the whites unless I am paired with a group that is playing the blues.  Then I play along with them unless it is guys I know who won't mind me playing from the whites.

On a new course I look at the scorecard hole by hole, rather than in the aggregate.  I do not want to play a set of tees where there are more than one or two par 4s that I cannot reach with 2 solid shots - not my best shots, but just good solid shots.  I also do not want to play a set of tees where there is more than one par 3 that may not be reachable for me.

I saw something interesting at the Newport Beach Country Club, in Newport Beach California where the Toshiba Champions Tour event is being held in a few weeks.  They have white tees, blue tees, and white/blue tees.  In the third set you play the blues on some holes and the whites on other holes.  They have a separate course rating and slope for the blue/white set.  Seems like a very nice idea and I would definitely play the blue/whites there.  My daughter is interning with the tournament staff for the Toshiba and as family members my wife and I get VIP passes that give us the full run of everything but the player locker room.  I've been to pro tournaments before but never with VIP passes, so I am very excited about going.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by TitleistWI

I currently play from the whites because those are usually the tees where I feel challenged but still feel like I have a chance to score well from.

Same line of thinking here.  At most courses around here, the whites are the middle tee's.

[NuclearMike]

I play the tees appropriate to my driver distance.  Sometimes white, sometimes blue, never the tips.  I like the "Tee if Forward" concept as it gives me the chance to hit more reasonable irons on par 4s than I would on a 7,000 yard course.  Something at 6,300-6,600 is appropriate for me.

[B-Con]

I generally aim for the tees that [list] [*] are the closest to 6100 yards [*] have a 68.5 CR [*] have the longest par-3 within my 4-hybrid distance [/list] And I play that regardless of what the others in my group do. It's funny when I'm one teebox lower than of a group of fellow weekend hackers I'm paired with, but my drives are in the fairway more often and 20 yards farther than theirs. I kind of want to point that out to them as a gentle nudge that they might be playing from the wrong tees, but oh well...