Why I hate the Blue tees at short courses

[Grumpter]

Just a generalization about shorter courses. Mostly courses that offer just 2 sets of regular mens tee's - usually blue & white. with white being shorter.

I have found most shorter courses, in my area, have 3 of the 4 par 3 tee's set at 195 to 215 range. My hate stems mostly from the fact that I can't seem to hit my 3 iron much past 190 anymore but also I find it hard to take that much off a 3 wood. Normal length courses don't seem to suffer the same 'problem'.

I could add a hybrid to the bag but I like the gaps between my clubs besides that one issue. I try to limit my rounds at the shorter courses which makes it even less likely that I will add a hybrid. Just an observation, YMMV.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by Grumpter

Just a generalization about shorter courses. Mostly courses that offer just 2 sets of regular mens tee's - usually blue & white. with white being shorter.

I have found most shorter courses, in my area, have 3 of the 4 par 3 tee's set at 195 to 215 range. My hate stems mostly from the fact that I can't seem to hit my 3 iron much past 190 anymore but also I find it hard to take that much off a 3 wood. Normal length courses don't seem to suffer the same 'problem'.

I could add a hybrid to the bag but I like the gaps between my clubs besides that one issue. I try to limit my rounds at the shorter courses which makes it even less likely that I will add a hybrid. Just an observation, YMMV.

1: Most players have a 5 wood or something, 3i to 3w is a big gap. And if you can't hit the 3 then it's more like 4/5 iron to 3w gap, over 60 yards. How is that the greenskeeper's fault?

2: If you can't hit your long irons well, or are too short to hit something comfortable, move up. Your 5 iron should be in the 160-170 range I assume? You shouldn't generally play over 6,000 yards (rule of thumb is 5i distance x 36), which puts you in white tee range.

3: Look at the scorecard beforehand; usually if there are a lot of 200+ par 3s, it's likely you're in for a grind and should move up. It's not like the yardages are a surprise.

4: I am one of the few players, apparently, who actually like using all his clubs. Hitting the long irons is a challenge I like to take on, and I love hitting a 200+y shot onto a green. 150y par 3s are 9 irons for me all day and it's boring as hell. And if there's anything 230ish, I know I'm picking up a stroke against everyone else if I reach. No one says you're supposed to make birdie. As long as par is makeable, there's no reason to complain.

5: No one said you had to hit from the same set of tees every hole, if you're playing for fun just hit from the whites on par 3s or whatever. Your handicap calculation might not be accurate, but you won't complain about it any longer. Just submit all the rounds from "normal" courses.

I don't notice any problems with yardages at my local courses, usually they have the intention of par 3s you can hit with a 9i, 7i, and 5i of the typical distance for the tees, and one with a gimmick or that's the same as another. If you don't like the course, don't play there.

[Dave2512]

Strange that a short course has somewhat long par 3's. Why not play from the whites on the par 3's?

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

Strange that a short course has somewhat long par 3's. Why not play from the whites on the par 3's?

I haven't played any of these courses yet, but I have noticed a lot of courses now offer "combo" sets of tees that allow to to basically do just that.  One of the courses I've looked at has you using the back tees on the par 5's and shorter 4's and the middle tees on the 3's and longer 4's.

[AmazingWhacker]

I hate 200 yard par 3's!  There was a thread on here not too long ago about all the long par3's people are seeing nowadays.  I can hit the green from 200 yards away about 0 times in 100.

[Bullitt5339]

As long as there's a mix of Par 3's, I have no problem with one of them being 200 yards.

My home course has one that's 200 from the white tees and 230 from the blues.  With a 7 Wood or 4 Hybrid, I can typically hit the green or be close enough for a chip and putt from the whites, and I'm no great golfer, that's for sure.  I've played a few times from the blues and I hit my high launch 3 Wood (A 4 Wood in reality) and then rely on my short game.  I see no problem with it as long as there's no long force carry, I kind of hate those.

The other Par 3's are 157 yards to a small green, 135 yards of target golf to a rolling green and 165 yards to a huge green where you can have 60ft putts if you hit it in the wrong place.

[Goonsidious]

These par 3's are the best. Gives you a taste of what the pros have to deal with during some of their long par 3s.

Another obstacle in golf for you? Sounds like a fun opportunity.

[cooke119]

Originally Posted by AmazingWhacker

I hate 200 yard par 3's!  There was a thread on here not too long ago about all the long par3's people are seeing nowadays.  I can hit the green from 200 yards away about 0 times in 100.

Why is that? A 200 yard shot off a perfect lie shouldn't be a problem. I'd be interested to know why you have a problem with that shot?

[Andrew Gibson]

I dont mind a long par 3. I played one last week that was 190 to the pin and into a 20 mph headwind.. Ihit 4h and was on but a good 40 foot short... should have hit 3h but didnt want to be long as the hole was cut all the way back... this was from the black tees, and not the golds... it was playing 220 plus wind from the backs...it would have been at least a 5 wood from back there to get to the hole.

If you know your going to be playing a course with a long par 3, I would think that would be the perfect time to take out a less used wedge and add a 5 wood or 2h... I don't think I would drop my 5 wood for a 60* wedge any time soon, I think I need to work on pitching/floping with my 56* before I throw in anything else.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Grumpter

Just a generalization about shorter courses. Mostly courses that offer just 2 sets of regular mens tee's - usually blue & white. with white being shorter.

I have found most shorter courses, in my area, have 3 of the 4 par 3 tee's set at 195 to 215 range. My hate stems mostly from the fact that I can't seem to hit my 3 iron much past 190 anymore but also I find it hard to take that much off a 3 wood. Normal length courses don't seem to suffer the same 'problem'.

I could add a hybrid to the bag but I like the gaps between my clubs besides that one issue. I try to limit my rounds at the shorter courses which makes it even less likely that I will add a hybrid. Just an observation, YMMV.

How "short" is this course that it has more than one 215 yard par 3?

[ldpk]

get a 7 wood, I love hitting it on longer par 3s

[mdl]

I don't mind the long par 3s.  In fact I like tees that have something like 3 par 3s in the 185-215 range and one short one, like 130-170.  Sure it's harder to score, but I'm pumped if I put my 4i to 15 feet on a 205 yard hole!!

[robrey85]

I don't mind the long Par 3s but I'd prefer to use less than my Hybrid on Par 3s. Not a big fan of using my Hybrid/3W off the tee though I will use them will necessary, just have to force myself to like it in hopes of a good clean hit.

[lumpuckeroo]

I don't think all courses that are on the short side have only long par 3's.  My home course plays right at 6000 yards with at 215 yd, 195 yd, 165 yd, and 135 yd par 3.  I like this, one of the reasons I wanted to join the course, they have a variety of hole lengths.  And not with just the par 3's, both par 5's are long 530+, but the par 4's vary a lot also, from a couple of 420+ to a couple of 320-, you will hit every club in your bag.

[chilepepper]

Why not swap out some clubs depending on what course you play? If you have an idea what you are up against drop A and B club and replace them with X and Y club for the day

[Grumpter]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

How "short" is this course that it has more than one 215 yard par 3?

more than one 195+ par 3's, I didn't say 3 par 3's at 215+. It's not just one course and they seem to be around 6300 (give or take) from the back tee's. Most seem to have maybe 2 par 4's over 400 yards so it's mostly driver/wedge play.

[Dave2512]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

I haven't played any of these courses yet, but I have noticed a lot of courses now offer "combo" sets of tees that allow to to basically do just that.  One of the courses I've looked at has you using the back tees on the par 5's and shorter 4's and the middle tees on the 3's and longer 4's.

I've seen some whacky stuff this summer. I played at a place where they had 6 sets of tees and they had them all over the place. Some holes had multiple tees from the same distance. Now that I think of it I believe it had something to do with shortening up the par 3's. They had some 220+ par 3's there. The middle tees at this place were 6800+, championship tees are 7600+

[Dave2512]

Originally Posted by Grumpter

more than one 195+ par 3's, I didn't say 3 par 3's at 215+. It's not just one course and they seem to be around 6300 (give or take) from the back tee's. Most seem to have maybe 2 par 4's over 400 yards so it's mostly driver/wedge play.

I'd like to take a look at the scorecard if you'd be so kind to provide the course name. I like quirky courses. There's a course here with a 199y par 4 that is impossible to get to from the tee. I've played it twice this summer and both times I struggled to a double.