i have no interest in "teeing it forward"

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

It kind of depends where you are.

Explain? A tee box 40 yards back is going to leave an approach shot 40 yards longer. We aren't talking about forced carries or hole strategy here. All of which would probably get more difficult as you move further back as well.

[Lihu]

[quote name="Lihu" url="/t/63387/i-have-no-interest-in-teeing-it-forward/300#post_1168374"] It kind of depends where you are.

Explain? A tee box 40 yards back is going to leave an approach shot 40 yards longer. We aren't talking about forced carries or hole strategy here. All of which would probably get more difficult as you move further back as well.[/quote] Of course being closer is better, but in many cases being 40 yards closer might not mean that much more accuracy. It depends.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

Of course being closer is better, but in many cases being 40 yards closer might not mean that much more accuracy. It depends.

We are going to have to agree to disagree here. As long as we are talking about a reachable approach, 40 yards is going to make a big difference in accuracy. Shouldn't matter if we are taking PW vs 7 iron or if we are talking 8 iron vs 5 iron. I'll take the approach shot that is 4 less clubs (40 yards closer) every time.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

Of course being closer is better, but in many cases being 40 yards closer might not mean that much more accuracy.

It depends.

We are going to have to agree to disagree here. As long as we are talking about a reachable approach, 40 yards is going to make a big difference in accuracy. Shouldn't matter if we are taking PW vs 7 iron or if we are talking 8 iron vs 5 iron. I'll take the approach shot that is 4 less clubs (40 yards closer) every time.

You're the only one disagreeing here. I just mentioned there are cases where this is not an absolute truth.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

You're the only one disagreeing here. I just mentioned there are cases where this is not an absolute truth.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. There always are. We aren't talking absolutes. It's a discussion about whether 40 yards closer to the green is an easier shot. And generally speaking, in a majority of the cases, it is.

[Lihu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lihu

You're the only one disagreeing here. I just mentioned there are cases where this is not an absolute truth.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. There always are. We aren't talking absolutes. It's a discussion about whether 40 yards closer to the green is an easier shot. And generally speaking, in a majority of the cases, it is.

Sure, of course.

[Golfingdad]

Bottom line is, 40 extra yards per hole makes a huge difference.

I realize that it wasn't you but rather the poster you quoted who mentioned 40 yards, but that is a bit high when we're talking about potentially teeing it forward.  I presume that most people would consider moving one set forward, and I don't know that there are many courses out there with 720 yards from one tee to the next.  I think it's usually closer to half of that.

And, yes, 20 yards still makes a difference, but I don't know that I'd go so far as to call it "huge."  If I put a decent swing on a PW vs. a decent swing on an 8 iron, I'm going to finish closer to the hole on average, no question.  I would never dispute that.  But a good swing with either club is putting me on the green and a bad swing with either club is missing the green.  Also, I'm not putting it that much closer with a PW such that I'm making a birdie that more often, I'm more likely just making it a slightly easier two-putt.  And I miss more greens than I hit anyway, so if it's a poor swing then it's a likely bogey in either case.

Certainly, in the long run that extra 20 yards is going to bring your scores down a bit in most cases but:

A) Is it going to be enough to leave your handicap unaffected or affect it in a positive way?

and

B) Is it more fun for you?

[iacas]

Ya but that is thinking from a short hitters perspective, think about that in the opposite direction, would you say there is a big difference between hitting a PW and an 8iron into greens? I'd say not nearly as much.

Yes. It's still a fairly significant distance. Distance vs. proximity is not a linear progression but it's kinda close to one for the range covered by irons.

[bkuehn1952]

Just for reference, I actually moved back to the tips at one of the local courses...  I actually shot right around the same score I normally do when playing from the normal tees at 6310 70.2/121... So, in the end, playing forward is actually hurting my index rating.

You came to this conclusion after one round.  I am certainly no statistician but that doesn't seem to be enough data to reach a conclusion like that.  It is possible that your game tendencies are outside the parameters the USGA expects and thus you are the exception who plays better on a course with a more difficult rating.  For a significant portion of the golfing public, that won't be the case.

[Hatchman]

A hole I played this weekend that was #1 handicap. Which tee then? MEN's Par 4 Black - 476, two forced carries Blue - 447, two forced carries White - 423, two forced carries Gold - 303, one force carry to green Second forced carry over marsh to green. Image shows part of first carry prior to crossing bridge over marsh.

[Jeremie Boop]

You came to this conclusion after one round.  I am certainly no statistician but that doesn't seem to be enough data to reach a conclusion like that.  It is possible that your game tendencies are outside the parameters the USGA expects and thus you are the exception who plays better on a course with a more difficult rating.  For a significant portion of the golfing public, that won't be the case.

It definitely depends on the course, as I said the only thing that moving back really added was length to the course which didn't really have a large effect on my overall game. I went from hitting wedges to 9 iron into par 4's and all but 1 par 3 to hitting pw-8 iron on the par 3's and 4's  with the exception of one par 4 that was 465 and a par 3 that was 230. And I in no way was saying that this would be the case for everyone, just pointed out that it was the case for me. I already knew that 6310 yards was too short for me before moving back and knew that only 2 holes would pose any problem, the 465 4 and 230 3.

[Lihu]

A hole I played this weekend that was #1 handicap. Which tee then? MEN's Par 4 Black - 476, two forced carries Blue - 447, two forced carries White - 423, two forced carries Gold - 303, one force carry to green Second forced carry over marsh to green. Image shows part of first carry prior to crossing bridge over marsh.

I would guess that 173 carries the first one from black, and something shorter than 100 for the second one? Don't shank or duff. :-D

[Jeremie Boop]

I would guess that 173 carries the first one from black, and something shorter than 100 for the second one?

Don't shank or duff.

In all honesty, I would worry more about the second forced carry.

[Hatchman]

In all honesty, I would worry more about the second forced carry.

Pretty close but I did a poor job of setting it up correctly. I had moved the cart up and then thought I should take a picture since I was visiting but should have shot it from the black tee box I played from. The first carry was 211 and hopefully you nut it middle fairway for a slight downhill roll (can't see from box) to get a shot at the next carry. I was a little outside my range so I laid up, but stuck a nice wedge and still 2 putted. Your length probably would have been fine. I played back at almost 7,200 testing a newly fit 5 wood so I could get a look at a few shots. Hit a few, missed a few.

[Hatchman]

Second carry to pin over marsh. You guys are good!

[Jeremie Boop]

Pretty close but I did a poor job of setting it up correctly. I had moved the cart up and then thought I should take a picture since I was visiting but should have shot it from the black tee box I played from. The first carry was 211 and hopefully you nut it middle fairway for a slight downhill roll (can't see from box) to get a shot at the next carry. I was a little outside my range so I laid up, but stuck a nice wedge and still 2 putted. Your length probably would have been fine. I played back at almost 7,200 testing a newly fit 5 wood so I could get a look at a few shots. Hit a few, missed a few.

From the back, unless I really crushed one I'd be hitting 4 iron or hybrid near the green. It looks like you only have a smallish area there that you have to carry for the 2nd shot and you'd have to come up way short to end up in that marsh. Regardless, that hole is a pretty long hole from all the tees for most players anyway, even at 420 yards it's going to be a struggle for most average players.

[Hatchman]

From the back, unless I really crushed one I'd be hitting 4 iron or hybrid near the green. It looks like you only have a smallish area there that you have to carry for the 2nd shot and you'd have to come up way short to end up in that marsh. Regardless, that hole is a pretty long hole from all the tees for most players anyway, even at 420 yards it's going to be a struggle for most average players.

Yep. And add players to the mix looking for balls trying to hit over, etc. That's why a discussion like is valuable and after all one can change to a different tee box on a specific hole like this or drop up at the second carry when you dunk it. They are mixed in with the under 400 yard holes.

[billchao]

Yep. And add players to the mix looking for balls trying to hit over, etc. That's why a discussion like is valuable and after all one can change to a different tee box on a specific hole like this or drop up at the second carry when you dunk it. They are mixed in with the under 400 yard holes.

Wait, what? You can't change what set of tees you tee off from mid-round.

Unless you're saying to play the whole course shorter just because of the one really long and/or difficult hole? Some holes are designed to be long, you know.