When is it time to switch to a different set of teeboxes?

[ezmoney5150]

My attitude on this is if you are taking the hazards out of play by blasting it by them or short of them.

I might play the tips at my course of 7100 yards twice a year because there is no penalty for missing the fairway. With the wind the way it is I can't reach the fairway bunkers except downwind. I generally stay at the blue tees at 6600 yards. If the course is playing hard and fast I'll move back to the tips.

Also in the spring when the course is playing wet and long I might play the white tees at 6100 yards.

[dodson914]

I normally play from the blues (the 2nd furthest back). This is mainly because of the people I normally play with are much better than I am. I played from the whites yesterday and was nervous about using my driver and quite a few holes.

Is there anything wrong with learning on the blues?

I have a fairly long drive that is for the most part straight. Short game is what is killing me.

[Dent]

Ive played the blues a couple and i have to admit its challenging. I can shoot anywhere from 38-42 on the whites, but when i hit the blues i shot 44. Its not that much of a difference but it is challenging.

[Roody]

Is there anything wrong with learning on the blues?

I suppose there is nothing wrong with it. Heck, in some cases it might be a good thing to always play the blues while learning because you're learning at a higher level, thus when you do play the whites they'll seem easy.

Conversely though, if your game is not up to the level that it needs to be for the longer challenge of the blues, then you'll never be able to build up your confidence either. Confidence is a large part of the mental aspect.

[mjbartow]

I don't think I have a single digit handicap. I have yet to shoot in the 70's (my summer goal which is quickly coming to a close) but I usually shoot an 83 or anywhere in that range.

I play from the tips always.

The back tees really don't challenge me that much because my drive is very good. Not the longest but long enough for me not to struggle to put it where it needs to be, and it is almost always straight.

The back tees only challenge me on par threes basically. When a par 3 goes from a 180 to a 210, it is very intimidating to have to stick a green with your hybrid.

Usually the only thing that bothers me is with severe doglegs. There are 2 (almost) 90* angle doglegs at my home course and those are the ones where you HAVE to drive the ball to a certain distance.

In all honesty, I started playing from the back tees, being out with my usual friends and on the first hole: "**** it, let's play from the tips"

[$2 Nassau]

Post a link to your home club, let's take a look at the distances.

[$2 Nassau]

I normally play from the blues (the 2nd furthest back). This is mainly because of the people I normally play with are much better than I am. I played from the whites yesterday and was nervous about using my driver and quite a few holes.

I learned playing from the Blue tees. Everyone I play with is usually better than me. Although the course I typically played on when I first started playing is a par 72, approx 6500 yards, 70.8 rating with a 115 slope from the blues. Not exactly a difficult course.

[P3R3]

I never play from the tips if its my choice, I will if my playing partners are.

I played from the Tiger tees att my universities course one time and shot a 100, I was playing horribly that day though. It is 6,911 from the tips, none of this whimpy stuff. The shortest Par 3 is 178 yrds, the others are 192, 221,213. The longest par 4 is 460 yards, with an approach shot over water. Hardest hole I have ever played, the best I have managed so far is a bogey.

[greenail]

My low round this year is from the blues 42-43 11GIR (I can't putt). I play the blues around once every 5 rounds, changes things up quite nicely and lets you get creative with your strategy for each hole.

[Mhinderaker]

My handicap is exclusively from the blues because that is where we have to play in tournaments.

I don't see a point in playing on 170 yard par 3s when I know that 3 weeks from now I need the 215 shot in the bag.

[NM Golf]

I am a scratch golfer and I generally play the white tees just because that is where the people I normally play with want to play. I am a long hitter but I don't feel the need to always play the tips. Playing the whites gives me opportunities to hit different clubs just like playing the blues does. Personally I think way to many people play the blue tees when they have more of a white tee game. And many people would enjoy the game more if they did play from the appropriate tees. Some courses I have played have gone to a tee host who puts people on the appropriate tees for their level of play. Basically if your more than a 7 handicap you play the white tees whether you like it or not, and they mark your cart so the course marshals can monitor you on the course. I think its a great idea, I would like to see more courses go to a system like that as it would speed up play.

[golfchief]

Some courses I have played have gone to a tee host who puts people on the appropriate tees for their level of play. Basically if your more than a 7 handicap you play the white tees whether you like it or not, and they mark your cart so the course marshals can monitor you on the course. I think its a great idea, I would like to see more courses go to a system like that as it would speed up play.

If the handicap is too large do they send them to the putt putt course? haha

Saying you play white or blue tees really says nothing if you don't know the yardage from those markers. I've been on blue tees that measured anywhere from 5700 -7200 yrds you need to look at the yardage from the tees to find the one best for your game. Myself I like to be around 6200yrds.

[Roody]

I saw a term mentioned in another thread that was called "vanity handicap". In other words, it's where someone purposely fudges their scores a little in order to drive their handicap down with the purpose of looking better in various golf circles or what not.

I wonder if the term "vanity tees" should apply here. In other words, a player who plays the blues when they really belong on the whites. They're too "vain" or "macho" to play the whites.

The one place I am forced to play blues is during my weekly league night. That's just the rules of the league. Though I'll admit, I've gone a couple times and played our league course on the weekends, and I play from the whites when I do. It sure feels a lot easier to play the whites, when most of the time I see the course from the blues.

[WhiteSoxFan]

The one place I am forced to play blues is during my weekly league night. That's just the rules of the league. Though I'll admit, I've gone a couple times and played our league course on the weekends, and I play from the whites when I do. It sure feels a lot easier to play the whites, when most of the time I see the course from the blues.

Same here as far as the league goes. Obviously, at my handicap, I have no business playing the blues regularly, but that's the way it goes in the league - I think it's helping me in the long run though. When I play outside of league play I always play from the whites, or their equivalent. Also, here in Colorado, we have a lot of courses that brag about being "Championship" courses. This usually means they have 4 or 5 sets of tees. I usually look at the rating and slope and try to play something equivalent of the whites - usually two tees up from the "championship" tees.

[beisenhauer]

The courses close by to where I live a) aren't the most challenging/long to begin with and b) don't generally have much difference between the whites and the blues. So even at my handicap, I still play the blues. I find that I use a greater variety of clubs from the blues, where from the whites I had several clubs I almost never touched.

At a tougher course, I would certainly think twice before taking on the longer tees.

[lamebums]

I think it all really comes down to what you have the most fun at. If you're a big hitter and have fun hitting driver/sand wedge on all your par 4's then go for it. If for some god-unknown reason you play from the tips and cant reach the fairway but still have fun, then by all means do it. As long as you keep up the pace of play, I don't really care.

At two of my courses, I'm going to start playing the blue tees, since in most cases the difference is only a few yards, anyway. At the third, forget it - I can't even play the regular tees and break 90 on a regular basis.

[golfchief]

If a league is playing from the back tees and you can't play well from them you need to find a league that plays from the tees you play better. It's no fun for you and not fun for the better players to play against you giving you 9+ strokes.

[WhiteSoxFan]

I don't think either one of us said we "can't play well from the tees the league plays at". I think we are just saying that if we were to go play the course on our own, we would play up a tee box. I shoot just fine from the tees my league plays at. And my handicap is one stroke above the average for the league. (32 players) I also have fun, and I don't think it affects the "fun level" of anyone else in the league. Sure, I'd like to be hitting 7i - SW for my 2nd shot on most par 4's, instead I'm hitting 3i-6i for most of them - but I'm cool with that - it's the rules of the leauge, and it will make me a better player in the long run, and makes it easier when I play the white tees outside of league play.