Question about an outing

[Sante TwoGloves]

I am trying to put together an outing for my friends. It's really a reunion with old friends and guys I have played with this year. We picked a monster of a course to play with 8 clubs or less. We have three foursomes, all grouped based on skill level and age. No one has an established HCP and even the best of us should be playing from the whites. My buddies and I always played from the furthest tees 30 years ago and we want to play from the tips this time. We range from 10-20 hcp I would guess. We have another group that if they break 120 they are having a good day and a senior foursome all close to 70 and shorter hitters. 1,000 yards is the difference from the whites and the blacks. We don't have any hcps to use to even things out some. Would it be a good idea to play from different tees? First flight black tees, 2nd flight from the blues, and seniors from the whites for example. We tweaked some rules to speed up play like ten stroke max per hole, and two swings and you're out from the sand. If we all play from the blacks it could get ugly. Maybe each foursome could have the option of which tees to play from? Please share your ideas. Thanks for the help

[ncarlsongolf]

We run many tournaments at our club for huge ranges of handicaps.  That is what they are they for.  If nobody has a handicap, I would go with the Callaway scoring system.

http://www.leaderboard.com/callaway.htm

It makes it more fair for everyone and they can play from different tees.  I would say from a pace of play perspective, if you are having to impart rules about getting out of the sand and such, I would have everyone scoot up an extra tee box.  There is nothing wrong with having the seniors and beginners play from the reds.  They are going to enjoy it more and be more competitive.  Hope this helps.

[JP golf]

We run many tournaments at our club for huge ranges of handicaps.  That is what they are they for.  If nobody has a handicap, I would go with the Callaway scoring system.

http://www.leaderboard.com/callaway.htm

Yep, Callaway isn't a bad choice at all.  We usually play the Callaway scoring system in out Myrtle Beach trip and your team is your group you came on the trip with.  Then we switch the format and teams up (based of the previous days scores- and we flight it) but the first day is always the Callaway system and allows us to post a score to start from without everyone having established handicaps.

Edited October 8, 2015 by JP golf

[Sante TwoGloves]

awesome. thanks for the help. going to have a low gross champion, net champion using the Callaway scoring, and British Stableford. champion. Should be a lot of fun. Sunday is the day. 65-70 degrees and no rain in sight. 

[bkuehn1952]

We don't have any hcps to use to even things out some. Would it be a good idea to play from different tees? First flight black tees, 2nd flight from the blues, and seniors from the whites for example. We tweaked some rules to speed up play like ten stroke max per hole, and two swings and you're out from the sand. If we all play from the blacks it could get ugly. Maybe each foursome could have the option of which tees to play from? Please share your ideas. 

Playing different tees to even things out is a decent idea.  Since you are playing 8 clubs, why not let the less skilled or older teams have 10, 12 or 14 clubs?

Your description of the skill set suggests pace of play might be an issue.  Team scoring where everyone does not have to record a score tends to allow for a better pace (i.e. record only the 1 or 2 best scores per team)

 

[rkim291968]

Monster course, using 8 clubs, 10 - 20 handicap, and fun outing all strongly suggests that you forgo playing from the tips.   My 2 cents.

Edited October 9, 2015 by rkim291968

[Sante TwoGloves]

i hear that. i am thinking the whites are going to be tough enough. its a group decision and a guy in my foursome is dead set on the blacks.  lol  one other group has already said it is dropping to the whites.

[rkim291968]

Make the guy to exclude long clubs from his 8 ...

[Sante TwoGloves]

haha yeah right. he is only taking 4 clubs. must be a macho thing huh? 

[RickK]

I am curious.  Why limit the clubs to 8?  I love playing golf and hate tricked up golf.  My club has a 3 club tournament and I will never play in it again.  I love seeing old friends, but if I am going to play golf, I want to play golf with all 14 allowable clubs.  There are enough different methods for handicapping the unhandicapped available to limit clubs a person can take.  Just me...I would probably pass on doing it.  I will be in the bar while the round is being played.  

[Sante TwoGloves]

I am curious.  Why limit the clubs to 8?  I love playing golf and hate tricked up golf.  My club has a 3 club tournament and I will never play in it again.  I love seeing old friends, but if I am going to play golf, I want to play golf with all 14 allowable clubs.  There are enough different methods for handicapping the unhandicapped available to limit clubs a person can take.  Just me...I would probably pass on doing it.  I will be in the bar while the round is being played.  

Have you ever tried it? a friend who has been playing with a half a bag for a couple of years turned me on to it and I absolutely love it. i dont think i will ever play with more than 8 clubs in my bag again. doing some research on the matter the 14 club limit wasnt a part of the rules of golf until 1939. before that golfers like Lawson Little were winning tournaments with as many as 31 clubs (7 wedges) while others were winning with only 7. during that era it was rather common for players to carry 8 clubs only.  we wanted to make a very difficult course even more challenging and that we did but overall the good players scored good, the bad players scored bad, and the in between scored in between.  the best round was recorded by our best player from the whites. 43-37 for an 8 over 80. 3 bridies on the back. that was the first time he played with 8 only and he said he really enjoyed the experience also. on the web i found a group of golfers who play this way all of the time, always 8 or less, always walking...golf minimalists. give it a try some time before knocking it. you might enjoy it as well.

[Sante TwoGloves]

 a few fun moments from the outing. i told everyone all week that i had a secret weapon. showing up with one or more different clubs every time we played this year it was only fitting to do the same for our big event. as everyone gathered for the first drive of the day i pulled off my driver headcover to reveal my newest club, a ladies right handed driver with pink ribbons.  going left handed off the tee all year it was quite a shocker. an even bigger one was me splitting the fairway sweet and long.very impressive drive.  it was all down hill for me after that though. the blacks  and playing 18  was just too much for me. lots of lost balls, fat shots, and three putt greens. me and my buddy played pretty even all year give or take 3 strokes a side and we again finished 7 strokes apart. from the blacks at 7,154 yards me 124, him and his 4 clubs only 117. 

i saved a surprise long drive contest for the last hole. the day before i found this black dog headcover at our play it again sports and got it as a last second prize. wouldnt you know it the owner of the store won the headcover. i said to him as i gave him his award i bet this looks familiar to you haha. little did i know how familiar. it turned out that he had bought that headcover for his son as a birthday gift. his son never used it and he decided to put it up for sale as his store. he was happy to win it and  he said he had to keep it now.

the callaway handicap system was awesome. took a long time to do but this one high handicapper won the low net in his group. i thought he was going to cry. he was so happy to win something. 

speed of playing wasnt a factor. the only ones who got held up some at all was the group behind us who were playing from the whites.

just a great time on the links with my friends and an awesome cookout after with all the wives joining us. 

 

Edited October 13, 2015 by Sante TwoGloves