Cartboy

That's what I was saying, too, that players new to our course (or any course), mostly older tourists, almost automatically go to "White" (Silver in our case). When the course opened, we had a forward tee at 5323 and "White" was next back at 6299. Wow! That's a big difference! Too long for some older casual tourist golfers, especially since the course is tough, too. The "Combo" I came up with is 5877. &, it's Sloped and Rated, a legit tee. Funny though, the older member groups that I play with have their own "Combo", not different enough to change the Slope and Rating, and I agree more with theirs.

Exactly. I've been inartfully, I guess, trying to say that that is the case. On a couple of Par 3s on my northern home course, I hit a 3 or 5 wood, and sometimes a driver, when some in my group are hitting a short iron, but I'm as accurate as they are. So, length is my nemesis.

I guess it varies from course to course, because on my main course, which is tough, like I said, and which is played by a lot of older, first-time, tourist golfers, like I said, it is a big problem. I have found it very difficult, as both a marshal and a player, to convince/suggest someone who is struggling, and having a totally miserable time, that they should move up a tee. &, like I said, I see so many go to the first tee, hit from something further back than white, and you can immediately see they chose the wrong tee. I believe that the first time on a course, there is a very strong tendency to just go to "White." That's a mistake at my place for a lot of golfers. That's why I want to make our Combo White (5877 yards/Slope 128), and make our White (6299/Slope 130) another color. But, that won't happen, for whatever reason. Of course, on Mens' Day, we always had the rule about not hitting it past the "Ladies" tee. 😷 - - - - - - Somewhat related, the last time I got my former golfing buddy/jerk on for $25, which was the last time I'll get him on for $25, and he was having a totally horrible day, after he threw his putter and hissy-fit on the green in front of the owner's house, he said something about me playing "cobbled-up" tees, or whatever it was he said, I told him you can play any arrangement of tees you want on a course, and use the USGA rules to adjust it to a rated tee for posting purposes. Speaking of which, he's in town this week. Too bad I'm not working, not golfing, and not socializing. 😷 One of the best statements ever made here. Maybe add "have fun". 😷

I do. I shoot disproportionately better on shorter courses, more than the slope would suggest. Or, "Why is he playing golf?" 🙄😷

I've been fighting this problem since 2009 at my present course. It is a very challenging course, and when it opened, the shortest "Mens'" tee was 6300 yards, sloped 130. Our typical golfer is over 60-years old, as we are a resort course in a tourist area. Around six years ago, I played the course in my mind, and "moved forward" on holes where my drive was not making it to the appropriate approach shot. I came up with a Combo Tee of 5877 yards, sloped 128. "Whites" at the other local course where I'm a member just happens to be 5794, sloped 122, so our Combo is right for the area. Some holes are still a little too long for our typical golfer, but our older member groups, for some of whom distance is not a problem, play the Combo tee, primarily because it makes for a funner/quicker round. But, I can't get management/owners to just make it a White tee. Instead, it's confusing, because you have to look at the card to see what color to play as you head to the next hole. Just make it White dammit, I'll even spray-paint the tee markers. Actually, I'm looking forward to playing the forward tee when it's safe to be out and about again. 5323/123. I just had the thought that longer hitters are able to play shorter tees because they can hit shorter clubs, but shorter hitters can't play longer tees because they're already hitting it as far as they can. Plus, us anyone can find doing a bit of searching here, the topic that was my primary concern when I first came here was Pace of Play, and watching group after group head over to the first tee, and watching their drives, I quickly saw that Playing Too Much Course, Getting Their Money's Worth, Seeing it All . . . was the main reason for our 5-6 hour rounds. I believe that Y chromosome has a lot to do with it.

Y'all probably already know this, but . . . .

But Hawkeye was from Maine and BJ was from California.

Every tee time for tomorrow is available at this top-notch course, even with reduced fees: https://www.golfnow.com/tee-times/facility/4366-branson-hills-golf-club/search#sortby=Date&view=Grouping&holes=3&timeperiod=3&timemax=42&timemin=10&players=0&pricemax=10000&pricemin=0

Yeah . . . some things stay the same.

It's strange how some courses/areas are so busy that it's hard to get a tee times while other courses/areas don't hardly have any business at all.

Courses become disenchanted with Golfnow, and resort to their own booking system . . . then return to Golfnow. For the revenue from two tee times a day, Golfnow provides POS, plus Internet exposure. Even at $200 per tee time, that $10,000/month looks like a lot, so courses drop them. I have been at two courses that had Golfnow, dropped them for their own app, and now have Golfnow again. At my current course, where I'm not back yet because of COVID, the last couple of years we had our own app, and I had a tablet with me. That was nice because I could look at the entire tee sheet, or a particular group, or look at future days. I could advise groups on the course about replays (we had a play-all-day rate for early tee times), and book future tee times. In the Winter, when I need golf in SW FL, I check Golfnow. As far as opening the country/golf courses back up, it's confusing. On March 16, the day restrictions started, there were 755 new cases in the US. On April 30, the day before restrictions started easing in many areas, there were over 30,000 new cases in the US. So, it's hard to understand why it is safer now. For golf course workers, it's even more confusing. We/they are "frontline," as it's become to be known. Kind of ironic, the past few years the upscale course I've been at since 2009 has been cutting back on labor/customer service. Greatly reduced bag drop service . . . bring the carts up the first hour, then let customers get their own and load their bags. Well, now they have that . . . no customer service, no Pro Shop, no Food & Beverage, no water stations, no raking bunkers, no touching flagsticks . . .

Everything is being done online at my main course, where there are still reduced prices. For tomorrow on Golfnow there are 44 tee times available. It is a top-ranked course, #1 in the state by Golfweek for nine years running, #2 last year. At my other course where I pay membership fees, they are back to full price, and doing 20 minute tee times. That has not made it hard to get one; only five of them have been taken for tomorrow. It is also a top-ranked course, #6 in the state by Golfweek.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that the state would begin lifting coronavirus restrictions for some businesses everywhere but Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, which have been particularly hard hit by the virus. Boca Raton - 434 cases

By South Florida do you mean Southeast Florida? It has been hit extremely hard by the virus, so things are more restrictive than other areas of Florida. I tried to share a link to the Florida COVID map, but it didn't like it. I don't believe any courses closed in our neck o' the swamp. A third type . . . those who "get" it, but are not obsessed. 😷

See tee times here? https://www.golfnow.com/tee-times/facility/4366-branson-hills-golf-club/search#sortby=Date&view=Grouping&holes=3&timeperiod=3&timemax=42&timemin=10&players=0&pricemax=10000&pricemin=0

My course in Missouri has been open Fri-Sun only, tee times from 7:30-1:00. I see that starting tomorrow the tee times will go from 7:30 until 3:50. Not busy . . . 41 tee times are available.

More Missouri: COVID -19 On Monday, Governor Mike Parson launched the Show-Me Strong Recovery Plan which will go into effect on May 4, 2020. This economic recovery plan will enable MGA to begin conducting golf events at some locations. As it states in Phase 1 of this economic recovery plan, “some communities may be able to reopen at a faster rate, while others may need to continue restrictions to keep the virus from spreading” so we will be observing local mandates and guidelines for the most up to date recommendations pertaining to golf courses. Most importantly, our priority is the safety of our players, host club officials, volunteers and MGA staff and we are working to implement health and safety measures as well as follow any guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MGA UPDATE MGA plans to kick-off the season on May 26th with the Missouri Amateur qualifier at The Falls Golf Club in O’Fallon. Golf tournaments, just like other events, will look differently from what they have been in the past. We will be observing the CDC’s minimum recommended physical distancing of six feet from other individuals at all times. Other health and safety measures will be implemented but will not alter competition. We will be sharing these changes during upcoming weeks via email and social media channels so stay tuned for the most current information. I encourage you to visit the MGA website at mogolf.org for the revised schedule since some events have been postponed or will be rescheduled. As of today, we are still accepting tournament entries and this includes the Missouri Junior Tour. There are still spots available but I anticipate the Tour events to start filling up during the next month. Now is the time to submit your entries so don’t wait! Thank you for your support during this unprecedented time.

The last round of golf I played was at a course in SW FL where I once retrained and supervised the outside staff of 25. Nice little 27 hole course where we ran 300-400 tee times a day in Snowbird season. It was the week before things really hit the fan down there. There were a few cases, and deaths, in Sarasota, Ft. Myers, Naples, etc., but it wasn't really a thing yet. I got paired with three strangers, a couple in the other cart and another single guy in my cart. Busy, busy day, and carts were running out of juice. No sanitizing, no distancing, ice and water station just the way it always was. I had a great time . . . we all joked about whether anyone had been on a cruise lately . . . or been to China. Of course, that was a timeframe that we now know asymptomatic people were spreading it. A week later things were a lot different, and I thought what an idiot I had been, that it was no longer funny.

As one who has been responsible for that the last dozen years, I have already considered the "new normal." I previously have mentioned that some of the changes are things some golfers have wanted all along . . . a personal cart, not getting paired with strangers, more space between tee times . . . At the same time, golfers who want to golf are willing to do with less than they are accustomed to. No Pro Shop. No clubhouse. Remote payment . No bag drop. No players service.

This is a golf forum, for golfers who want to golf, so, naturally, there is a slant to this thread. It's a shame that a golfer who may have a different opinion is considered to be a troll. But, so be it. Stated once more, my position is that golfer who wanta to golf should golf. & those who don't feel it's safe should stay home. For me, it will be catching goggle-eyes off my brush piles. 😷

500,000 new confirmed cases in less than the last 3 weeks, and 30,000 more each day, does not suggest it's time to open things up. With 4% of the world's population, we have 1/3 of the confirmed cases and 25% of the deaths. Even in the states that are opening up, people are being encouraged to stay at home. But, like I've said a few times now, those who feel they have to get out amongst folks, go ahead. The more prudent ones can still stay at home, and let the chips fall where they may.

You got a point? What would you like to see? 😷

Missouri: Good morning, Governor Mike Parson conducted his daily briefing and announced his plan for reopening businesses around the state. Parson stated a new order will be in effect from May 4 through May 31. During the Governor’s briefing he stressed the importance of social distancing and risk mitigation. These will continue to be a key component under his new guidance. He noted it was his intent for all retail businesses to open on May 4th. Retail businesses of different sizes will be allowed to have between 10% and 25% of their occupancy limit in the business at one time. Restaurants may again offer indoor dining provided the limitations on social distancing and other precautionary health measures are to be followed. This includes spacing of tables at least 6 feet apart and no more than 10 people at a single table. As questions are raised about the order and its impact, we expect further clarification to be released over the course of the week. This loosening of restrictions will require that social distancing continue to be practiced on golf courses. This includes one person per cart but does not appear to place limitations on the number of people in gatherings. However, groups must still abide by the proper social distancing requirements. We recommend that golf courses keep guidelines that have been in place in the past couple of months with no rakes in the bunkers and no touching of the flagsticks till end of the month. At that time, the new guidelines will be out, or we will still be using the current ones. While the Governor is changing the requirements for many communities around the state it's important to remember local cities and counties may have more restrictive measures in effect. Please remember the Stay at Home order in St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Kansas City remain in effect until May 15th. We have attached the new Order released by Governor Parson. Please let MGA know if you have questions. https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MOGOV/2020/04/27/file_attachments/1437097/Economic%20Reopening%20Order%204-27-20.pdf https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MOGOV/2020/04/27/file_attachments/1437023/Show%20Me%20Strong%20Recovery%20-%20Phase%201%20Guidance.pdf Stay safe and healthy and thank you for support of the MGA and the great game of golf. All our best, Rocky Walther, President of Missouri Golf Association Mike Winter, Missouri Golf Association Legislative Consultant Scott Hovis, Executive Director of Missouri Golf Association Time will tell. 😷 But, then, I have repeatedly said, "Go play golf." So, no.

So, if golfers golf, and beach-goers go to the beach, and diners dine out, and shoppers shop, and joggers jog, and walkers walk, and dog owners go to the dog park, and boaters boat, and fishermen fish, and hunters hunt, and workers work, and partyers party, and . . .