Playing from the red tees

[StrokerAce]

I keep trying to break 80 and hit a mental block halfway through.  I shoot well (in the 30's) on the front and then start doing the math....and it all goes to sh*t....

I come close - 81,82,83,84 ... but there seems to be some sort of mental hurdle I can't get over.

 

In order to conquer this one thing I was thinking of was playing from the red tees....just to see if I can shoot in the 70's and if I can get past this mental block.

 

Has anyone ever played from the red tees before just to see what would happen?

 

Did it help?  Feel "wrong" .. awkward .. did you get funny looks?

 

It wouldn't be something I would consider an "official" round but it would be interesting to see what would happen and if I can just shoot below 80.

[null]

Distance isn't an issue for me, so it likely would not change my scores at all haha.

[Shankster]

I've done it before. I thought it was harder actually. A lot of half distance shots and what not. But I read somewhere on here I believe and I'm not trying to steal anyone's thunder.

 

But their coach made them play from the forward tees (red) till they could consistently break par (72), then and only then would they be (allowed) to move back to the next tees, then start again there till you break par.

 

No shame in it man. Golf is supposed to be fun, so if playing up front and shooting a 75 doesn't sound good to you... well, why punish yourself?

 

I'd like to see your results.

 

I played from the "yellow" tees today because I don't have a driver. It was actually the most enjoyable round of golf I've had in a long time.

 

 

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[GolfJunkie302]

I remember feeling the same way you do. I just couldn't break 80. Once I finally did it, it started to come much easier. In fact, the first time I broke 80, I shot 78. The day after I shot 79. It will happen sooner or later!

 

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[GolfJunkie302]

As for playing from the red tees, no I've never done it. But go ahead and try it. Maybe you will shoot 69 instead of 79!

 

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[yungkory]

Distance isn't an issue for me, so it likely would not change my scores at all haha.

 

Same for me. My game in its current state is definitely all "drive for show."

[StrokerAce]

Same for me. My game in its current state is definitely all "drive for show."

 

....but what about accuracy?

 

So - I'm thinking that a par4 from the white/blue is 440 then from the red it might be 380... then instead of a mid-iron into the green I'd have a wedge or short iron, which would in turn allow me to get the ball closer to the hole and 1 putt.... in theory... ::

[bullldog]

Try writing down score but don't think no more about it, don't even total up till the round is over, not even in your head. Just play. Might help with the mental game. Letting you get out of the "comfort zone"

[yungkory]

....but what about accuracy?

 

So - I'm thinking that a par4 from the white/blue is 440 then from the red it might be 380... then instead of a mid-iron into the green I'd have a wedge or short iron, which would in turn allow me to get the ball closer to the hole and 1 putt.... in theory... : :

 

Yeah, the theory is sound. My driver is honestly the best club I have in the bag at the moment. Finding fairways and putting it out there 270 on average. Not a monster hitter, but I can get near 300. The second shot is what is holding me back, and I feel like adjusting the course to fit my shortcomings in my irons is just doing a disservice - and probably wouldn't matter much for my score anyways.

[Shankster]

I quit writing my scores down. I only keep track of the holes I didn't Par or birdie/eagle.

 

When I bogey a hole or worse I write it down, and look at my strategy for that hole for next time. It's usually when I use Driver and don't need to. Hence my good round today with out it.

 

 

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[TBT]

I play from the blue tees mostly....at my course we have 4 sets...

 

Tips - Blacks

Regular Men's - Blue

Senior - White's

Women's - Red

 

I typically play blues because all our tournaments are from the blues, but I occasionally move to the whites, never played from the reds.

 

If you think it's a mental thing then give it a shot...it can't hurt.

 

Let us know how it goes.

[ole gray]

Go for it and bust that 80's arse

 

 

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[cksurfdude]

...

 

But their coach made them play from the forward tees (red) till they could consistently break par (72), then and only then would they be (allowed) to move back to the next tees, then start again there till you break par.

 

...

 

Totally, completely agree with this concept. When I play a round of golf on the course with my wife (to distinguish from: "when I play with my wife"  ) I step up to the forward tees with her. If we're paired with other guys I just tell them, "We're playing up - you guys go ahead when you're ready."

(I have, or try to have, no ego on the course and way more often than not I am spending way less time looking for my tee shot than they are....)

 

My goals are to hit more fairways, and then to try to hit them into a good position - eg. if I was looking down the right side.

 

Also, I do not use a driver but usually a 5W or 4H, or if it's a really short Par 4 then whatever I think will get me to a comfortable layup distance to attempt to hit the green from.

 

* Stroker - 

GO FOR IT!

(or switch back and forth on different days)

 

Also - it can still be an 'official' round, if you want - just apply the proper rating for that set of tees.

[Orange Hog]

If you're that close I'd honestly say you should just figure out where you're dropping those last couple of strokes and focus on that.  Maybe a flubbed chip, poor putting, or whatever.  Spend a little practice time working on that thing(s) then get back out there.

 

Playing up on the Reds is going to leave you a lot of short irons and wedges into greens.  If that's where you are having some issues then by all means go for it.  But if things like long irons, chipping or putting (for example) are where you lose those shots then I don't think playing from the forward tees is going to do as much for you.

 

If it's a mental thing, then maybe have your buddy keep score next time and not tell you how you're playing.  Just a thought.

[dadivots]

I keep trying to break 80 and hit a mental block halfway through.  I shoot well (in the 30's) on the front and then start doing the math....and it all goes to sh*t....

I come close - 81,82,83,84 ... but there seems to be some sort of mental hurdle I can't get over.

 

In order to conquer this one thing I was thinking of was playing from the red tees....just to see if I can shoot in the 70's and if I can get past this mental block.

 

Has anyone ever played from the red tees before just to see what would happen?

 

Did it help?  Feel "wrong" .. awkward .. did you get funny looks?

 

It wouldn't be something I would consider an "official" round but it would be interesting to see what would happen and if I can just shoot below 80.

Your singing my song! For the longest time it was 80, 81, 83, 84. Ive never even shot an 82, ever (yet)!

We, being able to play whenever we wanted, started playing the reds with three clubs when we saw the Pro do it with some members.

3 wood, seven iron, and putter as a rule for me. SW and no putter or a different wood sometimes.

This got me over the hump for many reasons.

[Kenny B]

Playing from the Forward Tees doesn't mean you always have to hit driver.  Figure out the yardages and hit whatever club gets you to a different yardage into the green than what you usually hit on that hole.  It's great practice.  My old course was a 9-hole executive course with one par 5 and 2 par 3's.  The par 4's were normally driver and wedge.  Sometimes I would tee off with an iron; sometimes I would move up tee boxes to get different yardages.  It was a great way to hit all the clubs in my bag.

 

I haven't done it at my new course yet.  Maybe I should do it this week after my wife gets off work; we will both play from the Forward tees.  Maybe I don't want to know what will happen?

[Jmikecpa]

I play the tips at my club for most rounds and shoot low 70's about 90% of the time. I played one event where the first round we played the forward men's tees and I struggled to break 80 despite almost being 500 yards shorter. The main issue that I had was the lines off the tee completely changed and I overthought the tee shots. Also took driver out of my hand on a lot of holes and that is the main strength of my game. Worth a try but was actually harder for me the one time I tried it.

 

 

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[Canucklehead]

I regularly play from the reds if I'm out with my mom/gf. Will also take the driver and sometimes 3w out and add an extra wedge (score might be a couple strokes better). Fun way to see the course in a different way.

 

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[DiscipleofPenick]

I've thought about doing this as a confidence booster. I play one course 90% of the time so this would be great to mix it up. I can break 80 from the tips, but the goal would be to go really low. Need to stay focused.

 

As far as your mental block I used to experience something similar, start out par-par or something then start thinking about how low I could go. Then before you knew it bogey-bogey- double and I was back to earth. It even happened this past weekend, even on the front my normal 41 on the back. What I've done is stop writing my score down until the 9 is over. Out of sight out of mind and all that. Just keep telling yourself one shot at a time. There's a great line from the newest Rocky movie Creed- One step. One punch. One round. It's the same here.

 

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[StrokerAce]

Thanks for all the responses!  Very insightful and I appreciate the encouragement...

 

One thing I was considering was not using numbers on the scorecard and instead using symbols; maybe that way I won't get "caught" adding things up and stuck on a number....

 

Has anyone tried that?

i.e. X for bogey, blank for Par, dash for birdie, z for double, etc...

[cksurfdude]

Thanks for all the responses! Very insightful and I appreciate the encouragement...

 

One thing I was considering was not using numbers on the scorecard and instead using symbols; maybe that way I won't get "caught" adding things up and stuck on a number....

 

Has anyone tried that?

i.e. X for bogey, blank for Par, dash for birdie, z for double, etc...

Hmmm, you'd still be counting / tracking... Maybe get one of the shot tracking systems or apps to keep score for you?

[Shankster]

Thanks for all the responses! Very insightful and I appreciate the encouragement...

 

One thing I was considering was not using numbers on the scorecard and instead using symbols; maybe that way I won't get "caught" adding things up and stuck on a number....

 

Has anyone tried that?

i.e. X for bogey, blank for Par, dash for birdie, z for double, etc...

Do what I do. Only write down bogeys or worse and birdies or better. Then think what caused you to either bird the hole or bogey. Then focus on that part of your game.

 

I took my wedge game from 0 to Hero in a short period. Same with my driver (RIP R1).

 

So whatever I mess up on I focus on for the next practice session.

 

For example, I could not hit my 3 wood off the deck. So I got a 48 bucket of practice balls parked at the 250 out range and hit them till I was confident.

 

Same with my putter, I parked my a$$ on the practice green till I I felt like I could rely on it.

 

The problem is I can never get all of it to come together at the same time.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

- Alan

[hckymeyer]

From the mental side of things it could be a benefit to see that hurdle of breaking reached, on the flip side if you don't do it from the red's is that going to hurt you and make it a bigger mental block?  I think going in with the idea of just wanting to switch things up and have different looks on the course is a good idea.  And while it's always a good mental image to plan on going low when you step up to the tee, I would try to not put that much pressure on yourself that because you are playing the reds you have to break 80.

 

As for the symbols for tracking score, that's how we normally do it.  Par is a dash.  Birdie circle, bogey square.  Eagle fill in the circle, double bogey fill in the square.  Honestly though it makes it easier to add up your score, not harder.  

 

Best of luck with this one, it's a tough nut to crack but once it happens it get's easier and easier.

[Kenny B]

I agree about not getting hung up on breaking 80 if you play the Red tees.  My earlier post was more about changing things up like what clubs you play.  I think it actually helps you practice on course with clubs that you don't normally use.  The course will look different and will likely bring more trouble into play that you are not used to.  As for keeping score, I know exactly what I shot on each hole without writing it down.  I think it's actually a curse.  In my head... it's strokes off par; 0, +1, -1, +2, or worse.  My wife writes it down this way.  Easy to add up.

[deejaid]

I keep trying to break 80 and hit a mental block halfway through. I shoot well (in the 30's) on the front and then start doing the math....and it all goes to sh*t....

I come close - 81,82,83,84 ... but there seems to be some sort of mental hurdle I can't get over.

 

In order to conquer this one thing I was thinking of was playing from the red tees....just to see if I can shoot in the 70's and if I can get past this mental block.

 

Has anyone ever played from the red tees before just to see what would happen?

 

Did it help? Feel "wrong" .. awkward .. did you get funny looks?

 

It wouldn't be something I would consider an "official" round but it would be interesting to see what would happen and if I can just shoot below 80.

Would you feel the same sense of accomplishment if you broke 80 from the reds as opposed to your normal tee box? Personally I wouldn't feel I achieved the goal if I had to alter the game to do it.

 

It's like playing basketball and saying "I can dunk...on an 8ft rim", really takes some of the shine off it.

 

 

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[StrokerAce]

Would you feel the same sense of accomplishment if you broke 80 from the reds as opposed to your normal tee box? Personally I wouldn't feel I achieved the goal if I had to alter the game to do it.

 

It's like playing basketball and saying "I can dunk...on an 8ft rim", really takes some of the shine off it.

 

 

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HAHA... funny you should use a basketball analogy... I've been playing hoops for 35+ years on a consistent basis... I'm 5'10" and dunked on a regulation hoop once but have done it on shorter rims many times...

 

I think for me it's more of -- in my mind -- "this is possible...here's what you did to to do it"... and then I can move back to the back tees and not even think about it and just be on autopilot.

[deejaid]

I'm 6'2" and haven't balled in years but I remember as a teen working on trying to dunk. Like you we'd play pickup on an 8 or 9 ft adjustable rim with a girls ball and everyone could dunk. Then one day we were playing a 10 ft hoop and regulation boys ball and I finally got the ups and threw one down. My friends couldn't believe it. It felt pretty damn great because unlike the 8 ft rim everyone was dunking on, I was the first to dunk at 10ft.

 

 

I haven't broken 80 yet either, with 82 being my best ever score and my scores typically in the 84-88 range. I know it will come though. I just keep working on the parts of my game I'm struggling with and it will come.

 

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[downlowkey]

I was one of those players with a college coach that adopted the ladies tee scoring formula. He introduced it as a primarily mental practice to become more comfortable playing under par; more specifically to keep pushing for birdies the entire round. So in that regard, based on some of the phrasing in your OP, I think it's likely you are a good candidate for the forward tee mental readjustment method. Because if you regularly shoot in the low 80s, you're perfectly capable of firing a 75. Abandon 79 as a goal and focus instead on pushing yourself for 18 holes.

 

 

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[Honest Wes]

If you turn in the scorecard with the tees you played indicated (circle the red tees). Get a partner to sign it, turn it in and it's an official round. The handicap system will adjust for different slope, etc. I've walked the course in reverse when I was the only person out there. It'll give you a totally different perspective. You'll see how much bigger landing are than when you look at them from the tee. Early evening is a great time to see green contours with shadow patterns. Yes, I've played the red tees just carrying 3 wd., mid-iron, short iron and a putter. It'll force you to try different shots and you'll play faster.

 

 

 

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[STUDque]

I've played a few holes from the reds just tooling around when I'm at the course practicing late. It's a fun change of pace but I try not to let anyone see me teeing up

 

 

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