How Far You Hit Your 5-Iron Determines Which Tees You Should Play

[cnosil]

3 hours ago, BIG STU said:

Especially if they are a Donald Ross course

Have a couple of them near me.  I play one pretty regularly that isn't in the greatest shape and is also a course we play as part of my companies golf league.  It is short,  but you do have to use a variety of clubs to navigate your way around.  Probably only a couple of holes that are really driver holes.  

[Shankster]

For some reason I can’t help but think that all of us that replied in the thread have fallen victim to an elaborate April Fools Joke...? Would he?

[RoverRick]

I like the idea of using iron distance to find the correct tee. At first I thought the numbers weren’t quite right but if you look at the title is says “Creating a Tour Experience.”

I have the Mobitee app that has a digital caddie. I can track my shots etc. but I can also move my aim and strategize round, see how far I have left after hitting a certain club off the tee. I just tried hitting a full 5 iron off the tees. I would have 3&4 irons into all but 2 par 4’s.

Now, having said that, I have no difficulty (in theory) of reaching the greens in regulation when I play the tees suggested in this chart. I say theoretically because that is provided I hit good shots. This week I need to play the pale green tees, (which my course doesn’t have) but the three previous weeks the blues were no problem.

This also doesn’t take into account the question of what is a 5 iron. Is it a 27° 38.5” club or a 24° 39” club?



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[Alf. S]

In general in the UK we have White, Yellow and Red. White is the measured and SSS (slope) for men, Red is measure SSS for women and yellow are general tees to save wear and tear off the white. Competition you are off White, yellow for bounce games. It only tends to be the resort courses that have anything beyond this.

When any of my pals start talking about golf outings and courses the 1st thing I look at is course length off Whites. And my push back is that "I get a nose bleed if I play courses above 6500", because I find the course too challenging and it takes away from my enjoyment. Looking at the chart I hit a 7 iron 180 yds x 36 = 6480 yds, so I totally agree. 

I play in national competitions which you get to play in a selection of 4 from 12 courses. Then the final is at a Championship course like Turnberry, Trump International or Castle Stuart. I make my choice based on course kudos and length. I'll try and avoid courses above 6500 yds. 

I played Tee Forward on holiday this year, without being told what it was all about. The tees were marked with 45, 50, 55, 60. This mapped to total distance the course played 45 = 4500m, 50 = 5000m, etc. Is this the way forward?

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

I like it, I think it is pretty spot on. Definitely something I'm going to share with a few others I golf with. One of which really should stay from a tee a little further forward in order to really help his game. 

[MattF]

Looks the goods to me. I like anything from 6100 to 6500, but, like @blackngold_blood, I tend to choose what tees to play based on the length of the par 3's.

[MaxEntropy]

43 minutes ago, MattF said:

Looks the goods to me. I like anything from 6100 to 6500, but, like @blackngold_blood, I tend to choose what tees to play based on the length of the par 3's.

I've almost never actually looked at Par 3 length - I usually look for the tees around 6500. Occasionally we'll stretch it out to 6800 if we feel like taking a bit of a beating.

[revkev]

At first blush I liked the chart as a guideline but the more I think about it the less I like it.  If people who apply for tests on this site are truthful about their driver swing speeds there are oodles and oodles of players who swing a 5 iron at 95 mph and yet have no business playing from 7,000 yards - none, zero, zip. 

Also his LPGA number is way, way off.  They hit their 5 irons well longer than 160 - closer to 180 and they have no trouble playing from 6,660 plus - In fact we've seen a number of LPGA players play in PGA events and while no one has made the cut - let enough of them play in enough events and some one eventually will - they have shot under par and Brittany shot in the 60's last season from over 7,000 yards. 

Off the soap box, I see this chart as a prescription for slow play - just play the tees that allow you to have fun - use your common sense - if a course has long par 3's - either blend the tees (play the longer set on all the holes except the par 3's) or if you are concerned about keeping a handicap move up a set -

We should all know by now that different course conditions make holes and courses play longer or shorter and adjust accordingly - I don't get why courses haven't adjusted for this but since they don't seem to we need to make those adjustments ourselves.  Generally that means playing a course from a shorter set of tees.  When you're breaking par all the time and the game gets boring?  That's when it's time to move back a set.

[txgolfjunkie]

For decades, golfers associate tee color with the intended player. I haven't seen too many courses, none that come to mind, where red tees are the championship tees. I don't recall seeing whites as the women's tee, it's usually one back from the women's (senior or middle tee). And blues/blacks are usually reserved for the championship tees. 

Could it be that there needs to be a revamp in the tee markers to not have such a psychological effect on golfers? I usually play the tips unless its a scramble and we're assigned the whites. However, if all the tees were labeled, I don't know, 1, 2, 3, 4 but were all painted the same color, I wonder if that would entice me to playing the #2 tees even though most courses would have it as the white tees. I may not be explaining this well but I'm curious to see if this would actually work. And maybe courses do this and I'm unaware of it. 

 

[palvord]

I think that the chart is a guide to start you thinking about where you should play from. Using it as doctrine can lead to many problems.  Just because you can hit your 5 iron one time 200yds, doesn't mean automatically that you should be playing from back tees.  I think that golf sets us up to choose length as another challenge to overcome when we aren't really ready for that.  I prefer to stick to the 6500yd range as I have enough flaws in my game to overcome.

[Smellis745]

As others have said, it's a starting point at best.  I've played 7k plus courses and the difference for me wasn't score.  It was how often I hit driver vs 3w or 3i off the tee as it usually placed the desired landing area in driver range.  Typical course lengths I play are 6500-6800, with a few shorter.  I'll usually shoot scores within a stroke or two either way, no matter if it's a 6200 or 7200 yard course.

[Jmikecpa]

Seems like a good guideline if people are honest about how far they actually hit their irons.  I can think of a handful of my golfing buddies that would tell me they hit their 5 iron 205 because one time down wind off the cart path they got it out that far.  I play a handful of courses each year that are over 7,500 yards and starting to enjoy it less and less.  I prefer my home club at right around 6,900 at sea level.

[StrokerAce]

To me, a lot of golf is your second shot - whether it be on a par 5 (can I reach in 2, or can I get it close) a par 4 (assuming a 2 putt I need to be on in 2) or a par 3 (I don't want to have to chip and put pressure on myself to make a 1 putt)....

If you can have confidence in that second shot and execute it repeatedly and accurately then play whatever tees you want....but you've got to be honest with yourself.

[PMookie]

I usually go for 6700-6900. I look at the Par 3s and of they’re all over 200 yards, I look at the next tee box down.

 

 

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[StrokerAce]

couldn't agree with you more @PMookie  !!

I don't mind the long 4's and 5's but those 200+ par 3's are a no-go for me....

[CarlH]

At 67, I've found more enjoyment playing from one tee forward of the men's.  On our course, we have black, gold, blue, white, red tee boxes.  Blue works better for me and is where I play from in tournament play, but in my regular grouping (we typically have 4-5 foursomes), they make me play from the golds, having given the arbitrary age of 70 to move forward.  I can still play from the golds, but it's a lot of work!

[RoverRick]

I just reread what I wrote at 3 am and, unsurprisingly, I didn’t finish my thought.

 

“Creating the Tour Experience” to me means that these are the tees you play if you want the “Tour Experience” menacing you need to hit every shot, maybe nit perfect, but really well. They are focused on golf only.

 

If you want to have a fun round and chat with buddies, play shorter.

 

What I really like about it is that it reinforces the TRUE reason for having different tees. NOT based on age or sex but how far you normally hit certain clubs.

 

 

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[CarlH]

Then there's the old adage "I didn't pay full price to lay up!" 

or...I didn't come to pet kittens

[revkev]

I usually go for 6700-6900. I look at the Par 3s and of they’re all over 200 yards, I look at the next tee box down.
 
 
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Works for me. :)


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[cnosil]

. 
Also his LPGA number is way, way off.  They hit their 5 irons well longer than 160 - closer to 180 and they have no trouble playing from 6,660 plus. 

I agree with most of your post. Have to disagree with what I quoted. I think the longer LPGA players are closer to the 180 number , but the average is much shorter than that. Being a walking scorer in an LPGA event for the last 11 years allows me to see a lot of different players. On the measured holes most of the players are in the 220 range which would make a 180 yard 5 iron out if reach. So the number presented is more of an average across the LPGA field.

[NiftyNiblick]

I used to hit a 30º 5-iron 175 yards when I played golf.

What's a five iron now? 

If I were able to play, and as strong as I was ten or fifteen years ago, I wouldn't have a clue what to hit 175 yards.

 

[Reesedw]

With a 5 iron distance of 190 it says I should play from the Blacks at 6840 yds...  Sh!t I might be on the course all day at those distances.. I would say my sweet spot regarding distance is about 6300 give or take.. And that is at Sea level in the PNW where the courses stay wet later into the summer.. 

[bardle]

The chart is accurate for the course I play now. That being said I feel like the course I'm playing is either too long or too difficult in general for me. I hit my clubs far, probably average for my age at right around ~30. I'm a 25 handicap playing a 6600 yd long course. It is torture and I could play from the whites, but I choose to play from the blues because I have the distance and I want to improve. 

All that being said. I shoot significantly lower scores on shorter courses. Prior to joining the club I'm at I played courses between 5800 and 6100 and I averaged a score in the mid 90's. On my current course my lowest score after 5 rounds is a 105. So I will happily disagree and say that distance has nothing to do with skill and what tees you should play, It might play a factor, but certainly shouldn't be the main deciding factor. 

[BIG STU]

19 hours ago, cnosil said:

Have a couple of them near me.  I play one pretty regularly that isn't in the greatest shape and is also a course we play as part of my companies golf league.  It is short,  but you do have to use a variety of clubs to navigate your way around.  Probably only a couple of holes that are really driver holes.  

Back in the day when I could really hit a golf ball I liked the short tight Ross courses. Back in those days I could not find a fairway with a driver if it was 200 yards wide but the 1 iron was my weapon. Loved it on those tight old Ross courses

[GregB135]

Seems like a pretty fair guideline. At 175 with the 5 iron and I usually remark that I'm comfortable enough on courses up to about 6300 but beyond that the longer par 4s and long par 3s it takes to lengthen the course take their toll on my scoring.

[Alf. S]

Maybe the starter gets you to hit your 5i off the 1st tee then you are instructed to play off a certain tee for the round.

He puts a coloured flag put in your bag so the Marshal can check up on you as you go round.

That way you won't get hackers playing off Blue when they should play off Red and rounds taking 5+ hours!

 

[Charli]

Zero chance I should be playing at 7200 yards. 

[patrickleeleep]

The one issue I see with this is how you get your ball to that distance. Carry vs Total distance.  

My 7 iron is 80-85mph ss and carries 170ish and rolls out to 185 because of low spin and being a picker. So my 5 iron while it might go 200 yards, it doesnt carry near that. More like carrying high 180s and rolling out 200-205. 

So for me, playing a course at 7200, if there is any sort of long carry par 3s then I am screwed. Or if its soft/ wet conditions and my ball doesnt roll out like it normally does, I'm very short on everything. 

[revkev]

I agree with most of your post. Have to disagree with what I quoted. I think the longer LPGA players are closer to the 180 number , but the average is much shorter than that. Being a walking scorer in an LPGA event for the last 11 years allows me to see a lot of different players. On the measured holes most of the players are in the 220 range which would make a 180 yard 5 iron out if reach. So the number presented is more of an average across the LPGA field.

I looked it up - average lpga 5 iron carry is 161. However that is going to net low 170’s. Average driver carry is 218 and the average total driving distance is 243. If the measured hole is one with little roll the 220’s make sense.

Back on topic I’m not a fan of the chart. I don’t think it works on any level. It would lead to more of what we already have - guys playing a set of tees that’s too long for their skill level.


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[Kenny B]

I don't have a 5i