Where you should play from!

[Alan Scalzi]

So I just started back up playing alot more golf ( high school and college once a week) , now the same. Sum of the same playing group! We play from the whites most or all the time, but feel its zero fun always hitting a driver then a fairway wood from alot of par 4! Read an article that said take your average 5 iron and multiple it by 36 and that is were you should hit from! Thats seems most of the time either we play long or really really short nothing normal close to that number! Don't get me wrong a good weekend is one round and a great weekend is well 2 rounds! 

[RickyBobby_PR]

Play from where you have fun and aren’t holding up pace of play 

[Alan Scalzi]

For us the pace is never the issue as we are not playing slow we are always waiting on others in front, have seen guys playing from the tips that should not be that slows the pace.  

[Paul Hedrick]

1 hour ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Play from where you have fun and aren’t holding up pace of play 

Agree!

[GolfSpy_APH]

Play from where you enjoy the game. I've moved back a set at my home course and moved up at others. 

I would agree driver then fairway would be a drag!

[gingerbeast87]

I go from the yellows, it's where I feel comfortable playing from and feels right for me.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

We play from the green (comparable to white tees at other courses) on my home course. Through years of trial and error, I find I get the most enjoyment out of 6000 +/- yard tracks and typically play the tees at any course that offers that yardage. When I was younger, pride played a part in always playing from the blue or back tees, but age and experience have cured me of all that.

[Collar]

The biggest issue facing “pace of play” is too many people playing from tees they have no business playing from. When will people learn that it’s based on skill and not age.

[Cole McCain]

On par 4s, after an average drive you should have 7 iron-wedge in your hand. Don't play tees that force you to always hit long irons into greens. Also don’t have a wedge into every green either. 

[Wmyoungiv]

When I was working as a golf architect, we designed courses in a way that everyone was using the same club or close to it for their second shot, on average. Most courses are designed with a specific landing area with no concern for what the person is using for their second shot. I would say if you’re always hitting driver then fairway wood, moving up a set may be more enjoyable for your distances. 

[Wmyoungiv]

37 minutes ago, Collar said:

The biggest issue facing “pace of play” is too many people playing from tees they have no business playing from. When will people learn that it’s based on skill and not age.

My experience is carts are the biggest issue with pace of play and the users not understanding ready golf. 

[gingerbeast87]

11 minutes ago, Wmyoungiv said:

When I was working as a golf architect, we designed courses in a way that everyone was using the same club or close to it for their second shot, on average. Most courses are designed with a specific landing area with no concern for what the person is using for their second shot. I would say if you’re always hitting driver then fairway wood, moving up a set may be more enjoyable for your distances. 

I bet that was a rewarding and challenging  job, did you get to try the courses you had designed once they were complete? What was the course you were most proud of, some of the members might have played on your work?

[Wmyoungiv]

43 minutes ago, gingerbeast87 said:

I bet that was a rewarding and challenging  job, did you get to try the courses you had designed once they were complete? What was the course you were most proud of, some of the members might have played on your work?

Yep, usually the first ones to play the courses on the reopening day, or ceremonial reopening. I used to joke that I had the course record, until the next group came along. 
 

I can’t really claim anything cause I didn’t get to do a lot of design work, mostly grading. So in that regard, a course we built in China, 27 holes, skydoor golf club. I didn’t get to play that one, wasn’t finished when I left. Renovation work that some may have played are The Waters Edge CC, CC of Orangeburg, or The Reserve at Pawley’s Island. I did get to do the exploration work of what Pinehurst #2 would look like if it was taken back to original style and Coore/Crenshaw used it as a base. 

[Ding-dong]

I keep seeing this, play to your distance and to be honest, I agree. 
My old course had a lot of senior members, yet there were lots of holes with some big carries. You just knew these old boys were stuffed from the get go. I loved this course though, it was a about placement and reading the geography.
My current course isn’t long at 6043 yards it has 1 par 5 and 4 par 4s over 410 yards. One particular par 4 is 440 yards but you tee up 5 yards below the fairway ( if that makes sense) it’s a bit of a thump, and a bunker at 220-230 is a nuisance. 
The course really is set up for your average good player with a driver carry of 230 yards … so it will catch them out. The long boys have no issues. Apart from heather and generally bad lies ..so distance can be small but the course can still be unpleasant.

[Brooky03]

To the pace of play point that's often made, I don't think tees are the big issue.  It's the, 'search the woods for 5 minutes, find ball, get rangefinder, triple check it, take 3 practice swings, duff, repeat' that seems to slow play down, in my experience.

[Bowmanmw12]

At my home course, the further you move up, the tighter the tee shots get. I find I play better from further back just because there is more room to miss. I’m not particularly long off the tee either. I just find it more difficult to thread the ball through a dog leg. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

For those kinds stuck with what tees to play do you ever play split tees? Or do you feel there should be another set of tees at your course?

[Usmcgyrene]

I do it by score more or less. Most courses, I play from the whites. I'm an older guy and I've had my spine reassembled a few times. I don't hit it that far. My score hovers around 80. If I play a new course and can't get close to that, I'll move up a tee.

[Tallwood88]

I agree with some other posters here. Play from where you are comfortable playing from without holding things up. If you can't get to most par 4's in two, move up. Or, if a set of tees has you hitting over or around penalty areas on a lot of your tee shots and you are in constant trouble, move up. I'm thinking of one course we play occasionally that the white tees (6,150 yds.) have you going over significant water or marshes on 14 holes. All it takes is one player in the group to have a bad day and it will turn into a real long round. Moving to the gold tees has you avoiding most of that.

Some courses are long, flatter and with wide fairways, some short with tight fairways, hills, doglegs, lots of bunkers and penalty areas. On courses I'm not familiar with I look at the slope and rating first, yards second. 

[Shep28209]

If you do not hit your driver more than 220 yards you should play about 5900 - 6100 yards. A consistent 200 yard driver is 5700 yards and a 240 driver 6300 yards. The scale goes up and down to these proportions. This data is from an article published by the USGA and PGA of America,

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[EvilIncarnate]

No mention of age group? I was told that when you are 55 and older, and can no longer consistently drive the ball (at least), 240 yards, move up to the senior tees (5700-6000). But, I think, more importantly, look closely at slope and course rating? There are still gold tees that slope in excess of 131 slope, and that's plenty of golf course for me.

[Honhme]

I have found that by moving up a set of tees, I have a better chance of getting on in regulation. Moved up from 6100 to around 5900 yards. 

[Dave73nl]

Here in The Netherlands you have a golf app where you registrate you're qualifying scores and it suggests a playing tee for you.

I recently start to follow those recommendations to play from blue instead of from yellow and it's just as much fun 

[JeremyD]

All great follow up questions above for you to consider. Using your math (5 iron x 36, and my 5 iron is lofted like most 6 irons now adays), I'd be playing 6600-6800. While that's cool, I prefer 6200-6400. Are you playing with handicaps? I love that I have a course handicap off my index for every tee, and not just the farthest 2 back. are you playing matches, and it only seems fair to play off the same tees? If you're playing for fun, tee closer. 

[JimmyV77]

I've always known comps Gold, blokes White, seniors (65+) Red and the gals off Blue regardless of handicap. I have played with a scratch lady who played blue 1st 9 and then with us off Whites (back 9). Either side she walloped us by 8 strokes...... makes no difference to me as long as I'm not waiting an age for you to get off the putting surface. If you cannot hole 3 putts pick up, your hole is blown anyway.......

[mikeva]

I am 79 years old and no longer have the distance (with any club) the way I used to. I was playing a red-green combo at my club and was consistently in the 96-105 range per round. Going to the green tees - a change of 1.3 on rating and 1 on slope seemed like a good idea in spite of the advice that the green tees were for folks 80+ years old. I am now posting rounds in the 80-90 range.  Even managed to have a great round and shot my age. Most importantly I am really enjoying golf again.  So, play from where you can have the most fun. The handicap system will take care of things if you are playing someone. 

[DiscipleofPenick]

I do it kind of differently. As i'll look up the course before I play on GHIN and play from the most forward set where my handicap doesn't drop. For example this is the course I'm playing next weekend. I have a 5.1 index so from the blue tees I am a 6, but from the whites I am a 1. They also have black where I'd be a 10. So I am going to play the blue tees.

[BobBC78]

18 hours ago, Cole McCain said:

On par 4s, after an average drive you should have 7 iron-wedge in your hand. Don't play tees that force you to always hit long irons into greens. Also don’t have a wedge into every green either. 

This ^^^^^^

I moved up to the "senior" (gold) tees at my home course last year because I got tired of hitting fairway wood of hybrid for my second shot on all but two of our par 4s from the white tees. 

Edited July 10, 2023 by BobBC78
clarity

[Big moose]

12 hours ago, Brooky03 said:

To the pace of play point that's often made, I don't think tees are the big issue.  It's the, 'search the woods for 5 minutes, find ball, get rangefinder, triple check it, take 3 practice swings, duff, repeat' that seems to slow play down, in my experience.

I absolutely agree with you. If I hit one in the woods or an area with high grass I take a quick look and if I don't see my ball I drop one take my penalty stroke and move on. They make balls every day, drop one and move on and stop slowing down the whole golf course over a dam golf ball. 

[tdc1]

Absolutely play the tees that offer you the chance to get the most enjoyment from your game.  I used to play regularly with a former low (2.0) handicapper who, at age 80, insisted on playing the same tees he used to.  The rounds became one long complaint about how he couldn't play like he used to.  Suggestions that he move up a tee box (or two) were always met with disdain -- "You were never a good player so you don't understand."  He plays by himself these days.

Also, ask your course if they can put together a set of split/combo tees.  Your state golf association has most of the data needed for this to happen (assuming your home course has been rated in the past few years).