Which tee box?

[Sluggo42]

While it doesbt seem that way 6500 yards is still a lot of distance. Just a shade over 3.5 miles long.

 

I checked a few of the courses around and 6500 is not a short track, and 7000 is as long or longer than most.

 

For me, that means the par fives are all out of reach in two, and the par threes are now scary, in the 200 range or more. Some days I can get the 4 iron or the hybrid there, some days I need a good chip up on those holes.

 

I think my short chipping game lessons were perhaps the best thing that happened to my scorecard....

 

Plus, playing from the long tees helps in that when you do play with people on the white tees, the same holes are now less imposing...

[revkev]

Just my opinion...

 

If you need to hit long irons into par four greens and aren't a low single digit handicapper you're playing from too far back. Most par fours should easily be reachable with a 6/7 iron or less. Same goes for par threes. If your third shot on a par five (after two good shots) is more than 100 yards you're playing the wrong tees as well.

 

Spot on +1 or whatever accolade could be given. I will add that since most people significanlty over estimate the distance that they hit the ball consider this equation, figure out which tee you think you should be on and move up a set.

 

It's meant to be fun. Fun is not being pressured to hit the best drive of your life hole after hole and then having to follow that up with a 5 iron (that should be a 4 hybrid) into a heavily bunkered green.

 

I'm a huge advocate for the old days on this one where courses have two sets of tees for the day - the forward and the back tees.

 

That very select less than 1 percent that is off the charts good could always receive a clubhouse excemption to play from the tips.

[JBones]

If you are playing for fun, then play wherever the group is playing from.

 

In competition, whether it be for $1000 or for bragging rights, everyone should play tees based on handicap..........single digits from the tips and go up from there. If you are a 3 handicap, then you should have just as much chance of making birdie as me, even when you're hitting 7i or 8i to my SW.

 

Are you going to make a 20 handicap play the tips, just because they hit it 300+ off the tee? They obviously struggle with getting the ball in the hole, so they should get any help they can. And yes, I know a couple guys that can hit it close to 300, yet they are 20+ handicaps.........they CAN hit it 300, but probably only average 240, due to poor ball striking.

[Super Tuna]

RP: Hah! No, more like my love of math.

 

I look at it like this. If you don't know how far you hit your 5 iron, you play the tee's furthest forward. If it'll crush your ego to play the front tee's, then step back one.

 

If you do, then apply the math. Heck, nearly everyone has a phone with a calculator on it so they don't even have to do such basic math themselves.

[Shambles]

I personally don't mind which box I hit from. I'm just long enough to be able to hit from the tips, and don't mind playing from the whites, I can use irons or 3-woods.

I wonder if there are any rules or guidelines for which box one SHOULD hit from..

I was watching the weekend warriors teeing off yesterday while I worked on chipping and was amazed at the ariety of players on the tees. Unfortunately, if I were in charge, I would have had the most of them hit from the reds. I imagine those games were lasting six hours... Yikes...

 

 

It's not the tee box, though that does take a few minuits more if too long, it's the player who cannot come to a quick assessment, decision and execution. Much more time is consumed by players hemming and hawing before and after every shot as if they were on stage rather than doing a quick read, making a decision and executing.

 

 

Shambles

[apprenti23]

 

I'm a huge advocate for the old days on this one where courses have two sets of tees for the day - the forward and the back tees.

 

 

There are still a couple courses around me that do that. I LOVE the two sets of tees. I hate that most courses now have 4 or more sets of tee markers out there. All ya need are two sets!

[whiskey golf]

Damn around where I live I never see 7000+ yard courses even from the farthest tees. The only course that I can think of that is like this is Los Serranos Country Club, South Course. It's a nice place to play for a good price. I haven't played blacks but I do play blues when I play there and I'm able to play well and shoot my handicap. Blacks are 7521 yards and blues are 7117 yards. One of the reasons the blacks differ so much from the blues is because of 18, a long par 5. From the blues it's 592 but from the blacks it's 677. That's not completely why but that hole does add a nice chunk of yardage to overall course length.

[whiskey golf]

I also forgot to mention there's a plaque on the fairway from some guy who bombed a driver almost 400 yards in some tournament. Standing there and looking back at the tee box, it really is insane to think someone could hit it that far and keep it in play in a tournament.

[rickkimbrell]

While it doesbt seem that way 6500 yards is still a lot of distance. Just a shade over 3.5 miles long.

 

Yes it is. And on some days it seems like 10 miles when I play it left, right, left, left, right, right...well you get the point.

[revkev]

I appreciate the props on the two sets of tees - think of the fun you can create - you get a group with a bomber and three average guys and the back set of tees is set at 6,400 yards - Remember Merion used to play at around 6,500 for the US Open and when you look at the course set up for the tour in the 80's there would be courses in the 6,400 - 6,500 range - sure the big boys shot lights out - their average drive at that point was 260 - ours today is 210 - 240 for better players - I'd think 6,400 would be more than long enough - at that yardage you could have a nice compliment of long and short holes with plenty of risk/rewards mixed in - you could have a par 5 that is around 440 giving lots of people a crack at reaching it in 2, maybe a couple of par 4's around the same length, a par 4 at 250 - you see the possibilities.

 

Make the game fun - give us a chance to putt for eagle and be the one who hits iron off the tee to lay up while the others drive into the trouble around the green.

 

I get tired of playing the third set of tees, having hole after hole where I hit driver, mid iron or hybrid, am constantly playing for the middle of the green - I'd like some strategy back on these better courses.

[shot74@75]

I believe in KISS and it don't get much simpler than the above equation

 

Or more appropriate

 

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever

I don't quite agree with your 7 iron to reach theory.Many of today's par 4's are designed to be played with a long or mid iron second shot. With many 470 yd + par 4's even from the second set of tees, only monsters will be hitting 7's into the green. Assume a decent player drives 240 yds that still leaves 230 to the green center.I don't know any players including the Tour guys that hit 7's that far. 500 yard long par 4's are becoming rather common place and "normal humans" need to hit fairway woods and hybrids to most of them. I am 78 y/o GHIN index 5.3 and find that from the second set of tees---6700 yds, that I require a whole lot more than 7 to reach several of the par 4's.As an old fart, I may have gotten shorter off the tee but I can still hold my own with 99% of the guys I see playing at any age.

[Joezilla]

These days with my length, or should I say the lack of length, I find myself hitting from the whites on 90% of the courses I play. I just do not enjoy having a 200+ yard 2nd shot on par 4's or 275 yard par 3's that I have no hope of getting to even with a driver unless a gale force wind is blowing that direction. Golf, to me, is all about having fun. If I'm out there getting more and more frustrated on a long difficult course, that is not fun.

 

Last season, I got to play the Dove Mountain Ritz Carlton course where the pros play the Accenture Match play in Tucson. While it was a beautiful setting and course, that was the hardest, most frustrating day I've had playing golf in years!! I got out of there with a 100 playing the blues because the other members of the group were "Rambos". A good day for me is lower 80's from the whites and a great day is upper 70's.

 

Joe

[imaclown2]

i usually play from the whites with the group that i play with. we play a round between 3.5 and 4 hours if we arent held up.im not a long hitter at all. as stated above im almost always hitting driver ,3 wood into par 4s but im almost always on green or around green. i have an 18 handicap which by no means puts me in an elite group but that is where ive played from for years.actually thinking about moving up to gold tees since im now 55 but thats another story

[whiskey golf]

I just realized I have a friend if mine who is a going to be a sophomore this coming year who hits long irons and woods on approach shots on par 4's. I believe he's around a 5 or 6 handicap and he's a short hitter but man he is so accurate with his 4 iron, 3 woods, and other long clubs. He uses those for shots over 170 and he can play good. So the whole thing about mostly hitting 7 iron on approach shots isn't am accurate statment. I believe he was fourth in scoring average as a freshman with a 39 scoring average which is good for our team, we had one other guy who had a scoring average like that freshman year but he never played that well again. You would've expected him to play for a Division I or a really good Divison II team about 3 years ago but he went to community college. Just shows you how some short hitters can really outplay a lot of people.

[Highlander]

If you are playing for fun, then play wherever the group is playing from.

 

In competition, whether it be for $1000 or for bragging rights, everyone should play tees based on handicap..........single digits from the tips and go up from there. If you are a 3 handicap, then you should have just as much chance of making birdie as me, even when you're hitting 7i or 8i to my SW.

 

Are you going to make a 20 handicap play the tips, just because they hit it 300+ off the tee? They obviously struggle with getting the ball in the hole, so they should get any help they can. And yes, I know a couple guys that can hit it close to 300, yet they are 20+ handicaps.........they CAN hit it 300, but probably only average 240, due to poor ball striking.

Perfect response! Just because you can spank it on say 5/10 drives doesn't mean your ready to play from the tips.

[Highlander]

Coudn't agree more. As we discussed, my Bro has a SS similar to yours, and would routinely outdrive me by 25-40 yards, and I averaged 263-264 for the season, which is middle of the pack for the guys that I play with. He was a 4 hdcp(3.8), and played in some of the scratch swats, which simply means, no hdcp. Everyone plays their raw score.

 

He never beat me head up, and if I had given him the 2 strokes, he woulda won only a handful of times. This year, if I were playing, it very well could be a different story, cuz he's finally learned that 120yds in and his putting will take him to plus. He's at 2 now, and will drop to just over 1 in the next period.

 

Then, take someone like SMRT, who has a SS similar to Bonesy & my Brother, and he dents driver heads, snaps shafts & if he could keep the ball in the grid, would probably kick ass in the LD contests that he enters. And that's the thing. He could just as easily be 320 yds in his fairway, or 320 yds in yours, a faiway over. So just because he hits the ball a ton, he's still a 24 hdcp. I have no doubt that he will someday tee it up from the blacks, cuz ya can't teach speed, and he seems to have a good head for the game and the drive to improve.

 

So, someone like that, I would never tell em where to play. Most guys have the sense, decency and etiquette to play the appropriate tees.

 

And it's not fair for me to comment regarding my response to playing behind someone playing the "wrong" tees, because, #1, when I usually tee off, our group(s) usually have the course in front of us on the week-end mornings, and during the week, no tee times are given to groups 48 minutes before we tee off, unless it's a onesy or twosome in a cart, and ya can play.

 

I do know that the starters always make it clear up front, on the first tee, what tees that group's going to play. We do not have on-course marshalls, hell, we don't have marshalls, though except for club events, which is always a quagmire, we have no problems with peeps playing the wrong tees and holding others up.

 

When the day comes that I lose more than I win, and/or I'm not competitive in the tourneys that I'm playing in, then I move up and enter other swats and tournaments. I've got a pretty healthy ego & I'm not into getting my ass kicked, lol, so noone's gonna have to tell me when it's time to move, haha.

 

I'm used to winning more than I lose, and if I gotta move up to do it, so be it. The dollars gained from the blues and whites spend just as easily as those from the blacks/golds, and crystal's crystal, and the silver tarishes just the same, regardles of what tees that ya win it on, lol

 

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever

Very well said sir. I am going to steal that bit to use on some of my egomaniac colleagues. The dollars gained from the blues and whites spend just as easily as those from the blacks/golds

[AH1980MN]

here's my thoughts: play what you can play. period. if you hit your drives 220 yards, then play up. if you are like me and are long, but not good, play back, but consider hitting an iron or 3 wood off the tee. and if you have some extra distance off the tee, consider playing the same tees as your shorter friends to get some practice with your other clubs...you may be surprised- the game may take longer this way. and seriously, fellas- be courteous. nothing slows a game down like a guy whos nervous because everyone's hustling him up. really, unless youre trying to shoot a score, relax and let the fun of the group be your fun, also.

[BK in TEXAS]

Take your honest 5 iron distance and times it by 36 then pick the ones closest.

HA! That actually works on the 3 courses I play most regularly

[Pirelli]

Playing in Australia this whole concept seems quite strange.

 

Because all of our rounds have to be in competition to count for handicapping everyone plays off the same tees in the comp of the day. My course is about 7030 yards from the tips and that is the yardage we play on Saturdays and for club champs and other board events. During the week the shorter course is in play which is probably around 6500 - 6700.

 

There are plenty of older memebrs who only hit their drives 180 - 200 max and don't hit any GIR. That's what their handicap is for!

[Highlander]

Playing in Australia this whole concept seems quite strange.

 

Because all of our rounds have to be in competition to count for handicapping everyone plays off the same tees in the comp of the day. My course is about 7030 yards from the tips and that is the yardage we play on Saturdays and for club champs and other board events. During the week the shorter course is in play which is probably around 6500 - 6700.

 

There are plenty of older memebrs who only hit their drives 180 - 200 max and don't hit any GIR. That's what their handicap is for!

Oh, that's what the handicap is for? I was thinking it was because I play military golf. Left, Right, Left. ROFL