bajapalm
it seems so simple..
I like this idea and will use it in the future. I usually just look for the tees in the 6300 range
Picking the right tee box?
I like this idea and will use it in the future. I usually just look for the tees in the 6300 range
DonJuan
Well-known member
highscoreinky
Hope is not a method.
Your friend is not accurate. There are lots of ways to figure it out. The Tee it Forward Campaign used this as a general guideline.
Pretty good general guideline there from the Tee it Forward Campaign JB. I don't mind par 3's in the 190-210 range but I don't like playing more than one or two par 4's that are over 450 yards in the same round.
It amazes me there is a stigma attached to the tees.
Why would one rather play a 100+ from the "men's tees" where they could shoot a 90 round from the seniors or ladies?
When I play with @loffkat, I am happy to play the senior tees. They are usually close to the ladies tees, and I usually score a few strokes better. Plus it gives me a shot at out driving her. She can put them out there.
Depending on course difficulty, etc, I belong in the 5800-6200 range to score close to my handicap. Putting me on the champ tees is a recipe for a bad score, bad day and long round. So I happily play in those ranges and enjoy my rounds.
Another thing to note, for me at least, is that the same course can play very differently from different tees. Last year I played the same course twice in a day, once in the league, then with @loffkat and another couple. Played from the Whites in the league, played from the ladies with the other couple. It was a blast, and almost every hole was completely different, as it was not only shorter, but the tees are staggered into different areas on the course. I had a lot of fun.
Why would one rather play a 100+ from the "men's tees" where they could shoot a 90 round from the seniors or ladies?
When I play with @loffkat, I am happy to play the senior tees. They are usually close to the ladies tees, and I usually score a few strokes better. Plus it gives me a shot at out driving her. She can put them out there.
Depending on course difficulty, etc, I belong in the 5800-6200 range to score close to my handicap. Putting me on the champ tees is a recipe for a bad score, bad day and long round. So I happily play in those ranges and enjoy my rounds.
Another thing to note, for me at least, is that the same course can play very differently from different tees. Last year I played the same course twice in a day, once in the league, then with @loffkat and another couple. Played from the Whites in the league, played from the ladies with the other couple. It was a blast, and almost every hole was completely different, as it was not only shorter, but the tees are staggered into different areas on the course. I had a lot of fun.
Supperman
Active member
Your friend is not accurate. There are lots of ways to figure it out. The Tee it Forward Campaign used this as a general guideline.
I like these guidelines. It might not be 100% applicable to every golfer but I think it's more accurate than using handicap to determine which tee boxes to hit from.
SlightDraw
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I say play the Whites until you consistently shoot in the mid 90's, then move back and see what happens. If you don't like the results...move forward to the white. You will start to shoot better from the shorter distance but golf is about fun and if you aren't having fun playing at a distance that is too long then why even tee it up. It's up to you to decided when you want a new challenge. Shoot consistently in the low mid 90's then move back. You may start to shoot higher but over time you will get back to the low to mid 90's. Rinse and repeat.
Et Tu Brute?
Well-known member
And don't be bothered by handicap ratings or whatever. If you pick a set of tees and after 5-6 holes the course is just playing far too long or difficult for you, switch to the next set up. There's no reason you have to be stuck with a wrong choice for 18 holes just because you played the first few holes from too far back because you didn't know the course.
Id start with the forward tees and see how you do. When you get to where you can par most holes, move back a tee if you want. I try to keep my 18 holes yardage around 5500 yards, which is usually the white tees.
There is a stigma attached to the different color tees but really its all what yardage you are comfortable with and makes the game fun for you. When I play my vintage set of clubs, I will often use the red or gold tees because its not really fair to play modern yardages with vintage clubs.
There is a stigma attached to the different color tees but really its all what yardage you are comfortable with and makes the game fun for you. When I play my vintage set of clubs, I will often use the red or gold tees because its not really fair to play modern yardages with vintage clubs.
ntanygd760
Well-known member
Depends on the course. I have no issue with the tips being by permission only like Torrey South if the course is long and hard.
As far as the op I think he is playing the correct tees but no issue mixing in one back from those sometimes assuming no forced carries.
rollin
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certainly it should be reasonable
myspinonit
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I haven''t read the whole thread, but didn't see this covered in what I did read.
Distance from tees is just one criteria, though a good one. Course rating but especially "slope", the 117 or 121 on the white and blue tees is a good and I think better indication, especially if one is playing an unfamiliar course and wants to decide what tees to play.
Sounds like the white tees for now are what is comfortable for YOU, and if so that is what you should play.
The higher the slope, the greater the difficulty as rated. So, for example, from the white tees (117 slope) you might have less chance of, for example, going into water hazards on the blues (121 slope). Or having to tee off on a tighter (less forgiving) option from the longer tees. I think the white (117 slope) sounds ok but I you might want to consider the 114 slope (forward) at least sometimes, or a combo of whatever tees you choose to get a variety. This presumes you aren't keeping an official handicap, unless your course has a properly rated "combo" set.
If you want to improve you will want to have practice hitting irons and wedges to greens, including laying up to the right distance for that. Playing a course too long and trying to hit a fairway wood or hybrid to the green for most second shots (or third shot if you duff one) isn't going to help you improve quickly. I suggest it is more satisfying learning to hit a shot with a shorter club to a number that you increasingly have a chance to get on the green in two, or on the third shot with a good shot at par or bogie. A good short game (and short game practice) from 50 yards and in will save a ton of strokes.
As you start out in golf (and always I guess for we amateurs) a big part to improve scoring and I suggest satisfaction is by managing the course, minimizing your mistakes and avoiding the big numbers. Your buddy that shoots over 105 is shooting some big numbers on a lot of holes, even if he is a longer hitter. If he shot 5 on every hole including par 3's he'd shoot 90. I suggest he's on the wrong tees and/or mismanaging his game strategy.
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sabig27
Well-known member
The best indicator for my game to dictate which tees to use is the bogey rating. Beach set of tees has a bogey rating which can be found on the USGA course rating webpage. I shoot for a tee which is about a 90 bogey rating. Sometimes that means I play a tee at 5800 yards, sometimes 6200 yards depending on the corse difficulty
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darthweasel
Well-known member
the good part is they are guidelines, not straight jackets. My driver average is shrinking...lost 3 yards off it this month but still at 257. And when I am choosing the tee boxes I generally pick something in the 6200-6400 yard range, or the closest applicable and I tend towards the shorter. When playing with Dave, John and Jim I look for something in the 5800...although this chart says they should be playing 4400-4600. But they do just fine at 5800 and enjoy it whereas by the time you hit 6200 it is just too much course for them.
Conversely, the other day got randomly matched with a guy playing 6600 which ostensibly is too long for me...but I was able to play and enjoy it.
Point being, although the chart works for my specific game, it is as advertised...a guideline I can use or not as I see fit and I find it usually puts me at an enjoyable length.
rollin
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That ideology (brought up often enough by enough people) with due respect is ridiculous. Reason being,....it basically suggests one should be a single digit capper before moving back and that notion imo is ridiculous.
Elbow Jobertski
Active member
"Can par" is not "will par" or even "will usually par." The advice is to not play a course where you can't par most of the holes. Which is solid advice both from a "don't make the game too frustrating" pov and the "do I want to play behind this person" pov.
Beyond that, depending on course and skill level maybe it makes sense to be a single digit handicapper before moving back. Or more to the point being a consistent threat to break 80, which if the course from those tees is easy enough won't make a person a single digit handicap. I find it amusing when I play with a group that wants to move back because the whites are "too easy" when none of them are a threat to break 80. There is some sort of masochism and ego at play there that I doubt is helpful to anyone, especially the people playing behind them.
Not at all. I play the white or middle tees and am far from a single cap. It's really more about choosing tees that make the game more fun but still being challenging instead of the notion that the reds are for women, golds are for seniors and whites are for men.
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I wish more courses used "combo tees". For example, the course I belong to, the forward tees are rated for both men and women so I guess one could consider them "Senior Tees" for men. The yardage is 5160 yards. The next set of tees are the Whites and they are at 6004, almost a 900 yard difference! There is another roughly 650 yards between the Whites and Blues. Those are some major differences! Easy for a group of guys at any age decide 5100+ is too short but they really shouldn't be playing at 6000+ either as just one example.
All three of the guys I typically play with, all seniors, are definitely what I would refer to as distance challenged. I am no 'bomber" by any means but I hit the ball a decent distance off the tee for my age and I am very comfortable playing most courses up to about 6300 yards so we usually play the Whites but I encourage the others to move up to the Red tees on several of the holes where they can't get home in regulation without two career shots. One of the guys routinely does that, another will on occasion if the hole is into the wind while the third sticks to the Whites with me. The only way I have been able to get them to play all the holes from the appropriate tees for them (Red) has been to declare Fridays as "Red Tee Day" and we all, including me, play all the holes from that set of tees.
Unless you are really serious about your handicap, I say if you are playing to have fun then play the tees on any and all holes that are comfortable for you distance-wise.
All three of the guys I typically play with, all seniors, are definitely what I would refer to as distance challenged. I am no 'bomber" by any means but I hit the ball a decent distance off the tee for my age and I am very comfortable playing most courses up to about 6300 yards so we usually play the Whites but I encourage the others to move up to the Red tees on several of the holes where they can't get home in regulation without two career shots. One of the guys routinely does that, another will on occasion if the hole is into the wind while the third sticks to the Whites with me. The only way I have been able to get them to play all the holes from the appropriate tees for them (Red) has been to declare Fridays as "Red Tee Day" and we all, including me, play all the holes from that set of tees.
Unless you are really serious about your handicap, I say if you are playing to have fun then play the tees on any and all holes that are comfortable for you distance-wise.
lauzgolfer
Active member
One of the best things my friend ever told me to do was to play from those forward tees and it wasn't because I needed to with respect to my drive yardage nor my skill level. He's one of the best, if not the best golfer in my peer group (he just played Cabot Links on the Canadian East Coast and scored in the 70's; played St. Andrews last year and shot a low 80). When I started to try and break 80, that's when he told me to play forward tees. His reasoning wasn't to give me an advantage to do so, but to build up confidence when your scores are low. Many people when trying to break a milestone can't do it because their brain gets in the way. He said that getting used to scoring low by shooting the forward tees will help you build confidence when you play from your "normal tees". It did help, but eventually I had to give up my club membership so me not breaking 80 is for a different reason now...lol. Closest I've ever come was 9 over at Glen Abbey (frequent host of the Canadian Open).
V14_Heels: You are playing the right tees for you right now. You have been playing two months, not very long. As your game improves, move back. When I came back to golf a few years ago, I tried to play from the Blues (6400 on my course) and couldn't break 110. Moved up to the 6100 tees, couldn't break 100. Now I play from the 5800 tees (old man tees, but I am old) and am usually in the 90s. I was surprised when we played another local course and my second shots were 5i instead of 7i or 8i and still broke 100. If it wasn't for a couple of holes with forced carries, I might have gone back to the longer tees on my course. I digress, the basic rule of thumb is to play what you are comfortable playing. And as you progress, you can get comfortable on longer tees.
rollin
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I agree with not making the game too difficult, I also can see the idea of "can par" vs will par. But you know what? Golf is hard. It is difficult. Asking one to break 80 before moving back goes back to my original thought. Its a ridiculous statement. Its not ridiculous if that what the goal of the given player would like to do but to suggest this be some followed etiquette is way out of line imo. Your basically still asking one (who can hit the ball a significant enough distance) to leave their longest clubs in the car until consistently very good with everything else. That's just unreasonable because tons of people may never reach breaking 80 (your still very likely talking single digits) and that goal can take years if it ever even happens.
As for the person behind? who cares. You don't play tees so the person behind is happy with your choice. The heck with him. As long your moving respectably it doesn't matter where you play from. Anyone can move respectably or not from most any tee. People either move or they don't move and that doesn't change much at all from any tee. You either understand and know how to move or you don't. I can shoot an 85 and a 103 from the same set and either way I can move. I don't give a rats behind what the person behind thinks of which tee I should ever play. thera re days I hiot my tee shots you would think Im on tees too close and other days it looks to those behind like I never played before. And when I mabad Im bad off any tee, Iether way I know how to move along respectably. What it may "look like" to the person behind? I don't give a rats behind. Im not there for him.
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rollin
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of course that's what tee it forward is about. But its not about handicap. its about distance first and foremost. Then only a little is it about consistency or handicap.
I say play the whites until you're hitting a 56 for your second shot on par 4s. When you start doing that move back to where you're hitting PW - 8 irons.
GenErr
Well-known member
I'll play whatever tees leave me about 150 yards from most par 4's after a decent drive. I get little enjoyment nowadays having to hit a FW or hybrid for all of my second shots on par 4's. Sometimes I play with guys who insist on teeing off from the "white" tees, and they NEVER get close to a green in regulation. That, to me, is not enjoyable.
DG_1234
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Last weekend I was on a golf trip with my buddy and his preference was to play the relatively forward tee boxes. For convenience and to be social I joined him on the forward tee boxes and ended up playing lots of 5-iron, 4-irons, hybrids, and 3- woods off the par 4 and par 5 tee boxes. So, it was a fun trip for both of us.
I am not the longest hitter ; at sea level, flat terrain I carry my 3-wood about 225 and my driver about 250. However, our golf trip was in the Reno/Tahoe area where the mountain elevation , combined with hard ground elevated tee boxes, makes a 7,200 yard course play about as long as sea level flat course of 6,300 yards.
I am not the longest hitter ; at sea level, flat terrain I carry my 3-wood about 225 and my driver about 250. However, our golf trip was in the Reno/Tahoe area where the mountain elevation , combined with hard ground elevated tee boxes, makes a 7,200 yard course play about as long as sea level flat course of 6,300 yards.