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Interesting "Tee it Forward" experience...

Nate said:
Courses should mandate handicap numbers for each tee box. Would make life on a golf course a bit faster!
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This is not the answer IMO, Being a senior golfer my handicap is set from tees roughly 6100 yards, I would hate to be sent to a set of tees at the tips as it would certainly slow down the golfers behind me, and I would not have fun being unable to reach longer par 4s in 2 and hitting 3 woods and drivers on long par 3s.
 
Mandating handicaps for teebox makes no sense for one reason:

Scratch golfers dont always bomb the ball 300 yards, and 30 cappers dont always hit it all over the place.
 
rather than putting this on the courses to enforce, it really needs to come down to people doing ego checks before they get on the course.

And I doubt that will ever happen in mass, so we are stuck watching people top tee balls from 7200 yards
 
I think tee choice more to do with distance than ability, but I know it's not black and white.
 
mikedean441 said:
Rather than putting this on the courses to enforce, it really needs to come down to people doing ego checks before they get on the course.
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I agree with this, it should not be up to the course. That being said, courses should make a point to remind players that playing tees to their ability is a rule of the course. Whether that be notices on the first tee, cart and verbal reminders when checking in for the round.

Courses around me have a clock at various points on the course that say, "Pace of play to this point ____", which serve as a reminder to pick it up a notch.
 
Nate said:
Courses should mandate handicap numbers for each tee box. Would make life on a golf course a bit faster!
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Played a course down in Ocean City Maryland that did this. Wish more courses would start this.
 
I will be 63 in a couple of days and play back on our gold tees (72.2) in summer then move up to the blues (70.2) in winter. Scores are about the same both places for me so handicap rises two points in winter. My buddies who are 60 or more play the whites (67.8), they used to ask me to join them up there until I finally did and shot a 67. Now they move back to the blues when I mention about playing the same tees.:D

Was it fun to shoot 67, of course. Was I a better golfer on those tees. No way

It is a balancing act to choose tees based on having maximum fun? For many folks that is a good choice. My theory is that golf is not static, it is dynamic in that everyday your game will get a little better or a little worse. So for me, I want to play the tees that make me better and (for me) that means having to hit longer irons and tougher drives instead of all wedges and hitting irons off the tees.
 
I played with a friend and his Dad a few weeks ago and we all played from the Senior tees which were around 5800 yds.
Was a nice change of pace to always have short irons into the greens.
Only hit 1 hybrid all day long and that was because I found the rough off the tee on a par 5.
Wound up shooting a 79 for the day. My avg. score from the blues (6200 yds) is around 85-88. I prefer to play 6,000 to 6,400 yds tees if possible.
 
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A high handicap doesn't necessarily mean 'short hitter', there are so many other factors involved.
 
Tee it forward is not the ultimate solution to 1.) speeding up play or 2.) better scores. 1.) Will it help speed up play in some cases sure, but I have played with 36 handicappers who are faster than some 4 Handicappers. Tee it forward in my eyes would be one small component for speeding up play but it ultimately comes down to each golfer playing ready golf and courses managing their tee times better (wider spans between each tee time) and enforcing pace of play, neither of which they do.

2.) Will it lower some players scores, sure. But so wouldn't making the hole 8" in diameter.
Doesn't it depend on what a player's weakness is? Obviously if someone just can't get off the tee, their going to improve by moving up, but this is not the case for everyone. Everything we have heard and read preeches focusing on the short game to improve scores, that 55%-60% of the shots are from within 100 yds. So how does moving up a hole from 430 to 390 going to help me score better if what is killing me is from with 100yds?

Don't get me wrong, I've played some courses from different tees and I have had lower scores, and sometimes it is fun from the front tees; But I personally like the challenge of playing from longer tees. I choose by looking at the yardage, rating and slope when making my decision on what tees I play. They are from 6600 - 7000yds with a rating of 72 - 74 and slope of 130-140. Any combination in those ranges works for me. If there is more than one set of tees that fall in this range, I will typically play where the others in the group are playing, and if they are forward of this, I take the hardest of the bunch. My home course is 6800 with a rating of 73.4 and slope of 134. If I tee it up by-myself in the AM on a weekday, I finish in 2.5 hours walking.
 
Those are good points, DC. I think much of the idea is based on the assumption that many people don't hit it 1) that far and 2) as far as they think.

Much of what I've read has been a matter of making the game more like the game that pros or people with decent distance play. There is a huge difference between a 4 iron and an 8 iron into a green, which is about the difference between a 390 yard or 430 yard hole (40 yards or so).
 
Tee it forward, great idea. Ever been to Beth Page "Black" course and seen the sign on the first tee? I think with todays usual and "normal" 4-5 hour rounds that take place way too often, that the tee's should be designated by handicap and programs put in place to re-teach proper golf ediquite. It would be much more enjoyable for all, especially the higher handicappers, like me for instance. So much more fun without people standing on the tee box behind you with the glare and occasional rockets aimed at your group to speed you up!
 
Never played Bethpage Black but the sign is classic:

-WARNING-
The Black Course Is An
Extremely Difficult Course
Which We Recommend Only
For Highly Skilled Golfers

Two courses I play do have recommendations for what tees to play depending on handicap, (on one course that has a recommendation for <5 HCP just because many of the holes just become too long for how far I hit the ball.) but the problem with this is many people don't have a handicap (and think they're better than they really are) and to Hawk's point, think they hit the ball longer than they actually do.

Hawk, I have read that as well, but some seem to think this alone would speed up play.
I have read and heard that on many of the courses in England, if you want to play the tips, you need to speak with the head-pro and get permission.
I personally don't have a problem with this. This mentality of, I paid the money therefore I'll play from where I want and take as long as I want is just getting tiring.
Ask not what "the game of golf" can do for me, ask what I can do for "the game of golf". HAHA
 
Yea, I think that slow people are slow no matter what haha. In my mind, I think people take the idea to literal. For me, teeing it forward is playing the white tees because I'm usually most comfortable in the 6,000-6,300 range. I was basically teeing it forward already. I think some folks take it as a suggestion that they play the ladies tees, when it's really about finding a distance that gives you the opportunity to hit all of your clubs and have some decent shots at hitting greens.
 
Couldn't have said it better.
 
Getting back to this, I thnk that moving up is something I'll do more often. Didn't make much difference in Mondays score but I can see the potential. As for pace of play we made it around in 4 hrs which was average. We still had to wait on a group in front of us on a few holes, and like I said everyone was playing from the front tees. My playing partner liked moveing up too, and he hits it bigger than I do. I think we may start pulling a tee out of a hat or something random like that on occasion to mix it up, keeps the egos out of it. Overall it made it more fun for a guy entering middle age, losing distance and with a handicap heading north instead of south.
Another great thing I saw this year was a TPC couse we played had a mixed tee set, (whites mixed with golds). Thats a great idea that more should consider. We all know which courses have holes where a bogey is a great score and a double or triple is the norm. Play those holes up and see what happens.
 
I got out today and played a quick 18. It was chilly and the wind was pretty crazy. So I played from the forward tips. 5100 yards. It was a blast. I still hit driver on most holes. Which usually left some crazy distances in. Shots I don't usually hit. It was a pretty good test of my 80 yards and in game.

I would never play from those tees during peak hours. But on days when I am the only golfer on the course, it was a blast.
 
Why would you never play those during busy hours?
 
Hitting into people is no bueno
 
blugold said:
I got out today and played a quick 18. It was chilly and the wind was pretty crazy. So I played from the forward tips. 5100 yards. It was a blast. I still hit driver on most holes. Which usually left some crazy distances in. Shots I don't usually hit. It was a pretty good test of my 80 yards and in game.

I would never play from those tees during peak hours. But on days when I am the only golfer on the course, it was a blast.
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It is indeed fun to do that now and then. I did it last season a couple times right before the courses closed for winter and it was a fun time. Nice hitting wedge instead of 8I huh?
 
With my handicap and experience playing the game (little over a year), I play the forward tees (not the ladies tees). The yardage is 5531. I am no hero. Yes some of the guys I play with play back, but I have never had anyone give me grief about it. Sure, every once in awhile I will crack some 250+ yard drive that goes right down the fairway and leaves me 90 yards out. But guess what? I still have to make that second shot and I enjoy those shots. If I start playing longer (and more consistently), I will move back. Until then I will enjoy my forward tees.

Here is a link to the scorecard for my home course:

http://balconescountryclub.com/golf/scorecard/
 
Rhyno said:
Why would you never play those during busy hours?
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Part of the fun was bomb and gouging the par 4s and going for par 5s in two from sub 170 yardages. It would be a lot of waiting if the course was busy.

Evok said:
It is indeed fun to do that now and then. I did it last season a couple times right before the courses closed for winter and it was a fun time. Nice hitting wedge instead of 8I huh?
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I usually have full 9is and PWs into greens at my course from 6600. It was really interesting going driver - 65 yard pitch into the wind. Lots of fun wedge shot variations.
 
I like giving the short tees a go every once in awhile, just to get a different look at a course I have played numerous times. If the course is deserted than I play one ball from my normal tee set and one from the shortest just for practice.
 
I have been thinking of starting with the gold tees (most forward) and then moving back a tee as I hit a specific score. I am not thinking of doing it to speed up the round, but rather to fully work on my whole game, and graduate to the next level. It also makes each hole a very different experience.

I just need to get past the ego issue! Ugh.
 
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