A thread on this forum got me thinking about aging, our egos, and the tees we play. There are no tees anyone "should" play, that said there are tees that are more commensurate with our ability. I am in my mid-60s and moved up to the senior tees and instead of hitting fairway woods into par 4's I am hitting irons. Golfers such as Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf have encouraged people to move up.
Everyone is chasing distance these days. For many golfers it's a bit of a fools errand, and instead of chasing distance...especially as we get older...moving up a tee box or two would solve that problem. I remember when irons were considered scoring clubs, now they have become distance clubs...add half an inch, strengthen the lofts and people think they are hitting their 7-iron much longer than their old one. I am waiting for an OEM to come out with a putter promising 20 more feet of roll.
A quick story. Went to one of the local muni's and was paired with a 2some and a single. We were all around the same age. One of the guys in the 2some asked me what tees I was playing and I said the senior tees. In a stentorian voice he said, "We play the blue tees." The single asked, "You're really playing the senior tees?" and I said, "Yeah, I am a senior and don't hit the ball all that far anymore." You could see him struggling with his decision and finally he opted to join me on the senior tees...he said he always played the blue tees.
When all was said and done, the "blues" brothers barely broke 100. The single who joined me was so excited. He said it was the lowest round he ever shot, the first time he hit "x" green in regulation, the first time he used an iron on a number of greens, etc. He profusely thanked me and said it was the most fun he ever had playing golf.
I guess the moral of the story is (for me anyway), golf is a game and is supposed to be fun. The game is hard enough as it is, why do we allow our egos to make it even more difficult? Plus, ultimately the game is about how many, not how far. In any case, if you are struggling with distance, maybe try moving up a tee box or two? You may find the game more enjoyable.
Everyone is chasing distance these days. For many golfers it's a bit of a fools errand, and instead of chasing distance...especially as we get older...moving up a tee box or two would solve that problem. I remember when irons were considered scoring clubs, now they have become distance clubs...add half an inch, strengthen the lofts and people think they are hitting their 7-iron much longer than their old one. I am waiting for an OEM to come out with a putter promising 20 more feet of roll.
A quick story. Went to one of the local muni's and was paired with a 2some and a single. We were all around the same age. One of the guys in the 2some asked me what tees I was playing and I said the senior tees. In a stentorian voice he said, "We play the blue tees." The single asked, "You're really playing the senior tees?" and I said, "Yeah, I am a senior and don't hit the ball all that far anymore." You could see him struggling with his decision and finally he opted to join me on the senior tees...he said he always played the blue tees.
When all was said and done, the "blues" brothers barely broke 100. The single who joined me was so excited. He said it was the lowest round he ever shot, the first time he hit "x" green in regulation, the first time he used an iron on a number of greens, etc. He profusely thanked me and said it was the most fun he ever had playing golf.
I guess the moral of the story is (for me anyway), golf is a game and is supposed to be fun. The game is hard enough as it is, why do we allow our egos to make it even more difficult? Plus, ultimately the game is about how many, not how far. In any case, if you are struggling with distance, maybe try moving up a tee box or two? You may find the game more enjoyable.
