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Aging, Ego, and Tees

I will play any of the tees depending on what the rest of the group wants to do.
 
I’m approaching 60 and I was raised playing the “men’s“ tees, which up until about 15 years ago were usually the middle (white) tees.
I don’t know about other parts of the country, but So.Cal, most courses I played In the late 80’s through the early ‘00s had 3 sets of tees. Lady’s, Men’s and Championship.
At my regular course, the blue tees are second longest, 6340 on the card, but playing 6600 due to many uphill 2-3 club shots.
the white tees are listed 5588, but play around 6000, and is a completely different course on most of holes as the angles off the tee.
I usually play the blues, but the back nine 3-4 shots harder since it has 3 400yrd par 4s, one which 420 with about a 50 ft elevation gain all the way up. Both par 3’s are over 170 and play into the wind usually. There’s also a 600 yard par 5 #1 handicap hole.
The combo Blue/White is Blue front, White back. I think I may start playing that set up more often, while enjoy the challenge of a harder set up, the back nine is only fun when my game is “on”.
My usual gauge for what to play on a new course is the length of the par 3’s. If there are more than one over 190, I move up a tee box.
I‘m most comfortable on courses around 62-6300 yards.
 
If a typical color scheme from back to front is black, blue, white, yellow, red and green what goes in front of green? Why don’t courses have additional teeing areas up to the 2200 yards on the Tee it Forward chart? The forward marker could be low profile or just dots painted on the fairway. I’m a 60 male, a short hitter with limited abilities, I’m playing the yellow during the summer and the reds during the winter, where do I move up to in 10 years?
 
I'm 60 and I belong on the white tees.

I also don't find it to be any sort of hassle for multiple tees to be used. What's the big deal? It doesn't take any more appreciable amount of time to use two tees per hole. The blues go first, then whites and then golds.
 
One should play the tees that they are most comfortable with and that bring the most enjoyment.

I generally will play whatever tees the group decides on playing.

Even though I’m not necessarily a long hitter by any means, I’m comfortable with having to possibly hit fairway woods into greens and my short game and putting is such that I’m able to overcome the distance. And, I’ll confess that I’m more comfortable and confident in hitting a 5 wood or 7 wood than I am in hitting a 5 iron or 7 iron.
 
Some of the courses I go to now have a sign on the first tee with recommendations based on your average drive. I will take that advice and play it, especially when I have never played that course before. Another thing I am acutely aware of, is that I should very rarely play the tips, with the exception of a par 3 course near me which for some reason still has 3 tees!

There was also something I remember hearing on the Chasing Scratch podcast, I think it was in Season 2 where they were talking to a sports psychologist who said that moving up a tee occasionally can be beneficial both mentally and to your game and apparently is what some of the college coaches tell their players to do. Reason being is that if you move up, statistically you are more likely to have a better round because you're playing a slightly shorter course and that can just help your brain every now and then.

I have no issues with people playing a tee up from me or me playing up from someone else. In fact I often have to remind my wife that she should move up a tee, just down to the sheer fact of making it more fun for her as she does not drive / hit as far as me. She's stubborn though and rarely listens.

In short, play the tee that makes your game enjoyable and take your ego out of the equation if you can. You'll have a lot more fun. If someone berates you in any way for not playing the same tee as them, maybe you should think about finding a different playing partner.
 
NEhomer said:
I'm 60 and I belong on the white tees.

I also don't find it to be any sort of hassle for multiple tees to be used. What's the big deal? It doesn't take any more appreciable amount of time to use two tees per hole. The blues go first, then whites and then golds.
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It only seems to bother the “ I gotta play in 2.5 hrs” guys. Same guys that are always driving their cart before their playing companions have hit their shot.
 
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It definitely makes a difference. I don't know that distance should be the only qualifier of who plays which tees. I know some guys who hit it a long way that have no business playing the back tees. They'd be better off playing the whites and hitting irons off tees.

I think Bear Creek Valley at the Lake of the Ozarks has a "handicap suggestion" as to which tees you should play. I think they had 0-7 for back tees, 7-20 on the middle tees, and anything higher should play the front. I don't know how I felt about it, especially because many people have NO idea what their handicap would be or have an understanding of the system itself. I don't know.

I'll play the back tees up to 7000 but after that it just gets brutal. If the group I'm playing with isn't so good and says they want to play the middle tees, I'll play with them there. My ego doesn't get in the way that much to where I will separate myself from the rest of the group.
 
if you suck - move up. Or, to put it in other terms, as you lose distance and your scores decline - make the smart move and go forward. You will enjoy the game more and there will be far less abuse being hurled from trailing groups.
 
If you're not playing in a tournament, then choose the tee that gives you the most enjoyment. For competition, our course and maybe others uses a combination (sum) of age and Hcp to indicate the proper tee. At 63, I would not like to go up against someone my age if they are using a forward tee, but in our friendly games, everyone chooses which they prefer.
 
I typically play the white tees or the tees that get closest to <6,000 yards on most courses I play. There are a couple of courses where I probably should play the senior tees since at 62 years old I am not hitting the ball very far off the tee. Mainly stubbornness keeps me from moving up since I am determined to at least start breaking 100 regularly off the white tees.
 
How bout a must hit Driver this far to play the tips rule? If you can’t hit your driver 250 plus then you are simply not allowed to play from there. To me it’s all determined by Driver distance. Who the hell wants to make every Par 4 play like a Par 5 because you are to hard headed to move to the correct tee box that correlates with your length?
 
I have no ego when it comes to golf, especially when it comes to tee box selection. If the guys I'm playing with want to play tee boxes I'm not comfortable with, I'll move up and play from where I know I should be. I'm not out there to impress anybody, I'm out there to enjoy my round - and it's not as enjoyable when I'm hitting 3W into every green and shooting 100+. Move me up to where I have at least a chance at GIRs and can keep my score in the 80s and I'm happy.
 
Luchnia said:
For me I think it is more about ability than age. If someone is crushing drives at 70 and in the fairway the senior tees might be an issue.

I am a senior, but I can play regular white or senior tees depending on how my swing is that day and the scores are about the same. I do know that the longer tees tend to fatigue me more. Sometimes it depends on the course layouts too.
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This exactly. I have buddies that are in their 50’s who really shouldn’t play tees longer than 6200-6300 yards but they often do. I have another buddy in my Wednesday men’s day group that is 70 and still hits it plenty long and shot his age or better a handful of times last summer from 6500+.
 
Sean said:
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.
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A couple of years ago I noticed my distance started waning. Especially bad at the beginning of last summer when gyms were all closed. So now I’m playing up and still chasing distance...best of both worlds.
 
Jason89er said:
How bout a must hit Driver this far to play the tips rule? If you can’t hit your driver 250 plus then you are simply not allowed to play from there. To me it’s all determined by Driver distance. Who the hell wants to make every Par 4 play like a Par 5 because you are to hard headed to move to the correct tee box that correlates with your length?
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That’s why I’ve never understood the whole “macho” thing when it comes to choosing tee boxes. Because it doesn’t feel very “macho” when you’re the short knocker on every tee shot, taking GIR +1 or 2 to get to every green, hitting 5 wood on every par 3, and carding a 105. Hell, why not show up rocking a custom staff bag with my name embroidered on it to make the illusion complete? 😆

If I want to feel “macho”, I’ll move up TWO tee boxes to where I’m leaving at most a flip wedge to the green on par 4s and hitting the par 5s in two.
 
I'll play from any set of tees if there are not any forced carries. But I prefer to play from 5500 to 6200, whatever tees have most of the par 4s under 400. If Im going to be playing in a scramble with a long hitter, I'll play from the red or forward tees so I get comfortable hitting short irons and wedges into the green. I just wish courses would spend more time creating alternate tee locations, instead of just putting them all in a line.
 
It's funny....There will be countless discussions about golf clubs here and the COMBO set....Me I play combo tees often. Regardless of whether the course has combo tees. Some holes just are too great to not play the back tees....some maybe a forward tee is better. 400 plus par 4's...march forward. The goal ultimately is to play around 6200 yards give or take. So if the white tees are around that, I'll play them pretty straight up. If the whites are 6000 maybe a hole or two on the back tees. If the whites are 6500 and conditions are such that they play 6500 then roll up on a few holes. Where I don't do this is if I am playing a certified Championship course. Then I play one tee set for the day.
 
When you think about it, even playing a forward tee, you still may be playing a harder course than someone who hits it 270 - 300 yds. If they hit their drive to say the 150 yd area, they are likely hitting 9 iron or pitching wedge into the green. If I play a forward tee and get it to the 150 yd area too, I am hitting 7 iron or 6 iron to the green. We aren't playing the same type of shot on the approach. Now, if the forward tee gets me in the 120 yd range for approach, then I'm hitting 9 iron or so. That is a similar shot to the guy at the 150 yd mark and hitting 9 iron or PW.
 
I will play whatever set of tees allows me to hit mid irons (or less) into par 4's. Golf is supposed to be fun and hitting FW's into par 4's is not fun! At the course I usually play, even from the "senior" tees there are a couple of par 4's that are unreachable to me unless I hit a really good FW 2nd shot.
 
Usually it is players who want to play the forward tees (for a variety of reasons) that accuse anyone who plays back tees of having "ego".
I can and do play courses from the front tees or the back tees and have fun either way.
 
GoldenBuff said:
I support moving up a tee box or two to match up with skill and distance. And as I lose distance with age, I will fight moving up tees with every fiber of my being.
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Moving up a tee box costs you an average of 4 strokes on your course handicap. Hard to give up that many strokes for maybe 500 yards less.
 
Thinking back to the couple rounds we played @Sean , I “think” that Tyler and I played from about 6200 and you played from 5600 or so at Oak Tree and we all played from about 5600 at Deer Ridge (I joined the older guys rather than being the one playing back). My plan was to hit 4i off the tees, well that lasted about two holes, lol.

I usually play Oak Tree from the tips, it’s 6600 yards or so. The main reason I do this is it takes about 5 possibly driveable par 4’s and makes them unreachable. So then I don’t have to look like a jackass waiting for greens to clear only to miss it by 30 yards. It’s a damned if I do, damned if I don’t on those. I’d rather just not be able to reach them especially if the course is busy.

One thing I’ll point out that conditions can play a huge rule in the distance you should play. Cold, wet, windy, and muddy, a 6200 yard course can seem long to me. Put me on that same course when it’s hot, dry, and calm, 7000 yards will seem about the same.
 
Probably step on a few toes but it crossed my mind. If you're not breaking par you might could move up a tee or two. I will play the shortest tee today and hope to break 100.
 
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