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The 150 Pole

*Range Rat

*Range Rat

Chop since 1977
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
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Location
4 miles past the roundabout
Handicap
poor skill
You know this little guy, he lives smack in the middle of the fairway 150 yds from the center of the green on par 4's and par 5's :love:
Pole150.jpg

Personally i have a deep, meaningful relationship with the 150 pole as i am very close to it on several holes every round; I have a lot of approach shots on par 4's from 135/140ish, 145/150ish, and 155/160ish yds. I find myself aiming at it quite a bit throughout a round. On most of the par 5's i play, getting just past the 150 pole in two means i've hit 2 good shots. Being around the 150 pole so much is verification to me that i'm playing the correct tees for my particular golf game and the level of challenge i think golf should provide. If I blew it past the 150 pole all day and was hitting wedge/9 iron approaches non stop, i'd know I was on a too short (and easy) set of tees.
 
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I mean, I like the 150 pole fine sometimes. It's a good reference point. It's been in my way multiple times though, and apparently others too, because a lot of times it's laying on the ground. I prefer to blow past it whenever possible.
 
At times those poles are to the front of green.
 
I’ve hit it multiple times on the fly..so am I accurate or unlucky?
 
I prefer courses that have a 150 pole. I know if I can get just past it I can fire at the green with a respectable amount of accuracy. Gives me a warm and fuzzy when I’m close to it. On another note I think it actually speeds up play.
 
Like it for a quick look at a yardage, but usually somebody all liquored up hits it. Much easier to find than sprinkler heads but like my rangefinder more.
 
I’ve only ever seen a few courses with the 150 pole in the middle. All the ones around here use white stakes on the each side of the fairway on the boundary of fairway and rough. Something in the middle always seemed weird to me. I get it’s a small target and probably rarely happens, but having a shot hit the pole would be so frustrating lol
 
I have to agree with aforementioned Muchmore 18.

Why would you put a “ flagstick “150 m/y out in the middle of a fairway ?..

it is going to be struck accidentally or in incidentally. And affect a what otherwise may be perfectly good fairway shot. I’ve never come across this anywhere and played domestically and internationally. What ever method of distance marking be it fairway sprinkler with number written in it or particular type of tree at the 150 mark or other ( post etc) is best on either side of the fairway delineating the distance.
 
It’s a rare sight but I like having the 150 pole. It’s nice to know where the center of the fairway is. I also like the aiming sticks further than 150 out when it’s a blind tee shot.
 
One time I skulled one right into the base of the 150 pole. It exploded perfectly and the pole stood there for a few seconds before toppling over. It was a tragic end to its regal standing. It carried on, albeit a touch shorter.
 
TheHeez said:
One time I skulled one right into the base of the 150 pole. It exploded perfectly and the pole stood there for a few seconds before toppling over. It was a tragic end to its regal standing. It carried on, albeit a touch shorter.
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Nearest the pin ? Lol
 
Muchmore18 said:
I’ve only ever seen a few courses with the 150 pole in the middle. All the ones around here use white stakes on the each side of the fairway on the boundary of fairway and rough. Something in the middle always seemed weird to me. I get it’s a small target and probably rarely happens, but having a shot hit the pole would be so frustrating lol
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Yes very frustrating!!!
 
I have seen this maybe once. Some courses with blind tee shots have a pole for aiming purposes. Most around here have colored sprinkler covers or things like that. I still like to get my yardage to the front middle and back anyway.

With my luck I would probably drill that thing on an approach shot and get hit. I like a course that has a variety of par 4s. Some I will have less than 100 in some I might have more like 150-175.
 
My home course had the 150 poles when it first opened 20+ years ago. It was the 3rd or 4th season and I was playing with a good friend. He was in the middle of a love affair with his 5 iron, 225 yard lasers all day long. The #8 hole is a longish par 5, uphill from tee to green. He's hitting from the fairway about 200 yards out and catches one of his 5 irons a little thin. It hits the 150 pole (which was just plain white pvc) which had hardened after 3 years in the sun, and it explodes into a hundred pieces. I was off to the side of the fairway and the ball ended up by me. I gave him a do-over, only seemed fair. We still laugh about that one...
 
Makes me sad that i seem to be alone in my adoration of the 150 pole, maybe i should seek counseling. I thought they were far more common than they appear to be, both of my 'home' courses have them. I've never hit one but very rarely it's in my line for playing an approach shot so i just lay it down, play my shot, and put it back in place.
 
Don't mind ANY markers for yardages. Colored Disks, poles in fairways, stakes off to the side, they all are better than nothing. My home course that I learned on, they had bushes off the edge of the fairway- IF there was a bush at all. Problem was, it was never the same kind of bush so regulars knew which ones.

I ran into an odd situation while playing a course in Ireland. I would tee off, then go out to the fairway and find a Blue disk, then a White disk, then a Red Disk in the fairway. They looked like our system of 200,150 & 100. But this course listed distance in Meters, which is fine so just used the 10% rule. so Red would be 110, White is 165, etc... I would play according to those numbers and things didn't seem right. After 9 I went into the Pro Shop and asked about it. "Oh, you might need a Yardage Book...". Okay, pay the couple of Pounds, get the book. When I checked on 10, it turned out the yardage was DIFFERENT for each color on every hole.
 
*Range Rat said:
Makes me sad that i seem to be alone in my adoration of the 150 pole, maybe i should seek counseling. I thought they were far more common than they appear to be, both of my 'home' courses have them. I've never hit one but very rarely it's in my line for playing an approach shot so i just lay it down, play my shot, and put it back in place.
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Still pretty common around here. My three home courses have them as do many of the private country clubs and the expensive ($100+) daily fee and resort layouts. Their usefulness is now more an indication of where the center of the fairway is IMO as most golfers now use personal GPS and laser to get flag or F/M/B distances. I've seen them hit a few times, usually results in a funny disaster, but one of my buddies hit by far the longest drive I've ever seen him hit. Came down right on the curved cap of a thicker metal pole, got about 100 yards more than he deserved. He adored that one at least. Name is Jack if you meet him at your counseling session.:LOL:
 
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The 150 is a bit large in my opinion. I like the Blue White Red knee high markers... the yellow is a bit extreme, do you really need to know you are 250 out? its far!
 
I hardly play anywhere with a `150 pole.....concrete markers in the fairway on most courses i play. I have landed on them occasionally and had a really good bounce, and some really bad ones....but i try to get closer to 125 in for me as its a smooth wedge
 
Oh- the Sprinkler Head distances are a nice touch as well. I've come across a couple of sarcastic ones along the way. It might have the "256" yardage, then a little note on it as well: "JUST GO" or "NO CHANCE".
 
The 150yd markers here in the UK are usually a post on one or both sides of the fairway, but some courses also have the discs in the fairway, usually at 100/150/200yds

Posts in the middle of the fairway are indicators of the direction for your shot normally, especially if it is a blind shot
 
The 150 pole created one of the most memorable unlucky shots of 2021 for my friend. he striped his drive, hit the pole on the fly and had to play his second shot 90 yards back from said pole. What would have been a partial wedge in ended up being a hybrid into the par 4. His emotions went from thrilled and ecstatic, to confusion and anger.
 
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