Yardage Based on Handicap

[PapaJohick]

Ocean Ridge Plantation all 4 courses - I like the layouts

Course condition on panthers run was a bit disappointing today

Might try and tip out one of these courses and see how the cap is. My scoring is getting killed due to the flatstick

Haven’t played any of those courses, but have a good time and score low buddy.

Some of the courses are still suffering from last fall. It just became a big mess up there after the storms and they can’t quite turn it around just yet


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[dduarte85]

I think in some cases, there are. If someone can't hit the ball 200 yards with their driver (no big deal, welcome to the average golfer number), they ought not to be playing 6,500 tees. Tee it forward should be used by every single golfer and avoid playing tees beyond their threshold.

That said, I have no issues with guys who bomb the ball moving forward. Index will make up the difference, and as long as they aren't driving par 4 greens (etc), I think it's a different challenge for them as long as the course is well designed.

I agree... I played 6800 at a TPC course and I had 200 into par 4’s all day. It wasn’t fun man.


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[Sean]

Is their correlation and in your opinion, should there be some guidelines?

No. I know quite a few seniors that have a tidy golf game, but would be hard pressed to play yardages solely based on their handicap.

 

[Phil75070]

I don't think you can correlate handicap to which tees should be played. Being a mid to low single digit (at times) handicap I guess I should be moving back at least one set of tees if not two. However, I don't have the length to maintain a handicap anywhere near what it is playing from the tees I now play from. So my handicap would go up indicating I should move up. Handicap comes down then I should move back. It would be playing at the end of a yoyo.

I think there can be multiple factors including how far one normally drives the ball, how pace of play is maintained, and handicap which takes into account all aspects of the game.

 

[krispyk]

I think in some cases, there are. If someone can't hit the ball 200 yards with their driver (no big deal, welcome to the average golfer number), they ought not to be playing 6,500 tees. Tee it forward should be used by every single golfer and avoid playing tees beyond their threshold.

That said, I have no issues with guys who bomb the ball moving forward. Index will make up the difference, and as long as they aren't driving par 4 greens (etc), I think it's a different challenge for them as long as the course is well designed.

I wish I had you in my leagues. Our leagues play from 6500yds when most guys are only hitting 200 w/driver and many are not even getting that distance so very few guys (including myself) are inside of 150yds (a couple short holes are the exception) for 2nd shot into green so most are not getting to play short irons because of it. I've tried til I'm blue in the face to explain why everyone takes 3 shots to get on the green but they dont want to hear it.

 

[darthweasel]

I wish I had you in my leagues. Our leagues play from 6500yds when most guys are only hitting 200 w/driver and many are not even getting that distance so very few guys (including myself) are inside of 150yds (a couple short holes are the exception) for 2nd shot into green so most are not getting to play short irons because of it. I've tried til I'm blue in the face to explain why everyone takes 3 shots to get on the green but they dont want to hear it.

the other day I got matched up with a couple of guys practicing for a scramble event about a third of the way through the round (they had been a 2-some and I a single when we reached the bottleneck and decided to play in). It is a little 9 hole course and not exactly long...2400ish yards. I have been watching these guys for 3 holes and can confidently say if they had a 180 yard drive it would have been their best in a long, long time. 150 is more their good drive range. So on the 377 yard hole with water 100 out from the green, their titanic drive left them 300 in. the group ahead of us, not exactly masters of etiquette, left their cart 50 yards short of the green and off to the left.

"I will wait, I can get their easily" said the first guy with a straight face.

He was right. He could get there.

It just took 3 more shots.

It has been mentioned on here repeatedly how much discrepancy there is between how far people hit and how far they THINK they hit. On a course with one hole over 300 yards, they were inside 150 exactly once, that was on hole 9 when after he skied another 30 yard wedge driver, I suggested "just for fun, tee one up about an inch lower and take a whack" and he got about 190 out of it. They were both pretty convinced both that he had hit it longer than he did...and that a 9i coming up 50 yards short was a surprise.

They were cool dudes to golf with but their distance knowledge leaves something to be desired. While anecdotal, this is not atypical of my experience. I have golfed with people who swore I drove it 350 all day on days I was averaging 243. It is not just their own distances people mis-estimate...

 

[JaxHax]

As a high handicapper, the only time I will not tee it forward (typically "white" tees in my area) is when I am playing with better golfers desiring the next tee box back AND we are waiting on the group ahead anyway. This way pace of play is not affected by my errant tee shots when they occur.

If there is a large yardage discrepancy between blues and whites, I'll often just play the par 5 holes from the white (shorter) tees if I'm in one of the aforementioned groups. None of my friends or acquaintances seem to mind that adjustment - as long as I can withstand a good-natured ribbing.

 

[McRock]

Correlation? Sure. But I suspect it has a similar correlation to the distances hit with clubs. But there are always exceptions. Here's an example. A person I've played golf with can hit the driver pretty far. Like 20 yards further than me on average (and his top distance is probably 40 yards past me). But he's a worse handicap. In fact, I often beat him by 3-4 strokes per 9 holes. Should he play maybe 1 or two sets of tees up? No, of course not. He needs to get his short game worked out, and he's pretty well straightened out his driver.

Why make a big hitter who should be playing 6500+ play 5500 yard tees? He's probably be teeing off with mid-irons all day, and it does him no good.

So while I believe there is correlation, I think distance off the tee is better factor to consider.

As for me, I just look at a score card and ask myself "what am I hitting on the par 3s, what am I hitting for second shots on the par 4s?" I don't like hitting hybrids into every par 3, and I don't like hitting hybrids/long irons into every par 4. I want a variety, I want to test myself, but playing overly long tees can be just flat out brutal.

~Rock

 

[rollin]

Imo no........tees should be decided upon based on ones capable distance while playing his/her decent to good golf. One should be able to reach most greens (be on or miss left/right/etc with two (for a par4) of his/her decent to better played golf strikes. Though I do think HC within reason has only "some small" percentage mixed into the equation for the tee choice. We pretty much all practice and play the game with intent to make decent to good golf shots and tee distance (as well as club choices for any shots) should be based on those. Poor play doesn't mean one needs ton be more forward but only means they need to try to get better and correct them.

 

[pumbaa]

Bad decisions and bad course management are universal, not speed related. We have a guy at my club that's scratch, plays the back tees, can't hit his driver any longer than 220, but never get in to trouble and chips and putts like a man possessed. And then there's me... hits the ball long, can't find a green, and lips out everything.

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Sounds like a guy I work with. 280ish average drive, great short game, iffy putter, but mid and long irons are a struggle. He plays Mizuno blades and he shouldn't be.

 

[PapaJohick]

the other day I got matched up with a couple of guys practicing for a scramble event about a third of the way through the round (they had been a 2-some and I a single when we reached the bottleneck and decided to play in). It is a little 9 hole course and not exactly long...2400ish yards. I have been watching these guys for 3 holes and can confidently say if they had a 180 yard drive it would have been their best in a long, long time. 150 is more their good drive range. So on the 377 yard hole with water 100 out from the green, their titanic drive left them 300 in. the group ahead of us, not exactly masters of etiquette, left their cart 50 yards short of the green and off to the left.

"I will wait, I can get their easily" said the first guy with a straight face.

He was right. He could get there.

It just took 3 more shots.

It has been mentioned on here repeatedly how much discrepancy there is between how far people hit and how far they THINK they hit. On a course with one hole over 300 yards, they were inside 150 exactly once, that was on hole 9 when after he skied another 30 yard wedge driver, I suggested "just for fun, tee one up about an inch lower and take a whack" and he got about 190 out of it. They were both pretty convinced both that he had hit it longer than he did...and that a 9i coming up 50 yards short was a surprise.

They were cool dudes to golf with but their distance knowledge leaves something to be desired. While anecdotal, this is not atypical of my experience. I have golfed with people who swore I drove it 350 all day on days I was averaging 243. It is not just their own distances people mis-estimate...

I’ve been there. I’m no long hitter but I’ve played with several strangers who comment I’m a big hitter, 280+ with 300 when I go for it.... I just laugh and say I’m typically 240-250. They say I’m crazy.


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[DG_1234]

Is their correlation and in your opinion, should there be some guidelines?

"Yardage based on handicap" is not a perfect guideline, but it's likely the best one available.