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PGA & USGA Tee It Forward Initiative

Because my long game is much better than my wedge game or putting I don't really score a lot better playing up close than I do from the back tees except on those rare days when I am hitting a lot of putts or stiffing wedges, which doesn't happen very often. On days when the wind down here is blowing 30 MPH I will move up 1 tee usually. On some layouts the angles can be better from the back tee, less worry about hitting a tee shot through the fairway dogleg or whatever into trouble. Also you can have better spacing for a third shot layup on a par 5 that is well protected for example.
 
I moved up at both courses I played last week and cut 5 strokes off my normal score at the shorter of the two courses, but added 5+ strokes at the longer of the two courses. Shorter course has some very long par threes so was hitting irons into greens instead of fairways this accounted for most of my saved strokes, longer course I found myself running into sandtraps that I didn't know existed and ran out of fairway on several other holes so moving up really was a disadvantage for my distance (which isn't long by internet standards). If I played the long course at forward tees again I would hit less club off the tee so no real advantage for me. The short course was definitely more fun not hitting long irons/hybrids into all the greens, this course has some really poor hole designs on it no matter what tee you play from, at least some were not nearly so daunting from the forward tees.
 
It certainly works on several fronts:

Better scoring
Faster playing times
More enjoyable golf

SMG
 
SeeMoreGuy said:
It certainly works on several fronts:

Better scoring
Faster playing times
More enjoyable golf

SMG
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Well, I'll spot you the first one because being closer to the target would probably make it easier to hit it, but as far as Faster playing times and More enjoyable golf goes, I'll give you a solid "maybe".
Moving up one or two tees may or may not result in faster playing times because if someone sucks at the game, they'll suck no matter where they tee off from and if someone doesn't have a clue about ready golf or how to play efficiently then that too will show up no matter where they tee it up.
As far as enjoyment goes, that's a very subjective word. Some people might very well enjoy moving up while others may find themselves bored to tears while still others may resent it outright especially if they feel coerced into playing forward tees by their friends or by others quoting charts and driving distances.

I think that people should play from tees and distances that feel most comfortable for them and that suit their games best but I think that decision is up to the individual.
As I've said before, I don't care what tees anyone uses as long as using them isn't going to adversely affect my game, someone else's game or detract from anyone else's good time.
 
Tee It Forward is a great initiative IMO. Glad to hear some success stories with it. To the dissenters (no one here, just from what I've seen around the net) I think they are missing the point. The whole idea behind this was to give amateurs a better idea of how different their game is from the one they see on tv. The biggest point at first was to show golfers the length of course they should play to have those short irons and wedges into the greens like they see the pro's doing.

The second benefit that comes from it is for players that are fairly new to the game as it gives them an idea of how to approach this complex game. Imagine you've only been playing a couple of months and you aren't really sure where you should be playing from. Well you can go the driving range, figure out some rough distances on your clubs, and now you have an idea how to match your skills to the course.

To me, the biggest issue against Tee it Forward is the ego. The program wasn't made to make you feel like less of a golfer, it's made so YOU HAVE MORE FUN! It also helps getting courses back to the way they were meant to be played, as many of our courses were designed in the 50's and 60's when 300 yd drives were few and far between.

I love this game and want anyone and everyone to try it, get hooked, and play for life. That won't happen for most people if they are playing monster yardages and shooting 100+ even with their best game. Jack Nicklaus has expressed his thoughts on growing the game and suggests even playing 12 hole rounds, as time is also a factor here. I could go on and on about this really, I think it's a great program. Bottom line is to play the tees that you are comfortable with, but also keep enjoyment in your mind. It's no fun to smoke a perfect drive down the middle of a par 4 and still have 220+ left every time.
 
Amen to that!
 
I think it's a great idea. You have to use course management and all the clubs in your bag. It makes the game more enjoyable and can help you improve. The only thing it would hurt is someone's ego
 
As long as I keep missing 6 foot putts the amount of shots it takes me to get those 6 feet is far less important.
 
I think using driver distance as a benchmark is likely to derail any attempt to get high hdcp/novice golfers to play suitable tees. According to the charts there I could move back. They ought to stipulate 240 yds and hit a 50 yd fairway on those charts. I play mens reg tees @ 5850 and only have 5 holes that are holes I really want to have a full driver on. The rest dogleg, have hills, or funnel into trouble at my drivers length.
 
Again, I think the point is being missed. tnc, you've already teed it forward and found a comfortable distance. The chart is obviously a guideline and can't be perfect for everybody and every situation. Try looking at it in a broader sense rather than getting stuck on details.

This post by Dr.Duess is excellent.

Tee It Forward is a great initiative IMO. Glad to hear some success stories with it. To the dissenters (no one here, just from what I've seen around the net) I think they are missing the point. The whole idea behind this was to give amateurs a better idea of how different their game is from the one they see on tv. The biggest point at first was to show golfers the length of course they should play to have those short irons and wedges into the greens like they see the pro's doing.

The second benefit that comes from it is for players that are fairly new to the game as it gives them an idea of how to approach this complex game. Imagine you've only been playing a couple of months and you aren't really sure where you should be playing from. Well you can go the driving range, figure out some rough distances on your clubs, and now you have an idea how to match your skills to the course.

To me, the biggest issue against Tee it Forward is the ego. The program wasn't made to make you feel like less of a golfer, it's made so YOU HAVE MORE FUN! It also helps getting courses back to the way they were meant to be played, as many of our courses were designed in the 50's and 60's when 300 yd drives were few and far between.

I love this game and want anyone and everyone to try it, get hooked, and play for life. That won't happen for most people if they are playing monster yardages and shooting 100+ even with their best game. Jack Nicklaus has expressed his thoughts on growing the game and suggests even playing 12 hole rounds, as time is also a factor here. I could go on and on about this really, I think it's a great program. Bottom line is to play the tees that you are comfortable with, but also keep enjoyment in your mind. It's no fun to smoke a perfect drive down the middle of a par 4 and still have 220+ left every time.
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Here's an interesting bit of information:

According to the Tee it Forward chart of average driving distances, no less than 128 PGA Tour pros should be playing from from tees in the 6,400 to 6,800 yard range.
I wonder how guys like Ryan Moore, Steve Stricker, Luke Donald or even John Daly would react if I told them that they ought to move up a few tees so they could "Have more fun"? :D
 
OG plays it forward all the time. He loves it. :alien:
 
i think it is a good program it allows people to have more fun out there and to speed up the pace of play. I am a fairly long hitter so i usually like to play the tips but i also play forward if i wanna work on my wedges more or i can just hit an iron off the tee and work on that too. i have been mixing it up more lately just to work on different things.
 
I think the best part about it all is that the PGA of America is trying to change the mindset that tee selection is based on age and gender, when in fact it should be based on skill.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I think the best part about it all is that the PGA of America is trying to try and change the mindset that tee selection is based on age and gender, when in fact it should be based on skill.
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Well in that case, See post #45
 
JWLI said:
Well in that case, See post #45
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Isn't there a Tiger book out there you've yet to read? The fact that researched that just to troll this thread is ridiculous.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
I think the best part about it all is that the PGA of America is trying to change the mindset that tee selection is based on age and gender, when in fact it should be based on skill.
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I agree with this 100%. There is a stigma attached to the forward tees and trying to change that will only make the game more enjoyable.
 
JWLI said:
Well in that case, See post #45
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This tee it forward initiative has nothing to do at all with the world class professional players or the professional tours. The PGA of America and the PGA Tour or two different things.
 
lcsmrtn said:
I agree with this 100%. There is a stigma attached to the forward tees and trying to change that will only make the game more enjoyable.
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You are correct. The whole point is to have people play and have fun doing so.
 
I played a casual round last week in between meetings (and cities). My game the last few weeks has been a disaster and it was starting to get in my head. I played from the front tees and: 1. scored well 2. got some confidence back 3. had a lot of fun. So for me, it helped my game and my mind.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
This tee it forward initiative has nothing to do at all with the world class professional players or the professional tours. The PGA of America and the PGA Tour or two different things.
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Maybe so, but AVERAGE DRIVING DISTANCE is still AVERAGE DRIVING DISTANCE, no? :D
 
Hawk said:
Again, I think the point is being missed. tnc, you've already teed it forward and found a comfortable distance. The chart is obviously a guideline and can't be perfect for everybody and every situation. Try looking at it in a broader sense rather than getting stuck on details.

This post by Dr.Duess is excellent.
Click to expand...
Oh I understand it and agree with it 100%. I'm just thinking some guys that beat balls at the range and get one out of five to go 250 would use this as validation to play the tips. It seems that way when I get stuck playing with them anyway. I thought the idea was to get guys to play the proper length tees to speed up the pace of play.
 
tnc200 said:
Oh I understand it and agree with it 100%. I'm just thinking some guys that beat balls at the range and get one out of five to go 250 would use this as validation to play the tips. It seems that way when I get stuck playing with them anyway. I thought the idea was to get guys to play the proper length tees to speed up the pace of play.
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I think it's more than just speeding up the pace of play and I think it's less relevant the farther you hit the ball. I've played with many, many people that think they hit it farther than they do and play tees that make courses unneccessarily long for themselves. Those people are playing a version of golf that is completely different than many people, including professionals, play. It's fun to hit a PW or 9 iron into a green a few times a round, yet many people never get that chance unless it's their 3rd shot into a par 4.
 
HoosierGolfer said:
...The whole point is to have people play and have fun doing so.
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See, that's my point.

Why is it that everyone assumes that moving up will automatically equate to having more fun?
Are they suggesting that people who don't move up are essentially miserable and are not having any fun?
And what if someone says that even though they may not have the greatest game in the world, they really get a kick out of playing from longer tees? Are they lying?

I'm not saying that no one can have fun by moving up.
I'm just saying that there's probably a fair amount of people who won't see it that way, so what's to be done with them? Should they be banned from playing golf until they "come to their senses"?

I think TIF is a good idea but I just don't think it's for everyone.
 
I truthfully like playing from three different tees at my course. It changes the golf course a lot and sometimes for me the shorted tees make it harder. Change it up and enjoy the course.


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- Tapatalk... Loved by me hated by the wife.
 
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