Sunday I went out to play and played well. I shot 85 with nines of 42 and 43. I had several good looks at birdie which didn't drop and a few poor decisions which caused some doubles, or else the solid 85 had a chance of being a really special round. I had a blast and came off the course feeling positive and energized.
I played the white tees during that round, which are just over 6,000 yards.
Today I went back to play nine, and decided "You know, I'm an OK golfer. 6,000 yards is too short. I should be playing the big-boy tees." So I decided to test myself and play the blues at 6,600 yards.
What a difference a set of tees make. On holes that are clearly designed to be a 3-wood off the tee, I was forced to hit driver. But the hole wasn't intended to be a driver hole, so it took an absolute perfect drive to not find trouble. On another hole that had a forced carry, I had to play so far away from the hole to make it over the water, I left myself 220 to the hole, with a heavily guarded green with water in front. When playing from the whites, I was able to hit a tee shot that left me 130 yards away.
I constantly found myself in bad position, either forcing me to play the hole as a GIR+1, or forcing myself to pull off a perfect long iron to give myself a chance at a par. Twice I took penalties on wayward drives because I was trying to get too much out of them.
In short, by playing from the wrong tees, I was making myself hit shots that were above my pay grade.
I shot 49, ESC adjusted to 48. I left the course feeling frustrated and deflated.
I've realized I'm simply not a good enough golfer to have a chance of posting a good score from the blue tees on most courses. To be more specific, I'm good enough - but I'm not long enough. If I'm going to play from the blues, I need to adjust my expectations. I need to play every hole as GIR+1 unless I happen to hit a great drive, and therefore I need to be happy if my score is 95 or better. On the other hand, if I want to achieve what I feel is a "good" score for me, i.e. in the 80's, then I need to get my butt up to the whites, where I can play the hole as it was designed. If I ever improve my golf game to where my average drive is 250-ish rather than the 215-220 it is now, that's when I can move back to the blues and keep the same score expectations.
So, the point is, if you're frustrated with your scores, move up. Play the course as it was designed. The designers had no intention of forcing you to hit driver on every hole and 4-iron into every green. So stop forcing it on yourself.
I played the white tees during that round, which are just over 6,000 yards.
Today I went back to play nine, and decided "You know, I'm an OK golfer. 6,000 yards is too short. I should be playing the big-boy tees." So I decided to test myself and play the blues at 6,600 yards.
What a difference a set of tees make. On holes that are clearly designed to be a 3-wood off the tee, I was forced to hit driver. But the hole wasn't intended to be a driver hole, so it took an absolute perfect drive to not find trouble. On another hole that had a forced carry, I had to play so far away from the hole to make it over the water, I left myself 220 to the hole, with a heavily guarded green with water in front. When playing from the whites, I was able to hit a tee shot that left me 130 yards away.
I constantly found myself in bad position, either forcing me to play the hole as a GIR+1, or forcing myself to pull off a perfect long iron to give myself a chance at a par. Twice I took penalties on wayward drives because I was trying to get too much out of them.
In short, by playing from the wrong tees, I was making myself hit shots that were above my pay grade.
I shot 49, ESC adjusted to 48. I left the course feeling frustrated and deflated.
I've realized I'm simply not a good enough golfer to have a chance of posting a good score from the blue tees on most courses. To be more specific, I'm good enough - but I'm not long enough. If I'm going to play from the blues, I need to adjust my expectations. I need to play every hole as GIR+1 unless I happen to hit a great drive, and therefore I need to be happy if my score is 95 or better. On the other hand, if I want to achieve what I feel is a "good" score for me, i.e. in the 80's, then I need to get my butt up to the whites, where I can play the hole as it was designed. If I ever improve my golf game to where my average drive is 250-ish rather than the 215-220 it is now, that's when I can move back to the blues and keep the same score expectations.
So, the point is, if you're frustrated with your scores, move up. Play the course as it was designed. The designers had no intention of forcing you to hit driver on every hole and 4-iron into every green. So stop forcing it on yourself.
