What tees are appropriate? Do you want to go as low as possible, or look for a greater challenge?

So, when you are choosing your tees, what goes through your mind? Do you enjoy the shortest tees in hopes of going low? Do you bite off all the course has to offer, looking for the greatest challenge to your game? If you hit a certain number, does that direct you to another set of tees on your next outing?

Just curious as to what others enjoy and what number is too big on the card indicating you need to change tees.

FWIW, my new home course plays to 6840 from the tips and has a slope of 132. It is tight with most every fairway heavily lined with huge 100 year old oaks. I am 61 and my average drive carries 230 to 240 and role out depends on the hole and conditions. So, from the tips I am hitting a lot of hybrids and 5 irons into greens and there are days like today that I can get beat up a little (shot 84). There are very few members who play the tips but I can't help but want to give it a go when I step on the first tee. I am probably not going to shoot par or lower from those tees as a good round for me is 3 to 5 over, but I would rather shoot 79 from the tips than 74 from two sets of tees up. I justify this by saying it prepares me to shoot my HC when I go to other courses.

I really am not asking what tees anyone plays from, just wondering what factors are you using to pick your tees. I recently moved my membership from a great course I live on, just because the only "games" are from the front tees at full HC. When you add full HC to them playing the ball "up" and from the closest tees, it really is not even golf in my mind anymore. I seem to be in the great minority here wanting to play golf from where you hit the previous shot and often with a longer club in my hand :-)

If im playing for enjoyment, I kinda like a happy medium between the tips and the most forward, non-senior tee. Unless the tips are sub 6500 then ill just play the tips unless Im playing with shorter players.

Just not a fan of multiple par 3s of over 200 yards, I start looking for move up a box.

I don't play the tips, generally play the next box up but when presented with options will usually be guided by the length of the par 3s. Have played some courses with "combo" tees that have been fun and well thought out.

Seems like a plan with reason. Par 3's over 200 are asking for a lot from me.

Good plan :-)

I like that you guys point out the par 3's. My new home course only has one around 200. Most of its yardage comes from a 598 and a 570 par 5 and then par 4's teetering on each side of 400. Played Ozark National last year and one par 3 was way elevated, into the prevailing south wind, and 236 yards. I hit muscled my driver to the fringe lol. I agree that too many long par 3's would dictate me to go shorter.

I think some courses use par 3's as a means to make their courses longer on the card . Many long par 3's is silly unless its a short course where outside the par 5's is long iron or fairway metal/hybrid off the tee then wedge all day on par 4s.

One local course has 2 such 200+ par 3's but its a short course where it seems like most of the par 4's are drivable. Heck from the ladies( one scramble there allowed us one Skirt/Red tee...we double eagle'd that one) tees one of the par 5's is driveable. Make sense on that course to have some longer par 3s to stretch you out.

I pick tees that will allow me to enjoy myself. Hybrids into every green is not enjoyable and at 69, I play for pleasure.

I always play the tips but I am pretty long. I enjoy the test, even if it beats me up. If I'm playing with shorter hitters or higher handicap players, I will ask them where they prefer to play from. If it's the next box up from the tips, I will usually just play from there to make it easier and quicker. If it's really short, I will ask if they mind if I play the tips. When I went to Bethpage, I played from the US Open plates they had marking where the boxes were for the tour. It was about 15-30 yards longer on most holes than where the back tee markers were that day. It kicked my butt, but I enjoyed the challenge.

Since I am a member we play the Tips every Saturday. The distance is way too long and not at all fun (imo). There are 4 holes that just are ridiculous, but it is our group & since I play more then enough I am okay.

The issue goes back to almost all golfers playing the wrong tees. I always say one should play tees where a good drive (or second) shot leaves you no more then 150 to the green (i.e. 400 yard par 4's & you max driver at 250, then 150 to the green).

Our course Member tees have Par 4's 420, 400 , 375, 300, 300, 410, 385, 350, 400.... From tips 465, 410, 425, 310, 310, 430, 425, 435, 425, which is a huge difference....

I like to score & the tips mean no chance for a GIR on more then half the holes.

Why does being a member mean you have to play the tips? Playing an event or some weird club by-laws?

I usually base my decision on the toughness of the tee shots at a particular course. After all, the tee box options are there to help you tailor the course to your long game abilities. The decision will factor in length, width, margin for error, etc.

My thinking is, I don't want to go up too far and eliminate all the fun (and challenge) of hitting driver but I don't want default to the back tees if a course will play so long (given the holes' fixed widths) that a few mistakes off the tee will totally ruin the rest of the experience and force me to spend the day chipping out sideways or taking penalty drops due to lost balls. If I'm playing a course at which a poor drive assures double bogey, that's a good sign I'm playing tees that are uncomfortable and probably just a little too demanding for my skill.

If I had to speak in terms of score I'd recommend people aim for the 80s. If a golfer can't consistently break-90, that person should move up a tee box. Likewise, if someone never shoots higher than 80, the course is probably playing too easy and that player might need to consider attempting a stiffer challenge (at least on occasion).

Anyhow, at some courses playing the back tees is merely about a little extra distance. I know I can handle that. My present course is that way. I could adapt to hitting an extra 20-yards on each hole by taking more club, either off the tee or into the green. With a 112-mph driving swing, distance isn't going to be my only concern.

However, sometimes playing the tips means the course plays too tight for your swing. So contrary to what you might think, I've found that selecting the appropriate tees is mostly about finding a good length-to-width ratio. Of course, you want to vary things up a little. Some losses are good. But at the same time, getting totally beat up probably does more harm than good in terms of psyche, confidence, etc. You don't want to jump to the Tiger Tees if you're going to shoot 100+.

That said, I don't mind jumping up a tee box for the sake of playing with others who are less skilled or for practice. I'm also a big advocate of good players getting off the range and out onto the course where they can actually improve. Rather than beat balls on the range for instance, I would much rather go walk 9-holes hitting irons off the red tees. That's a better option for me.

I usually play the tips unless they are over 7400 yards. Hitting flip wedge into every par 4 gets old just like those saying hybrid or wood into every par 4 gets old. I'm flexible though and will often move up a set if the rest of the group prefers those tees. I think the "appropriate" tees are those that allow the player to enjoy the round. Play the tips, play the forward most tees, mix it up, what ever, have fun. I wish there was the functionality in the handicap software to be able to select the tee on each hole to get the rating and slope so we were locked in to a single tee for the round to post the score.

Just for fun (not that I find it that) with our regular group. Not a fan, but obviously a harder day of play. If I am playing another course, I want to play tees where I can hit GIR's and not be beat up.

These days if playing for fun I won't play tees with a course rating above 78 especially if the slope goes beyond 140. I also won't play unrated tees anymore. With USGA changes in how adjustments for unrated tees can be made it isn't worth the effort usually. Most of the time I end up playing something in the low 6000s rated between 75 - 76. Generally these tees will rate around 70 - 71 for you guys. I end up playing short in tournaments/play days unless playing with the youngsters. Given the variety of tees/distances I play, all aspects of my game get stressed. It certainly flushes out my weaknesses for further work.

For me I simply do not want to hit a bunch of wedges or a bunch of 3w-5w shots into the par 4's. Same for the par 3's.

dave

I like to have SOME amount of challenge and variety of shots to play.

Like for instance, the Sepulveda Balboa course here in LA - which I'll play every so often as a buddy lives nearby it and it's damn near impossible to get him to go anywhere else - there's only ONE par 4 I'll need more than a PW (and oooooooo that one might be an 8 iron) into if I'm driving the ball even just OK from the tips.

I just find that kinda boring ... and I kinda hate playing there.

This isn't to say I wanna have 4 iron into every green but a nice mix is far more fun. Rustic Canyon comes to mind that has a nice mix of drivable, short, medium and long par 4s. With a good drive, 9 is a reachable-in-two par 5 - not EASY for me, but I've been home in two with driver-3W a time or two with some help from the wind. Nice mix of par 3 lengths.

I general, around 6600-6800 is pretty serviceable for me but if the longer end's par 3s are all, like, 180-200+ ... I'll step down a tee.

I play what are the white tees here, sometimes blue if its a shorter track. But being that I only drive around 240 on average (sometimes better lol) the white tees usually put fairway bunkers ect right at that 230-250 range, which seems suited to my length as they are designed to grab up my drives. Playing from blue I could stay short of those hazards off the tee, but then I'm faced with long irons or a hybrid in, and having to do that on most par 4s is just too long. I'm shooting low 90s and looking to break into the 80s, so I don't think I need to make the course any harder on myself yet.

Problem is my main playing partner is now driving 280+ consistently, so if hes playing whites with me, its no contest. So I told him last round he needs to move back a tee hahaha

I try to play the tips as much as possible just because i feel that is the most challenging, and i want to challenge myself. I certainly don't begrudge anyone playing different tees for different reasons, enjoyment etc...I am in good shape and hit it far, and am a good golfer....so playing the tips seems to make sense.

At my home course the tips are 6600, and the blues are just shy of 6300. I play blues probably 95% of the time, but occasionally I move back to the tips just to test myself. Or if I join up with a certain group of guys at the club who always play tips, I'll just play tips with them.

The real determining factor is our par 3's. From the tips we have two par 3's that are over 200 yards. One of them is pretty flat, but it's 235 yards from the tips. The other is 218 yards, but it's an uphill 218, so it plays more like 230-235. The blues take those two holes down to 195 and 180 respectively.

So to answer the question, I try to base my decision on the length of the par 3's.

Depends on why I am playing that day. If it is just me walking I usually play the back tees at my local course or tees around 7k yards. I treat that as a practice or get better at golf round. I try to challenge myself. If I am with a group or a partner and we are out playing for fun or a new course or playing for score I will play whatever tees they want but usually the second to back (whites at most courses) or something around 6800 yards.

Like others have said about the par threes. I think just adding 20-50 yards on a par three is lazy architecture. I don't like seeing three let alone four par threes over 175. If you want to mix one neat really long one in there (200 yards-ish) that is fine but the balance should have an interesting "short" hole and some mid length holes. The archie has four tries at it with a par three, I expect four different looks and four different "asks" form my game.

I average about 275 total off the tee and can hang in there up to 7000 yards. I was on a mission to break par so I moved up from blue to white and finally did it after about 40 rounds. Before I would only throw in a few rounds right before a tournament which is always played from the whites(member vote). My course has enough wind (normally 15mph) and uphill shots that on a third of the holes I have to play defensive from the blues vs attack from the whites. It makes a huge difference and I'm usually over the 150 yard cutoff on approach shots.

Piling on with the others who like a distance that gives them variety.

My club is just under 6500 from the blue tees and assuming a decent day with the driver, typical wind conditions, etc. I'll hit everything from 4i to SW into the greens and can have a crack at at least one of our par 5s in two.

We also have a combo blue-black tee that I'll play sometimes which is 6700. It's more demanding but still playable for me.

If I move all the way back, just over 7000, I have to be really hitting it well.

If I'm playing on my own, I generally play the tips. If I'm playing with others, I usually just play from whichever tees the rest of the group are playing from provided they aren't senior/ladies/forward tees. I'm a relatively long hitter, but I often find that thinking my way around a sub-6000 yard setup can be more intellectually stimulating than playing the tips as there are a lot of risk/reward opportunities that arise which would not if I were playing from further back.

When I was 40 I swore that I'd never play anywhere except from the tips and always carry my bag.

That was back in the early 90's. Now I groan when I reach for the button inside my car to open the trunk for the bag guys to carry my bag to the cart.

And as far as the tips, well, I almost played from the senior tees the other day when a guy my age insisted we needed to play from there. I resisted and have yet to play the senior tees. But darn, one par five was so long into the wind I had to hit a 3-wood into the green for my third shot.

6,400 is long enough for me now.

I'm only 50 but very short off the tee. 200-210. I'm not getting stronger or more flexible. I am also getting tired of hitting 3w -Hybrid into every green. So I moved up a set. I enjoy hitting the entire bag this way. Which in itself is interesting. In NY where I grew up, men's tees we always hovering around 5900-6000 yds. Here in NC many Mens tees are 6400-6500.

I usually look to play tees that would put me around 6,200-6,500ish yards. Long enough that I can still have a mid to low iron into greens and par 3's that aren't all over 200+. Most of the guys I play with are all comfortable with that same distance and it's usually never an issue. If I am playing with guys I'm randomly paired with, I'll just play the set of tees they are playing from. Usually the whites at whatever course we are at.

My home course stretches out to just over 7,150 yards from the black tees, just over 6,660 yards from the blue tees and just over 6,350 yards from the white tees. Fairways are generally 25-35 yards wide. I generally play blue tees but occasionally will go back to the blacks. I'm in my mid 50s and can still hit the ball a decent distance. Being that Collindale Golf Club sits at 5,000 feet elevation there's about 10% more carry. There are a few holes from the blues I would like to see stretched and a couple from the blacks that is a bit more of what I am comfortable with. The course is fairly tight and tree lined and several holes are penal when the fairway is just missed. I don't mind par 3s that are 200-215 yards in length because that is still a 5 or 4 iron (remember, altitude). For me, #5 is the first hole that makes a difference. I have to use a 2 iron hybrid there. #6 is longer but it is tight and penal and regardless of playing blue or black tees I am laying up. Too much risk not enough reward. #9 leaves me with a 5 or 6 iron approach instead of an 8 iron. #13 becomes a layup hole every time from the black tees. #14 is a much easier hole for me from the black tees. #18 is also easier as it takes the water out of play for me so all I have to do is bust a drive. The approach is generally with a 6 iron from the black tees as opposed to an 8 or 9 iron from the blue tees.

I tend to go by length of less than 6200 yards. Never sure though because sometimes a 6500 seems shorter than the 6200 .

started this year playing the golds due to replacement hips on both sides now but not enjoying the courses as much. Guess I need a little challenge. Shot 81 and 82 the last two times but felt empty about it. This is at sea level.

If a set of tees requires you to hit driver on 100% of the non par 3 holes... Tee box is probably too long for you. I'd much rather make shots, go low and have fun than trying to push my distance to the absolute max.

A good rule of thumb that I have adopted is one's 5 iron distance × 36 = tee yardage. So for me 185 × 36 = 6660 yards. Which is close to my courses blues. Play the whites to work on my wedges and the Tips to explore the top of the bag.