No Choice In Tees?

[EmperorPenguin]

I heard that when playing in many of the most prestigious UK courses, there is no choice in tees to play. There are members' tees and visitors' tees, and often the visitors' tees are only about 6000 yards. As visitors we have no other option. True?

[brooky333]

At our Home course there are 3 tees out Red (ladies) Yellow Mens and White Competition tees all available at any time ( about 4 years ago the white tees became available at any time)

Beeston Fields (Nottingham)

brooky333

[scott_Donald]

Can play any tees at my club(Royal Aberdeen) - green old mens! red ladies, yellow mens, white medal and if the blues are out you can play them.

 

At Gleneagles they ask your handicap and suggest you play off a certain tee, thinks that as controlling they get.

 

[jonnymc44]

Varies where you go. I asked to play off the whites at The Old Course and they happily obliged- asked my handicap though first. At my course we have:

* Green - Par 3 course (tees in the middle of fairways)

* Red - Female members + female visitors

* Yellow - Junior members + male visitors

* Blue - Members + harder male visitors course

* White - Competition - no visitors

[Mignuz]

I think it depends on the handicap you have.

For example, at the OC or Gleneagles we could choose white or yellow, at Carnoustie I don't remember but there were obliged tees that anyway didn't change a lot from white/yellow.

I remember that at Leven we wanted to tee from the white but they obliged us to tee from the yellow.

Our handicaps were from +1 to 5.

[EmperorPenguin]

That's interesting. Here in America, usually the white tees are the middle tees and the blue tees are the back tees.

For those of you with club memberships, please list the course distance from the visitors' tees.

My concern is that if a links course is measured at 6000 yards, it must play very short because won't the ball roll a hundred yards on the drive?

[jonnymc44]

> @EmperorPenguin said:

> That's interesting. Here in America, usually the white tees are the middle tees and the blue tees are the back tees.

> For those of you with club memberships, please list the course distance from the visitors' tees.

> My concern is that if a links course is measured at 6000 yards, it must play very short because won't the ball roll a hundred yards on the drive?

 

It can be short if you hit the fairway, avoid the rough and pot bunkers, assuming your bounce is forwards and not sideways and not blowing a gale.

My course card is below for https://www.boltonoldlinks.com/ The scorecard also doesn't tell you how hilly the course is. Every hole is pretty much up or down! The blue tees are about 200yds shorter than the white tees, but it's not officially marked out as they are not used for competition or handicap purposes. Yellow tees are also used for obtaining a handicap at our course.

 

[jvincent]

Don't get hung up on the yardage, especially if it's windy.

[scott_Donald]

> @EmperorPenguin said:

> That's interesting. Here in America, usually the white tees are the middle tees and the blue tees are the back tees.

> For those of you with club memberships, please list the course distance from the visitors' tees.

> My concern is that if a links course is measured at 6000 yards, it must play very short because won't the ball roll a hundred yards on the drive?

 

think mine is 6700 ish from the whites which you could play off. wind makes the difference on links, look at the British masters today, scouring is amazing with out wind.

I remember when Mcilroy played the Scottish Open at my course he went round in 64 day 1 with no wind, then day 2 with wind he shot 78.

https://www.golfchannel.com/tours/european-tour/2014/aberdeen-asset-management-scottish-open

I said to my dad last Wednesday where I went round in 1 over for my best round of the year, saying wow the course feels short compared to what I am used to in Houston. That Saturday there was a 35-40mph wind from the north and the front nine was stupid long and hard! Just in from playing and it was a 20mph Northerly and I struggled into the wind today and played my worst round of the year. Was chatting to 3 guys who are members from Montreal, they were saying how tough the wind was today compared to what they are used to.

 

[El Gringo]

> @jvincent said:

> Don't get hung up on the yardage, especially if it's windy.

 

+1

Most visitors (members as well) have no business playing medal tees of the big guns. Although, many clubs have relaxed the traditional tee rules. In any case, I have taken to playing whatever tee makes sense on any given hole on the day. It isn't much fun playing when you know four par 4s on a nine aren't reachable in two. This has been happening a bunch with the odd winds this winter/spring. Throw in the cold temps and 3-4 club weather difference isn't unusual.

FYI, my club's daily tees are just under 6500 yards. The course plays long much more often than it does short.

Ciao

 

[duffer987]

OP if you are not happy with the available tees on the day, you can just skip playing and go to the cinema or top up your sim card or something.

Multiple times I've had proshops/caddie masters/starters actually tell me I can play further back than I was planning when playing in the UK. TBF never had anyone, anywhere tisk-tisk where I was putting my tee in the ground on the first hole, except TPC Scottsdale.

[Hawkeye77]

If you really think you are overpowering the courses tee off with your 7 iron.

 

Looks like this has come up for another emperor. Apparently take any tee in the aisle and go.

 

[James the Hogan Fan]

I played the tips at Royal St. George’s without problem (and had no business being back there) and no one seemed to mind (then again no one minded my existence while I was on club property so who knows. They also did not verify my handicap.

[duffer987]

> @"James the Hogan Fan" said:

> I played the tips at Royal St. George’s without problem (and had no business being back there) and no one seemed to mind (then again no one minded my existence while I was on club property so who knows. They also did not verify my handicap.

 

Yikes! 7200yds for a par 70 is quite the test. Did you enjoy it from there? Maybe you're a 280+ driver so less an issue - and as long as you maintain PoP who really cares - but otherwise I'd reckon some of those holes would be unreachable in reg.

[James the Hogan Fan]

> @duffer987 said:

> > @"James the Hogan Fan" said:

> > I played the tips at Royal St. George’s without problem (and had no business being back there) and no one seemed to mind (then again no one minded my existence while I was on club property so who knows. They also did not verify my handicap.

>

> Yikes! 7200yds for a par 70 is quite the test. Did you enjoy it from there? Maybe you're a 280+ driver so less an issue - and as long as you maintain PoP who really cares - but otherwise I'd reckon some of those holes would be unreachable in reg.

 

I’m a 250 guy. I wanted to see just how hard the pros have it and managed to shoot 88 from back there. The only holes that were truly unreachable were 4 and 15. I almost got to 4 anyway and 15 I just played as a par 5. I was lucky enough that both of the 250yd par 3’s were playing ‘up’ at 220-230. Royal St. Georges gives you a ton of roll and feels like its made up of lots of long holes (400 yard par 4’s), but nothing insane long and nothing short either.

 

As far as PoP I was the only golfer on the course that I saw that day. I could (and did) take my time savoring the course. And I parred 14, which is better than Dustin Johnson can say!

 

[North Butte]

> @"James the Hogan Fan" said:

> > @duffer987 said:

> > > @"James the Hogan Fan" said:

> > > I played the tips at Royal St. George’s without problem (and had no business being back there) and no one seemed to mind (then again no one minded my existence while I was on club property so who knows. They also did not verify my handicap.

> >

> > Yikes! 7200yds for a par 70 is quite the test. Did you enjoy it from there? Maybe you're a 280+ driver so less an issue - and as long as you maintain PoP who really cares - but otherwise I'd reckon some of those holes would be unreachable in reg.

>

> I’m a 250 guy. I wanted to see just how hard the pros have it and managed to shoot 88 from back there. The only holes that were truly unreachable were 4 and 15. I almost got to 4 anyway and 15 I just played as a par 5. I was lucky enough that both of the 250yd par 3’s were playing ‘up’ at 220-230. Royal St. Georges gives you a ton of roll and feels like its made up of lots of long holes (400 yard par 4’s), but nothing insane long and nothing short either.

>

> As far as PoP I was the only golfer on the course that I saw that day. I could (and did) take my time savoring the course. And I parred 14, which is better than Dustin Johnson can say!

>

 

For one of my rounds at Sandwich I was playing solo and they sent me off the 10th hole, first person off in the early morning. The scale of the property there and the quality and variety of the holes are always awesome. But playing all alone like that (for most of the round I literally could not see another person) was one of the most memorable golf experiences of my life. My goodness I love that course. I believe it's the finest of the Open rota courses, not sure any others are even close.

 

P.S. I've been fortunate enough to play one round at Cypress Point which is an other-worldly experience. But if offered a chance to play either Cypress or Royal St. Georges tomorrow it would be an extremely tough call.