What is your criteria for "playing the tips"?

[T_Golf_23]

On 6/1/2022 at 7:03 AM, klebs01 said:

Play whatever tees make you happy but play quickly. The mythology around the tips is dumb. Even mediocre golfers should play back from time to time just like good golfers playing forward. Get some different views and hit some different shots. 

We even play games where you rotate tees through out the round in a systematic way. Start at the tips and then rotate on tee up on each hole. Then another tIme we will start way up on the first hole and rotate this way. 
 

it gives you a completely different look at the course, but doesn’t necessarily make it easier. Some holes give you the opportunity to drive greens, but you have to cheat streams and big bunkers….. forcing decisions to be made on a home that is always an automatic driver hole from way back. 
 

some oat 3 that are 210 from the tips become 90 yards pitches….. an in between shot for some of us over water. 
 

it just makes you think about the course in a different way. 

[LTMcD]

I am not the player I once was. I am probably a 5-7 handi right now. In college when I was a 1-2, it didn't matter what course I played, I was playing the tips. Now days if I am playing by myself I might play the tips for the added difficulty but if I am playing with friends I play whatever they want. Most of the time I drive past the tips and remember the good ole days. 

[Mcgeeno]

I will say that although I wont get mad or say anything I always think it looks silly when one guy in a group of 4 is walking to the tips and hanging by himself while the other 3 play the middle tees.

 

I typically play whatever the group wants. I can hit it far enough to handle most tees and I'll have fun at whatever yardage either way but it always looks silly to me when there is a lone wolf alpha way at the back on some random Saturday round lol.

Edited June 5, 2022 by Mcgeeno

[golfortennis]

On 6/5/2022 at 5:18 PM, Mcgeeno said:

I will say that although I wont get mad or say anything I always think it looks silly when one guy in a group of 4 is walking to the tips and hanging by himself while the other 3 play the middle tees.

 

I typically play whatever the group wants. I can hit it far enough to handle most tees and I'll have fun at whatever yardage either way but it always looks silly to me when there is a lone wolf alpha way at the back on some random Saturday round lol.

 

So you play the forward tees when you are paired with three women?

[ALIF]

Dude, this is Golfwrx. There are no other set of tees besides the “tips”. 😂

[zachillusions]

Its really hard to narrow it down to one specific criteria qualifying you for playing the back tees. I think you should at least have a decent handicap and be able to hit the ball pretty well and far off the tee. If you constantly have a six iron or longer into the green from your tee shot, its time to move up a set of tees.

[Mcgeeno]

On 6/11/2022 at 12:19 PM, golfortennis said:

 

So you play the forward tees when you are paired with three women?

 

I've never played with 3 women before but I dont think I would really care which tees I played in that scenario.

[b.mattay]

I would consider playing tips if you can consistently break 3 over the course differential from those tees. Otherwise, move up. 

 

Note: the above is purely based on enjoyment of your game. However, if you shoot 120 and want to play the tips but play in less than 4 hours and have fun, knock yourself out.

 

Note 2: don't be confined to one set of tees if you play a course a lot. I have fun playing the whites or even the senior tees from time to time at my home club. It's fun to throw up some really low scores. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by b.mattay

[geauxt]

On 6/1/2022 at 8:33 AM, MtlJeff said:

I don't know that there is a right answer. Most of the A players at my course don't play the tips unless it's a tournament, but they are mostly older guys (55+) and don't hit it as far as they used to. So they enjoy 6300~ type courses.

 

I will typically play the tips at any course i play , though they typically max out around here at ~7000 yds which for me is fine. If you play the tips at courses like Le Diable (resort that plays 7050 as a par 71) , they look at you like you are an alien. Some courses they try to discourage you.

 

If you can play enjoyable golf and keep pace with the field--I guess play whichever tees you want. This is what slope and rating is for--it adjusts for this

This is something that has always confused me. I get that it is likely for timing reasons but why bother having the “tips” tee box if you don’t want anyone to play from it? 
 

[vandyfan]

30 minutes ago, geauxt said:

I get that it is likely for timing reasons but why bother having the “tips” tee box if you don’t want anyone to play from it? 

 

I would think if you host high level tournaments you would have an extreme tips tee box. Like the US Open tees at Pinehurst No. 2. Most people (not WRX'ers of course) will likely still get their teeth kicked in from 6700 yds at Pinehurst No. 2.

[golfortennis]

19 hours ago, Mcgeeno said:

 

I've never played with 3 women before but I dont think I would really care which tees I played in that scenario.

 

You aren't the first person to make a post saying "everyone should play the same tees", and I bring that up every time, because apparently which washroom everyone uses is more important in choosing tees than how far a player hits the ball.  

 

My group today had one guy playing a red white combo, another guy playing white tees, another guy playing blue/white combo, and I was playing blues.  Other than maybe I could have played golds, but I'm still working on something before I go back there, everyone played the appropriate tees.  But we should have all played the same tees, cause....guys?

 

 

[Mcgeeno]

4 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

You aren't the first person to make a post saying "everyone should play the same tees", and I bring that up every time, because apparently which washroom everyone uses is more important in choosing tees than how far a player hits the ball.  

 

My group today had one guy playing a red white combo, another guy playing white tees, another guy playing blue/white combo, and I was playing blues.  Other than maybe I could have played golds, but I'm still working on something before I go back there, everyone played the appropriate tees.  But we should have all played the same tees, cause....guys?

 

 

 

Haha I could not care less what your gender is or how good you think you are at golf. I think it looks silly seeing 4 players playing different sets of tees all standing alone trying to coordinate when to hit or who should move out of the way etc.

 

You do you though, like I said in my original post it makes no difference to me. I just hope you keep pace playing 4 different sets of tees lol.

[golfortennis]

6 hours ago, Mcgeeno said:

 

Haha I could not care less what your gender is or how good you think you are at golf. I think it looks silly seeing 4 players playing different sets of tees all standing alone trying to coordinate when to hit or who should move out of the way etc.

 

You do you though, like I said in my original post it makes no difference to me. I just hope you keep pace playing 4 different sets of tees lol.

 

We were 3:40 and were held up by a threesome in front of the group in front of us, so, I guess we did ok.

 

Coordinate when to hit?  It's simple, furthest tee back hits first.  It doesn't take any longer.

[Rosco1216]

At my home course, I will play all the tees if a money game, quota or tournament calls for it, but i play the tips otherwise. My course tips at only 6700 though so its still short. 
 

If i’m traveling and paying good money to play anywhere I am absolutely playing the tips. I want my moneys worth of difficulty. 

[vandyfan]

10 hours ago, Mcgeeno said:

Haha I could not care less what your gender is or how good you think you are at golf. I think it looks silly seeing 4 players playing different sets of tees all standing alone trying to coordinate when to hit or who should move out of the way etc.

 

You do you though, like I said in my original post it makes no difference to me. I just hope you keep pace playing 4 different sets of tees lol.

 

I have done it with relative ease but depends on course set up. In many cases the tees that are forward may be to the right or left and or behind a tree so the player can walk up to that tee and be ready off to the side when it is their turn. I think it is a waste of time/money/enjoyment to play a set of tees that you are not qualified or prepared for because you think it looks "silly" but that is just me. 

 

It is almost like you are working out with someone who is stronger than you and puts 275 pounds on the bench press and rather than inconvenience them and change the plates you just try to bench 275 along with them because you don't want to look silly. 

[Krt22]

18 hours ago, geauxt said:

This is something that has always confused me. I get that it is likely for timing reasons but why bother having the “tips” tee box if you don’t want anyone to play from it? 
 

They should really call those "tournament tees", ie the course was designed with high level tournaments in mind, but 99.5% of the population won't play from there. My club is 7500 yards from the black tees, only a handful of guys (ie pros, aspiring pros, etc) will play from back there,  From my experience, older/shorter courses simply don't have black tees at all which sort of differentiates longer modern courses from older setups.

 

17 hours ago, vandyfan said:

 

I would think if you host high level tournaments you would have an extreme tips tee box. Like the US Open tees at Pinehurst No. 2. Most people (not WRX'ers of course) will likely still get their teeth kicked in from 6700 yds at Pinehurst No. 2.

Pinehurst doesn't even put out the tee markers for the US open tees. You can play them if you ask the starter, but they basically don't even want your average golfer to even attempt it for pace of play reasons. 

[Mcgeeno]

1 hour ago, vandyfan said:

 

I have done it with relative ease but depends on course set up. In many cases the tees that are forward may be to the right or left and or behind a tree so the player can walk up to that tee and be ready off to the side when it is their turn. I think it is a waste of time/money/enjoyment to play a set of tees that you are not qualified or prepared for because you think it looks "silly" but that is just me. 

 

It is almost like you are working out with someone who is stronger than you and puts 275 pounds on the bench press and rather than inconvenience them and change the plates you just try to bench 275 along with them because you don't want to look silly. 

 

You make a fair point. I tried to look at this a little differently after I posted. As a near scratch I can play the majority of tee boxes at most courses and have a good time so my perspective is probably skewed a little bit. I just dont care which tees the group picks as long as the pace is up and we are having a good time.

 

If our group wants to play the forward senior tees I'll join them and hit irons off the tee. If I get paired up on the road with a stellar player I'll go to the tips and join him for a good challenge.

 

Makes no difference to me. 

[golfortennis]

3 hours ago, Mcgeeno said:

 

You make a fair point. I tried to look at this a little differently after I posted. As a near scratch I can play the majority of tee boxes at most courses and have a good time so my perspective is probably skewed a little bit. I just dont care which tees the group picks as long as the pace is up and we are having a good time.

 

If our group wants to play the forward senior tees I'll join them and hit irons off the tee. If I get paired up on the road with a stellar player I'll go to the tips and join him for a good challenge.

 

Makes no difference to me. 

 

To turn his analogy around, the "everyone should play the same tees" mentality basically is like saying the guy who benches 275 shouldn't bench that because the guy he is working out with can't, it's better to just lift what the other guy can lift.

 

Golf is an individual sport, so unless it's a money game, or a tournament(where the tees are decided), I'm playing where I want to play, and others should as well.

 

Maybe my attitude is partially born from the fact not many of my friends played golf when I was a bit younger.  People would ask me who I am playing with, and look at me cross-eyed when I said myself.  It was go on my own or don't play golf, so you better believe I'm not letting anyone else dictate where I play.  If I want to work on things, I will play a different tee, but either way, where the others are playing will have zero impact on which ones I play from.

 

I may have posted the story already in this thread, but a friend of mine discovered golf can be quite fun when you play from the tips.  He hit it as far as I did, but no one he played with ever played from there, so he never considered it an option.  But for his game, the course played the way the architect intended from those tees.

 

We do agree, though:  don't be slow.    

[vandyfan]

1 hour ago, golfortennis said:

Maybe my attitude is partially born from the fact not many of my friends played golf when I was a bit younger.

 

And I have the same situation but the inverse outcome. My buddy does not play golf very often but when he does he wants to play from the tips. He is probably a 25 HDCP but hits it probably 10 yds farther than me (in almost every direction, haha). He isn't slow so it doesn't really matter. I play off about a 4-5 so we can't really play against each other anyway so I actually end up playing 1-2 tee boxes in front of him. It's where we both enjoy the game. He knows I think he would be better off playing from closer tees and I know he thinks I am a coward for playing from 6,100 yds. We both are steadfast in our approach so we don't talk about it. He has fun playing tipped out and I have fun playing from 6,000 - 6,200 yds. 

[golfortennis]

1 hour ago, vandyfan said:

 

And I have the same situation but the inverse outcome. My buddy does not play golf very often but when he does he wants to play from the tips. He is probably a 25 HDCP but hits it probably 10 yds farther than me (in almost every direction, haha). He isn't slow so it doesn't really matter. I play off about a 4-5 so we can't really play against each other anyway so I actually end up playing 1-2 tee boxes in front of him. It's where we both enjoy the game. He knows I think he would be better off playing from closer tees and I know he thinks I am a coward for playing from 6,100 yds. We both are steadfast in our approach so we don't talk about it. He has fun playing tipped out and I have fun playing from 6,000 - 6,200 yds. 

 

And that is ultimately what matters.  But it's funny how "you shouldn't be playing those tees" seems to run in only one direction.    

[Mcgeeno]

I do think the "tips" should be called the professional or championship tees at a bunch of courses though lol.

 

The amount of 11 cap and above type of big ego dudes trying their hardest to carry 250 over a hazard and hit it just right is astounding to me over the years. Just move up bud. That box aint for you. 

[vandyfan]

15 hours ago, golfortennis said:

And that is ultimately what matters.  But it's funny how "you shouldn't be playing those tees" seems to run in only one direction.

 

In truth, it is ego for me. If I step back and look at it, I don't enjoy hitting long irons into most par 4s. I miss a lot of greens, feel bad about my game, feel like I must chase more distance which has ALWAYS had negative effects on my body and my game. Playing from shorter, I make less bogies, hit more fairways, and hit most greens. I don't go around telling people what I shot or have an artificial sense that shooting 73 from 6,100 yds is the same as shooting that from the tips (I understand rating/slope/differential all that). But, frankly, I don't like shooting over 80. As long as I play short, I don't ever have to see myself get exposed from waaaay back and it makes the game more enjoyable to me. I won't ever "test" myself (I mean golf is still very hard from any distance) or be a competitive golfer but that's not something I care about currently. I still stand by the math exercises (calculating relative distance vs PGA tour distances and course set up, etc.) I did but I did them to serve my own purposes.

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to Google Earth Pro and plan out my round this weekend where I am playing a par 70 from 5,750 yds. Yes, I have a problem. 

Edited June 15, 2022 by vandyfan

[Lefty_3Jack]

I'm a 5.0 right now and go between 3-5.5 with 260yd carry off the tee and do not touch them.  Ours is around 7200yds on the longer course and I'll only play them by myself when practicing in the summer.  If you hit your tee ball 280+ and are a 2 HC or under you can swing it, but it's just too long to be going driver/mid or long iron on some par 4's for a mid-single digit to be playing.  A guy at our club is late 50's and hits it right at same distance as me and plays them, but he's a + handicap who can hit greens with 4i's and has a rock-solid short game.    

[BombinJim]

On 6/13/2022 at 5:32 PM, vandyfan said:

 

I would think if you host high level tournaments you would have an extreme tips tee box. Like the US Open tees at Pinehurst No. 2. Most people (not WRX'ers of course) will likely still get their teeth kicked in from 6700 yds at Pinehurst No. 2.

Yes I agree #2 from the blues is a beast. But I’ve shot equally as bad from the whites there. US Open tees there are outrageous for amateurs.

[golfortennis]

5 hours ago, Lefty_3Jack said:

I'm a 5.0 right now and go between 3-5.5 with 260yd carry off the tee and do not touch them.  Ours is around 7200yds on the longer course and I'll only play them by myself when practicing in the summer.  If you hit your tee ball 280+ and are a 2 HC or under you can swing it, but it's just too long to be going driver/mid or long iron on some par 4's for a mid-single digit to be playing.  A guy at our club is late 50's and hits it right at same distance as me and plays them, but he's a + handicap who can hit greens with 4i's and has a rock-solid short game.    

 

I got on to a course in Florida once.  The "tips" are 7,500 yards.  I did not even contemplate playing those.  You do have to know your limitations.  And that is the other thing.  At my home club, the tips are just over 6,900 yards.  A lot of courses I'll play the one-ups, because the tips are just too long for me(I study closely the makeup if they get to 7,100 and longer).  

 

"mid/long iron on some par 4s".  Aren't you supposed to be hitting every club in the bag?  I suppose if you want to have nothing more than a 7i in everywhere, have at it, but really, you should have 4 and 5i into a couple of 4s if the course is designed well.  No?

[mryank]

Doesn't matter, as long as pace of play is reasonable.

[vandyfan]

Just saw that the DP World Tour is playing in Denmark this week and the course is 6,600 yds long / Par 71. That to me is closer to LPGA course lengths than standard men's tour lengths? Seems awfully short by tour terms but that gives me more confidence that if a top tour in the world is playing 6600 yds then I, as a mid single digit, should be fine playing from 6,000 yds or so. 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

18 hours ago, vandyfan said:

Just saw that the DP World Tour is playing in Denmark this week and the course is 6,600 yds long / Par 71. That to me is closer to LPGA course lengths than standard men's tour lengths? Seems awfully short by tour terms but that gives me more confidence that if a top tour in the world is playing 6600 yds then I, as a mid single digit, should be fine playing from 6,000 yds or so. 

 

 

I'd see myself as whatever 1 set of tees up from this is, to be comfortable. 

 

The main reason is that there are 6 par 4s all over 400 yards, including 4 in the 434/461 range. All of those 4 are theoretically reachable for me in 2, but I'd say I've got no more than a 1 in 10 chance of GIR at that length. The 461 specifically would take a drive at the very upper end of my distance capability followed by an accurate 4h or 5i just to have any prayer of GIR. To me 461 plays as a short par 5, especially if there are hazards/features that must be avoided. 

 

The 203 par 3 is also on the upper edge of my comfort zone, but that's reachable with 4h and the other par 3s are all mixed and reasonable distances, so I could live with it. If the par 3s were 203/195/190/168, then that would push me up a set of tees by itself as well. 

[jonsnow]

On 6/15/2022 at 4:21 PM, golfortennis said:

 

I got on to a course in Florida once.  The "tips" are 7,500 yards.  I did not even contemplate playing those.  You do have to know your limitations.  And that is the other thing.  At my home club, the tips are just over 6,900 yards.  A lot of courses I'll play the one-ups, because the tips are just too long for me(I study closely the makeup if they get to 7,100 and longer).  

 

"mid/long iron on some par 4s".  Aren't you supposed to be hitting every club in the bag?  I suppose if you want to have nothing more than a 7i in everywhere, have at it, but really, you should have 4 and 5i into a couple of 4s if the course is designed well.  No?

 

[dvq9654]

For me, it generally comes down to the nature of the course and how it presents its length because length can mean very different things. 

 

For instance, some of the local munis are ~7000 yards from the tips, but I'll play the tips because the courses are generally right in front of you and don't require anything heroic on the longer holes. This also adds some challenge to what could be a mundane round from ~6500 yards.  

 

Alternatively, Rustic Canyon, another course I play often, also tips out around 7000 yards, but has a few holes where the tips ask a lot more than the blues do (~6650 yards). While I could play the tips, I don't really see the point, as I'm not that good and don't hit the ball that long. If I drove it 300+ every time, it might be a different conversation, but since I drive it ~270-290 yards most days the tips are too much for me.   

 

As a general rule, I'll try to play from 6,600-6,800 when I first see a course. If I play it and something warrants moving up or back, that's fine, but I'm not trying to bite off more than I can chew straight away.