Is there a good chart or formula out there for choosing the right tees?

Sawgrass · July 16, 2009

Most of the time i will play white tees, unless im playing say a shorter par 3 where there is about 10yd difference and i would rather miss the green short then go over into the hazard i might play the blue just incase i get a nice solid hit and misjudge my distance i wont end up in the trees/OB

Which brings up a question. If you tee off hole #1 on the white, is there a rule saying you have to play white tees the rest of your round?

I'm afraid there is a rule saying you have to play from your selected tee for the entire round. See Rule 11.4 and 11.5.

On a seperate note, I've had a life long goal of breaking 80, and have not done so yet (although I've now shot 80 twice, including this Sunday). So I'll be damned if I'm going to go back to the blues and make things even a little bit harder. What I find confounding though is that at my muni course many guys way worse than my 15 handicap play from the blues. It gets pretty awkward watching them spray it all over from the blues hole after hole and then stepping up to the whites myself and hitting it further than they do, notwithstanding the tee distance advantage, and frequently landing in the fairway. Last week one guy I was matched with, who was on his way to shooting 110 from the blues, said to me, "Hey, you're pretty good. You're good enough to play with us from the blues. Why don't you give it a try?" I considered (and thoughtfully rejected) saying, "You're pretty bad, why don't you play with me from the whites instead?"

armchaircaddy · July 16, 2009

I play to 14.8 index and I like to play the tips! I don't play slow, I don't spray my tee shots. Really, it's just short game and putting (avg 36.8 putts/round, putt/GIR 2.25 yeeech!) that hold me back. Here in Vegas, I can poke a driver 280+ and hit a 5i 200+, something about the thin hot July air I guess. At my home course, I'm just as likely to shoot a good score from the blues which are a 127 slope at 6700 yards or a 137 slope at 7200 yards on the tips.

Shooting from the tips gives me 4pt lower score differential on my hcp card - hence it means (sort of) I'm playing better golf! I can move up to the whites and still shoot a 92 or 82 just the same as the blue or tips. I find the course more enjoyable from the back tees, there are more pressure tee shots and forced carries that add some excitement. The whites turn into driver/wedge all day and the par threes end up being 7i or less. The blues are a fair challenge, but my score doesn't vary that much between blue and black.

The fact is, you should choose a set of tees based on your specific set of abilities. As long as you keep up the pace of play, there is no argument to be had.

dlygrisse · July 16, 2009

Take the slope of the longest hole, subtract your index. Play the tee slope close to that number. (Per Frank Thomas).
How do you determine the slope of the longest hole?

I think he meant longest tees. So if the longest yardage tees are the blacks at 7018 yards with a slope of 137 and my index is a 25, then I should play from the tees with a slope of 112 (137-25=112) which would be the whites tees (5814 yd, slope of 118).

Personally, I think the best method is to see how close you are to the green after your GIR shot (i.e. 1st shot on a par 3, 2nd stroke on a par 4, third stroke on a par 5). If you are not consistently within chipping distance or on the green, then you should probably move to a shorter set of tees.

Ah....now that makes more sense

bigred90gt · July 17, 2009

I am of the "play what tees you want, as long as you keep pace" crowd.

For me personally, I will play one tee forward of the tips until I get to a single digit index (10.8 as of today's revision). I do occasionally play the tips from some courses. It is usually courses that I play very frequently, and I only play the tips to change it up a bit.

larrybud · July 17, 2009

just my opinion... but if you can't break 80 from the whites or forward tees... that is where you should stay. same with the blues stay there untill you can break 80 and then move on to the tips..... i don't care if your hitting wedges into all the greens break 80 first... the game of golf is not about distance or ego.... but its seems that is the way it is....

So if a guy can hit a 280 yard drive on a 350 yard hole, but 3 jacks half of everything and shoots 83, what difference is it if he moves back 30 yards and has 100 yards into the same hole instead of 70?

deepballer · July 17, 2009

>>He wants to put something in the pro shop saying what tees to play based off handicap, or driving distance, etc<<

Yeah, put a sign up saying to play a certain set of tees based on your driving distances and you're going to have everyone playing the tips.

Tee selection is not a difficult task by any means and it has to be determined by the players who pay their money to play from where they wish.

Obviously the skill sets within just one group can vary quite abit so it can become a personal choice for who's going to play from where.

Some people within that group can play back and others forward, still easy decision to make.

I have a friend who refuses to play the tips on a local course with a slope rating of 115 and 6200yards for a par 72. He prefers to play from the tees which only add up to 5800yards and although my driving distance is way more than i need to even play all the way back I play from the whites where my friends are more comfortable.

Personally i prefer to play as far back as I can with a group, it gives me a HUGE advantage. My scores stay the same and theirs gets alot higher.

As far as slow play, I don't think playing the wrong sets of tees is necessarily the reason this is. Everyone has the ability to hit 120+ shots on an 8000yard par 72 in less than 3hrs. It's the green reading, marking every putt, the provisionals, mulliigans, 7 practice swings on every shot, chasing the beer girl down on every third hole and incessively refusing to let a lost ball go!

Guys are quick to assume woman on the course will play slow and roll their eyes when being grouped behind a group of ladies. But woman hit, hit, hit, hit, putt, putt, pick up and walk to the next hole. And if they are slow, they let you play through!

joekloo · July 21, 2009

http://www.hawkhollow.com/golf/eagle_scorecard.pdf

I saw this at a local club - it actually has tee recommendations based on handicap, great idea.

Joe

psd · July 21, 2009

>>He wants to put something in the pro shop saying what tees to play based off handicap, or driving distance, etc<<

Yeah, put a sign up saying to play a certain set of tees based on your driving distances and you're going to have everyone playing the tips.
Tee selection is not a difficult task by any means and it has to be determined by the players who pay their money to play from where they wish.
Obviously the skill sets within just one group can vary quite abit so it can become a personal choice for who's going to play from where.
Some people within that group can play back and others forward, still easy decision to make.
I have a friend who refuses to play the tips on a local course with a slope rating of 115 and 6200yards for a par 72. He prefers to play from the tees which only add up to 5800yards and although my driving distance is way more than i need to even play all the way back I play from the whites where my friends are more comfortable.
Personally i prefer to play as far back as I can with a group, it gives me a HUGE advantage. My scores stay the same and theirs gets alot higher.
As far as slow play, I don't think playing the wrong sets of tees is necessarily the reason this is. Everyone has the ability to hit 120+ shots on an 8000yard par 72 in less than 3hrs. It's the green reading, marking every putt, the provisionals, mulliigans, 7 practice swings on every shot, chasing the beer girl down on every third hole and incessively refusing to let a lost ball go!
Guys are quick to assume woman on the course will play slow and roll their eyes when being grouped behind a group of ladies. But woman hit, hit, hit, hit, putt, putt, pick up and walk to the next hole. And if they are slow, they let you play through!

No offense, but the part I put in bold above is as much a problem as someone's ego. This entitlement attitude is out of hand. It's selfish and inconsiderate to play from a set of tees that you don't belong on in order to get your money's worth. I would like to see a policy where if you do this, and get 2 warnings for being out of position, you leave the course with no refund with the 3rd incident. Slow play followed by no play.

Speedly · July 22, 2009

I must agree with psd.

There are people that have high handicaps that can play from the tips and not hold anyone up, but the exception does not make the rule. It's kind of like how there are some people that think just because they pay for something (restaurants and the like come to mind) gives them license to be rude to others and act like they own the place. Despite what they might think, the other people are paying customers too, and you are -no more special than they are,- so they should not have to have a less enjoyable experience just because some other jerk thinks they're the only one in the place.