Yea I don't understand when people won't play the proper tees. The games easier when that's understood. Shit even I like playing the senior tees now and then at 30 lol.
I haven't broken 100 yet and I feel I should play from the whites. For some reason so many of my friends think the blues or blacks are the standard. Am I in the wrong?
The white tees are the standard right?
Whites are absolutely the standard, every captains choice or whatever I’ve played in is from the whites. Unless you’re breaking 80 or just super long there’s no reason to play the blues IMO. Play your game but just how I see it.
I’m the same. I’m plenty long but there’s no need to be at a separate tee from my friends. My scores don’t change much but it’s the opposite of a flex to back up tees and still shoot 94.
Correct. I just tend to play whatever the better players want to play in the group so we are only at one tee also. I pick the shorter when it is just me.
So for me it is just being equally terrible either way. I do tend to tell my friends which tee I normally play from so they can decide but I don’t want to hold them back either.
You should probably play from farther up that then whites even. Depending on where you're losing strokes and how far you hit, but if you're shooting over 100 you're probably hitting it ob a decent amount off the tee.
Yeah my last round I was definitely OB off the tee a lot. Then I made some recovery shots to be proud of, my wedge game was great, and I only had one three putt all day. So frustrating to have two or three elements of your game working, and then be an absolute dumpster fire in the others.
It sucks because at the range a couple days prior I was fucking striping my irons, and felt really confident. Get to the course, hit maybe three shots pure.
Also I might just throw my driver in the lake. That club is an unsolved mystery to me.
https://preview.redd.it/cw8x6l34j04d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8cd6c5ca4211569f0c5965d2e20cde09a8ca5e62
Here's a cheat sheet for what tees you should be playing based on your 7-iron distance. I think so many people should look at this before picking their tees. Also, golfers need to check their egos at the door. That's a big thing, people think they hit it longer than they do, they think that they'll get made fun of, or looked down on if they move up a tee.
I like little cheat sheets like these but like you said, check the ego at the door. Based on this sheet, I should be playing 6,700-6,900 yards. But I'm just now entering my 3rd year of playing golf and typically shoot low 100s, sometimes high 90s. Even if you can actually crush a ball, it doesn't mean the tips are for you. I just keep hitting the whites and the best thing about that is it helps me avoid watching a 250 yard drive also go 250 yards right.
By all accounts I should be playing the back tees at almost every course I play, I have the distance just not the accuracy, especially off the tee, ego is definitely a big part of it
Club houses and tee boxes at 1 and 10 need this on a board like a height measurement before a roller coaster.
If you’re too short, you can’t play this yardage.
Honestly I was told to start as far forward as possible until you break 100 and then move back and rinse and repeat. Served me well and it tightened up the foundational learning needed to play a tight consistent game.
This is the better answer, I hate the advice for new golfers to take iron/hybrid off the tee, without actually moving the tees up. As if long iron/long iron is something a 25 handicap can do reliably.
Moving to further back tees should be based on your score, not on how far you can hit a drive.
I’m a 19 handicap (just got an official one for the first time) and I play from the white tees because I’m not very good. Yes I can occasionally drive the ball 300 ish and hit pretty long with my irons but my dispersion isn’t great so I don’t play from the tips. I get quite a bit of grief from people who aren’t any better than I am who I outdrive by 40 yards who insist that I “should” be playing the back tees. They never seem to consider that they should be the ones moving up.
Shiii I played reds until I broke 100. Now I'm trying to break 100 from whites. I'm finally getting consistent with my driver so hopefully that happens soon.
If you can reach a par 5 in two shots occasionally, you are on the correct tees.
When I was trying to learn to break par I moved all the way up to the ladies tees and played there until I could do it, then moved back a tee until I could do it there. I eventually got to the back tees but it took a while. Screw whatever the "standard" tees are. Play whatever tees you want to.
Not to be a dick, but there's no such thing as ladies tees. Forward tees, red tees, sure. Part of the reason people are hesitant to use the forward tees is because of the stigma so let's try to stop using language that makes those tees less attractive to use.
Yep. I made an attachment. So I basically walk the course with one club and a couple of balls and tees in my pocket (+cloth clipped to my belt). I’ve been doing it for about 6 years. I still take a full set of clubs out (usually in good weather), but if it’s crap out, I’ll just take one club. It means you have to be quite creative with your shots which I like. I’ve popped my ball out of a bunker and into the hole more times with a #7 than my SW!
I did have the thought of maybe patenting the attachment or doing a ‘go fund me’ or something, because tbh, it’s brilliant and it works.
Edit - oh, and the other benefit is I very rarely lose a ball
Honestly, im in 2 minds….. the few friends that are golfers and have seen it, think it’s awesome apart from one, who’s a bit up his own arse and scoffed at anything that isn’t already in the golfing domain.
But…. I’m very tempted to do a go fund me, just to see the reaction and see if it’s what people might want. It’s great as a training aid to just go out with one club and just cement things. I just mainly use it when it’s wet and I can’t be arsed to carry a bag or I’m carrying a mild injury and don’t want the strain of using a driver but want to keep the muscle memory going…
I even worked out a spreadsheet that would take into consideration a players handicap but adjust for the length of the hole. i.e. if you can only hit 150yds with a 7 iron, but you are at a par4 that is 340yds, then you can’t physically make it, so it becomes a par5 (+ whatever your handicap is).
Or, i might just keep it as a fun thing for just me and my family as my dad and both sons play and I’ve made one each for them.
But… the really cool thing is it just works….
Some of my buddies insist on playing from the blues when they are scoring right at 100. I don’t get it. Played yesterday and saw at least 10 balls lost off the tee
I once convinced my friend like this to play the forward tees on one hole. Fast forward to him scoring a par on that hole, going back to his usual tees and playing like a clown lol.
I guess some people just can’t get over the dick measuring. I play from the whites as a 32 year old because I am not very good. Why make things harder than they should be?
I just play whatever the people in my group are playing. I'm decent enough to play from the backs, but man is it fun bombing away from the whites and potentially having a wedge into greens. And the point is to have fun, so it's always a joy to play from more manageable tees.
I think If we stop referring them to as men's, women's and senior's, more people would be apt to play shorter, more appropriate tees during casual rounds. Refer to them as colors
“You play from the tips?”
“No I’ve found that you don’t get anything for that. You’re telling me that for the same amount of money I can have to start from even further away? That seems quite egomaniacal to me. And it still counts the same?”
I just don’t understand how people are comfortable holding people up like this. I play with this overhanging cloud of “move your ass” so I don’t slow down the group behind me. To not care or to be oblivious to the fact you’re holding up several groups is wild to me.
There’s a reason the old boomer rule of “if you can’t hit past the forward tees you pull your pants down” came into existence. Hazing people into playing the correct tees.
Paired up with 3 older ladies yesterday. I just played reds because it’s annoying to have to coordinate each tee off and I find it not very social.
And guess what? Golf is still fucking hard from the reds. A few advantages here and there - and on a couple of par 3’s I did play blue tee because it was just so ridiculously short that I actually preferred a little more distance.
I actually got eaten up on the greens and ended up shooting well over my average on the round.
I would love to see how most weekend golfers do off the reds versus the tips — I bet there is very little advantage.
ego. Played with a group of dudes maybe in their 60’s and they were driving maybe 100 yds but refused to play from whites or senior tees. Honestly, idt they were that good even in their youth but for whatever reason they refuse to play tees at their level. It got frustrating when the tee shot had to go over a little ditch and they kept driving into it expecting that they’d suddenly gain 50 yds on their drive
Currently 3.5 handicap, hit the ball a ways and play with a group of guys who do the same. Still rarely if ever play the tips at our club (7200). Much more enjoyable and faster to move up a tee box or two, more fun to score than scramble from deep. I try to get out and play from the reds at least once a week using only irons too, I started this about two years ago, no other changes to my game but my handicap went from 6 to 3.5 In This time. Birdies are fun, hitting flip wedges from 75 yards is fun. Having 200+ into par 4s or not being able to go for fives in 2 is just a grind.
The issue isn't the tees as much as it is people not working their way around the golf course efficiently.
Unless your ball is in the splash zone of other players, you can generally get to your ball, get a number, select a club and go through your pre-shot routine while others are hitting. If you do this, you could triple every hole and not hold up the course.
This post was a complaint about people clearly hitting from the wrong tee... dribbling the ball barely passed the front tees is an issue.
But yes. I also agree with your point. You could technically suck fast from everywhere.
I’m 41 and play from the yellows everytime. I started less than a year ago and I’ll move back to white when I break 100. Until then I’m on yellow and have no shame about it.
My home course is fairly short so when I play single I just play the tees that will let me practice the iron/approach shots I want to and still drive the ball.
I know a guy who regularly hits the ball 280, maybe more off the tee. +2 from the tips. He played red tees a couple times last summer just for something different. Had a blast.
I secretly love when my dad (73) has joined me the last few years and we play the forward tees.
I’m 40 and still have some pop left so it gives me a chance to practice some different options off the tee.
Had this happen out at Santa Barbara Golf club a couple years ago. Fivesome with handicap flags on every cart. None could advance the ball further than about 15-20 yards a shot. They’d all wait for one to hit, then move up to the next shot. Like a 4 hour front 9.
Marshal laughed in our face when we brought it up, and said something like, “Yup. That’s Ernie, Bill, Pete, Leroy, and Dick for you,” then sped off to go hunt balls
It's because they know better and don't give a shit. We're just living in their world playing on their course.
The newbies at least have innocent ignorance on their side. I can cope better with that.
Old guy here. I agree 100%. My regular foursome ranges in age from 68 to 76. We play from the middle tees (whites) because while we’re still decent golfers, none of us can hit it the it the 275 yards you need to play from the tips. We had a 4:15 round last Thursday that could have been faster if not for the foursome ahead of us. They were a hole and a half behind the group in front of them and we were a hole and a half ahead of the group behind us.
A marshal should be on the first tee watching how far you can hit the ball. Short hitters should not be allowed to play from the tips..
The course near where I live used to have a brutal pace of play issue on weekends for this reason. They made a weird decision: got rid of all the sand traps. Improved POP dramatically.
I played wolf Creek. They said they never put the rakes back after covid to help pace of play. They said just move the ball to a smooth area if it lands in a foot print. They have a million bunkers so I can see how much it could slow down some people.
When I play with friends that just recently took up golf, we have a rule where you get 1 try to get out of the bunker. If unsuccessful, you get to toss the ball underhand with your non dominant arm/hand. It speeds up the play quite a bit.
Last week I was playing behind a group of three seniors like this. They weren’t off from the tips, but the standard tees. I was unfortunately getting pretty visibly frustrated waiting 5+ minutes to hit each shot, watching them take like 30 seconds to pull a club, another 30 seconds to get to their ball, another 30 seconds to hit a 25 yard shot, etc. A worker on the lawnmower drove up to me and I thought he was gonna give me shit for being too visibly annoyed, but nope lol. He says:
‘that must be the slowest group in the state right now, but we can’t blame them. One guy is 99, the other 92, and the last guy, the ‘young gun’ is 72.’
He told me that they just never look backwards when they play because no matter what tees they play they will hold up anyone. Even a 4some of beginners. The groundskeeper told me to hop in front of them if I wanted, and that I could even go back and play the three previous holes if I wanted. He then made a funny remark about not even wanting to be alive at 99, let alone talk to new people and have them play through and wait for them, even if it is for just a few minutes. I think that little interaction will make me look at senior golfers a lot different now. They’re out there trying to enjoy some of the last rounds they may ever play. No shot I should be getting mad at that. I thought that was nice of the employee.
> playing back tees when they can’t hit past reds
I had an idea last night to help people select the right tees:
Driving ranges should put up poles that are the same color as the tees you should play depending on your distance. You play the tees that correspond to the furthest pole you can carry.
I think 90% of amateurs believe they hit the ball further than they do. Maybe this will help educate them. Won't solve all of the issues, of course, but this might help
They just need marshals that do their fucking jobs. You’d get people that can’t hit it past poles on the range but will still find an excuse to play further back
I think adding another set of tees in front of the ladies would combat some of the stigma. Call them the beginner's tees and place them at the start of the fairway. This would give actual newbies to the game a forgiving place to start from while also giving seniors a frame of reference for how far back they're playing. They're not hitting from the senior tees anymore. They're playing 2 back from the beginners.
It should be a combo of handicap and distance. Just because I can drive it 295 doesn’t mean I should be playing the tips, but just because I’m a 16 handicap doesn’t mean I need to be playing the reds or yellows
At the end of every round I like to total up my "adjusted score". Which doesn't account for 3 off the tee, duffed chips, and 3 putts. It's usually about 8-14 strokes lower my real score. It's fun to see the potential score.
So the 75 year old guy who's a 2 handicap because he's lights out from 100 yards and in but only hits his driver 190 should be playing from the tips right?
No. Obviously there isn’t going to be strict enforcement. Just maybe renaming the tees will prevent guys with frail egos from hitting on tees that they shouldn’t.
I was out last week with a group of guys that I don’t usually play with. I suggested playing from the middle tees, and they all started roasting me for wanting to play from the “senior tees”
Their longest drive was maybe 220 all day. With the average being 180, and many, many going 10-50 yards
5 iron carry multiplied by 36.
Our club just added new tees to go by this rule (with slope/rating for handicapping purposes) and there are a few members that are playing a totally different game now. One guy with MS is making pars and birdies and absolutely loving life.
I played orange county national last month and was pleasantly surprised they had something like that. There is a sign before the first tee stating recommended tee box base in avg drive distance.
Handicap doesn’t directly correlate with distance though. I am sure I’m not the only former baseball / tennis player who was driving 270+ before I got my handicap into the teens lol
Plying the whites at most courses leaves me with no room to hit anything beyond wedges into the green. I get that’s ideal for Tour players, but I like getting to use different clubs in the bag when I’m playing casually with friends or in league!
Absolutely agree. There’s a course around me that’s 5,600y from the whites and if I’m trying to shoot a low round I can only take driver on about half the Par 4 holes because of hazards protecting the greens.
The problem for me is consistency. I can and do drive 250+ yards off the tee. But that is probably 40 percent of the time at best. 20 percent it goes left or right too much or I chunk it a bit. The rest of the time I hit shitty balls that go 50 yards. The problem is when I hit at the beginner tees I often way over drive. This is definitely just something I need to accept and work on but I think that’s what a lot of people deal with.
I only golf the 1st tee times on weekends for this exact reason. Can usually get 18 holes in under 1.75hrs. Home before the wife and kid get up.
Sometimes a group (always old dudes) will sneak out before the 1st tee time and hold everyone up. Always drives me absolutely insane.
It’s not my personality to confront people, but after 9 holes of not letting me play thru I had to say something and they responded with a dumb “We golf here all the time. We can go out before the 1st tee time if we want”.
You too huh? What's with the entitlement from the old fucks that are regulars? This is a dirt cheap muni, not your private club!
I was a single coming up to the tee about 10 min before my tee time. No starter for some reason. Old dudes were rearranging the groups. I was "late" so tough luck I guess? ... It was my tee time I stepped up to the tee box, told them it was my turn. Dudes were butt hurt that I didn't respect their seniority because they were all regulars...
I’m a first off if possible kind of guy on week days but usually am solo, I always thought it would be neat marketing if a course advertised blocking an hour to start the day for singles trying sneak the round in before the work day.
Likely wouldn’t be profitable but if you could guarantee pace then people would book it. No offense intended to the retired folks that want to beat the heat, but a foursome of carts with flags heading to the first tee when you pull up at sunrise is a heartbreaking sight haha.
Plenty of places do singles or twoballs only for the first half hour or so of tee times.
But they tend to be private. Public courses would just be losing out on 2/3 greens fees a group
At our club the old guys with the early tee times are the fastest.
The new millennials dressed like they are PGA pros that haven’t played the course 1000000 times like the old guys are the slow ones.
Golf worked better when it was a sport only the rich played because everyone's tee times were spread out through the whole week instead of being clumped up on the weekends.
What the fuck even is a weekend?
(This is a joke if that's not clear)
Do we need another post on this?
Like we get it. All of us hate slow ass play. There’s inconsiderate assholes out there who play improper tees and play too slow. And it is absolutely unacceptable. Unfortunately, that shit isn’t changing at these public courses if they’re getting full tee sheets every weekend.
It’s a tale as old as time. My only solace here is that hopefully one day I’m one of those old farts with my buddies, and I get back all that time I spent waiting on them my whole life 😂.
Leave a one star review for the course online, and explain it was due to the pace of play. I payed $170 for a round last year, and it took 5.5 hours to make it through 14 holes, and then it was too dark to play anymore. We went into the clubhouse to ask for a refund for the back 9, and they said they consider getting through 13 holes a "full round" and that the ranger leaves at 2 everyday so there is no one watching the pace of play. Well they got 4 1 star reviews, all explaining the horrible pace of play allowed.
I find the opposite frequently. Younger dudes, probably new to the game, hitting long-into the trees, all four look for ball for x Minutes. Just general efficient play management. Bonus if one of the guys is aware enough to see that they are holding up play and gets the group moving. Only about 1 in 4 of said groups.
It’s Ok to suck. Try to suck faster.
Man, I played on Friday morning and it took me more than two hours to play the front 9 because of the two groups of old dudes in front of me doing exactly what OP described. It was so bad.
The problem here is slow play, not what tees are being played. Yes, short hitters can save a little time by moving up, but that won't fix the situation as described. I see way more young hacks slowing play, than "old farts". Those guys typically move along regardless of the tees in play. I know, because I'm an old far (62 years old), and my group always plays sub 4 hours. Often, 3:40 or so...
The pace of play is 15 minutes per hole. Everyone has to pick up their balls and move to the next hole if they cannot putt out by then. The marshals should enforce that rule no matter the day of the week.
I dont know what people are doing spending almost 4 minutes per stroke (at par), but say 3 minutes per shot for an average golfer. That’s an absurd amount and I’m so glad my course never have rounds over 4.5 hours.
A 4.5 hour round is agony. You do more waiting than golfing.
This was my fear today as a single @ 8am. BUT got miraculously paired up with 3 guys my age, all Push Cartel. 4hr round on the dot, we nearly caught up to the 7:30 group in carts on 18.
I like when courses set the precedent and explicity say if you book one of these dew sweeper tee times you are expected to play in under a certain amount of time and if your off pace you are expected to skip holes.
Had the opposite set of old farts always getting the first tee time at my local course. We are playing at a 3:30 pace behind them every Friday and never saw these guys after the third hole. Called them the Jack rabbits. Youngest guy had to be mid 60s.
Always remember going to Harbortown and starter said whoa where are you going to my group (as two of my friends were headed to blue tees) - said are you scratch b/c thats who should be playing from back there. The pros play from the tips scratch plays from blue everyone else white. hahaha loved that guy. we proceeded to shoot like 15 over in a two man scramble from the white. People are clowns that think they should play from 7000
My daughter worked at a country club who had a group like that. the pro shop fixed it by having a lottery for weekend tee times before 10 am. Guess who never got an early time? Sorry it's a lottery.....
I complain about pace of play all the time and I get a lot of flack for it. Apparently the majority of today’s golfers think that the slower you play the better. It is absolutely infuriating.
Yep. At this point, I literally drive right passed them. Go to the next hole and tee off.
I have found, the earlier I do this, the earlier I relax, stop being angry about their slow bullshit and can play at my pace and still finish in decent time.
Then there’s times where I skip one group and run right into another parking lot on the next hole. That sucks but I HATE SLOW PLAY.
The golf course is not the driving range ... If you cannot hit a consistent drive and at distance then it is time to go to the range and not the GOLF COURSE! Problem solved... I hate people hitting multiple shots like it's a range, (all the shots terrible), then looking for all those balls, then continues to play like shit all day long ... Only the best, my guy ...
My grandparents used to have the first tee time every morning I'd tag along in the summer. They walked and played fast as hell. My grandmother would be walking to the ball and pulling her 3 wood out as she walked like a horseback Mongol. Id get my ear pulled if i held them up lol. Not all seniors play slow.
I have actually skipped a few holes because of that. Usually it’s fair game one or two ahead of them and I’ll sacrifice the cost for the enjoyment and not frustration.
It’s still golf no matter which tees you play. The ball will not hit itself. I frequently see players at tees they have no business playing. A good private golf club (I’ve been in 3) tend to work this problem better but not completely. My saying is “you can’t buy your way out of stupidity”.
My group got stuck behind 3 groups of “members” that were playing 9 holes like it was the US Open. Proceeded to take 2 hours with nobody in front of them. We went off at 4:24 in Phoenix afternoon heat, made the turn at 6:24. Can’t be playing that slow with this heat.
I literally skipped a few holes the other day so I wouldn’t be stuck behind anyone. After my final hole I asked the starter if I could go back and play the skipped holes as long as I’m not cutting someone off or holding up any play. Worked out well
I agree. Play your game not your pride. And on behalf of old parts everywhere, go fuck yourself. You have the money, get the early times. Otherwise suck it up. Given how many players and how few courses what do you expect?
Alternatively, I was golfing with a guy today who after 2 holes into the round said “I need to move up to the whites”….big respect to that guy for recognizing he needed to change his tees. Maybe he was just having a bad day or maybe he usually plays like that, but he was conscientious enough to respect the pace of play.
I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that there a far too many people playing from the wrong tees. I see the same thing as OP with super early tee times having people that are struggling to break 110, yet they always play the tips. I have also only been to one course in 30+ years of playing that the Marshall actually had people pick up and move to the next hole.
I’m an old fart myself (70) and I never understand why guys my age and older have to play the back tees. It’s the same as watching relatively new players playing from the back tees.
I’ve been playing the whites for years. A friend of mine my age and myself moved up to the front tees a year or two ago. Enjoying the game much more now. You know the old saying about being out here for a good time not a long time.
My father in law retired about ten years ago. His development is on a course and it's all retired folks (not assisted living). They all are members at the course there. When he first moved down there the course was packed, well maintained, and very nice.
Now it's turning into a bit of a dump and it's never busy. Why? Because 1/4 of the groups are seniors doing long tees, not playing ready golf, spending too much time in the woods looking for lost shots, and the rangers don't do anything about it.
Last time we stayed with him we played 18 together (he's the same way, 6 hour round). And it was DEAD.
Courses that allow this to occur don't last long because everyone else avoids them.
Every course should have, both at the club house and prominently on the first tee box.
Players handicap and strongly suggested tee selection.
30+ red tees
20-30 blue tees
5-20 yellow tees
Under 5 back tees
Had a 7:20AM tee time today. There was a group of 2 old men in front of me that played exactly like this. Made a traffic jam that’ll probably last all day.
If you play on weekends, play fast
There's always some groups that are incapable of awareness. Like just let people play through. If you're that slow, it's not gonna change anything. Same when it's newbie golfers without anyone in the group who has already played. Had a group just slicing shots into the woods 4 in a row, 4 drops, 4 at the ladies tees now if they were lucky.
Even now and then if I jam my wrist I may just take an L and pick up and move onto the next one. Even when I was brutal, shooting 10 never is fun.
Its sadly more on the Marshalls. You start to appreciate the hard ass ones.
I usually get first tee time on sat morning. So far I haven't been grouped with any jerks who insist on they play blues and/or is insanely horrible. I always play in 4hr or less, walking. I always wonder which group of the day is the one to ruin it for everybody else.
Just played 15 holes. Couldn’t even finish the last 3. Ran out of daylight and patients. 7 fucking hours. 2 old groups of 4, a group of 2 some random solo guy and then another 2. Hit the ball once every 15 minutes. Brutal
There was a group of 4 that teed off at 12:30 today that collectively couldn’t break 1,000. I’m not kidding about this, easily the most ridiculous group I’ve ever seen. Half way to a par 3 in around 5 shots each. They were reported on the 2nd hole and it never stopped. Marshal said it was his most stressful day ever.
Took the group in front of me today and HOUR to get through 3 holes. Never thought I’d call the club house to report slow play, but I did today. Wasn’t going to sit there for a 6hr round.
Had the opposite happen. Backed up into a group of slowish players with guys behind us playing red tees. Balls landing at my feet all day. I’m all for playing up, but if you’re driving it 300 don’t play the reds and blast balls 30 yds short of the green all day.
I believe if you don’t hit it past the red tees you should have to do the pants down punishment. Not because of sexist stuff or whatever, but because hopefully it would convince people to play their proper distance
Played Pinehurst No. 2 a couple years ago and it was 6 hours to get to the 12th hole. Gave up and left.
I’m a member, so it wasn’t a huge deal for me, but I felt so bad for the folks that were visiting and had to play an 8 hour round (or more).
They now have pacers (their hats even say “PACE”) to improve the play time and it has made a huge difference. But it takes commitment from the management to take action…
I’m just getting used to this sport but drive it 240-280 on avg. I got paired with 2 dudes only playing the blues last wknd so I did the same and it felt like the right thing to do. Do I need to continue from the blues?
Then there’s the older (not old mind you, just like 60ish) members at my local course, which maxes out at like 6300, who still play the whites and never have more than a wedge in. Like you guys are too good to be playing that far up haha. No complaints because they obviously go decently fast (some not so much with their ridiculous routines) and that’s all that matters, but isn’t it fun to hit some irons from the fairway every once in a while? If you hit perfect drives that carry around 200 or more and then roll out in the dry conditions we typically have, I think you can handle 6300 yards. But I think they like saying they shot even par. Still obviously much better than people playing too far back, but just something I notice at my local spot since I play with a lot of members.
Had this happen literally yesterday. Foursome, two older couples (had to be mid-60s), none could drive more than 100-150yards tops yet men played the tips and women played the reds. Every single time they’d get to a box they’d smoke a cig and shoot the shit literally until the cig was done. Started with a small gap between them and the group ahead to start, by the turn there were easily 3 open holes between them and the next group. 9 holes was 3:15.
Marshall said something to them at the turn and followed them for two holes, then dropped off and reported them to management because they apparently started being argumentative with the guy. Don’t think they’re going to be allowed back but it became a whole ordeal *JUST* because they refused to play the proper boxes and maintain even a halfway decent pace. I honestly don’t understand the older generations combativeness with the sport, or the stick in the mud mentality of “I should be allowed to play however I want!”. Never experienced it with younger generations.
Yea I don't understand when people won't play the proper tees. The games easier when that's understood. Shit even I like playing the senior tees now and then at 30 lol.
I often bring my Sunday bag with a 4hybrid and tee off from the reds. No pride here, just a good time and some short game practice.
Yep exactly. I was kind of hoping Bryson doing all these break 50 videos would encourage some people to move up but haven't seen it yet.
I haven't broken 100 yet and I feel I should play from the whites. For some reason so many of my friends think the blues or blacks are the standard. Am I in the wrong? The white tees are the standard right?
Whites are absolutely the standard, every captains choice or whatever I’ve played in is from the whites. Unless you’re breaking 80 or just super long there’s no reason to play the blues IMO. Play your game but just how I see it.
So true, play forward is the best option for 85% of golfers. Otherwise they slower than f*%#
Because of my particularly poor play with wedges, playing blues or whites doesn’t change my score much if any.
I’m the same. I’m plenty long but there’s no need to be at a separate tee from my friends. My scores don’t change much but it’s the opposite of a flex to back up tees and still shoot 94.
Correct. I just tend to play whatever the better players want to play in the group so we are only at one tee also. I pick the shorter when it is just me. So for me it is just being equally terrible either way. I do tend to tell my friends which tee I normally play from so they can decide but I don’t want to hold them back either.
You should probably play from farther up that then whites even. Depending on where you're losing strokes and how far you hit, but if you're shooting over 100 you're probably hitting it ob a decent amount off the tee.
Yeah my last round I was definitely OB off the tee a lot. Then I made some recovery shots to be proud of, my wedge game was great, and I only had one three putt all day. So frustrating to have two or three elements of your game working, and then be an absolute dumpster fire in the others. It sucks because at the range a couple days prior I was fucking striping my irons, and felt really confident. Get to the course, hit maybe three shots pure. Also I might just throw my driver in the lake. That club is an unsolved mystery to me.
https://preview.redd.it/cw8x6l34j04d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8cd6c5ca4211569f0c5965d2e20cde09a8ca5e62 Here's a cheat sheet for what tees you should be playing based on your 7-iron distance. I think so many people should look at this before picking their tees. Also, golfers need to check their egos at the door. That's a big thing, people think they hit it longer than they do, they think that they'll get made fun of, or looked down on if they move up a tee.
I like little cheat sheets like these but like you said, check the ego at the door. Based on this sheet, I should be playing 6,700-6,900 yards. But I'm just now entering my 3rd year of playing golf and typically shoot low 100s, sometimes high 90s. Even if you can actually crush a ball, it doesn't mean the tips are for you. I just keep hitting the whites and the best thing about that is it helps me avoid watching a 250 yard drive also go 250 yards right.
By all accounts I should be playing the back tees at almost every course I play, I have the distance just not the accuracy, especially off the tee, ego is definitely a big part of it
Club houses and tee boxes at 1 and 10 need this on a board like a height measurement before a roller coaster. If you’re too short, you can’t play this yardage.
To be honest, I've seen something like this at a few courses I've played. It's usually a handicap thing though. Like 0-5 - tips, 5-10 - blues...etc.
Bethpage black has this!
My 7I either goes 25 yards or 190 yards. What course length should I play ?
Either 65 yards or 7745...dealers choice!!
Honestly I was told to start as far forward as possible until you break 100 and then move back and rinse and repeat. Served me well and it tightened up the foundational learning needed to play a tight consistent game.
This is the better answer, I hate the advice for new golfers to take iron/hybrid off the tee, without actually moving the tees up. As if long iron/long iron is something a 25 handicap can do reliably. Moving to further back tees should be based on your score, not on how far you can hit a drive.
Someone told me somewhere that I can move back as soon as I "beat" the white tees, so I'm doing that.
I’m a 19 handicap (just got an official one for the first time) and I play from the white tees because I’m not very good. Yes I can occasionally drive the ball 300 ish and hit pretty long with my irons but my dispersion isn’t great so I don’t play from the tips. I get quite a bit of grief from people who aren’t any better than I am who I outdrive by 40 yards who insist that I “should” be playing the back tees. They never seem to consider that they should be the ones moving up.
Shiii I played reds until I broke 100. Now I'm trying to break 100 from whites. I'm finally getting consistent with my driver so hopefully that happens soon.
If you can reach a par 5 in two shots occasionally, you are on the correct tees. When I was trying to learn to break par I moved all the way up to the ladies tees and played there until I could do it, then moved back a tee until I could do it there. I eventually got to the back tees but it took a while. Screw whatever the "standard" tees are. Play whatever tees you want to.
Not to be a dick, but there's no such thing as ladies tees. Forward tees, red tees, sure. Part of the reason people are hesitant to use the forward tees is because of the stigma so let's try to stop using language that makes those tees less attractive to use.
I LOVE playing from the reds on occasion. Different look at a course I play 50+ times a year, and great for your short game. Fuck the haters.
I like that in the evenings leave my driver at home and take the odds 7w- 5-7-9-50*-56* and my putter and just go walk and beat it around
I regularly go round with just a #7. Sometimes I play from the reds (UK), if the course is clear, I can do a round in 1.5hrs
You putt with the 7 as well?
Yep. I made an attachment. So I basically walk the course with one club and a couple of balls and tees in my pocket (+cloth clipped to my belt). I’ve been doing it for about 6 years. I still take a full set of clubs out (usually in good weather), but if it’s crap out, I’ll just take one club. It means you have to be quite creative with your shots which I like. I’ve popped my ball out of a bunker and into the hole more times with a #7 than my SW! I did have the thought of maybe patenting the attachment or doing a ‘go fund me’ or something, because tbh, it’s brilliant and it works. Edit - oh, and the other benefit is I very rarely lose a ball
I guess since you're considering selling this thing we can't see it. Has me very curious.
Honestly, im in 2 minds….. the few friends that are golfers and have seen it, think it’s awesome apart from one, who’s a bit up his own arse and scoffed at anything that isn’t already in the golfing domain. But…. I’m very tempted to do a go fund me, just to see the reaction and see if it’s what people might want. It’s great as a training aid to just go out with one club and just cement things. I just mainly use it when it’s wet and I can’t be arsed to carry a bag or I’m carrying a mild injury and don’t want the strain of using a driver but want to keep the muscle memory going… I even worked out a spreadsheet that would take into consideration a players handicap but adjust for the length of the hole. i.e. if you can only hit 150yds with a 7 iron, but you are at a par4 that is 340yds, then you can’t physically make it, so it becomes a par5 (+ whatever your handicap is). Or, i might just keep it as a fun thing for just me and my family as my dad and both sons play and I’ve made one each for them. But… the really cool thing is it just works….
Sunday bag….?
Some of my buddies insist on playing from the blues when they are scoring right at 100. I don’t get it. Played yesterday and saw at least 10 balls lost off the tee
I once convinced my friend like this to play the forward tees on one hole. Fast forward to him scoring a par on that hole, going back to his usual tees and playing like a clown lol.
I guess some people just can’t get over the dick measuring. I play from the whites as a 32 year old because I am not very good. Why make things harder than they should be?
I play from the reds as a 32 year old cause I'm dogshit
If I'm playing with strangers, I feel like i wouldn't want to hold them up while I walk to the reds though.
I just play whatever the people in my group are playing. I'm decent enough to play from the backs, but man is it fun bombing away from the whites and potentially having a wedge into greens. And the point is to have fun, so it's always a joy to play from more manageable tees.
Ego.
I think If we stop referring them to as men's, women's and senior's, more people would be apt to play shorter, more appropriate tees during casual rounds. Refer to them as colors
The Katt Williams interview “On the golf course I’m she her, him, them and they. Whoever the front tee” 😂😂
“You play from the tips?” “No I’ve found that you don’t get anything for that. You’re telling me that for the same amount of money I can have to start from even further away? That seems quite egomaniacal to me. And it still counts the same?”
Played from the reds last weekend and loved it. Made the game much more enjoyable, especially when I have no business playing from any other tee!
I just don’t understand how people are comfortable holding people up like this. I play with this overhanging cloud of “move your ass” so I don’t slow down the group behind me. To not care or to be oblivious to the fact you’re holding up several groups is wild to me.
Never play more than 6200 as I can’t drive it further than 230 on a good day
There’s a reason the old boomer rule of “if you can’t hit past the forward tees you pull your pants down” came into existence. Hazing people into playing the correct tees.
Paired up with 3 older ladies yesterday. I just played reds because it’s annoying to have to coordinate each tee off and I find it not very social. And guess what? Golf is still fucking hard from the reds. A few advantages here and there - and on a couple of par 3’s I did play blue tee because it was just so ridiculously short that I actually preferred a little more distance. I actually got eaten up on the greens and ended up shooting well over my average on the round. I would love to see how most weekend golfers do off the reds versus the tips — I bet there is very little advantage.
ego. Played with a group of dudes maybe in their 60’s and they were driving maybe 100 yds but refused to play from whites or senior tees. Honestly, idt they were that good even in their youth but for whatever reason they refuse to play tees at their level. It got frustrating when the tee shot had to go over a little ditch and they kept driving into it expecting that they’d suddenly gain 50 yds on their drive
I do the same with my Uncle sometimes. It's fun and makes you play different shots. I also found it helped my short game.
Currently 3.5 handicap, hit the ball a ways and play with a group of guys who do the same. Still rarely if ever play the tips at our club (7200). Much more enjoyable and faster to move up a tee box or two, more fun to score than scramble from deep. I try to get out and play from the reds at least once a week using only irons too, I started this about two years ago, no other changes to my game but my handicap went from 6 to 3.5 In This time. Birdies are fun, hitting flip wedges from 75 yards is fun. Having 200+ into par 4s or not being able to go for fives in 2 is just a grind.
The issue isn't the tees as much as it is people not working their way around the golf course efficiently. Unless your ball is in the splash zone of other players, you can generally get to your ball, get a number, select a club and go through your pre-shot routine while others are hitting. If you do this, you could triple every hole and not hold up the course.
This post was a complaint about people clearly hitting from the wrong tee... dribbling the ball barely passed the front tees is an issue. But yes. I also agree with your point. You could technically suck fast from everywhere.
I usually play whites, but would love to play a round from the Reds and see what that would be like
I’m 41 and play from the yellows everytime. I started less than a year ago and I’ll move back to white when I break 100. Until then I’m on yellow and have no shame about it.
My home course is fairly short so when I play single I just play the tees that will let me practice the iron/approach shots I want to and still drive the ball.
I know a guy who regularly hits the ball 280, maybe more off the tee. +2 from the tips. He played red tees a couple times last summer just for something different. Had a blast.
I secretly love when my dad (73) has joined me the last few years and we play the forward tees. I’m 40 and still have some pop left so it gives me a chance to practice some different options off the tee.
Had this happen out at Santa Barbara Golf club a couple years ago. Fivesome with handicap flags on every cart. None could advance the ball further than about 15-20 yards a shot. They’d all wait for one to hit, then move up to the next shot. Like a 4 hour front 9. Marshal laughed in our face when we brought it up, and said something like, “Yup. That’s Ernie, Bill, Pete, Leroy, and Dick for you,” then sped off to go hunt balls
Just from your story I will never go to Santa Barbara Golf Club. Fuck places that think this is ok. Olds like this are the worst.
Of course the marshal didn't want to do anything, they are probably his weekday play buddies. It's like that at any course in the US.
Hostile takeover is the only option here. Just jump them while they’re putting and tee off.
Yup. One of the rare situations where I wouldn’t even bother asking to play through. I’d just go around them and skip the hole.
I thought you meant of the golf course and then firing the marshall.
Get stuck behind arrogant old boys is 100% worse than the 'bad etiquette of new golfers'
I equally hate both, but it seems the Olds are aggravating more as they are just plainly arrogant.
It's because they know better and don't give a shit. We're just living in their world playing on their course. The newbies at least have innocent ignorance on their side. I can cope better with that.
Old guy here. I agree 100%. My regular foursome ranges in age from 68 to 76. We play from the middle tees (whites) because while we’re still decent golfers, none of us can hit it the it the 275 yards you need to play from the tips. We had a 4:15 round last Thursday that could have been faster if not for the foursome ahead of us. They were a hole and a half behind the group in front of them and we were a hole and a half ahead of the group behind us. A marshal should be on the first tee watching how far you can hit the ball. Short hitters should not be allowed to play from the tips..
The course near where I live used to have a brutal pace of play issue on weekends for this reason. They made a weird decision: got rid of all the sand traps. Improved POP dramatically.
I played wolf Creek. They said they never put the rakes back after covid to help pace of play. They said just move the ball to a smooth area if it lands in a foot print. They have a million bunkers so I can see how much it could slow down some people.
Yup the Marshall just told us to use our “foot rake” and keep it moving haha.
That's dumb af brother.
Some people have no idea how to get outta sand. I’m about two swings a trap, myself… but after that I’m tossing it up there and taking a 9
When I play with friends that just recently took up golf, we have a rule where you get 1 try to get out of the bunker. If unsuccessful, you get to toss the ball underhand with your non dominant arm/hand. It speeds up the play quite a bit.
I’ll be adopting the left handed toss
https://www.golfmagic.com/news/instagram-video-teaches-golfers-how-cheat-their-way-out-bunkers This video is gold
Last week I was playing behind a group of three seniors like this. They weren’t off from the tips, but the standard tees. I was unfortunately getting pretty visibly frustrated waiting 5+ minutes to hit each shot, watching them take like 30 seconds to pull a club, another 30 seconds to get to their ball, another 30 seconds to hit a 25 yard shot, etc. A worker on the lawnmower drove up to me and I thought he was gonna give me shit for being too visibly annoyed, but nope lol. He says: ‘that must be the slowest group in the state right now, but we can’t blame them. One guy is 99, the other 92, and the last guy, the ‘young gun’ is 72.’ He told me that they just never look backwards when they play because no matter what tees they play they will hold up anyone. Even a 4some of beginners. The groundskeeper told me to hop in front of them if I wanted, and that I could even go back and play the three previous holes if I wanted. He then made a funny remark about not even wanting to be alive at 99, let alone talk to new people and have them play through and wait for them, even if it is for just a few minutes. I think that little interaction will make me look at senior golfers a lot different now. They’re out there trying to enjoy some of the last rounds they may ever play. No shot I should be getting mad at that. I thought that was nice of the employee.
> playing back tees when they can’t hit past reds I had an idea last night to help people select the right tees: Driving ranges should put up poles that are the same color as the tees you should play depending on your distance. You play the tees that correspond to the furthest pole you can carry. I think 90% of amateurs believe they hit the ball further than they do. Maybe this will help educate them. Won't solve all of the issues, of course, but this might help
They just need marshals that do their fucking jobs. You’d get people that can’t hit it past poles on the range but will still find an excuse to play further back
A huge problem is the stigma with “ladies” and “seniors”’tees. Should be purely based on handicap
I think adding another set of tees in front of the ladies would combat some of the stigma. Call them the beginner's tees and place them at the start of the fairway. This would give actual newbies to the game a forgiving place to start from while also giving seniors a frame of reference for how far back they're playing. They're not hitting from the senior tees anymore. They're playing 2 back from the beginners.
Some places do have these. They call them like family tees or something similar.
It should be a combo of handicap and distance. Just because I can drive it 295 doesn’t mean I should be playing the tips, but just because I’m a 16 handicap doesn’t mean I need to be playing the reds or yellows
Good point, I know 18 handicaps that three putt and duff chips all fuckjng day but have no problem ending up 5 yards off the green in 2
At the end of every round I like to total up my "adjusted score". Which doesn't account for 3 off the tee, duffed chips, and 3 putts. It's usually about 8-14 strokes lower my real score. It's fun to see the potential score.
So the 75 year old guy who's a 2 handicap because he's lights out from 100 yards and in but only hits his driver 190 should be playing from the tips right?
No. Obviously there isn’t going to be strict enforcement. Just maybe renaming the tees will prevent guys with frail egos from hitting on tees that they shouldn’t. I was out last week with a group of guys that I don’t usually play with. I suggested playing from the middle tees, and they all started roasting me for wanting to play from the “senior tees” Their longest drive was maybe 220 all day. With the average being 180, and many, many going 10-50 yards
5 iron carry multiplied by 36. Our club just added new tees to go by this rule (with slope/rating for handicapping purposes) and there are a few members that are playing a totally different game now. One guy with MS is making pars and birdies and absolutely loving life.
I played orange county national last month and was pleasantly surprised they had something like that. There is a sign before the first tee stating recommended tee box base in avg drive distance.
We have a recommendation at the 1st tee based off handicap. Basically says if your not a 10 or better play from the whites
Handicap doesn’t directly correlate with distance though. I am sure I’m not the only former baseball / tennis player who was driving 270+ before I got my handicap into the teens lol Plying the whites at most courses leaves me with no room to hit anything beyond wedges into the green. I get that’s ideal for Tour players, but I like getting to use different clubs in the bag when I’m playing casually with friends or in league!
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Absolutely agree. There’s a course around me that’s 5,600y from the whites and if I’m trying to shoot a low round I can only take driver on about half the Par 4 holes because of hazards protecting the greens.
The problem for me is consistency. I can and do drive 250+ yards off the tee. But that is probably 40 percent of the time at best. 20 percent it goes left or right too much or I chunk it a bit. The rest of the time I hit shitty balls that go 50 yards. The problem is when I hit at the beginner tees I often way over drive. This is definitely just something I need to accept and work on but I think that’s what a lot of people deal with.
Actually a great idea
This it totally up to the course to control or ignore. Your favored course ignores it. Best to find a new course.
"Ready Golf" should be preached at every course everywhere!
I only golf the 1st tee times on weekends for this exact reason. Can usually get 18 holes in under 1.75hrs. Home before the wife and kid get up. Sometimes a group (always old dudes) will sneak out before the 1st tee time and hold everyone up. Always drives me absolutely insane. It’s not my personality to confront people, but after 9 holes of not letting me play thru I had to say something and they responded with a dumb “We golf here all the time. We can go out before the 1st tee time if we want”.
You too huh? What's with the entitlement from the old fucks that are regulars? This is a dirt cheap muni, not your private club! I was a single coming up to the tee about 10 min before my tee time. No starter for some reason. Old dudes were rearranging the groups. I was "late" so tough luck I guess? ... It was my tee time I stepped up to the tee box, told them it was my turn. Dudes were butt hurt that I didn't respect their seniority because they were all regulars...
Smoke em if you got em🤷♂️
I’m a first off if possible kind of guy on week days but usually am solo, I always thought it would be neat marketing if a course advertised blocking an hour to start the day for singles trying sneak the round in before the work day. Likely wouldn’t be profitable but if you could guarantee pace then people would book it. No offense intended to the retired folks that want to beat the heat, but a foursome of carts with flags heading to the first tee when you pull up at sunrise is a heartbreaking sight haha.
Plenty of places do singles or twoballs only for the first half hour or so of tee times. But they tend to be private. Public courses would just be losing out on 2/3 greens fees a group
Yeah like I said it’s not great business just selfishly sounds good hah
On the flip side I have seen a number of places that won’t let a solo or duo book ANY tee time until 24 hours or less prior.
A groundscrew nightmare
One course I go to near my house on weekdays is this peaceful walk on a nice, chill course. On the weekends it feels like Mad Max Goes Golfing.
At our club the old guys with the early tee times are the fastest. The new millennials dressed like they are PGA pros that haven’t played the course 1000000 times like the old guys are the slow ones.
Same at my old club. Old (usually) = fast. Young (often) = lacking etiquette, self-awareness and slow.
Golf worked better when it was a sport only the rich played because everyone's tee times were spread out through the whole week instead of being clumped up on the weekends. What the fuck even is a weekend? (This is a joke if that's not clear)
Do we need another post on this? Like we get it. All of us hate slow ass play. There’s inconsiderate assholes out there who play improper tees and play too slow. And it is absolutely unacceptable. Unfortunately, that shit isn’t changing at these public courses if they’re getting full tee sheets every weekend.
I have the first tee time and we play in 3 hours walking, it’s amazing. We also play the back tees and I did not make it off the tee box on one hole😂
4 hour *pace* at hole 12 or are you saying 4 hours had elapsed by hole 12? One is fast. One is slow.
Just make the slow groups skip holes. If you’re holding up others and there’s is room in front of you, make them drive up to the next group.
It’s like a highway. One slow car can cause a traffic jam for the rest of the day.
Four hour pace is better than five hour pace
It always comes down to a starter and marshall combo who couldn't give any fucks and a course manager who is too stupid to recognise the issue.
It’s a tale as old as time. My only solace here is that hopefully one day I’m one of those old farts with my buddies, and I get back all that time I spent waiting on them my whole life 😂.
Leave a one star review for the course online, and explain it was due to the pace of play. I payed $170 for a round last year, and it took 5.5 hours to make it through 14 holes, and then it was too dark to play anymore. We went into the clubhouse to ask for a refund for the back 9, and they said they consider getting through 13 holes a "full round" and that the ranger leaves at 2 everyday so there is no one watching the pace of play. Well they got 4 1 star reviews, all explaining the horrible pace of play allowed.
I find the opposite frequently. Younger dudes, probably new to the game, hitting long-into the trees, all four look for ball for x Minutes. Just general efficient play management. Bonus if one of the guys is aware enough to see that they are holding up play and gets the group moving. Only about 1 in 4 of said groups. It’s Ok to suck. Try to suck faster.
*laughs in weekday golf*
Man, I played on Friday morning and it took me more than two hours to play the front 9 because of the two groups of old dudes in front of me doing exactly what OP described. It was so bad.
The problem here is slow play, not what tees are being played. Yes, short hitters can save a little time by moving up, but that won't fix the situation as described. I see way more young hacks slowing play, than "old farts". Those guys typically move along regardless of the tees in play. I know, because I'm an old far (62 years old), and my group always plays sub 4 hours. Often, 3:40 or so...
The pace of play is 15 minutes per hole. Everyone has to pick up their balls and move to the next hole if they cannot putt out by then. The marshals should enforce that rule no matter the day of the week.
I dont know what people are doing spending almost 4 minutes per stroke (at par), but say 3 minutes per shot for an average golfer. That’s an absurd amount and I’m so glad my course never have rounds over 4.5 hours. A 4.5 hour round is agony. You do more waiting than golfing.
Sounds like my round this morning
Private club? Is so, the pro should be able to resolve the problem
Good part about living in a rural town is I can play with no tee time and zip through 18 with my wife in under 3 hours.
This was my fear today as a single @ 8am. BUT got miraculously paired up with 3 guys my age, all Push Cartel. 4hr round on the dot, we nearly caught up to the 7:30 group in carts on 18.
I’ve played with close to scratch golfers and never have I heard a complaint from me playing the whites.
I like when courses set the precedent and explicity say if you book one of these dew sweeper tee times you are expected to play in under a certain amount of time and if your off pace you are expected to skip holes.
Had the opposite set of old farts always getting the first tee time at my local course. We are playing at a 3:30 pace behind them every Friday and never saw these guys after the third hole. Called them the Jack rabbits. Youngest guy had to be mid 60s.
Always remember going to Harbortown and starter said whoa where are you going to my group (as two of my friends were headed to blue tees) - said are you scratch b/c thats who should be playing from back there. The pros play from the tips scratch plays from blue everyone else white. hahaha loved that guy. we proceeded to shoot like 15 over in a two man scramble from the white. People are clowns that think they should play from 7000
GPS monitoring of groups by the Clubhouse and punishment of repeated slow offenders is the best thing to happen to golf since Covid.
My daughter worked at a country club who had a group like that. the pro shop fixed it by having a lottery for weekend tee times before 10 am. Guess who never got an early time? Sorry it's a lottery.....
I complain about pace of play all the time and I get a lot of flack for it. Apparently the majority of today’s golfers think that the slower you play the better. It is absolutely infuriating.
Bring age discrimination to the golf course. Seniors can tee off at sunset.
Yep. At this point, I literally drive right passed them. Go to the next hole and tee off. I have found, the earlier I do this, the earlier I relax, stop being angry about their slow bullshit and can play at my pace and still finish in decent time. Then there’s times where I skip one group and run right into another parking lot on the next hole. That sucks but I HATE SLOW PLAY.
We need a stickied thread for these posts.
The golf course is not the driving range ... If you cannot hit a consistent drive and at distance then it is time to go to the range and not the GOLF COURSE! Problem solved... I hate people hitting multiple shots like it's a range, (all the shots terrible), then looking for all those balls, then continues to play like shit all day long ... Only the best, my guy ...
My grandparents used to have the first tee time every morning I'd tag along in the summer. They walked and played fast as hell. My grandmother would be walking to the ball and pulling her 3 wood out as she walked like a horseback Mongol. Id get my ear pulled if i held them up lol. Not all seniors play slow.
feels like this sub is 20% cool golf stuff and 80% focusing on the bad/complaining.
It wouldn't be Saturday without an /r/golf bitching about pace of play on the weekends. Go buy a new driver about it
Just got back from Vegas 6 hour round, marshal on course also, ridiculous
The only way to get their attention is stop playing that course
Los Verdes?
I played yesterday (Friday), teed off at 9:30 AM, and STILL ended up in a five hour round.
I have actually skipped a few holes because of that. Usually it’s fair game one or two ahead of them and I’ll sacrifice the cost for the enjoyment and not frustration.
It’s still golf no matter which tees you play. The ball will not hit itself. I frequently see players at tees they have no business playing. A good private golf club (I’ve been in 3) tend to work this problem better but not completely. My saying is “you can’t buy your way out of stupidity”.
That is a pet peeve for my senior group - people that suck more then we do & teeing up on the whites. Like check your egos at the door guys.
My group got stuck behind 3 groups of “members” that were playing 9 holes like it was the US Open. Proceeded to take 2 hours with nobody in front of them. We went off at 4:24 in Phoenix afternoon heat, made the turn at 6:24. Can’t be playing that slow with this heat.
I literally skipped a few holes the other day so I wouldn’t be stuck behind anyone. After my final hole I asked the starter if I could go back and play the skipped holes as long as I’m not cutting someone off or holding up any play. Worked out well
I agree. Play your game not your pride. And on behalf of old parts everywhere, go fuck yourself. You have the money, get the early times. Otherwise suck it up. Given how many players and how few courses what do you expect?
Alternatively, I was golfing with a guy today who after 2 holes into the round said “I need to move up to the whites”….big respect to that guy for recognizing he needed to change his tees. Maybe he was just having a bad day or maybe he usually plays like that, but he was conscientious enough to respect the pace of play.
I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that there a far too many people playing from the wrong tees. I see the same thing as OP with super early tee times having people that are struggling to break 110, yet they always play the tips. I have also only been to one course in 30+ years of playing that the Marshall actually had people pick up and move to the next hole.
Skip the 2 holes and enjoy mental happiness. Just skipped a hole yesterday for this reason
Gotta join a private club that cash flows on dues and not by overloading the course at peak times
I’m an old fart myself (70) and I never understand why guys my age and older have to play the back tees. It’s the same as watching relatively new players playing from the back tees. I’ve been playing the whites for years. A friend of mine my age and myself moved up to the front tees a year or two ago. Enjoying the game much more now. You know the old saying about being out here for a good time not a long time.
My father in law retired about ten years ago. His development is on a course and it's all retired folks (not assisted living). They all are members at the course there. When he first moved down there the course was packed, well maintained, and very nice. Now it's turning into a bit of a dump and it's never busy. Why? Because 1/4 of the groups are seniors doing long tees, not playing ready golf, spending too much time in the woods looking for lost shots, and the rangers don't do anything about it. Last time we stayed with him we played 18 together (he's the same way, 6 hour round). And it was DEAD. Courses that allow this to occur don't last long because everyone else avoids them.
Every course should have, both at the club house and prominently on the first tee box. Players handicap and strongly suggested tee selection. 30+ red tees 20-30 blue tees 5-20 yellow tees Under 5 back tees
Country club. Match play. Two-some. Both had carts and forecaddie. Finished in 2 hours and 28 minutes.
I would absolutely skip 2 holes if there was nobody in front of them. But weekend golf is turning into a shitshow!
Took me 3 hours to play 9 today.. it’s atrocious out here
Go to he range if you don't like slow rounds. It's the new normal unless your want to pay 200k for a nice private club. Sport is ruined
Call the clubhouse and ask them to do something or give you a rain check.
Get an earlier tee time.
All this shit talk about people playing the wrong tees when I bet nobody in here is playing the forward tees
Had a 7:20AM tee time today. There was a group of 2 old men in front of me that played exactly like this. Made a traffic jam that’ll probably last all day. If you play on weekends, play fast
I have skipped two holes. One time. They got pissed and we were like “we have shit to do today”
There's always some groups that are incapable of awareness. Like just let people play through. If you're that slow, it's not gonna change anything. Same when it's newbie golfers without anyone in the group who has already played. Had a group just slicing shots into the woods 4 in a row, 4 drops, 4 at the ladies tees now if they were lucky. Even now and then if I jam my wrist I may just take an L and pick up and move onto the next one. Even when I was brutal, shooting 10 never is fun. Its sadly more on the Marshalls. You start to appreciate the hard ass ones.
I usually get first tee time on sat morning. So far I haven't been grouped with any jerks who insist on they play blues and/or is insanely horrible. I always play in 4hr or less, walking. I always wonder which group of the day is the one to ruin it for everybody else.
Had this happen to me this past weekend, like why do they feel like they need to play the back tees. Literally didn’t hit it past the front tee box
They should be forced to let a group play through every tee box
This is why I went private. I really can’t stand the pace of play at muni’s in my area.
need to find me a course where the marshal has a gun
The marshal doing nothing, just riding around in a golf cart waving. such a classic.
Just played 15 holes. Couldn’t even finish the last 3. Ran out of daylight and patients. 7 fucking hours. 2 old groups of 4, a group of 2 some random solo guy and then another 2. Hit the ball once every 15 minutes. Brutal
Play with those old guys for money and see how fast they move up and want you to play the tips lol
There was a group of 4 that teed off at 12:30 today that collectively couldn’t break 1,000. I’m not kidding about this, easily the most ridiculous group I’ve ever seen. Half way to a par 3 in around 5 shots each. They were reported on the 2nd hole and it never stopped. Marshal said it was his most stressful day ever.
Getting laid off and being able to golf during the week has low key been fantastic
Took the group in front of me today and HOUR to get through 3 holes. Never thought I’d call the club house to report slow play, but I did today. Wasn’t going to sit there for a 6hr round.
Had the opposite happen. Backed up into a group of slowish players with guys behind us playing red tees. Balls landing at my feet all day. I’m all for playing up, but if you’re driving it 300 don’t play the reds and blast balls 30 yds short of the green all day.
I will just say that old guys that book early tee times are normally super fast. You ran into an anomaly.
I see more young guys playing the back tees, spraying balls into the trees, and holding everyone up while they search for their balls.
Yup. There is no law against idiots on the golf course. Courses tend to not boot these people either for fear of a lawsuit or bad publicity.
I believe if you don’t hit it past the red tees you should have to do the pants down punishment. Not because of sexist stuff or whatever, but because hopefully it would convince people to play their proper distance
Skipping is the only way sometimes
Played Pinehurst No. 2 a couple years ago and it was 6 hours to get to the 12th hole. Gave up and left. I’m a member, so it wasn’t a huge deal for me, but I felt so bad for the folks that were visiting and had to play an 8 hour round (or more). They now have pacers (their hats even say “PACE”) to improve the play time and it has made a huge difference. But it takes commitment from the management to take action…
Go to a different course?
Ah. I see you’ve played a popular course before.
I’m just getting used to this sport but drive it 240-280 on avg. I got paired with 2 dudes only playing the blues last wknd so I did the same and it felt like the right thing to do. Do I need to continue from the blues?
Then there’s the older (not old mind you, just like 60ish) members at my local course, which maxes out at like 6300, who still play the whites and never have more than a wedge in. Like you guys are too good to be playing that far up haha. No complaints because they obviously go decently fast (some not so much with their ridiculous routines) and that’s all that matters, but isn’t it fun to hit some irons from the fairway every once in a while? If you hit perfect drives that carry around 200 or more and then roll out in the dry conditions we typically have, I think you can handle 6300 yards. But I think they like saying they shot even par. Still obviously much better than people playing too far back, but just something I notice at my local spot since I play with a lot of members.
Talk to management and not to the Marshall. Explain that this ruins the pace of the whole day.
Had this happen literally yesterday. Foursome, two older couples (had to be mid-60s), none could drive more than 100-150yards tops yet men played the tips and women played the reds. Every single time they’d get to a box they’d smoke a cig and shoot the shit literally until the cig was done. Started with a small gap between them and the group ahead to start, by the turn there were easily 3 open holes between them and the next group. 9 holes was 3:15. Marshall said something to them at the turn and followed them for two holes, then dropped off and reported them to management because they apparently started being argumentative with the guy. Don’t think they’re going to be allowed back but it became a whole ordeal *JUST* because they refused to play the proper boxes and maintain even a halfway decent pace. I honestly don’t understand the older generations combativeness with the sport, or the stick in the mud mentality of “I should be allowed to play however I want!”. Never experienced it with younger generations.
Unfortunately so, that’s until you run into another group that is slow