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I played at Barnbougle last year and was surprised to find that they had 4 tee positions that were allocated to you on the basis of handicap. The lower your handicap, the further back you tee off from. As a 20 + handicapper then I thought it was a good idea until I found that now my drives were now in putting me in range of the fairway bunkers. I had a good game and enjoyed the experience, thinking that this must be what it feels to be a good golfer who can hit 250 m plus drives and then hit high lofted clubs into greens.
Most clubs I play at have Mens, Ladies and green fee paying golfer tees. I was talking with Bogey Golfer last week and he mentioned that his club is going to trial the tee positions according to handicap. I wondered what the pros and cons would be.
Just to see what it was like laying off the front ( red) tees at our club I played a practice game today using the red tees. What I found was on some holes it didn’t make a lot of difference, but on others there were advantages. The dog leg holes where I could not hit over the bend reliably, I had to use shorter clubs than usual to get to the bend. The straighter holes I ended up hitting to the green with higher lofted clubs and reduced my score.
One downside I thought of is that the pace of play might be adversely affected, while players mover out of the way of the back markers while they drive, then move into position for their turn. It might also skew results in favour of higher handicap players for a while, as they can score better being in range with scoring clubs a little sooner. Their handicap would drop fairly quickly and then they would be relegated to the next tee position ( towards the rear).
The upside I think would be to increase the enjoyment of the game by those players who have either lost distance as they aged, or never had it in the first place. Also leaners might be more encouraged to join in competitions earlier, if they saw a handicap system helping them on the course, as well as in the scoring system.
What do you think?
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This is almost a no-brainer to me. Just looking at the number of players in the monthly medal at Wollongong that have no business playing off the black tees. We have a bunch of holes that are difficult to reach even for mid handicappers. (3rd is over 200 meters par 3, 13 is 420 meters par-4 not mention almost all the par 5 holes are very long from the black tees.)
* 2019 ISG Nats Barwon Heads winner
* Proud member of the Wollongong Swimming Club.I suppose what you say makes sense in some respects, BUT isn’t that what handicaps are for in the first place. Lets take Pyls 420 metre Par 4, lets say it is rated 8 on the index. A player off say 4 plays off the back marker and someone on 28 plays off a Green marker some 80 metres in front so the length of the hole for them is 360M (don’t mean to give everyone a math lesson here). The 4 marker hits his ball 240M, the 28 marker hits his 180. 4 marker has 180 left and the 28 marker 180M. 4 marker now has 3 shots to get in the hole for par. 28 marker has 5 to go the same distance for par (handicap par that is) with both earning 2 pts for a stb round. It now comes down to skill level. How is if fair to the 4 marker or give him any chance of playing on a level field as the 28 marker.
I am not a big hitter by any stretch of the imagination and the way I have been playing over the passed 6 weeks is abominable, but that is due to my skill level, not my handicap. Why should I be given some form of advantage above my handicap just because I am a shit golfer. I either improve my skill level or continue to get blasted by good players.
I guess the fact as pointed out that if I was to improve, then my handicap would drop (unlikely at present) and I would move back toward the low marker, so yeah, I suppose there is a balance to it in some ways.
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My view…speaking on behalf of the 190m bunters on the forum…I’ll play off the normal comp tee thank you. That is usually designated as the blue tees. Take the whites and especially the blacks…and jam them where the sun don’t shine.
We have had a couple of black tee days at Yering in the last month. You won’t see me for dust.
Winner Moonah Legends 2013 Nationals
Winner The National 2013 Nationals
Winner 4BBB 2013 Nationals
Winner Stink's 3 Club Challenge 2015
Winner C grade OOM The Sands 2016
Hole-in-one Growling Frog 14/1/17 5th hole 137m TM RBZ 5 hybrid, Srixon AD333 ball
Growling Frog GC Matchplay Champion 2017
Winner B grade OOM Curlewis 2018
Winner Yering Meadows Monthly Medal Dec 2020Low Handicap point 12.7 9/4/16
Finally...and most importantly...
Smoldy....when only the best will do1 user liked this post.
And re Barnbougle…when we played there last September, we chose the Magenta tees – essentially the longest tees other than the back tees – and enjoyed it.
Winner Moonah Legends 2013 Nationals
Winner The National 2013 Nationals
Winner 4BBB 2013 Nationals
Winner Stink's 3 Club Challenge 2015
Winner C grade OOM The Sands 2016
Hole-in-one Growling Frog 14/1/17 5th hole 137m TM RBZ 5 hybrid, Srixon AD333 ball
Growling Frog GC Matchplay Champion 2017
Winner B grade OOM Curlewis 2018
Winner Yering Meadows Monthly Medal Dec 2020Low Handicap point 12.7 9/4/16
Finally...and most importantly...
Smoldy....when only the best will doIt seems from opinions expressed there is some support for change.
I feel sorry for the old blokes at Vets ( 100m -150m straighties) when they take two shots to reach my tee shot. At the end of the day, they often score well as result of their handicap and straightness. I do know how they feel when I play with my son in law, but luckily he sprays them on occasion.
I think the main advantage would be to encourage new players to try competition golf and not feel totally inadequate. Also the experienced golfers who don’t want to be shown up distance wise.
I played at Barnbougle last year and was surprised to find that they had 4 tee positions that were allocated to you on the basis of handicap. The lower your handicap, the further back you tee off from. As a 20 + handicapper then I thought it was a good idea until I found that now my drives were now in putting me in range of the fairway bunkers. I had a good game and enjoyed the experience, thinking that this must be what it feels to be a good golfer who can hit 250 m plus drives and then hit high lofted clubs into greens.
Most clubs I play at have Mens, Ladies and green fee paying golfer tees. I was talking with Bogey Golfer last week and he mentioned that his club is going to trial the tee positions according to handicap. I wondered what the pros and cons would be.
Just to see what it was like laying off the front ( red) tees at our club I played a practice game today using the red tees. What I found was on some holes it didn’t make a lot of difference, but on others there were advantages. The dog leg holes where I could not hit over the bend reliably, I had to use shorter clubs than usual to get to the bend. The straighter holes I ended up hitting to the green with higher lofted clubs and reduced my score.
One downside I thought of is that the pace of play might be adversely affected, while players mover out of the way of the back markers while they drive, then move into position for their turn. It might also skew results in favour of higher handicap players for a while, as they can score better being in range with scoring clubs a little sooner. Their handicap would drop fairly quickly and then they would be relegated to the next tee position ( towards the rear).
The upside I think would be to increase the enjoyment of the game by those players who have either lost distance as they aged, or never had it in the first place. Also leaners might be more encouraged to join in competitions earlier, if they saw a handicap system helping them on the course, as well as in the scoring system.
What do you think?
Gender-neutral tees are the go and its why we have a slope rating system in place (theoretically).
Let people play (male/female) from whichever tee and adjust handicap accordingly. Play the tee for your handicap level and enjoy the round.
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The USGA has a theory on this as they are trying to encourage more golfers to play off tee that are in line with ability.
and as ones game progresses then move back as described at Barnbougle.
Golf Australia are not yet promoting this idea although a number of clubs I have visited are now playing multiple tee competitions on same dayUSGA use following method to determine the length of course one should play based on how far you hit ball with driver.
They say average driver length x 28 is the meters course.should play and what ever colour tee that relates to.
for older golfers who hit 175m = course length =4900
So for the 190m bunters = 5320m
220m = 6160m
The new WHS allows golfers to be handicapped from multiple tees
That sounds logical, if driver distance is the prime determining factor of hcp. I think that’s not the case.
Many B & C graders are longer (off the tee +) than their contemporaries due to lacking proficiency in other areas. We have a new member (30yrs) who can drive 250+, but rarely converts any good tee shots, so off 32hcp. On a shorter course he would be playing against older players with an inverted skillset. He would dominate until his hcp reduced…
I think hcps even out all our collective unique skillsets, so picking one facet doesn’t work perfectly.. just my penny…Incessant Threadjacker
NSW Amateur 9hole Speedgolf champ 2019 & 2020 BTB ?
Yeah…nah Geoff.
I agree with Schmuck. Distance off the tee does not necessarily relate to handicap. Christ knows, the number of blokes on our forums who I’ve played with who belt it 50m past me and are off higher handicaps (hello Ink, et al) you need more than both hands to count. Benny is another good example…hits it no more than 190-200 off the tee…and has a handicap around 12.
Short game, an element of bunker skills and decent putting can make up a lot for those that don’t get it out there.
Winner Moonah Legends 2013 Nationals
Winner The National 2013 Nationals
Winner 4BBB 2013 Nationals
Winner Stink's 3 Club Challenge 2015
Winner C grade OOM The Sands 2016
Hole-in-one Growling Frog 14/1/17 5th hole 137m TM RBZ 5 hybrid, Srixon AD333 ball
Growling Frog GC Matchplay Champion 2017
Winner B grade OOM Curlewis 2018
Winner Yering Meadows Monthly Medal Dec 2020Low Handicap point 12.7 9/4/16
Finally...and most importantly...
Smoldy....when only the best will doI find myself agreeing with multiple points of view here. When we played at Barnbougle the first day we played off the tees recommended for the highest handicap which was the very front markers. Everyone had fun (including me – it was fun having wedges into greens). The next day we played one set further back and it was a mistake – brought a lot of carries in for the higher markers and a lot more lost balls.
I prefer to have a comp tee for the day, but that said, I think that our courses are way too tied to the “traditional” tees. I would like to see some rounds where we play a tee other than the reds, maybe a medal day off the blues followed by one off the golds. I think it adds some interest for different players and means that you have to think a little more about how you are going to play your round. If the blokes played a round off the reds off lower handicaps I think that would be fun for a change as well.
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I wonder if the scratch ratings are robust enough to support allowing the field to choose their tee in a comp
I suspect that people who were really keen for an advantage would find a tee (I’m guessing the shortest available) to maximise their scoring chances
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I find myself agreeing with multiple points of view here. When we played at Barnbougle the first day we played off the tees recommended for the highest handicap which was the very front markers. Everyone had fun (including me – it was fun having wedges into greens). The next day we played one set further back and it was a mistake – brought a lot of carries in for the higher markers and a lot more lost balls.
I prefer to have a comp tee for the day, but that said, I think that our courses are way too tied to the “traditional” tees. I would like to see some rounds where we play a tee other than the reds, maybe a medal day off the blues followed by one off the golds. I think it adds some interest for different players and means that you have to think a little more about how you are going to play your round. If the blokes played a round off the reds off lower handicaps I think that would be fun for a change as well.
I wonder if the scratch ratings are robust enough to support allowing the field to choose their tee in a comp
I suspect that people who were really keen for an advantage would find a tee (I’m guessing the shortest available) to maximise their scoring chances
Immediately after coring our greens, a gold tee event was held.
A heap of A graders found themselves with substantial plus handicaps for the day.People say that nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.
No championships worth mentioning in recent years.
Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity.I wonder if the scratch ratings are robust enough to support allowing the field to choose their tee in a comp
I suspect that people who were really keen for an advantage would find a tee (I’m guessing the shortest available) to maximise their scoring chances
The scratch ratings are set for each tee and so is slope so from each tee you will have a different daily handicap, thus allowing players to play at tee for their skill level and hence all scores should count the same.
The WHS has been set up on this basis.That adds nothing to the question of whether they are robust enough
We played Gailes yesterday and a member at Jindalee had a lower cap there than at his home course – but those who have played both tell me that Jindalee is an easier not harder course
So I remain doubtful about the quality of the ratings
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