I went out solo and got paired with three older guys who played from the forward tees. I decided to join them, which made it about 900 yards shorter for me. It was a big change in the clubs I was choosing, hitting 7 or 8 irons to set myself up with a wedge. It was much more enjoyable, and I almost broke 90 for the first time. Probably would have done it if it weren’t for the bumpy greens. Just wanted to share that playing the senior tees can be a really fun experience.
No shame in playing the forward tees. If you’re shooting 90+ from there, it’s definitely worth sticking to them rather than moving back.
Zen said:
No shame in playing the forward tees. If you’re shooting 90+ from there, it’s definitely worth sticking to them rather than moving back.
Exactly! Play from the tees that fit your skill level. Leave your ego at home.
@Lex
Could not have*
Your*
Still, you’re totally right!
@Lex
How can you get better at longer distances if you don’t play them? I get that high handicaps shouldn’t play from the tips, but if they’re not struggling to get off the tee box, moving back a bit isn’t a terrible idea.
Zen said:
No shame in playing the forward tees. If you’re shooting 90+ from there, it’s definitely worth sticking to them rather than moving back.
Yeah, I’m not great at golf. I lose too many shots off the tee to break 90 from the back tees. I probably could’ve done it if not for a couple of bad holes.
Zen said:
No shame in playing the forward tees. If you’re shooting 90+ from there, it’s definitely worth sticking to them rather than moving back.
@Greer
If you’re scoring 82-88, your handicap should be lower—what’s the slope rating for this course?
Wynne said:
@Greer
If you’re scoring 82-88, your handicap should be lower—what’s the slope rating for this course?
Probably means 82-88 from the forward tees, which affects your handicap differently than playing from the whites or blues. I tend to pick tees based on yardage, around 6200-6400 yards, and the handicap difference evens out whether they’re blue or white.
Wynne said:
@Greer
If you’re scoring 82-88, your handicap should be lower—what’s the slope rating for this course?
Yeah, that’s about where I’m at (my best is a 79), and I’m around a 13-14 handicap.
Wynne said:
@Greer
If you’re scoring 82-88, your handicap should be lower—what’s the slope rating for this course?
Maybe he meant 92-98?
Wynne said:
@Greer
If you’re scoring 82-88, your handicap should be lower—what’s the slope rating for this course?
- You’re expected to hit your handicap about 20% of the time.
Wynne said:
@Greer
If you’re scoring 82-88, your handicap should be lower—what’s the slope rating for this course?
- You’re expected to hit your handicap about 20% of the time.
Actually, your handicap score should be a good round, not a bad one. If you’re consistently scoring below your handicap, it’s not accurate.
If you’re shooting 82-88, you should be around a 10-12 handicap, not a 20.
@Zion
It can depend on which tees you’re playing. You can shoot the same score but end up with a different handicap differential depending on the tees.
Francis said:
@Zion
It can depend on which tees you’re playing. You can shoot the same score but end up with a different handicap differential depending on the tees.
He mentioned he’s a 20.4 handicap who regularly breaks 90. The picture shows that 9-21 handicaps should play from the whites, so he probably plays from there.
Unless the course has some extremely short par 5s, his handicap should be lower than 20.4.
Wynne said:
@Greer
If you’re scoring 82-88, your handicap should be lower—what’s the slope rating for this course?
- You’re expected to hit your handicap about 20% of the time.
Your handicap is the average of the best 8 out of your last 20 rounds. If your skill stays the same, you should shoot close to your handicap about 40% of the time.
Depending on the slope rating, an average score of 85 usually means a handicap around 10-12.
@Greer
I wish more courses enforced this. Although there are always those guys who think their ego is tied to which tees they play from. You know the group—nobody hits a good tee shot, they all struggle on the first hole, and it ends up slowing down everyone behind them.
I actually saw a course marshal tell a group to move up a set of tees after seeing their tee shots. It was a busy course, but he was polite, saying, “You’ll play quicker, score better, and have more fun if you play from the whites today.” And they listened!
@Palmer
Yeah, the starter at my course asks if you’ve played there before and how far you usually hit your driver. Then he assigns you a tee accordingly. It’s pretty direct, but it’s actually great that they do it.