Which tees to play from?

I usually play from the second to last tees at any golf course I play unless it is an unusually short course.

I played with a guy from work who is crazy long with his clubs. He is easily 300 plus yards off the tee. I did beat him at the end of the day by 6 strokes. I shot an 83 and he shot an 89. How do you judge on when to play from the tips as opposed to the mens tees? I know I am not long enough to play from the tips yet but do you go off distance or average score?

I guess my real question is how do you know when to move to the tips?

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"You've just one problem. You stand too close to the ball after you've hit it." -Sam Snead

"Golf tips are like aspirin. One may do you good, but if you swallow the whole bottle you will be lucky to survive." -Harvey Penick

"I hit two of my best balls today......I stepped on a rake ".

Just about every course I have played will tell you on their score card which set of tees to play from. It is based on your handicap. What I see the most for men is around 0-11 plays from the tips, and 12-18 from the next shorter set of tees, and 19+ plays from the shortest set.

I also play alot of places where there is just not that big of difference in yardage between the tips, and shortest set of tees. In those instances, I don't think it matters which tees you play from. Other times I will play a 9 hole course with multiple tees. When I play 18 on those smaller courses, I play from different tee boxes so that I am not exactly playing the same hole twice.

Play from where you are the most comfortable with your game. It is my opinion that if you can hit the the ball 230+ and keep the ball in the fairway, then you can play from any tee box you feel like. GJS

Certainly I my club (9 hole muni course), there is an etiquette question here. The whites are placed at the back of the teeing box - the course isn't that long in the first place! The reds are at the front, the yellows are anywhere in between. The red's don't take that much of a pounding because of the number of lady golfers.

The whites, though, would if people were allowed to play off them all the time. So men are encouraged to play off the yellows because there's much more flexibility in moving them due to wear and tear. At my club, whites should only be used for competition play out of courtesy for those golfers playing comps when the day rolls round...

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Personal bests 2007;
Best 18: 78 (+12)
Best 9: 37 (+4)
Best Stableford: 45 pts
Best total putts: 28
Best total length sunk putts (ft): 54

Club tourney history this year: Captain's Day - 1st; Club foursomes - 2nd; Dimex Stableford - 2nd; Club Championship - 13/28 gross, joint 5/28 nett; Ferebee Shield - 2nd; Sept Medal 2nd; Autumn Stableford - 1st

The rules are a little complex and vary between Europe and the USA where the method of of course sloping is used in handicap calculations.

This is the way I remember it. Generally each course has an official measured distance, this distance determines the standard scratch score for the course when playing in qualifying competitions (the sum of the 18 pars). So, the SS may be 70, 71, 72 etc depending on what tees you play from. The distance can vary due to where the Tees are placed on the day as this can alter the total course distance, there may also be some temporary greens that affect the overall course length. If the course length is reduced overall by something like plus or minus 100 yards then the competition can be classified as non qualifying and will not be used to adjust handicaps.

The back tees or White tees are Medal tees and are used in qualifying men's competitions, these create the longest playable course and highest standard scratch.

There are also a set of forward tees normally red and referred to as the Ladies tees, these have their own course measurement and standard scratch. They are generally used in competitions by Ladies and Juniors with a handicap over 28.

The intermediate tees normally yellow are placed in between the two and are used for general non qualifying games, as Bulldog suggests they can be moved on a regular basis to protect the teeing area from wear. They also tend to be used in mixed club competitions where men and women are competing against each other and the SS will be adjusted to suit. Some courses now use blue tees for senior and junior players and they are in a position forward of the reds.

Which tees you wish to play from in friendly game is up to you, normally with a group of players they would all play from the same tees if competing in a friendly. The course green keepers may disable the white tees on non competition days in some cases to protect the teeing area.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

Thanks for the replies. Its funny how the tees are colored different on every course. The tips are blue and the mens are white on my local courses. A course an hour from my house the tips are black and the mens are yellow or gold.The front tees are always red on every course I have played though. Hopefully I will be playing the tips someday.