Walked 18 yesterday, it was raining pretty hard and the course was empty so I decided to play the front tees for fun. Total yardage dropped to 5116 for 18, I’m not a great golfer but being able to hit a wedge into pretty much every green was a ton of fun and while I don’t count it as a true score it was fun to shoot a lot lower than I typically do.
If you haven’t played up a bit go do it, you’re missing out. If you get too many birdies you can drop back on the back 9.
by Rianjohnsonlikessand
31 Comments
I love playing up. I don’t usually play the fronts those are often too close as to not be enjoyable but sometimes the “correct” tees just feel too long to me.
My course has 5 tee sets (although the front two are the same location on most holes) so it gives you a good amount of options.
I never ever play from the tips though. I am not him.
I always play the reds when I’m out with the wife or the kid. It’s excellent practice for your scoring clubs and for your mental game when you’re gonna have way more birdie looks than a normal round.
I do this once in a while as well to see if I can’t break a certain score. Last time I played forward I shot 65 from the tees that measured just over 5000, it was a lot of fun.
But the only way I’ll get better is shooting 120 from the tips, using a shitton of mulligans & carding a 103.
It’s a true score! As long as the reds are rated you can get a differential on them.
Shot even from the green tees with some retirees and was -2 at one point. Prob the most fun I’ve had all year
The amount of poor golfers who think they should be playing the blues is too damn high!
There is one course that’s super hilly and if I’m carrying 18 holes I’ll play the front tees for the day. It’s kind of fun to change it up
I’m not even that good playing from the forward tees so why make it more difficult and less enjoyable by hitting from farther back?
Trains you to score – I always play a few early season rounds from the reds to make some easy 3s
In the winter season I’ll play against my wife on the red tee boxes with the caveat that I can only use irons; no woods or hybrids.
Honestly, it’s quite enjoyable using long irons off every tee and I can still score well.
Our home course is still pretty tough from the reds (66/118 for men, 70.6/134 for ladies) so it’s still very engaging.
I like to play where fairway bunkers come into play off the tee. Pretty sure when you’re doing that, you’re playing what the architect intended.
Favorite way to practice my irons and wedges. Would rather hit iron off every tee and into greens than go to the range.
Nothing to do with scoring or trying to make golf “easy” just a good way to dial irons in, instead of hitting aimlessly on the range.
I rotate tees on my main course for fun.
There’s a course with 5200-yd white tees around me, and has tricked me into playing short before. Super wide fairways, it was a nice difference to just whack the ball around and constantly be in striking distance.
Shot about 20 strokes lower than normal, but yeah doesn’t count.
Breaking 90 occasionally, I played a course last week where the blue tees were move forward, sometimes just behind the ladies’ tees. Didn’t strike the ball particularly well but still ended up shooting 85. Including hitting the green of a par 5 in two, closing the round with a birdie. What a blast!
I still play the whites even at age 71. I can usually get to the green in regulation. But I’ll also play the front tees and it’s kind of fun because you get to use different clubs. Breaks the monotony of always playing the whites.
I got bored and tried to see if I could break par from the forward tees at the course I play at and I was able to do it from all tees except the back. Was super fun to change it up and more people should play up.
My daughter (14) doesn’t want to play softball in high school because of the schedule interfering with some of her other interests, so I suggested she come play 9 holes with me. I let her tee off from the 150 on each hole (except for par 3s) and I just played everything like a par 3 and it was really enjoyable.
I usually play from the whites, but I actually prefer the gold tees. I’m 41, I’ve played for 30+ years but super inconsistently. Usually in the mid to upper 80s from the whites, low 80s with the occasional dip into the 78 or 79 from the golds. I just find them to be a more enjoyable experience.
What blows is when I play with people that play from the tips…and they aren’t any better than me. Like, cool, guess nobody’s having fun today.
Starting in early November until late March my club in Scotland plays the winter tees. These are the forward tees the rest of the year. The course is really fun to play that way. Last year I birdied the hardest hole on the course three straight rounds.
It is a true score! This is the great thing about the handicap system – it adjusts your score based on the slope/rating for whatever tees you play. If you don’t post scores, there are “differential” calculators you can find online as well to just punch in the numbers and see what the score differential is for your round. It lets you compare your scores between different sets of tees, courses, etc.
My low differential (best round) last year was on a longer course than my home course. That round was 5 strokes higher than my lowest round at my home course since my home course is so much shorter/easier.
This is my “reset button” hack. I move to forward tees, club up from my stock distance, and never swing more than 75%. Focusing on clean contact and controlling the face for a full round is a great feeling.
I run a Wednesday evening 9 hole game.
5 rules:
1. Everyone plays from the forward tees
2. Laying up anywhere is probibited and adjudicated by your playing competitors. If you are deemed to have been a pussy. Lose of hole
3. There are no penalties anywhere. There are free drops for OB and any marked penalty area. This does not apply to unplayable lies (adjudication as under rule 2).
4. You are not allowed to use your putter unless you are on the green.
5. Marking your ball anywhere is probibited (a. K. A stymies, bitches.)
Skins game and gross unless you are above a fifteen, then you get two strokes.
Love it. When I was trying to break 100 I played from the golds until I’d done it 5 times. I think I’m ready to do the same to get under 90.
Also… colder temps mean lower distances, so this may be a better way to play in the winter anyway.
When I was starting out, we’d always play the front “ladies” tees on long par 5’s.
There’s no point hacking your way up the length of the hole, if your long game sucks. And struggle with the driver.
Our group will play the front tees occasionally to work on the wedge game.
I don’t want to hit wedge every hole, no more than I want to hit a 3w into every par 4.
I do it all the time for a change of pace. Whites and blues get old after a while. The reds give a new prospective of strategy.
that might still be your ego talking if you don’t consider it a true score. any tee box will have its own slope so it can still contribute to your handicap
Probably most players could benefit by moving up. If you’re using fairway woods and hybrids on most par 4s you’re too far back.
How do you play the dink out rule from the front tees?