Do most of your members play from tees that are too long for their game? They do at my club, Pauma Valley CC. “TEE IT FORWARD”, a marketing program recently announced by the PGA of America and the USGA seeks to make the game more fun for most golfers like you and me by moving on up. TEE IT FORWARD = lower scores, faster play, and more enjoyment for all of us. What’s not to like?
PGA of America President Allen Wronowski says “We believe that by moving up to another set of tees, golfers will experience an exciting, new approach to the game that will produce more enjoyment and elevate their desire to come back and play even more golf.”
TEE IT FORWARD is not about creating a new set of tees. Most, if not all Jones courses, already have runway tees that offer the club a chance to vary the lengths of the holes. More importantly, TEE IT FORWARD is about changing the mindset of golfers in a positive way—encouraging people to consider setting aside playing from 6,500-6,700 yards and moving up to a length of 6,000-6,200 yards or moving from 6,000-6,200 yards to 5,700-5,800 yards.
If your Jones course is like mine it has a number of long Par 4’s that require driver, 3 wood, and a short pitch or chip to reach the green. The majority of our members face this game every day. Barney Adams, founder of Adams Golf, recently wrote an article about the cause of golf losing ground in popularity, citing the cause as courses being too long for amateurs. Adams is one of many golf authorities that make this point. Noted architect Dr. Alistar Mackenzie said many times, “Variety in golf is everything.” I don’t find much variety in hitting driver/3 wood on every hole, do you?
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The TEE IT FORWARD initiative is the right concept at the right time. With the popularity of golf on the decline, this effort will make golf enjoyable for golfers with many different abilities.
A key is to know how far you hit your driver and your other clubs. If you drive the ball 250 yards of more, you can play a 425-yard par 4. If you drive just 225 yards, you will be hard-pressed to get the ball on the green in regulation and should consider moving up a set of tees (usually 300-400 yards shorter).
I am 71 years old and drive the ball 225 yards on average. Old Warson’s 6420-yard blue tee course has has several par 4’s on each nine that exceed 400 yards and pose a definite length problem to get on in regulation.
More often than not, I play a course just over 6,000 yards and am able to hit all 18 greens in regulation (with good shots). And this is what I do the majority of the time.
Old Warson’s ladies tee course is over 5,400 yards. Most women do not hit a driver over 170 yards so the course was daunting. Several years ago, we developed a shorter course with 8 new tees along with moving this new set of tees to the front of our long, runway tees. This new green tee course is just under 4,900 yards and has proven to be very, very popular.
I am working on a new set of tees for our course at Turkey Creek GC. These will give players a shorter set of tees from the current White tees that measure 5,858 yards. The new “White/Gold” combo set will be around 5,500 yards.
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