If paying Green fees should you be able to choose which tee boxes you play off?

freddielong

freddielong

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Just a simple question really, if you turn up at a course and pay to play (not a competion) should you be able to play off the competition or championship tees if you want to?

Imo you should, if you are asked to play from the men's tees it should be at a reduced green fee.

What do you think ? Is this normally the case? What does your club do ?
 
Up to the club what they are offering, very few places allow players to choose their tee boxes, most insist you use "tees of the day" ie the yellows.

If Im booking somewhere else will often ask in advance if they would allow us to play off comp tees
 
Depends on the club. At our place even members are only allowed to use the white tees on designated days so no reason why guests should be given something that is not available to members. If members can play off any tee then guests should have the same right.
 
No, it's their Club and their rules, ask in advance and if you don't like the answer, play somewhere else.
 
GB72 said:
Depends on the club. At our place even members are only allowed to use the white tees on designated days so no reason why guests should be given something that is not available to members. If members can play off any tee then guests should have the same right.
Click to expand...

This is a good point.

However, just because members may isn't the be all and end all.

If you are a competent 2 or 3 ball you will probably be granted permission at my course but at busy times where the field is using the yellows I would expect any other 4 ball to be asked to play the same. At 6400 they aren't exactly short...
 
I always ask, most places are fairly accommodating if you are a low handicapper. In the States they are very relaxed, you can play any tees you want. I played Pinehurst #2 off the championship tees. I ripped it up :whistle:
 
GB72 said:
Depends on the club. At our place even members are only allowed to use the white tees on designated days so no reason why guests should be given something that is not available to members. If members can play off any tee then guests should have the same right.
Click to expand...


I agree with this. Some courses do this to protect the medal tees so no one could play off the whites unless in a competition. My old club did it and I understood the reasoning, Bamburgh does as well.

As long as clubs are consistent and treat guests and members the same I think that is fair.

If it means so much to someone to play off the whites then would you not check first of all? I'm not bothered either way so I accept what the pro says in the shop. I would hope however that a club that does not allow this would advertise the fact on their website. That would be fair and everyone would then know where they stood.
 
Most of the clubs up here would allow you to play off whatever tee's you like. the only two i can think of that don't are Royal Dornoch and Torvean. Ive just come back from a jolly to Angus and they let us play off the back tee's at all the courses.

Ours let anyone play from whatever tee's you want. The downside is you get visitors who don't hit the ball very far playing from them and taking 5 hours plus when they would have a more enjoyable round off the yellows.

I think you should be able to play off the back tee's if your handicap is low enough and i think thats the case at some of the Open venues
 
Their club, their rules. There might be good reasons for it as well: maybe the greenkeepers are preparing the white tee boxes for a comp, maybe they have noticed that guests tend to overestimate their abilities and take too long of the whites ... It never hurts to ask, though.

At our place, the whites only come into play for very few competitions (internally only for the club championships, afaik, and then for a few regional qualifiers) and only a few of our most athletic young members tend to play off them for private/practice rounds. Everyone else uses the yellows. Always. Course is long enough as it is. Same is true for the ladies. We have a set of black tees which are located behind the reds which are used as ladies championship tees, but I don't know any lady who voluntarily plays off them unless she is practicing for a specific event.

Yet, I guess if a guest wanted to play of the longer tees, no one would try to stop them. We probably would just all gather and watch in awe ;)
 
Down to the club. I would like to test my self at different clubs and see how I fair but can understand why they don't allow everyone to play from the tips.

At my club you can only play from the whites in a comp or scheduled match, that's even for members. There's not that much for us between the white and yellows except for a couple holes so I suppose it doesn't make much difference.
 
I think you have to be careful when letting people play from the back tees. At my place you get visitors wanting to play the tour tees all the time, 10 years ago this was still being used on the US PGA Tour. 5 holes you can't even get past the dogleg unless you smack one in excess off 280 yards. Another 3 holes need a 270+ carry to get onto the fairway. Then you have a 210+ par 3 and 2 at over 220 yards.

So basically to the average golfer there are 11 holes from the back tees that are almost impossible for them.
 
This shouldn't even be a topic of discussion. (Only golf and golfers are weary as ****) Does it really matter where you tee off? I personally think it should be your choice; unless it's under repair etc. You're paying to play be it via membership or green fees. Sometimes if I'm strapped for time I'll play off the ladies just to speed around - and it sometimes makes the same track a little different.
 
Down to the club/business, its their business. Ask when paying and if you don't like the answer then don't play.

For me, I find once yardages get above about 6400, it just becomes a long slog anyway and you are just hitting big clubs all the time, so normally yellows are good for me for a normal round tbh at almost all clubs, as they tend to be low 6000's anyway.
 
Most clubs want to protect the tee's I would have thought hence the tees of the day. As long as its a constant rule for visitors/guests and members no problem for me.

I can actually see both sides of this but ego sometimes gets in the way for some people.

Lost count of the amount of times I have been behind a group/s playing off tee's that are simply too tough for them.

One of many examples about 4 months ago we were a 3 ball at Royal Liverpool behind a 4 4 balls of Americans all with caddies playing off the championship tees for the experience ?!? Queue a 5+ hour round watching each and everyone of them carve balls left, right anywhere but center. I dont know how they enjoyed it at times without even giving two hoots what was happening behind them.
 
MadAdey said:
I think you have to be careful when letting people play from the back tees. At my place you get visitors wanting to play the tour tees all the time, 10 years ago this was still being used on the US PGA Tour. 5 holes you can't even get past the dogleg unless you smack one in excess off 280 yards. Another 3 holes need a 270+ carry to get onto the fairway. Then you have a 210+ par 3 and 2 at over 220 yards.

So basically to the average golfer there are 11 holes from the back tees that are almost impossible for them.
Click to expand...

270+ carry to make the fairway?? You sure that's right?

Average total driving distance is 290 this year. A lot of the field wouldn't make that carry, never mind 10yrs ago. Is that why the venue was ditched?
 
You should play of the tees as dictated by the club - for us is the tee of the day and that's the same for members
 
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