New women's tees

[Golfloveruk]

The handicap system is there to give people an equivalent challenge - that’s its purpose - not changing courses to allow people to have the same challenge

Let’s get all course lengthened to 7500 yards and set up like tour events. Then it would be a proper challenge!!

Can’t play that length or get out of the rough? Get to the gym. Work on your speed until you have a 180mph fairway finder.

I’m sure 70 year old Betty would love to be told to hit the kettle bells and squat rack

There are some absolute turnips on here.

 

[Backache]

The handicap system is there to give people an equivalent challenge - that’s its purpose - not changing courses to allow people to have the same challenge

Of course
I was making two seperate points
One was about the handicap system which alters handicap according to course difficult and one was about the proposed new tees which was to give equivalence of challenge. I was not trying to suggest the handicap system was trying to give an equivalent challenge.

 

[Slab]

The handicap system is there to give people an equivalent challenge - that’s its purpose - not changing courses to allow people to have the same challenge

Not really its primary function though, its for use in comp scoring (post round) and not for playability of the round

If you've been in the position of needing to consistently remind a high handicapper that 'for them' its actually a par 6 or 7 (when it clearly says par 4/5 on the card and the signpost at the teebox)

Why shouldn't a course have more than just the 3 'traditional' tee options so that a shorter hitting player can experience playing a round of golf and reaching some par 4's in two. What harm can it do to make the game more enjoyable & accessible for them
Comps can still put restrictions on if a club is freaked out by a short course

 

[louise_a]

We have a four sets of tees at our course all rated for men but only two rated for women, we are in the process introducing a fifth set. By coincidence I played with the club 's main handicap secretary a couple of days ago and we were talking about these new tees, they are between the traditional yellow and red tees and he said he hoped they would replace the yellows going forward as there is very little difference between our whites and yellows. I said I hoped they would be rated for women and he said not yet, which women would want to play off them anyway. I pointed out that I would and although I used to be one of the longest hitters there are a good number of younger women at the club now who hit a lot further than I do, It is hard to change ingrained attitudes.

One the subject of playing different tees, I enjoy an occasional round off our shortest tee set, it makes for a completely different round being able to hit a variety of irons for the 2nd shot instead of having to hit a 3 wood all the time.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Let’s get all course lengthened to 7500 yards and set up like tour events. Then it would be a proper challenge!!

Can’t play that length or get out of the rough? Get to the gym. Work on your speed until you have a 180mph fairway finder.

I’m sure 70 year old Betty would love to be told to hit the kettle bells and squat rack

There are some absolute turnips on here.

Why should a course build a brand new tee so that 70 year Betty can reach a green in regulation

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Not really its primary function though, its for use in comp scoring (post round) and not for playability of the round

If you've been in the position of needing to consistently remind a high handicapper that 'for them' its actually a par 6 or 7 (when it clearly says par 4/5 on the card and the signpost at the teebox)

Why shouldn't a course have more than just the 3 'traditional' tee options so that a shorter hitting player can experience playing a round of golf and reaching some par 4's in two. What harm can it do to make the game more enjoyable & accessible for them
Comps can still put restrictions on if a club is freaked out by a short course

Most courses that I have seen do have 4 sets of tees

Right at the back , tees of the day , ladies tees and forward junior tees

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Why should a course build a brand new tee so that 70 year Betty can reach a green in regulation

Called forward tees and already in situ. Why argue when people have already pointed this out several ways.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Of course
I was making two seperate points
One was about the handicap system which alters handicap according to course difficult and one was about the proposed new tees which was to give equivalence of challenge. I was not trying to suggest the handicap system was trying to give an equivalent challenge.

Most courses I know had a set of “blue” tees which are the forward tees where new juniors play off -there is nothing stopping anyone using them

The tees for people will be there - just pick the ones they want to use

 

[Slab]

Most courses I know had a set of “blue” tees which are the forward tees where new juniors play off -there is nothing stopping anyone using them

The tees for people will be there - just pick the ones they want to use

Doesn't seem to be the experience of the women who wrote the article

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Doesn't seem to be the experience of the women who wrote the article

And of course that will always be a small set of results to look at

A lot of new courses now have maybe 5 sets of tees

But many older established courses will have 3 sets ( unable to build anymore due to restrictions ) plus the junior tees forward on the fairway etc

It’s always the way with some articles like this - very insular thinking

 

[HomerJSimpson]

- very insular thinking

same with replies. I see it in a very simple fashion. If a lady is old and struggling move forward to the senior/junior tees. Shorter course = more fun.

It will have a slope and so you can still compete against someone off the reds or even yellows. No need to build anything or change anything on a majority of courses

 

[Mel Smooth]

The solution is junior tees, correctly measured and ratified.
It’s a no brainer to encourage younger players, and those that struggle with distance, onto the golf course.

Gender should never dictate which tees you play from.

 

[Slab]

And of course that will always be a small set of results to look at

A lot of new courses now have maybe 5 sets of tees

But many older established courses will have 3 sets ( unable to build anymore due to restrictions ) plus the junior tees forward on the fairway etc

It’s always the way with some articles like this - very insular thinking

I agree modern courses will have considered a far wider set of players than traditional old courses. these old courses may not have considered it even now and its those clubs with 3 tees on the scorecards that might want to look at adding forward tees (& there are a great many)

If ppl object to 'betty' reaching a GIR is it also time to get rid of all these half size football pitches, 5 as side pitches, indoor pitches and anything else that doesn’t meet EPL size. Maybe build some affordable houses on this space. I’ll wager you’ve never objected to these places existing as 'shortened' courses for AM football

The difference with golf is, most often we all have to play on the same piece of ground so all our courses/pitches/courts are overlapping

 

[rulefan]

The solution is junior tees, correctly measured and ratified.
It’s a no brainer to encourage younger players, and those that struggle with distance, onto the golf course.

Gender should never dictate which tees you play from.

Which gender(s) are the four courses rated for? Each card only shows one rating.

 

[Mel Smooth]

Which gender(s) are the four courses rated for? Each card only shows one rating.

It’s the same course, Dewsbury District - go on England Golf and you’ll see all the different options for both male and female.

 

[Orikoru]

Food for thought. I do think golf would be more enjoyable for a lot of women if they did feel like they can reach greens in regulation. When I play with my wife (around 40-41 index ish) I often try and select courses where the reds are only around 4500 yards.

If you did want to put a new set of shorter tees in though, at most courses, the problem would be that you either invest quite a bit of money putting in a load of new teeing mounds, or you just plonk tee markers up in front of the fairway which doesn't look great. But it would certainly provide more equity, as men currently have whites for comps and yellows for casual if you want to, while the women just play everything off reds. With a new set of tees, the reds would become their whites effectively, and the new tees their yellows. Makes sense.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

I agree modern courses will have considered a far wider set of players than traditional old courses. these old courses may not have considered it even now and its those clubs with 3 tees on the scorecards that might want to look at adding forward tees (& there are a great many)

If ppl object to 'betty' reaching a GIR is it also time to get rid of all these half size football pitches, 5 as side pitches, indoor pitches and anything else that doesn’t meet EPL size. Maybe build some affordable houses on this space. I’ll wager you’ve never objected to these places existing as 'shortened' courses for AM football

The difference with golf is, most often we all have to play on the same piece of ground so all our courses/pitches/courts are overlapping

Why does there always seems to be some sort of attempt to use other sports as comparisons ?

It’s in an irrelevant comparison to use sports like football

How many tees should a club have ?

If someone can only hit it 80 yards shoold there be a tee 160 yards away from every par 4 so that they can reach in 2

We are looking a small set here

Most clubs will have plenty of tee options that will fit 99% of their members and those tees will have been derived from the members wishes it’s up to each member to pick which fee suits them

 

[Backache]

Why does there always seems to be some sort of attempt to use other sports as comparisons ?

It’s in an irrelevant comparison to use sports like football

How many tees should a club have ?

If someone can only hit it 80 yards shoold there be a tee 160 yards away from every par 4 so that they can reach in 2

We are looking a small set here

Most clubs will have plenty of fee options that will fit 99% of their members and those tees will have been derived from the members wishes it’s up to each member to pick which fee suits them

Fee options and tee options are rather different.

I have played quite a few courses this year and I can only recall one that really had a tee set up that would suit someone wanting to get to most of the par4's in two with a tee shot that travels 150 yds or less. This is not a small set it is a large proportion of the women members at many clubs.

Where there are good well placed measured tees well forward of the 'red' tees that's great. Most junior tees around here are a couple of blue tees randomly dropped on the fairway.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Fee options and tee options are rather different.

I have played quite a few courses this year and I can only recall one that really had a tee set up that would suit someone wanting to get to most of the par4's in two with a tee shot that travels 150 yds or less. This is not a small set it is a large proportion of the women members at many clubs.

Where there are good well placed measured tees well forward of the 'red' tees that's great. Most junior tees around here are a couple of blue tees randomly dropped on the fairway.

It’s a fixation with being able to reach greens in regulation

Does it mean that every par 3 has a tee that allows everyone to reach the green in one ?

Par 5’s having tees at 300 yards to they can be reached in 3

When I look at the ladies tees at our place

It’s 5550 yard but a par 73

Longest par 4 is 336

Par 3 is 171

Par 5 480

 

[Slab]

Why does there always seems to be some sort of attempt to use other sports as comparisons ?

It’s in an irrelevant comparison to use sports like football

How many tees should a club have ?

If someone can only hit it 80 yards shoold there be a tee 160 yards away from every par 4 so that they can reach in 2

We are looking a small set here

Most clubs will have plenty of tee options that will fit 99% of their members and those tees will have been derived from the members wishes it’s up to each member to pick which fee suits them

You're a guy interested in multiple sports. I had the impression you might have thought this topic through with your 'football head' on. So it seemed appropriate

Maybe you think we're looking at a small set because a more playable tee option doesn't currently exist in many clubs and ppl aren't joining after trying out the game and constantly needing 1 or 2 over par just to get to the green?
Of course we're not talking about 10 or 15 tee options for every increment players can drive the ball but if the article is to be believed then many clubs (maybe not yours) need a shorter tee option

Thanks to forumers adding their course website in their signatures I can see that many clubs don't in fact have a 4th (or 5th) measured shorter course in the range the article refers to
Maybe you'd get more members of a profile that doesn't fit into 99% of current members with such a layout (maybe you don't want/need them but that's a separate matter)