Shorter courses for seniors?

Indeed, and I often play from the yellows in bounce games, especially if in a mixed group to be more sociable. Last week one of my county team mates and I played off the yellows at duddingston and had a great game with the advantage that a few holes that are way too short from the Reds became much more interesting. The problem on many courses though is that a lack of women's par and SSS from those tees prevents us from accurately using handicaps either to compete with men or just to have a realistic idea of how well we scored. At a forum meet, for example, I might as well just donate my sweep money if I'm playing off yellow or white tees while still using the same handicap.... As I have done a few times.

I'm also aware of the extra time it takes when a group is split over different tees. All the things I might do on the tee while my PPs are playing have to wait until they have played and we move to the red tee. It definitely delays play.


I am quite new to this forum, but have clocked that you are female, how did you get on round Duddingston off the yellows?
 
Karen could you just add on the diff in the sss between the red and yellow like we did at Nairn last year , so rather than lose 3 shots you gained 3??

Yeah and it's no big deal in the grand scheme of forum meets but it'd be ideal if the yellow and white tees at most courses also had women's par and SSS. I know I go on about this a lot but I think it'd be great! :)
 
Karen could you just add on the diff in the sss between the red and yellow like we did at Nairn last year , so rather than lose 3 shots you gained 3??

It's more than just that difference though!

SSS off the Red is for Ladies; SSS of the Yellow is for Men! so not as simple as what was done 'at Nairn' - which would work if some men were off Yellows and others were off Whites. The 3 shots there would be the minimum to add, but more likely more to compensate for the general difference between Men and Ladies (driving primarily) distance!

Of course, if all tees were rated for both Men and Women, then it would be simpler.
 
Our course is par-72 off all the tees, but the SSS varies. Championship Blue tees 6659 yards SSS 72, White Competition tees 6350 yards SSS 71, Yellow tees 6014 yards SSS 70, Red Ladies tees 5537 yards SSS 72. So presumably you need different SSS's for men and women.

Although the SSS is only 1 different between the Whites and the Yellows, it seems to make more than that difference to a short hitting Senior like me, because it brings some of the longer par-3's and par-4's more into range in regulation. I would estimate that it makes about 3 shots difference to my average scores!

P.S. Perhaps there should be a separate seniors rating as well as a ladies rating?
 
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Our course is par-72 off all the tees, but the SSS varies. Championship Blue tees 6659 yards SSS 72, White Competition tees 6350 yards SSS 71, Yellow tees 6014 yards SSS 70, Red Ladies tees 5537 yards SSS 72. So presumably you need different SSS's for men and women.

Although the SSS is only 1 different between the Whites and the Yellows, it seems to make more than that difference to a short hitting Senior like me, because it brings some of the longer par-3's and par-4's more into range in regulation. I would estimate that it makes about 3 shots difference to my average scores!

P.S. Perhaps there should be a separate seniors rating as well as a ladies rating?

if you rated all the tee's for men a women you could just play from the ladies tee's though i imagine you will lose a fair few shots as the SSS is likely to be much lower than the yellow or white.
 
Our course is par-72 off all the tees, but the SSS varies. Championship Blue tees 6659 yards SSS 72, White Competition tees 6350 yards SSS 71, Yellow tees 6014 yards SSS 70, Red Ladies tees 5537 yards SSS 72. So presumably you need different SSS's for men and women.

Although the SSS is only 1 different between the Whites and the Yellows, it seems to make more than that difference to a short hitting Senior like me, because it brings some of the longer par-3's and par-4's more into range in regulation. I would estimate that it makes about 3 shots difference to my average scores!

P.S. Perhaps there should be a separate seniors rating as well as a ladies rating?

The prob is where would you start the senior rating ? Aged 60 ?

You club will have forward tee that's anyone could use in future with a SSS that could be used by Seniors
 
The prob is where would you start the senior rating ? Aged 60 ?

You club will have forward tee that's anyone could use in future with a SSS that could be used by Seniors

Senior pro golfers start at age 50. At our club anybody over 55 is a senior, whereas at some other clubs it's 60. It would be nice if all our seniors could be banded together, so 55 and over for me. :)
 
Senior pro golfers start at age 50. At our club anybody over 55 is a senior, whereas at some other clubs it's 60. It would be nice if all our seniors could be banded together, so 55 and over for me. :)

But I have no doubt there are plenty over 50 or 55 that won't want to be classed as seniors nor want to play a shorter course.

For social play the eventual end game is for people to use what ever tee reflects their ability as opposed age or sex
 
But I have no doubt there are plenty over 50 or 55 that won't want to be classed as seniors nor want to play a shorter course.

For social play the eventual end game is for people to use what ever tee reflects their ability as opposed age or sex


I think you get older you play golf and you lose length but you gain skill and consistency, many people retire and see their handicaps plummet, shorter courses at a certain age, totally pointless imo.

It would be better linked to health and fitness, 50 aint old, but some 25 year olds are already massively unfit, obese etc i think handicaps take care of this issue
 
Senior pro golfers start at age 50. At our club anybody over 55 is a senior, whereas at some other clubs it's 60. It would be nice if all our seniors could be banded together, so 55 and over for me. :)

55 is classed as senior at my club. The solution seems simple and the comp secretary decides which tees are to be used, especially for senior comps (and varying it seems logical) and then those that struggle on the longer course don't have to play but will still have some off the shorter length. Seems a compromise to suit all parties
 
I think you get older you play golf and you lose length but you gain skill and consistency, many people retire and see their handicaps plummet, shorter courses at a certain age, totally pointless imo.

It would be better linked to health and fitness, 50 aint old, but some 25 year olds are already massively unfit, obese etc i think handicaps take care of this issue
? Tees linked to health and fitness - do you mean a golfer take a fitness test to determine with tee they use ?
 
But I have no doubt there are plenty over 50 or 55 that won't want to be classed as seniors nor want to play a shorter course.

For social play the eventual end game is for people to use what ever tee reflects their ability as opposed age or sex
Senior over 55 members are allowed to play in the general club competitions off the white or Blue (Championship) tees if they choose, or off any of the tees they fancy in friendly or bounce games. I was thinking more about which tees should be used for seniors only competitions!
 
Senior over 55 members are allowed to play in the general club competitions off the white or Blue (Championship) tees if they choose, or off any of the tees they fancy in friendly or bounce games. I was thinking more about which tees should be used for seniors only competitions!
I guess one that matches their ability as opposed their age
 
Senior over 55 members are allowed to play in the general club competitions off the white or Blue (Championship) tees if they choose, or off any of the tees they fancy in friendly or bounce games. I was thinking more about which tees should be used for seniors only competitions!

Thing is you won't please all of them. Some will want the challenge of the longer course while others will want the shorter version. This is why I think the comp secretary should arrange senior comps off a mixture of both and let the members decide which they want to play in depending on the tees used. Won't please everyone but a compromise
 
Our course is par-72 off all the tees, but the SSS varies. Championship Blue tees 6659 yards SSS 72, White Competition tees 6350 yards SSS 71, Yellow tees 6014 yards SSS 70, Red Ladies tees 5537 yards SSS 72. So presumably you need different SSS's for men and women.

Although the SSS is only 1 different between the Whites and the Yellows, it seems to make more than that difference to a short hitting Senior like me, because it brings some of the longer par-3's and par-4's more into range in regulation. I would estimate that it makes about 3 shots difference to my average scores!

P.S. Perhaps there should be a separate seniors rating as well as a ladies rating?

P.P.S. Forgot to mention that we also have Green tees, which are the Ladies Championship tees. I don't know what the length and SSS is for them?
 
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Senior pro golfers start at age 50. At our club anybody over 55 is a senior, whereas at some other clubs it's 60. It would be nice if all our seniors could be banded together, so 55 and over for me. :)

No thank you, I'm 56 (57 this year) and I don't see myself as a true senior, yes I can enter senior comps around the country, mainly, as there 55+, but I wouldn't want to be pigeon holded because of my age. However, I think quite a few seniors who played for us and the opposition in our B-team match yesterday did struggle off the back sticks in what is still soft, cold conditions making the course play much longer, so maybe that could be played off yellows to be more enjoyable as it's very much a social event and not supposed to stretch your ability to the extreme.

We've got some very good senior single handicap golfers at my club, with a shortened course for them in the comps they'd be lethal!
 
I've entered the Veterans Cup this year at Cooden, broke my heart really 'cos you have to be 60 to play in it....:mad::mad:
It's played off the Yellow tees which I find myself preferring these days if I'm honest.
I like playing in Seniors competitions because we're all losing our distance together and I'm not often disgraced!
Nothing more demoralising than playing in a competition where the young bucks are out driving you by 50 yards or more and hitting 8 irons into greens where you are struggling to "pure" a 4 iron in retaliation, especially at this time of year with very little roll on the ball.
 
Our course is par-72 off all the tees, but the SSS varies. Championship Blue tees 6659 yards SSS 72, White Competition tees 6350 yards SSS 71, Yellow tees 6014 yards SSS 70, Red Ladies tees 5537 yards SSS 72. So presumably you need different SSS's for men and women.

Although the SSS is only 1 different between the Whites and the Yellows, it seems to make more than that difference to a short hitting Senior like me, because it brings some of the longer par-3's and par-4's more into range in regulation. I would estimate that it makes about 3 shots difference to my average scores!

P.S. Perhaps there should be a separate seniors rating as well as a ladies rating?


Is this all 18 holes!


Not sure you'd want it much shorter surely :D
 
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