Visitors: White or yellow tees?

You should get equal rights as members as soon as you have paid your green fee. If they have a two tier system then that should be made clear when you book, not when they have your money and you are out on the course. The attitude of the badge wearer would mean that I would not return to that course and I would let the pro know why afterwards, email to secretary as well perhaps. Plenty of other courses out there to play on.
 
You should get equal rights as members as soon as you have paid your green fee. If they have a two tier system then that should be made clear when you book, not when they have your money and you are out on the course. The attitude of the badge wearer would mean that I would not return to that course and I would let the pro know why afterwards, email to secretary as well perhaps. Plenty of other courses out there to play on.

why should you have the same rights as a member?

would you also expect to turn up at the AGM and vote?
;)
 
They should do as they do in the US, there are 4 or sometimes 5 choices to play off and you can play off which ones you want. But this should also be backed up with a note on the scorecard and in the pro shop telling visitors that they should not play off a tee that is likely to slow down the pace of a round.

Trouble is that you get the macho attitude of some men (and it is always men) that think unless they tee off from the back tees they are not playing proper golf. And sometimes the ability can't match the tee choice. And when this effects the pace of play then this does become a problem. I've seen men in the US playing off the back tees who were sometimes struggling to drive it much more than 50 yards beyond the front tees.

My opinion is often that the game is hard enough without making it more difficult by playing off the back tees so I'll more than often play off yellows. But if someone has the ability then I don't see why they can't use the white tees as one rule for one and one for the other just smacks of old fashioned attitudes.

thats what hat I said in my post earlier, but like I said they will only let single figure players use the black tees, with a little bit of leniency of the starter. Most of the par 4s where I go to are 60-70 yards longer off the blacks compared to the yellows, one of the par 5s is 100 yards longer. So you have to have some control over who plays what tees to maintain a good pace of play.
 
My place have white blocks out (apart from winter) and members/guests etc welcome to play from any.

The white tees are often a little forward of the comp tees though, most of our tees are pretty big so can move them around enough not to get damaged.
 
why should you have the same rights as a member?

would you also expect to turn up at the AGM and vote?
;)

You don't have a say on the running of the club as you are not a full member. However, for the duration of your stay, 18 hole or all day, I believe you should have use of the same facilities, changing rooms, course, bar etc as a standard member. If you are not offering that then it should be made clear on a clubs website or when booking of the limitations eg members bar, members changing room, yellow tees only etc. The visitor can then make a judgement as to whether you play that course or not. If there are restrictions and you book then don't moan.

Age old argument of members v visitors I guess. In this day and age I think clubs need to look after both groups equally well, they are both required.
 
Much like dress codes and such its down to the club.
If they only want Members to be able to use the Whites - or Blues, Greens, Pinks etc - then that is their right.
I've generally used the Yellows as default unless playing with a Member - like BiM at Cuddington on the day before H4H....
Its generally accepted at my place that Whites are for comps only and General Play is from the Yellows.
But there's only 180 yards difference over the whole course.
Which tee you use should depend on your ability - where's the fun in playing off competition tees with 200+ yard carrys over water when you can't carry 200 yards..? The Pro should be checking handicaps/ability and suggesting an appropriate tee, although actual ability doesn't ,as we know, necessarily equate to how far you can hit the ball....
I would normally expect to use the yellows unless playing a competition/ match.

Yep, totally agree with that.
 
No real argument at my place as even members can only use the back tees for official competitions and matches. At all other times we play off the yellows. That seems to be the norm for most clubs around my area.
 
Ours is supposed to be white tees only for comps and matches and yellow tees for everything else including guests. That said we play a lot of our bounce games off the whites and no one bats an eyelid
 
I'm of the view that any tees that have been laid out for the day should be available to members or green fee guests. You have paid to play the course so should be able to play all of it.

In most cases the whites will be short of the actual whites in any event and this often means the yellows have significantly shortened the intended length of the course, I don't agree that you should be forced to take these restrictions if there are white tee markers available.

Obviously play should be restricted to the markers in place on the day though. I don't agree that you should have the right to play all the way from the back, if there are no tees that day placed there.

I have plaid courses where we have been advised that we can only play the yellows, and to be honest it does grate with me. However, it's only ever been done in a polite way.

In the OP scenario, If I was approached with that kind of attitude described, I would be very tempted to return to the pro shop and request a refund and a word with the secretary to explain why I had asked for my money back and point out the unreasonable behaviour of the member.
 
There is a curious logic being advanced by some that guests should only get to play an inferior or diluted version of a golf course. I don't get that at all.

The club should be able to vary the exact placement of tee markers to keep protected areas for forthcoming comps, but still allow visitors to play the course at the length it was intended to be played. Otherwise, if they are so down on visitors, just make it members guests only and make up the green fee income somewhere else.
 
Yellow tees or tee of the day end off , some clubs allow you if you are cat 1 visitor , another of playing off the back tees is too enter the club open comps
 
Myself and a pal played at Wentworth a couple of weeks ago. On the first we asked the starter was it ok to play off the White tees. His reply was "Of course Sir, the tees are there so use those you feel comfortable with". I think thats a fine way to handle things, in the States I got asked my handicap (which was 6 then) and the starter said the same thing. To another group who were off slightly higher he suggested they would enjoy the course more from a slightly forward set of tees but left it up to them.
 
Ours is supposed to be white tees only for comps and matches and yellow tees for everything else including guests. That said we play a lot of our bounce games off the whites and no one bats an eyelid


Ummm... I recall you being pulled up on it a few times by Jason and you laughing it off.... which is good enough for me :lol:
 
Yellow tees or tee of the day end off , some clubs allow you if you are cat 1 visitor , another of playing off the back tees is too enter the club open comps

But seeing as most courses where designed to be played from the white tees, why shouldn't all guests get to see the course at its best. I've played plenty of courses that are far nicer from the back tees, as the yellow tees make the course short and uninteresting.
 
More than happy to take courses on from the white but places like Bearwood Lakes off their tips would chew me up and spit me out and there's no fun for me in doing that. I know my limitations and the whites are perfectly long enough for me
 
More than happy to take courses on from the white but places like Bearwood Lakes off their tips would chew me up and spit me out and there's no fun for me in doing that. I know my limitations and the whites are perfectly long enough for me

All comes down to you having that choice to make, rather than them prescribing what tees to play.
 
The issue I could see with people being given a choice is the effect it will have on the pace of play
 
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