Stroke Saver: Which Tees Should The Average Golfer Play From?

Golf Digest recently ran a posting about how far average golfers really hit the ball. The numbers were touted as surprising in the headline, but to me, they were anything but. Just being out on the course on any given weekend, you can see that the ‘distance’ challenges that golf is facing are only coming in the form of scratch players or better. In fact, in the top group, or players with a handicap less than 5, the average driver distance was only 250 yards. Highlighted in even more detail was the fact that many golfers, in fact 85% of those tested – failed to clear much more than 230 yards with their big dogs. So, if I were to take a walk out down the to first tee box of one of my local courses, I will see quite a difference in offerings from the front tees to the back tees. In fact, the way the tee boxes at many courses are set up is very interesting.

I’ll begin by using a very well reviewed local course, Washington National Golf Course in Auburn, Washington for my example. This course measures over 7300 yards from the tips and just over 5100 yards from the most forward tees. This is a 2200 yard difference, or an average of 120 yards a hole. Depending on your average club length, this can make the difference between hitting a 9 iron (about 120 yards) and a 3 wood (240 yards) into a long par 4. The distance difference is even more noticeable on the par 3 holes. The par 3 eighth plays a solid 204 (hybrid/fairway wood) from the backs and 122 (9 iron/8 iron) from the front. Let’s face it, with differences like this, how can you expect to play well from the back tees when you are hitting 3 woods and hybrids into every green? Using the data from the Golf Digest article, here’s where those players should be hitting from.



If you are a higher handicapper, or someone according to the data that hits the ball around 200 yards off the tee, you really shouldn’t move much off the front tees at Washington National. This will leave you hitting mostly 8 to 9 irons to the par 3’s and on your par 4 approach shots. If you are amped up a bit more than that 200 yard number, maybe around 220-230 off the tee. Moving back to the next set of tees will increase your approach distance between one and two clubs. You’ll be hitting about the same club into the par 3’s as your slower swinging playing partners, which levels out the play quite nicely. As your driver distance climbs near the 250 yard mark, you should consider dropping back to the next set of tees. This will leave you a 6 or 7 iron into many of the longer par 4 holes, but leave the par 3’s at that 8 to 9 iron range again. This should be where most amateur golfers end this discussion, and honestly, where most courses stop the process of tee placement. The three layouts above feature a rating of 65.2 (front), 68.4 (middle) and 71.1 (back) – or simply put, an even par round from the 6400 yard layout for a scratch golfer.

Selecting the correct tees for your game is probably just as important as selecting the right equipment or even getting a quality lesson. If you are a great golfer who just doesn’t have the distance to trek around a 7,000+ yard layout, you shouldn’t penalize yourself for it. Sure the argument could be made that you can’t be a great golfer if you can’t hit for distance, but I will disagree with that all day long. There have been many ‘greats’ that were shorter hitters. They thrived off target courses. In fact, in 1980, there were 32 PGA Tour professionals that averaged less than 250 yards off the tee. In fact, it wasn’t until the 2011 season that things really started changing – and they changed big time. From 1980 to 1990, the average increased 10 yards. This was mainly due to the emergence of the metal wood. From 1990 to 2000, there was another 10 yard gain. During this time, club heads became larger and more forgiving. Graphite and composite shafts were taking the stage as better alternatives to heavier steel shafts. Still, overall, from 1980 to 2000, most players gained a club or two into the green (or one tee box change). In 2011, the data exploded. The normal distance shifted from 270-280 yards and moved much closer to the 290-300 mark.



This is when courses decided that these 7500 yard layouts were the better play for ‘longer’ hitters. Instead of reacting with tighter fairways and moving bunkers into the new landing areas, it was easier to move the tee boxes back and lengthen the course. Sure, it was an easy fix, but designing a course that penalized long hitters would have been much more exciting to watch, and much more playable for those not on tour. Of course, the trend is already there, but that doesn’t mean that the average golfer needs to fall in line and start moving back to the tips. If you know the course you are going to play really well, you know what tee box you should be playing out of. If you aren’t sure, try this little exercise – multiply the slope of the course times two and see which tee box is closest to the number you drive the ball. For Washington National, it comes up to the following – Front – 226, Middle – 238, Back – 272… From there you go to the black tees – 278 or the championship tees – 286. Based on this easy way of figuring, most amateurs should be playing the front or middle tees and having those comfy 8 and 9 irons into the par 3’s and par 4 approaches. It even brings the par 5’s into possible eagle range with two fantastic shots.

Which tees you play is ultimately up to you, but don’t make your game suffer due to the fact that you want to keep up with kids that are hitting 30-40 yards further than you are. Choose the tee boxes that let you enjoy the game the most, whether that means selecting tees that challenge your distance or moving up to a location that will challenge you to dial in your approach irons a bit more, it’s all about enjoying your time on the course. It’s not like you are getting paid to play from the tips, in fact, if you play from the wrong tees, you’re actually just paying to have a miserable time and a poor score.

 

** RECOMMENDED PRODUCT – One thing I would highly recommend if you are unsure of your actual on course distances is the GolfPad GPS tracking system. It’s a free App for Android and iOS devices, but with the GolfPad Tags installed on your clubs, you can track data and get actual distances for your clubs. The $100 price tag is well worth it and the data that you get from the setup will help take your game to levels you can’t even imagine. If the tag system isn’t for you, a range finder is also a great alternative – by picking out a target from the tee and measuring, then doing it again once you get to your shot, you can put together a distance chart as well. It’s not quite as cheap, easy or accurate as the GolfPad GPS tracking system, but it does work.

 

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Equipment Review: Golf Pride MCC New Decade Grips

I’m going to be honest here and say that the last time I played a Golf Pride grip on my clubs was back in the day when the original Victory Grip was still the #1 grip on tour. Yes, it came in the original “slick” model, the “feel the burn in your palms” half cord model or the ultimate “burn those callouses off your hands” full cord model. I only played the standard “slick” version, but I knew plenty of Cabretta Leather gloves that met their demise from those incredibly terrible corded styles. They were a good grip for the wet weather in the Northwest, but honestly, every time I got a club that had a corded grip on it, that was the first thing to go. Since those days, I’ve pretty much been a Lamkin Ace 3 Wrap player, but I have to give the nod to technology where the nod is due, and the Golf Pride MCC New Decade grips seem to be where the action is at right now. 4 different compounds make up these technological marvels and even though the first thing I saw was those dreaded little threads, I took a chance and put them on a gamer.

First, lets look at the butt of the grip. The first layer of the multi-compound construction of the MCC New Decade is the outer layer with the brushed cotton cord. The next layer includes a pebbled texture and the Golf Pride “plus” pattern to provide a unique surface texture. They then added a bit stiffer, or firmer rubber to the lower section of the grip (where the colors are in this design) to stabilize the grip and maximize the feel of the grip.

The lower section of the grip, or the non-corded portion, is where the coloring hits. This section of the grip is made of a softer, more feeling enhancing compound. This makes it the ultimate carrier for your controlling hand to ride along with the more powerful hand staying in the harder, corded material at the top. I’ll be giving this one a video review soon, so check out the Golfing4Less YouTube channel for more on that in the coming weeks.

For now, the $10 a grip price is a bit stiff when you think about $160 (including supplies) for gripping a full set of clubs, but if you think about the fact that you will probably get a season or two from them, the expense is more than worth it. Of course, if you are truly a budget player and you can see a $100  bill going to more rounds and a lower quality grip, my personal favorite grip store – Golf Works – has the original Decade grips for under $90 a set - Golf Pride Decade Multi-Compound Platinum Grip - Buy 9 get 4 – which is a complete steal. Add about $20 to that price for the supplies you’ll need to change them out, and you have about $110 into the grips for a few seasons. You can purchase the Golf Pride New Decade Multi-Compound grips at any Golf Pride retailer or online at sites like Golfworks.com.

Playing A Round: Blue Boy West Golf Course–Monroe, WA

When the weather was finally nice enough to get out, and I actually had the time to do so, I took advantage of a killer deal this morning and hit Blue Boy West Golf Course in my home town this morning. The par 33 tract is just under 2200 yards in length, which means an extra par 3 and no par 5’s at all on the tight layout. There is water on 6 of the 9 holes, though it really only comes into play if you play a risky shot off the tees. The course itself plays very short, but if you leave your driver in the bag, the smaller greens can certainly challenge your ball striking on approaches over 130 yards. As far as my opinion of Blue Boy goes, I want to say that it’s a tale of two courses. The first part of the story is that this is a value course that cost me under $20 with the Golf18 Network deal that I found. The second part is that it has been so incredibly wet this winter that I really didn’t expect much going in anyways. That said, Blue Boy West is a $25, 18 hole (twice around the nine hole layout), par 66 shorty course that has plenty of challenge to it, but not any dangerously long holes. It reminded me of our local par 3 growing up more than anything else, but that’s not really a bad thing.



Staring out, I hit the par 4, first, measuring 321 from the blue tees. I hit a beautiful 5 iron to the right center of the fairway around the dog leg that started about 10 yards before my ball turned. It was just like I drew it up. The 9 iron to the green left me putting across some nasty conditions which I was definitely not ready for. The three putt left me with my only bogey for the day. The 160 yard, par 3 second hole was interesting to say the least. I hit a solid 8 iron to the back edge of the green, avoiding the “stump” and rocks that were growing in the middle of the green. It almost gave the hole a “putt putt” course feel. A quick 2 putt par and I was off to the third. This 147 yard hole was playing rather short and downhill today, so I popped a solid gap wedge to the green. It found the flagstick, but spun back about 10 feet for an easy two putt. These greens weren’t going to give up much outside of 10 feet due to the condition of them, but at least they were rolling smoothly – regardless of how slow they were.



On the par 4, fourth, the birdie train began. A stellar 5 iron cut the corner and drew to the front edge of the green 201 yards from the tee. A huge putt, 72 feet according to my Golf Pad GPS readings, came within a foot of dropping, which left me a tap in birdie. The good play continued on the 5th, a 303 yard par 4, with a gorgeous 6 iron down the left side of the fairway. A well placed sand wedge left me about 4 feet for my second birdie and took me to one under par after 5 holes. The 300 yard, par 4 sixth also played pretty easily, though I was shocked when I hit a 3 wood off the tee and found the ball 207 yards into the fairway (it’s about 5 yards further than my 5 iron for a point of reference). I finished up the hole with a half lob wedge to the front edge of the green and a two putt par.



The 301 yard par 4 seventh came up next. I played a 9 iron too far left of the hole, but luckily, the hole was playing very short once again. The 150, yard tee shot left me 115 to the flag, or a perfect sand wedge. I stuck the shot about 10 feet from the hole and missed the putt by a few inches for another tap in par. The par 4 eighth was also playing a bit short. I hit a 5 iron that clipped the ‘safety trees’ on the left before falling back into the fairway. The 166 yard tee shot left me 120 to the green. Unfortunately, my 125 yard gap wedge came up about 5 yards short of my target and it rolled back down the hill about 40 feet. A brilliant pitching wedge chip to 2 feet netted me a one putt par. I headed to the 9th hole still one under. The flag appeared to be on the front of the green, and it looked like a solid gap wedge once again. I hit the shot and held my breath because it was one of ‘those shots’ that you just know is going to be close. As the shot hit the green, it checked and stopped about 4 feet from the hole. A tap in birdie finished up my nine hole round before the weather got too wet.



Overall, Blue Boy West offers a pretty challenging layout – if you leave the big sticks in the trunk. Bring a 200 yard tee club and your wedges for a very fun round. Playing the blue tees, your par 3 lengths are 160, 147, 134, so nothing over a 6 or 7 iron for most people. The par 4’s all measure between 300 and 320, except for the short 4th hole that comes in at 224. The white tees shorten up those lengths by about 20 yards a hole or one to two clubs for most players. If the condition of the greens is able to come back this summer, Blue Boy will not only be a great practice course, but it will also be quite the value for sneaking out for an afternoon round or even a busy weekend escape.

The Journey To Scratch: Dialing In My Distances From 150 Yards In

5 clubs. I could play just about any course around with these 5 clubs, plus my putter, and shoot pretty well. In fact, there’s very few holes that my 150 yard 9 iron couldn’t reach, or come up just short of in two. Same could be said of the par 5’s and reaching them in 3. From that 150 yard 9 iron, I drop to a very easy 135 yard pitching wedge. From there, my 51 degree gap wedge fills the 120 yard range. My sand wedge has the 100-105 range covered and my lob wedge is my go to club inside 80 yards. It’s about as solid a group of short clubs that I have ever owned, let alone had in my bag. Not since the days of my ‘89 Fluid Feels with my JP wedges did anything feel this accurate.

Of course, this now leads me to the dialing in of these wedges and short irons to make the most of those drives that land me inside the 150 marker on the course. My biggest area of need at the moment is the sub 50 yard shots. I leave far too many of those shots well outside 10 feet, which in my head should be the longest distance I have to stare down a putt from inside 50 yards. For this, I’ll need to grab a laser range finder and a few old game balls to use at the range. Once I get the distance gauged with the gamers, I can hit the range balls at various backswing distances and create a full chart for them. It takes a bit of time to do it, but prep work is everything when you are trying to shave a few strokes off the old handicap.

Next week is Spring Break and we will be out at the beach for a few days, but I’ll be getting at least one round in next week, and hopefully a second round over the weekend – weather permitting. It’s been a very, very wet 6 months in the Seattle area, so we will see how it goes.

Another Missed Opportunity For Golf To Get It Right…

Lexi Thompson was cruising to a victory at the ANA Invitational, the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year. Her play was stunning and she was coasting in on the back nine when disaster struck. A rules official approached her on the 13th hole and informed her that a rules violation had happened on her round the day before and she was going to be penalized 4 strokes. First, she thought it was a joke, then she was shocked. Finally, she fought back the emotion and realized she had some work to do. Lexi was amazing through the whole thing, and I think that's something that people forget when they talk "integrity, honestly and good of the game." There is a point where human error kicks in and things have to slide, especially when they are your fault for missing them to start with.

I didn't watch the tournament, but I watched the replay of the entire incident. Her putt was so close, she almost tapped it in, but at the last minute her eye was drawn to something that didn't suit her setup. She quickly marked the ball, aligned it to the hole and put it back down - FROM THE SIDE. This is something tour pros never do, they always mark from behind. She missed placing the ball back down perfectly (which gave her no competitive advantage) and putted out. Taking into account all of that, with there being no competitive advantage to what she did, calling a penalty was plain crazy and steals a victory from not just the possible winner, but also the winner herself.

There is nothing to say that Lexi couldn't have blown up on the closing holes. There's nothing to say that Ryu couldn't have made another putt or two on the way in to narrow the gap. It's all about the ruling now. That's what's wrong with golf, it's just like football or basketball games where the ref blows a call that costs a team the victory.



What should have been done here is the LPGA should have used this as a reminder to the ruling officials to WATCH the match. Maybe having more rules volunteers on the course to switch out after 6 holes? Can you imagine an NFL crew calling a 8 hour game? They are going to miss more than a few holds there... If instead of destroying a beautiful tournament - and another major - they could have taken the high road and announced that they were made aware of the issue, and although it was not a legal marking, they deemed that no competitive advantage was obtained and they have decided not to rule on the issue. They could then use this as a tool for the officials and other players, to watch for incidents like this one. Can you imagine just enforcing the 2 stroke penalty at the time of the incident instead of a 4 stroke penalty 24 hours later? It would have been much easier to deal with.

This is as much on the "rules official" that follower her and her playing partners, caddies and anyone else watching that green. They all missed it, but then again, pretty much everyone did, except that guy watching on his 70" plasma at home.