My group (all single digit guys) and I are going to play a new golf course in Northern California, YoCha De He at the Cache Creek Casino in Brooks, CA. The tips are 7,334yds (136), the blues are 6,907 (132) and the whites are 6,449yds (129). The debate is what tees we should play for our 1st time.

None of us lauch 300+ but solidly in the 240-280yd range. I am the shortest hitter but I may posses the best long iron and short game. I am ready to tee it up from the Blacks. Our longest hitter is talking whites (???). The game will be carry over skins.......

America we will let you decide. We plan on plaing on May 9th and I would like your votes and comments by the 8th. Thanks!!!!!

play the tips, you get to see the whole course, and length isn't always an advantage for the long hitters. they will hit driver more often and that brings in the possibility of penalty strokes.

I played Yocha-de-he last week, and posted a review here

Not knowing the course, and playing to an 8.6 index, we opted for the Red tees....these were 6449, 70.2 / 129. Could have played the Gold easily.
My intial thought was that the Black would be too long. At 7337, it plays all of that - not much elevation change to assist. BUT, the fairways are very wide and the greens are ENORMOUS, so playing longer shots in would not be so problematic. Fairways are running pretty well.

It sounds like your group hits it the distance we do. Suggest you will have just as good an experience from either the Gold or Red tees.

If nothing else, look that par-3 yardages from the Black: 199, 191, 254, 206. Could make for a long day.

Just my $.02

edited to add: FWIW, I wouldnt even consider the white tees...5,426? Tell your pard to man up!

Of course I don't know you or your playing partners' games, but it's safe to say there are not too many people that belong on the back tees @ 7334/74.9/136.

I really dislike the "play the tips, you get to see all the course" mentality. I believe it leads to the five+ hour rounds typical of a resort course.

The 70.2/129 rating of the 6449 tee indicates it should be a pretty strong test. So without knowing your games (other that the driver yardage you mentioned, which means nothing really) this it the tee I recommend.

+1

I have played there twice, both from the back tees. It is more managable than the yardage suggests. I'm not a long hitter by any stretch, yet was able to manage quite nicely both rounds. There are a few elevated tees that allow the course to play a bit shorter. Play what you guys like, and enjoy. It's a nice track.

i play tips a lot & usually have to play through groups in front of me. i guess it depends on your level of play. no 5+ hour rounds for me

Devil Ball had a pretty timely post on this today:
http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/blog/devil_ba...urn=golf,161018

6,449 is a pitch and putt...70.2 rating for a par 72 is an easy, easy track. For their group of all low single digits I would opt for the one closest to 7,000 yards.

wow,, best long iron game??!!! well, i guess we'll see!! since the blacks and golds are going to play long, i figure you'll be slicing your drives waaaay left, then the ball will swing back into the fariway( srixon's!!!!), then you'll have a good 3 or 4 iron into those huge greens.
and the short game quote,,, well you can thank me as i advised you to get the tp 52*
this will be lots of fun,, let's just keep the toking down to a minimum....

word to that mentality too.. I hate it.. look behind you 10-20 yards if you wanna see the whole course...

anyways.. play the tees that most closely match what your handicap is based off of.

I beleive we all match up best to the 6,900 slope and that'll probably be the call. But one playa, we'll call him TP Chen says his R9 goes way out there. So I figure we can give him the advantage of his big hits.....I suppose the long holes could have a blocking effect on his loong drives...Personally, I really look forward to this round. A new course is always a good test of your skills.

With respect to Black tees being a cause of overall slow play. Perhaps a wee bit, but I believe the true delayers are those who don't play ready golf and tigerize each putt. We all know those Johns. We play faaaaast.

Here's another reason to play more challenging set ups: As an expert skiier I don't play on the bunny slopes, I get better by pushing myself and gaining new confidence. I wouldn't be a good long iron player if I laid up all the time....Food for thought..

yo, justin!!!! don't do the move!!! please no divot patterns left like the old nike swoosh!!! but i hear since you're kickin it old skool, the callaway built hogans are so straight and buttery!!
i can't wait to see your pimped-less blades.
i just hope the other 2 bring their game, cuz i'm getting tired of the old sayin: the brotha's are battling once again..

Don't be "those" guys who have to play the tips unless you can bang the ball an honest distance.

I know lots of single digits who can't punch it more than 230 off the tee. Their scores would balloon like crazy if they played anything longer than 6600 yards.

Sometimes my friends and I play the par3's from the blues and par 4's and 5's from the tips just to mix it up and have some fun. But play whatever tees that will make the day fun and challenging for you and your friends.

What's an honest distance. If hit my driver 240, then 195 w/ my 3 iron, my math say I can reach a 435 yd par 4. My 15 degree 3 wood goes about 225 yds so Driver/3 wood let's get close on 465 yd par 4. Why do I do this? Oh yeah to get better with my 3 iron & 3 wood.

I'm a 6 handi based upon a course with a 130 slope. To me the real low guys are very accurate with their long irons and fairway woods. So I challenge myself to get better. Driver 7 or driver PW is not my "end game" aspiration. You may say, work on your short game, but to be real honest, if you are a single digit player, you already have a good short game...

I agree with everything you said, except for this part. And, I don't have too much of a complaint about this, either -- but I'll explain.

I have no business playing from the back (black) tees at my home course. It's close to 7000, I'm an 11.8 at the moment, 75% of our greens are uphill, making the approach shots pretty difficult, yadda yadda yadda. Well, I just walked the front nine with some [much better player] friends the other day from the black tees, and I discovered two things: 1) I was able to get around the course. It was much more difficult, but I could get around. And 2) I saw the course like I had never seen it before. It was amazing.

Some of our back tees are more elevated than other boxes, allowing you to literally see the entire hole, whereas some of the more forward, lower tee boxes don't allow you to see some of the sand, etc. on a given hole. I've always admired the course -- but it was downright striking from these tees. I found a new appreciation for the course from these back tees. The holes looked more spectacular when framed from the back tees.

So, I think you CAN get a different appreciation of a course from the back tees.

But, that's where the benefit ends. Like you've stated, unless you're a long, good player, it doesn't help a darned thing to be playing from the tips.