sam snead said that a golfer should play from the forward tees until he can shoot par or better. what do you think?

imho i think if golfers did this the pace of play would get better; the average golfer would have an opportunity for a birdie now and then; the average golfer wouldn't be hitting woods/hybrids into long par fours or coming up short most of the time on long par threes; and he would have an opportunity, if the conditions were right, to get home in two on a par five.

now, i know that most of the golfers on this forum are much better than average, but i thought it was an interesting quote when i read it. after all, the man did know a little bit about golf.

In the first few tournaments I played in on the egolf tour, I was in the C flight, and played from the 3rd set of tees. When I play by myself, or with my usual groups, we play from the 2nd set of tees. I shot some of my highest scores playing from one tee box forward of where I normally play, especially when we played at courses I am familiar with. I do not like this logic. I think as long as a person is not holding up the people behind them, they should be allowed to play from whatever tees they choose. They paid for the golf, if they want to play every inch of the course, who are you (not necessarily YOU, just generally speaking) to tell them otherwise? If they are holding up play, they should pick up the pace, and maybe move up a box.

I don't think the point he was making was about the pace of play. I think he was trying to get us to think about playing the tees that most suit our skill level.

In a way I agree with the quote; I'm not the best player and neither am I the worst. That's why I play from the middle tees. I actually only started playing the yellow tees when I noticed improvement in my game, that was about 5 years ago when I was twelve. That made me move up to the 'men's tee' where I actually didn't notice a massive difference in my score. Now at seventeen I have barely improved, for various reasons, but I'm long enough on any hole to play on the back tees - it doesn't make me play them.

At my course the back tees are almost exclusively reserved for competitions, people in the UK don't seem to try and make a point by playing the medal tees, or at least trying to. I'm not saying everyone in the US etc. tries to show off by just playing a longer course but that's what it sounds like on this forum. Everyone seems to know their limit here, even when the back tees only add on average 10 yards per hole. Even the resident Pro ventures on to the yellows!

that, and what snead said i found very interesting. for example, how many birdies does an average golfer make in a season?

and yes, people should be allowed to play from wherever they want. BUT, what fun is it to be hitting fairway woods into par fours, or not being able to reach a long par three with your tee shot? i just don't get the whole ego thing.

in any event, snead was talking about shooting par.

I think it is kind of ridiculous. Snead's perspective was that of a natural. He probably thought that one you were decent and hit the ball solidly you should shoot 65.

I think the handicap and tee guidance is silly. There are a lot of ways to be a 10-20 handicapper, and short isn't the only one.

My buddies who hit it 290 and all over the place will see no benefit from moving up. They will also never shoot par, nor is it their goal. I understand the training aspect of playing the reds, but for a 15 handicap who sprays the ball 290, hits a bunch OB, has a bad short game, what's the good? They are just going to be hitting half wedges into greens and they are awful at those shots.

If their goal isn't to break par, they're not really playing golf. Even the 100 shooter is trying to break par, despite the fact that he doesn't expect to succeed.

Otherwise, they might display basic learning skills and realize 'hey, I can't hit a half wedge, maybe I'll leave myself a full wedge'. Being long is an even greater advantage from the forward tees too. A guy who drives it 290 would probably using a wedge into every single par 3- you really think that wouldn't lower his scores and improve his game?

I think I'm gonna try playing the forward tees. Must completely change the way you look at a course.

If he said this as a pace of play tool, I think he missed the mark. If he meant that you should play the tees appropriate to your skill level, then it is a bit more defensible. Though I will have to agree with an earlier post saying that being short isn't the only way to be a high handicapper. A propensity for the three putting and four putting will keep a player's handicap higher than what you would expect based on his long game (not that I know anything about that ).



My experience in playing both from the back tees and the forward tees is that pace of play isn't significantly affected. In some respects, courses are actually easier from the back tees. This isn't to say I think everyone should run out and play from the tips. The extra distance is considerable and you need to be a long driver or have a good fairway wood or long iron game. Short hitting players and players who have trouble staying in the fairway will have a rough time.

As for more birdie opportunities, I don't know. It's easier to hit the green from 130 yards than it is from 180 yards, but you need to be within 10 feet, preferrably 5 feet, of the pin to really have a chance to one putt for the birdie and I don't see many golfers who are that accurate, even with short irons.

I've found that even when conditions are right to go for a par 5 in two shots, I still need a fairway wood. And if I miss the green - the usual outcome - I still need three more strokes to hole out (if I could get up and down in two, I'd be a scratch golfer). Even when I hit the green, it always seems to be a mile from pin and usually results in a three putt.

My other goal is to be the third basemen for the Yankees.

Oh wait, we all have reasonable goals too.

if you play the same course all the time like me, it is like playing a completely different course. you also use different clubs in your bag so it mixes things up a bit.

That's what I'm hoping. I imagine you look at tight pin very differently on a short par 3 when it's a sand wedge instead of an 8 iron.