Right...it never ceases to amaze me how many "hacks" think they can be successful from the championship tees...give me a 350 yard par 4 all day long.
When Golfers No Longer Need Drivers
- Thread starter LuteHawk
- Start date
I've played lots of really challenging courses in TN including all of the Nicklaus courses. Many times it isn't about yardage its about the difficulty of the course. I'm a 7 handicap and once played Ray Floyd's course in Springfield, TN...the "Legacy". Short par 4's but very tight and lots of doglegs...a 3 wood max off the tee... a long iron even better. The greens were slick and undulating. Shot a 92.Never played Airport National, but I looked at their course map, along with Google earth, and made it into a Par 70 18 hole course in about 30 minutes. It would require 4 new tee boxes, and 3 new greens. Obviously, I have no idea about elevations, but I pretty much used existing greens and tee boxes. The only reason I would need 3 new greens is I flipped 17 around for flow, shortened 20 into a par four, so need a new green for that one, and made a par three that would need a green about where the current dog leg is on 20. Two par 5's still, one on each side, and 4 par 3's. I found room to make all par 4's 280-390, possibly having 2 at 400+ (would require one more new green). The only par 4 under 280 would be my 10, which would sit where 19 and 27 are now, and would be around 250-260.
Who do I send this to?
That's a real problem. I think the USGA has had some TV commercials specifically about this. Some courses require golfers to play from the appropriate tees, although that's difficult to enforce if someone doesn't have an official handicap.
It's a penis thing to some guys, I think. They believe they are less than manly if they don't hit from the tips. In act, a lot of us shouldn't be hitting from the whites. I will play the tees appropriate to my handicap.....except when I'm in a foursome and everybody else wants to play from the whites. It's just a lot simpler for everybody to be using the same tees.
On some courses it doesn't make a whole lot of difference, but on others it's a question of enjoying the round or not enjoying the round. For me, Hunter's Ridge in Marion is an example of the latter. I struggle like hell from the white tees on that course, lose balls, simply do not have a good time. If I play from the senior tees where I belong, it's a lot of fun.
What's really hilarious is to see a guy hitting a long iron off the tee from the tips. He's not a good enough player to use a driver, but he thinks he should be playing from the championship tees? Give me a break.
He has an annual charity event at Elmcrest Country Club, which is where he played before becoming famous.
The same could be said about Finkbine. In the 50's, when greens were mowed at 0.3 inches and the Stimpmeter didn't exist? Sure, put the pin in the front on 14 or middle-left on 10. But now that their greens are consistently rolling 10+, those greens and pin placements are horrible. The pins for daily play are more difficult than tournament pins because they simply can't use large parts of a lot of their greens for competition.
And people typically think I only say that because I have bad rounds there, but like you at AN, I've played there enough that I know those greens well. I've had a few rounds in the 70's there, which is an accomplishment for me.
What's hilarious is the guy who plays once a week, plays from the tips and can't understand why he sucks. He plays a 445 yd par 4 into the wind, is lucky to hit it 180 and thinks he can get a six iron home.
With the advent of the super huger, super light drivers I've kind of witnessed a different phenomena than most of you.
Seriously, you can peg your ball about four inches off the ground nowadays with these enormous drivers (in truth I probably tee my ball too low, I'm so old school). These light clubs just require a little arm swing. Strike the ball on the upswing (actually the correct way now) and a person of very limited to average ability can just send it.
Then when said person gets to their 290-yard drive he is stymied trying to play a 130-yard shot off the ground to the green. This is where I see the shanks, gaffs, foibles, and sundry misadventures the most.
OTOH, yeah there are indeed still plenty of people who can't get off the tee with a driver to save their life. And yes, such people are insane for trying to play from any of the back tees.
Seriously, you can peg your ball about four inches off the ground nowadays with these enormous drivers (in truth I probably tee my ball too low, I'm so old school). These light clubs just require a little arm swing. Strike the ball on the upswing (actually the correct way now) and a person of very limited to average ability can just send it.
Then when said person gets to their 290-yard drive he is stymied trying to play a 130-yard shot off the ground to the green. This is where I see the shanks, gaffs, foibles, and sundry misadventures the most.
OTOH, yeah there are indeed still plenty of people who can't get off the tee with a driver to save their life. And yes, such people are insane for trying to play from any of the back tees.
I am seeing evidence here of something I run across a lot, which is that a lot of weekend golfers overestimate how far they should be hitting the ball. Here's something to keep in mind: The average distance a bogey golfer hits a driver is 200 yards. Not 250 or 300, but 200 yards. And that's a bogey golfer, which is a pretty decent golfer, a guy who's flirting with breaking 90.
In my experience that seems a little low -- not for me, but I'm not a bogey golfer, but based on my observations of the guys with whom I play.
But that's the figure the USGA uses to establish slope ratings, so you don't get much more official than that.
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