
An interesting method of determining what set of tee's you should play is by factoring the average distance you hit your 5-iron as a metric to gauge where you should play from. Take your average 5-iron distance, multiply by 36, and choose the tees that most closely match that yardage.
How do you choose the correct tees for your golf course?
Another Method: Use Average 5-Iron Distance Here's another general guideline for choosing the distance at which to play a golf course: Take your average 5-iron distance (be honest!), multiply by 36, and choose the tees that most closely match that yardage. Example: You hit your 5-iron 150 yards. So 150 times 36 equals 5,400.
How long should the Tees be on a golf course?
Choose the tees closest to 5,400 yards in length. If you hit your 5-iron 180 yards, then look for tees around 6,500 yards (180 times 36 equals 6,480). In 2011, the PGA of America and USGA issued a set of recommendations designed to encourage golfers to play from appropriate yardages. These guidelines are based on golfers' average driving distance.
How do I know which tee box to use?
Having fewer yards into the green allows you to play shorter irons. These usually are easier to hit, and you’ll be more accurate. Another popular method to calculate which tee box you should use is to multiply your driving distance by 28.
Are there any guidelines for where to play from in golf?
And annoyingly, that’s at least in part because there are no truly helpful guidelines telling golfers where they should play from. Some courses suggest tees based off a player’s handicap, which is pretty much the standard, but it’s still not perfect. No two players are the same, after all.

What golf tees should I use?
By Driving DistanceAverage DriveRecommended Tees200 yards5,200 - 5,400 yards175 yards4,400 - 4,600 yards150 yards3,500 - 3,700 yards125 yards2,800 - 3,000 yards5 more rows•Feb 25, 2022
Which Colour tee should I play from?
Red Tees: Women's tees, farthest forward with shortest distance to the hole, and least challenging. Gold Tees: Senior's tees, not quite the shortest distance to the hole but second in line, meant to help the elderly who still play have a better chance at shooting their old hay day scores.
Should I play from the blue or white tees?
Don't let the traditional meaning of "white tees" as the regular men's tees fool you. Any golfer, regardless of gender or age, whose playing ability best matches the length of the golf course from the white tees should play those tees, whether they are in their traditional middle location or not.
What determines who tees off first at a hole?
Traditionally, the golfer with the lowest handicap is chosen to tee off first. But for most games, golfers tee off randomly, requiring some sort of draw. An easy way to achieve such a draw is to throw a tee. All players stand in a circle and one tosses a tee into the center.
Who should play from the gold tees?
According to the experts, only players who drive the ball on average 275 yards should play the championship tees at the Port or Starboard courses, which both measure around 6,700 yards. If you average 250 yards, move up one tee box at either course. Anything less and you should be at the gold markers.
What color tees do seniors play from?
So black tees (sometimes green, sometimes, well, pick a color), were added behind the traditional blue tees. The next set of tees that were added (the fifth set, if you've lost count), were usually gold, aka “senior” tees, that were placed ahead of the red, or “ladies”, tees.
Which tees should I play beginner?
As for beginners, you should probably stick to the forward tees to start out with unless you know that you can hit the ball a good distance.
When should you move up to the gold tees?
For the PGA Tour, a Senior is over fifty years old. In golf, there is no set age for when a person must move up to the senior tees. Most of the time, this switch happens around the age of seventy. In years past, golfers would try and delay this move to the senior tees for as long as possible.
When should you play senior tees in golf?
Many golf clubs today still apply an age rule for the use of the forward tees, especially on competition days. 70 years of age was the benchmark for most. Some senior golf societies have an age entry level of 55 years and most members play from the forward tee box.
How is tee off order determined?
On the tee – On the first hole, the player listed first on the scorecard (as determined by the committee) tees off first; otherwise, the order is decided by lot or other fair means (e.g., a coin flip). Afterward, the player or team that wins a hole has honors (plays first) on the next tee.
What is the golden rule of golf?
Play the ball as it lies. Don't move, bend, or break anything growing or fixed, except in fairly taking your stance or swing. Don't press anything down.
Is there a specific order to teeing off after the first hole is played?
The order of play from the teeing area depends on who has the honour, and after that is based on which ball is farthest from the hole. In match play, the order of play is fundamental; if you play out of turn, your opponent may cancel that stroke and make you play again.
What is athletic motion golf?
Athletic Motion Golf — a popular golf fitness social media account — came up with a solution to solve all of these problems. It involves a small bit of math, but worry not, even a sportswriter like me can understand it.
Is Instagram a foolproof golf formula?
Instagram. It’s important to note that all golfers are different in their abilities, so this formula isn’t foolproof. Distance is far from everything in the sport and a player can be long and wild with a higher handicap than someone who is short and straight.
How to know if you need to move to a shorter set of tees?
And always remember that first rule of thumb we mentioned: If you are unable to reach the par-3 holes in one shot (we're talking distance, not actually getting your ball on the green), or unable to reach the par-4 holes in two shots from the set of tees you are playing, it's a good sign that you need to move up to a shorter set of tees.
How many tee boxes are there in golf?
Most golf courses have at least three sets of tees—the forward tees, middle tees and back (or championship) tees. Other courses might have as many as five, six or seven sets of tees. How do you know which set of tees to use?
How many yards are tees less than the pro tour?
Mid-handicappers might choose the set of tees whose yardage is around 500-1,000 yards less than the pro tour that represents their gender or age. High-handicappers should consider the set of tees whose yardage is 1,000 to 1,500 yards less than the pros play.
What does it mean when you have different tee boxes?
The different tee boxes correspond to different yardages, which also means different playing abilities. The tees at the back of the tee box are the longest set, the ones at the front the shortest set (you can find the yardages by checking the corresponding lines on the scorecard—blue tees are designated on the scorecard by the "Blue" line, and so on).
What is a championship tee?
The championship tees ( back tees) are for low-handicap men. The middle tees are for middle to high handicap men, low-handicap or long-hitting women, and low-handicap or long-hitting senior men. The forward tees are for middle or high handicap women and seniors, and beginners of all stripes.
How many yards does a 5 iron hit?
Example: You hit your 5-iron 150 yards. So 150 times 36 equals 5,400. Choose the tees closest to 5,400 yards in length. If you hit your 5-iron 180 yards, then look for tees around 6,500 yards (180 times 36 equals 6,480).
How long is a golf course?
On the PGA Tour, the average golf course length these days is around 7,200-7,300 yards. On the LPGA Tour, average golf course length is around 6,200 to 6,600 yards. On the Champions Tour for over-50 pros, average golf course length is around 6,500 to 6,800 yards.
What is the correct set of tees to play from?
Another popular formula for selecting the correct set of tees to play from is based on 5-iron distance, if you do not use a 5-iron specifically, you can reference your 5-hybrid or a 9-wood.
How to get your golf club to go where your eyes are looking?
If one or more of those gets out of whack, then your body is not in sync with the shot your eyes see. That causes unnoticed tension, and your hands try to take over to make the clubhead go where the eyes are looking, instead of where the body is pointing. Double down on your fundamentals!
Why is it important to play golf with other golfers?
The wonderful thing about golf is that as an individual pursuit, even when playing with other golfers each player can choose to play from different yardages while on the same course to ensure that they are getting maximum enjoyment from their round.
What is the goal of every round of golf?
Unless you are a professional golfer or playing in a competitive tournament, the main goal for every round should be to have fun, and a big part of having fun means selecting the correct tees to play from. But it doesn’t stop at just picking the correct tee color, you need to consider the yardage because the “middle tees” on one course might not equate to the middle tees on another.
Why don't golfers improve?
Most golfers don’t really understand the golf swing. You watch golf and you practice and you play, but you don’t really understand the dynamics of what is really happening at 100 mph during the golf swing.
What is a golf swing?
In contrast, the golf swing is just that – a swing of the club. You have total control over where the ball is going to be so that you can be quite precise in the relationship between your body and the ball and the target line. You can swing when you want to at the pace you find comfortable.
What happens if you don't hold your golf club properly?
Then you learn good posture and setup. If you don’t start in a good position, the body can’t perform the swing motion properly. With a good grip and a sound setup posture, I believe anyone can learn a functional golf swing pretty easily.
How to choose a tee box?
The best way for a player to choose the right tee box is to look at their average distance they hit their driver. The major point of the “Tee it Forward” program is to have players hitting reasonable length shots to the greens rather than ones close to 200 yards away every time. You should tee up where your average drive gives you an approach shot of less than 170 yards. This strategy might seem childish, but you will notice your scores drop and you will enjoy your time more. A general rule of thumb to determine which tee box is right for you is if you hit your driver under 200 yards, play from the closest tee. If you hit from 200-225 the next farthest tee, and so on. When you are hitting 275+ accurately you should be playing the farthest tees back.
What is the USGA tee it forward?
The USGA, golf's governing body, has an initiative called "Te e it Forward" that encourages players to play tees based on their drive length rather than age. Even though this initiative might have been rolled out 2 years ago, the amount of players continuing to use the longest tee boxes is astonishing.
How many yards are the red tees?
The Red Tees (played exclusively by women) are 5005 yards/slope 127. The new Purple Tees are 4126 yards/112 slope. AND NO ONE WILL PLAY THE PURPLE TEES BUT ME! I’ve explained to the other women that the differential adjusts for this and that I am not "cheating.".
When did the PGA of America issue recommendations?
In 2011, the PGA of America and USGA issued a set of recommendations designed to encourage golfers to play from appropriate yardages.
How many yards does a 5 iron hit?
Example: You hit your 5-iron 150 yards. So 150 times 36 equals 5,400. Choose the tees closest to 5,400 yards in length. If you hit your 5-iron 180 yards, then look for tees around 6,500 yards (180 times 36 equals 6,480).
How to determine the length of a tee?
The length of the tee is determined by the distance between the shooting location to the hole. Every person must learn how to walk before they can run, so they should be conscious about playing from a set of tees that are too long, which is a common mistake made by amateur players. If you want to get the best pace for your play, it would be better to evaluate your skillset and use the ideal distance for playing from tees, whether from a forward tee or back position.
What does the color of a golf tee mean?
Golf tees are color-coded to indicate the distance to the hole on a course. The tee colors are also unofficially associated with a specific age or gender that might limit some players. Golf tee colors are usually common between different courses, especially white, blue and red tees. Other courses choose to include different colors, and the color-coded system depends on player handicaps in golf. At some you must have wondered what the different color tee boxes mean; the common meanings behind some of the colors are:
How many yards should a low handicap tee be?
Low handicap women and seniors should choose the set of tees with the yardage between 250 and 500 yards less than the averages of the LPGA for women and Champions Tours for seniors.
What is the white tee box?
White tee boxes correspond with men or women with a middle to high handicap who are typically average golfers that can drive the ball between 200 and 250 yards. Often these are referred to as the middle tees, can can also be used by long hitting senior men.
What are the blue tees in golf?
If the golf course has gold tees, the blue tees are usually closer to the hole, but they are still extremely difficult to play, making them ideal for competitions and tournaments.
Why do professional golfers play back tees?
If you’re a professional player, you’re more likely to have consistent and accurate shots, so you can opt for back tees to provide enough of a challenge for you to enjoy the game. It also makes more sense for a professional player to opt to play from the tips, which is the farthest tee on a golf course, and it usually covers the entire distance of the course.
What is a red tee called?
These red tees can often be called the ladies tees.
How far can you play the back tees?
Of course, many Neanderthal males often insist on playing “the back tees,” almost always stretching past 6,500 yards and often measuring somewhere in the 6,800-to-7,000-yard range. Playing from the tips might be a boost to the ego, but it’s also pretty much a guarantee to be a killer for your score, and pace of play for the entire course, if you have no business being back there.
How many yards does a 5 iron go?
If your 5-iron goes only 70 yards, a regulation course isn’t fun. But one with tees—even if in the fairway—measuring 2,520 yards would be a great way to keep people in the game. Think about it. A few years ago, the USGA attempted to get golfers to “Play if Forward.”.
