Golf-FAQ.com

what are the red tees in golf

by Mr. Jeramie Gutmann II Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
image

Traditionally, golf courses had three tee boxes, designated by three colors :

  • Red tees: Also called the forward tees or "ladies tees," the reds were the shortest set of tees.
  • White tees: Also called the middle tees, regular tees or "men's tees," the whites were the middle-distance set.
  • Blue tees: Also called the back tees or championship tees, the blues represented the course's longest yardage.

Red tee markers can have two meanings. If the red tees are behind the white tees, it is usually for championship play. More commonly, the red tees are located in front of the white tee markers and are often called the "women's tees". The forward tees usually offer the shortest yardage on the course.

Full Answer

What are the different tees on a golf course?

In the old days of persimmon woods and balata balls, golf courses typically had three sets of tees: the blue tees for the good player, the white tees for the average player, and the red tees. Red tees-forward tees-senior tees- arrgh!

What are forward tees in golf?

Depending on how good a golfer is, how far he or she hits the ball, the golfer selects the most appropriate set of tees for his or her abilities. That's the way it's supposed to work, anyway. The forward tees are also often referred to as the " red tees ." Ladies tees, forward tees, red tees — those terms are synonyms.

Why do women play from the red tees in golf tournaments?

The tournament rules stipulated that ladies played from the red tees, men from the white tees. Therefore, these teams had a huge distance advantage with a college-caliber female hitting 230 or 240 yard drives from the red tees, which equated to 280-290 yard drives in some cases for any of the men.

What Tees should you play from?

Young junior golfers, beginners of all ages, many women and senior golfers play the forward tees, but all golfers have the option of playing them — if their skill level makes playing from the shortest-available tees most appropriate, they're more likely to have fun during a round of golf by doing so.

What does red tees mean?

What color tees are used in golf?

How many tee boxes are there on each hole?

What does it mean to play from the forward tees?

What color are the tees on a golf course?

How many different tee colors are there?

What is the shortest course in golf?

See more

image

What are the different colored tees in golf?

Red tees were the forward tees, white tees were the middle tees, and blue tees were the back tees—also known as, respectively, the ladies tees, men's tees (or regular tees), and the championship tees.

What color tees should I play from?

White Tees: Men's tees, middle to high handicap, typically the middle option of all the tee boxes, and used by most men. Blue Tees: Men's tees, mostly used for championship or tournament play, and for low handicap male golfers.

Who uses the red tees in golf?

Red tees, also referred to as ladies tees, are closest to the hole. They are primarily used by female golfers or players who cannot drive the ball more than 150 yards.

What color are the senior tees?

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.

Who should hit from red tees?

For men, there are usually many more tee box options in play, but beginners should play from the reds or golds (which are also meant for seniors), high handicappers (i.e., those who regularly shoot at least 100) play from the whites, mid-handicappers from the blues and low-handicappers from the blacks.

What do the tee colors mean?

Blue (Tiger tees furthest from the green) confusingly the blue tees can also be the closest to the green. White (Competition) Yellow - typically used by men of all ages playing recreational golf. Red - often the tees nearest the green (sometimes referred to as the Ladies Tees, although that term is being discouraged)

Can you play from red tees?

Modern golf courses can use any color they want for any set of tees; the red tees (if there even are red tees at a given course) could be front, middle or back, so it's best to check each golf club's membership rules to see which each represent at that particular club.

What tees should I hit from?

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.

At what age do you hit from senior tees?

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 far should a 80 year old man hit a golf ball?

As you get older, your swing speed normally decreases. That being said, there are still older golfers who have incredibly high swing speeds. If you're able to drive the ball somewhere close to 220 yards, you're pretty much average. I'd say anything lower than 210 yards and you're less than average.

At what age do you become a senior golfer?

50 and aboveIn men's professional golf senior tournaments are for players aged 50 and above. In other branches of the sport the lower age limit varies, but is usually 45, 50 or 55.

What are purple tees in golf?

The club has replaced the gender tees with coloured tees - the shortest (closest to the hole) is purple, further back is blue, then red, then yellow, and finally the white tee which is for competition only.

What happens if you are not 95% certain that your ball is in a red penalty area?

First, it is worth stressing that if it is not known for sure that your ball is in a red penalty area, or you are not 95% certain that it is, you will have to go back to where you last played from under stroke and distance (Rule 18.2).

How to play golf if you're not sure where you last played?

To proceed, find where you last played from as a reference point, estimating the spot if you’re not sure. Drop your ball within a one club-length arc of that point not nearer the hole and then play it. There is a penalty of one stroke. You must drop in the same area of the course as your reference point.

What color are penal areas?

But the Rules also allow Committees to expand their use to incorporate areas that do not contain water. Penalty areas now have a default marking colour of red. Red stakes in golf (or lines) allow the additional lateral relief option (see below).

Can you play a golf ball as it lies?

You may play it as it lies. There is nothing to stop you playing the ball as it lies in a penalty area marked with red stakes in golf if safe (and perhaps wise!) to do so. If you opt to play it, there is no penalty for touching the ground or water with your hand or club.

Can you touch water with your hand in golf?

If you opt to play it, there is no penalty for touching the ground or water with your hand or club. You may take practice swings and touch or move loose impediments when your ball lies in a penalty area marked with red stakes in golf (or lines).

What are the three sets of tees in golf?

If we go back in time, we'll eventually reach periods in golf history when most golf courses had only three sets of tees: forward, middle and back. Women most often played from the forward tees — and were expected to play from the shortest tees — and so those forwardmost tees came to be known as the "ladies tees.".

What is a ladies tee?

Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. "Ladies tees" is a term many golfers still apply to the forward set of tees on each hole of a golf course.

What does it mean to play from a tee box?

Playing from those tees means playing the course at its shortest length. Golf courses use multiple tee boxes on each hole, usually designated by differently colored tee markers. Depending on how good a golfer is, how far he or she hits the ball, the golfer selects the most appropriate set of tees for his or her abilities.

Can a girl play a forward tee?

Ladies can play any set of tees they want, and anyone — male, female, young, old, beginner, experienced — can play the "ladies tees" if they want. So the more appropriate way to refer to the forward tees is ... forward tees.

Do women play from the ladies tees?

The term really isn't appropriate anymore, because, of course, not all women play from the "ladies tees" and not only women play from the "ladies tees.". A low-handicap female golfer is going to play from middle or rearward tees; a mid-handicap woman might choose a longer set of tees, too. It's entirely appropriate for beginner golfers ...

What does red tee mean in golf?

If you belong to a golf association or golf league, or your local club is holding a fun tournament day, and you see a "Red Tee Rally" on the schedule, it probably means this: You'll be playing a four-person-team, stroke-play format from the forward tees. Usually, that's it. It's regular golf for teams, only played from the forward tees — and the tournament is only nine holes.

What is the Red Tee Rally?

Have you heard of the Red Tee Rally? It's a golf format. Two golf formats, actually: One game that goes by the named Red Tee Rally is a quick (er) and quirky version of a skins game. A second format called Red Tee Rally is a closer-to-standard association, league or playday format.

How many holes are there in Red Tee Rally?

The skins-game version called Red Tee Rally goes like this: It's a 9-hole skins game for a group of four that is played from the forward tees. Oh, there's also this catch: Every golfer, on every hole, must tee off using driver. Yep, even on a short par-3, you must hit driver for your tee shot. So on the first hole, the four golfers in ...

trapp20

Over the last 2 years I've seen a lot of slow play, and some of this comes from men that really should be playing tees as close as possible to the hole, even if it's just until their game improves and they can graduate to a higher tee.

duffer987

So me and my friend are getting tired of the perceived stigma of playing from the red tees we feel when playing with certain men. Guys just cannot seem to stop saying some patronizing comment about the yardage gap and what an advantage it is for us. Especially on this one par 3 at our local club.

jmvargas

our courses normally have women's tees (red) and the shortest men's tees are white and there are the blue tees and the gold/yellow tees which are the championship tees.. as a 67 year old senior golfer (9 hdcp) playing from the whites makes the game more enjoyable although we sometimes try the blues... i doubt if i will ever play from the reds...or from the golds for that matter...

Singapore Joe

I've played the red tees every now and then. And today I played a course - coincidently I was the only male in the group of four - where on at least half of the holes the white tees were shorter than the red tees.

Shiram

I play from the reds now and again. It's a blast. Nothing says you have to play from the same tees every time you go out. At some courses you get a completely different look at the course by moving one or two tees up. That said, it can be fun to move a couple of tees back now and again too!

Vindog

The problem isn't your playing partners.The problem is that the red tees traditionally were for ladies. But, why are you assuiming that you weren't annoying, or they precieved that you came across in a smart-alec manner? I wasn't there, but there are two sides to every story. What were you trying to accomplish with such a remark?

larrybud

The best thing the USGA or a course could do would be 1) Get rid of the color red in any of their tee boxes, unless they're all the way back 2) Rate every tee on the course for both men and women.

What is a back tee?

Championship/ Back tees are for lower handicapped golfers; most often men. Member/ Middle tees are for middle to higher handicapped male golfers, low-handicap or long hitting ladies, and low-handicap or long-hitting senior men.

What is a combo tee?

They can be used between any and all sets of tees. It is a way for a golf course to update the course for their players without the added expense of constructing new tee boxes.

How many tee options are there on a golf course?

The Basics. Golf courses tend to have 3 - 5 sets of tee options on the course. Tee options generally follow a color system, gender suggestions or a play on words that relates back to the theme of the golf course. To better explain this concept, please see some examples provided below . Color.

Is there a gender to teeing?

For many years, golfers have been boxed in by the myths about ‘Men’s’ tees and ‘Women’s’ tees. There is no gender to the teeing area, there is, however, a gender to Course/Slope Ratings. This has been more daunting than expected.

Can you play combo tees while golfing?

If a player decides to play a combo set of tees while they are golfing and it is not in the GHIN system, there is a way to post a score that is acceptable. The USGA Handicap System not only allows, but encourages this.

Senior Tee Age

The entry-level age to play senior tees is 55 years, and the benchmark age is 70 years. Moving up or making a leap on the golf course may be one of the most intimidating factors, especially when you have no idea which tee box to start playing.

What Color Are The Senior Tees In Golf

The tee is that small wooden device, usually colored, that is nailed into the grass, and that serves as a base to place the ball high on the ground. With this, you are able to hit the ball from the bottom up in the long strokes.

How to Choose the Tee When There are More than Three Sets?

More than three sets of tees make it difficult for a golfer to decide which tee to play. But you can do this by considering the yards from which the professionals play.

Conclusion

We hope this article has cleared your doubts about what age is suitable for playing senior tees. As stated earlier the entry-level age to play senior tees is 55 years, and the benchmark age is 70 years.

What does it mean when a golfer says "red tee box"?

The “red tee box” has a fundamentally negative connotation to male golfers who, for years, have played white (or even blue) tees. Moving to the “red” tees admits to not being good enough, powerful enough, man enough (ladies- I’m not being a sexist, just a realist) to be able to play from the regular tees any longer.

What are the three sets of tees in golf?

In the old days of persimmon woods and balata balls, golf courses typically had three sets of tees: the blue tees for the good player, the white tees for the average player, and the red tees. Red tees-forward tees-senior tees- arrgh! for the ladies and senior player.

What is a senior tee?

Regardless of their color, “senior” tees have a very distinct connotation attached to them: They are to be played by people of a certain age who are so old they can’t hit it out of their own shadow. Or so goes one common stereotype.

How many yards does a female golfer hit from the red tees?

Therefore, these teams had a huge distance advantage with a college-caliber female hitting 230 or 240 yard drive s from the red tees, which equated to 280-290 yard drives in some cases for any of the men. Do any women have qualms about moving up to ...

Why do you play from the forward tees?

There is a critically important caveat to the above statement: Playing from the forward tees because one wants to is one thing; playing from the forward tees because one has to is altogether different.

What does red tees mean?

Red Tees As Forward Tees. Traditionally, red tees represented the forward tees, those which allow the golfer the shortest distance from tee-to-hole on the golf course. As noted, at one time it was by far most common to find three sets of tee boxes represented by red (forward), white (middle) and blue (back) tee markers.

What color tees are used in golf?

Modern golf courses can use any color they want for any set of tees; the red tees (if there even are red tees at a given course) could be front, middle or back, so it's best to check each golf club's membership rules to see which each represent at that particular club.

How many tee boxes are there on each hole?

Today, golfers might find four, five, six or more different sets of tees on each hole, ...

What does it mean to play from the forward tees?

Playing from the forward tees means playing the golf course at its shortest length.

What color are the tees on a golf course?

And the most common colors for those tees were red, white and blue, where red represented the forward tees, white represented the middle tees and blue represented the back tees — respectively, the shortest, medium-lengthed, and longest courses a golfer must play during a match. Modern golf courses can use any color they want for any set of tees;

How many different tee colors are there?

There can be up to six different tee colors used on golf courses, which vary by tournament and golf club, which are each used to signify a certain length of play on the golf course in question.

What is the shortest course in golf?

Red Tees: The Shortest Course. Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. "Red tees" is a term used by golfers — sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively — to refer to the forward-most set of teeing grounds on a golf course. If you are playing from the red tees, in this ...

image
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9