Play the right tees

 By Steve Gordon

I see it every time I go to play golf; players playing from the wrong set of tees. I am 74 and even as I hit the ball further than most in the group of seniors I play with, I play the forward gold/senior tees. Depending on the course they can range anywhere from 5200 to 5700 yards generally.

Here is a chart I copied that was published in a national golf magazine:

5-iron Distance	Ideal Course Yardage
100	3600
110	3960
120	4320
130	4680
140	5040
150	5400
160	5760
170	6120
180	6480
190	6840
200	7200

It's not about being macho or playing the whole course. On a good day my 5 iron goes 160-170. My general rule is to play tees set at 6000 yards or less. Think about it. Why do you think there are different sets of tees on golf courses?

Let's say you are playing a 370 yard hole (not considered a long hole by today's standards). What can you do to make the hole playable and fun? In my case with a 5 iron that goes 170, I'd have to hit a 200 plus yard drive (which I do) to have a reasonable chance to reach the green and hope to par the hole. I have friends who only hit their drives maybe 180 yards. How much fun is it hitting a hybrid or a fairway wood into the green and know you have no chance to get on it?

Here is a story I will relate to you. I was probably 5 or 6 years ago when a friend and I were at a local course and playing the 6100 yard tees. We were paired with a single player who stepped up to the back 7000 yard tees. From the first hole it was evident he didn't hit the ball as well as we did yet he was playing a course almost 1000 yards longer than we were.

The bottom line is that when he hit good shots there were par 4's he couldn't reach and a couple par 3's he had to hit a fairway wood or driver because he couldn't reach the green. Several times during the opening holes we "invited" him to play up with us but he said no. We pretty much played the course as a twosome and only saw him on the green. I estimate he lost a minimum of a dozen balls and who knows what he actual score was over 100.

My point is how in the world can that be fun, enjoyable, relaxing, or whatever a casual round of golf should be?

I'd like to interject that I wish there was some way courses could get players to tee off from tees suited for their games but I don't know how they could do that generally at public courses.

When I play courses with my buddies from the gold tees, if I feel a hole is too short I will step back to the next tee. Conversely, my buddy and I will move up a tee if we feel a hole might be too long. Many courses are developing what you might call hybrid or combo tees mixing up the tee boxes to make the course playable for all players. It is a trend I would like to see expanded to all courses.

I recently almost shot my age for the first time from the 5748 yard tees. I'm not breaking par or any scoring records and it is so much fun to play well and post a nice score. Why would I, or anyone, want to make a game that is already hard more difficult? 

Shooting your age

 By Steve Gordon

How many golfers set a goal to shoot their age? I am going to guess not many. But as I get older (I'll be 74 on Thanksgiving Day) it has become a target although seemingly unattainable for a few years for this 12-13 handicapper.

The closest I had gotten was a 76 in a club championship round in 2017 at Makefield Highlands in Yardley. To be honest it was the first time it really crossed my mind as it was a career best 18 holes at that time. I admit to not giving it much thought after it happened even as it beat a previous best of  77 with a first ever level par front nine at the Running Deer Golf Club in Elmer, NJ golf club a year earlier.

Rounds in the 70's are very rare for me but as I have moved up to the gold/senior tees it has become more attainable, but still rare. I'd like to make a note here that more players, regardless of age, should take into account playing a proper set of tees for a variety of reasons. Foremost among them is potentially more enjoyment of playing the game.

Aside from moving to a forward tee box what changed? 

In March of this year while out in Mesquite, NV (just before the pandemic slammed into our lives) a playing partner handed me his driver near the end of a round. "Try this" he said as this pretty blue club exchanged hands. I hit it solid maybe 40 years past my name brand driver that I had just hit a so-so shot with. I didn't even swing hard. I hit it once more and to conclude this story, when I got home I traded in that well known name brand driver. 

As I started hitting more accurate and longer tee shots my scores got better. I wasn't breaking par or even breaking 80 but the tee shots were easier the game become more fun and the scores started to get very consistent. There is a lot to be said about playing from the fairway and hitting shorter clubs into the greens.

Still shooting my age wasn't a conscious thought but the group I played weekly rounds with as we traveled to different courses every Tuesday was seeing results. One good friend was impressed such that he occasionally asks to use my driver.

About a month ago I had a very series of rounds where the game just seemed so easy overall for me. Playing with those guys I carded a 75. A career best and at this point two shots off my age. I followed that up with a 76 the next day at the Berkleigh Golf Club in Kutztown, PA, home course of former LPGA standout Betsy King.

Since that week there have been a couple good rounds but nothing spectacular until a record points day at a local course with a different group of guys playing the Stableford format. 

My longtime golf partner and I got together again on November 7th to play Vineyards National in Egg Harbor City, NJ. We hadn't played there in a few years and lately we haven't played a lot together as he lives 3 hours and a couple states away. Traveling to meet with the COVID-19 stuff going on was limited.

Can I guess that you are thinking this story ends like when they show a highlight on a golf telecast of a golf shot in a tournament where you know the result of an incredible shot that goes in the hole? Well...not exactly.

I bogeyed the first hole then a par on the second followed by a birdie. Except for two bogeys on both front nine par 5's (a sloppy pitch on one and a ball into a penalty area on the other) the opening set of holes added up to a 2 over par 38. We set out on the back nine that started with a par. I was playing well but shooting my age wasn't a conscious thought. My partner was keeping the score card and I wasn't paying attention to score.

One bogey, two birdies and four pars later I was on the front of the 18th green in regulation with a long putt. I stroked the slightly uphill and breaking putt and it came up five feet short. I missed the par putt not making a firm stroke to take the break out and my partner screamed "You idiot." 

That three putt was closed out a 74, one shot off shooting my 73 calendar years. He was aware but it was like a no hitter in baseball, you don't talk about it. A close friend said it should count as it happened in the same month I would have turned 74. I'm not sure it works like that.

The scorecard goes into my keep sake pile as my lowest score on a full size golf course to date. The combination of that driver that fitted my swing and the proper tees for my game sure has been a benefit.

With winter weather upon us the likelihood to beat that 74 and shoot my age before my birthday or match it for the rest of this calendar year is doubtful. But as we Philadelphia sports fans are used to saying about our sports teams..."Maybe next year."