Golf League Tees - Do you play different tees?

[King_Slender]

Our league started about 20 years ago when everyone was late 20's to early 40's but were to the point now where we have a few guys over 60 and don't hit it as far as they used to.  We've always played from the Blue Tees (3200-3300 yards) but wanting to come up with a way to move some guys up to the whites (3000 yards).  

 

Running a league and playing with guys of all skill levels, what I hate to see is guys who constantly have to hit woods and hybrids for their second shots on Par 4s.  

 

Do you guys vary tees and, if so, by what standard - age or handicap? 

[larrybud]

We play 3 different tees, Blues, white, and red for the women. Our rule is 65 and older have the option to move up to white. They have to be 65 at the start of the season, and once they make their decision they have to play it all year.

 

I've made exceptions for a couple of people due to health issues. One guy had a heart attack at 50 and wasn't the same, so he moved up, for example.

[ChaosTheory]

21 minutes ago, King_Slender said:

Our league started about 20 years ago when everyone was late 20's to early 40's but were to the point now where we have a few guys over 60 and don't hit it as far as they used to.  We've always played from the Blue Tees (3200-3300 yards) but wanting to come up with a way to move some guys up to the whites (3000 yards).  

 

Running a league and playing with guys of all skill levels, what I hate to see is guys who constantly have to hit woods and hybrids for their second shots on Par 4s.  

 

Do you guys vary tees and, if so, by what standard - age or handicap? 

If it’s a net game only, then the choice of tees can be up to the individual, as long as they don’t bounce back and forth.

 

I’ve seen that done, and it seemed to work fine from a net scoring standpoint.  But when given a choice, most men are too proud and/or delusional to move up unless there is a universal criterion.  Such as if age + index is X or higher, play the up tees, no choice.

 

 

[King_Slender]

8 minutes ago, ChaosTheory said:

If it’s a net game only, then the choice of tees can be up to the individual, as long as they don’t bounce back and forth.

 

I’ve seen that done, and it seemed to work fine from a net scoring standpoint.  But when given a choice, most men are too proud and/or delusional to move up unless there is a universal criterion.  Such as if age + index is X or higher, play the up tees, no choice.

 

 

 

Yeah, it would be tough for our league - 4 of the 5 guys over 60 are some of our above average players, so I don't see them wanting to move up, but the two guys over 65 are good candidates.  Then again, sometimes these same guys will throw up a sub-40 round from the blues.  

[DJDJ]

My club does 65 I believe. I’ve also seen 60. It’s optional as it’s net so some guys choose to move up, some don’t. Usually based on whether they lose one stroke or two.

[596]

When we changed the forward tees from red to green a bunch of men moved up 😂 

 

But our games are points based so it makes no difference where you play from.  Anyone can move forward, but their points quota will go up.   On the initial move forward you are going to see 2 to 3 points added to your quota.  Once you move you have to play out the season from there.  We use the average points from the last 5 rounds for your quota, so it changes all the time based on your play.  

[Santiago Golf]

USGA says for net competition players should be allowed to pick their tees and handicap system should take care of this

 

Our club has guys playing from our green tees (5600 yards) and all the way back to Black tees (6500 yards). We do have Gold at just under 7000 yards, but no one plays them. 

 

If you use the PGA of America formula of 'avg driver x 25 = playing distance ... adjust for each course +/- 200 yards ... everyone can figure out your their tees

 

Like for me my avg driver is 285 (though by the end of 2025, it would be over 300 for the first time since 2018)

 

285 x 25 = 7125 ... so I often try to play right at 7000 to 7200 yards

 

I don't mind playing shorter tees or longer tees ... 7500 yards is difficult, I will say that (but I haven't played it with my new found length)

 

 

[slocalifglfr]

5 hours ago, 596 said:

When we changed the forward tees from red to green a bunch of men moved up 😂 

 

I've seen that done on a few golf courses and it works. A lot of men play all the way up, as they should. The forward tees should never be painted red since guys can't get it out of their heads that red means "women's tee." Silly, really.

 

A couple of courses I play had their back tees blue and the next white. White was more than a lot of guys (yes, guys) could handle but they wouldn't move up a tee because the whites are the MEN'S tees. They made the way backs black, the former whites became blue, and the next up (which happened to be gold) are now white. Oh, the former red became gold (see the above paragraph). Up to the former gold, now white< tees went most of the men.

 

As a side note, when I retired at age 61 my group played the way back tees which are about 6300 yards (lots of hills and wind plus kikuyu grass). Presently (13 years later) we mostly play blue/white combos taming the 430 yard par 4s to something we old guys can handle.  

[596]

@slocalifglfr

 

😂 

 

We changed from blue/white/red to blue/white/green and then added a set of yellow for ladies/youth.  You should see the guys that moved to the yellow!!  It's crazy.  I'm gonna guess the yellows aren't over 4800 yards.  But plenty of guys moved up because they aren't red!!

 

I play with a bunch of guys (75 to 86 years old)  that don't hit the driver over 160.  3 wood from 140.  They move forward to make it fun so they can par a few holes.

[SnowbirdTom]

Joined a senior league this summer and they play from the 3rd tees up (yellow in this case). I normally play tips or 2nd up (whites) at 67 y/o.  I’m having fun driving occasional par 4s and putting for eagle on 5s at 5100 yards from their tees. 🤩

[OnTheBag]

My old Wednesday league battled this for years, until a new "commissioner" took over.  Our league consisted of folks between 45 -75 and all handicaps.  It had gotten out of whack over the years as new folks joined and others fell off, to the point where everyone was playing from the same tees, except the ladies.  

 

The new commissioner put a 5 iron rule into effect and used that to assign tee boxes, which then translated to Stableford points.  (Stock 5 iron yardage X 36=18 hole yardage).  The first Wednesday of the season, we all met at the range and hit 3 balls with our 5i or hybrid equivalent and then he assigned the tees.  That leveled things out and made the game more fun for those of us that had gotten too old and short to compete.

[Hawkeye77]

Guys in our league play whatever tees they play in general to establish their handicap at the course when not playing league.  

[ThinkingPlus]

I frequently play white tees (~5800 yards) with our women's group. We primarily play net games even though points do get awarded for low gross. I move back to the forward tees on days where POP might be an issue or if the primary game of the day is gross score (club championship). I like to stress my longer clubs. The forward tees are really short (~4800 yards) and I end up with long waits on drivable par 4s and reachable par 5s. Keeps things fresh for me.

[deadsolid...shank]

In our league we move up at 60. Skins are a big factor in our league, so we like being moved up. 

[Rosey31]

Our quota league has tees based on quota. 0-7 forward(Red), 8-15 white, and 16+ blues. If you are 70 or older you can play red no matter your quota.

[596]

On 4/19/2025 at 11:31 AM, Santiago Golf said:

USGA says for net competition players should be allowed to pick their tees and handicap system should take care of this

 

Our club has guys playing from our green tees (5600 yards) and all the way back to Black tees (6500 yards). We do have Gold at just under 7000 yards, but no one plays them. 

 

If you use the PGA of America formula of 'avg driver x 25 = playing distance ... adjust for each course +/- 200 yards ... everyone can figure out your their tees

 

Like for me my avg driver is 285 (though by the end of 2025, it would be over 300 for the first time since 2018)

 

285 x 25 = 7125 ... so I often try to play right at 7000 to 7200 yards

 

I don't mind playing shorter tees or longer tees ... 7500 yards is difficult, I will say that (but I haven't played it with my new found length)

 

 

This is very true.  Based on my differential when I record scores,  forward or Senior tees I'm a 0 handicap.  From men's a 5 and tips an 8.  I'll play all 4 sets of tees.  In quota games I'd have to get anywhere from 28 to 36 points based on the tees I'm playing that day.