Sorry, You're Banned From the Back Tees

The view always seems better from the back tees, doesn't it? I've played at some fantastic locations over the years and it never fails - the scenery just seems to "pop" more from back there.

I've photographed most of the courses I've played. I'm not much of a photographer, but I've taken a few winners in my day and it's usually on the back tees where all my best photos are captured. I'll try and snap a few from the middle tees, but I always end up walking back for a better view.

The fact is, when you stand at the tips of a course, you're seeing what the course architect intended you to see - how the hole is "really" supposed to look. Leave that championship tee box and the view, the hole...the entire feeling just loses something.

And what of the challenge? A golfing buddy once told me: "You have to play from the tips because if you don't, you're not really playing the golf course." Is this true? It sounds reasonable - I don't think many architects design a course from the greens back. Typically, they design it from the tips forward - positioning the middle and forward tees somewhat after the fact.

This all seems logical to me. Screw it! I'm playing the back tees from now on! I'll take-in all the best views and test my metal on the true course layout! Boy, this is gonna be great! That is, of course, until I realize none of my tee shots are finding the fairway because A) they're either not long enough to make it over the caliche from back there or B) I couldn't successfully play a fade or draw around a corner to get it to the fairway.

You see, the reality is I have no business playing from back there, and neither do many of you. Yet I see it all too often. A couple of clowns who barely know how to hold a club are teeing it up from the tips. The result? A long afternoon on the course. Look, unless you know the course well, most average hacks should be teeing-off from the middle tees. For one, you won't get frustrated because you shot 10 strokes over your average. Second, you won't be holding up everyone on the course because of your struggles.

Heck, the USGA even came up with a rating system to help you decide which tee box you should play from. It's called the Slope Rating. Want to learn more? Read my post from last year called "What the Crap is a Slope Rating?" This is something our pal Tom over at the golfnoise blog should have done before he and his buddies let the way they were dressed get in the way of which tee-box they played from.

So, should average golfers never get to experience the course the way it was intended to be experienced? Not necessarily. Last week I wrote about the joys of playing golf when very few people were out on the course. I mentioned that if no one is behind you, it's OK to slow down and take in more of the scenery.

Next time there's plenty of room between you the group behind you, this is a perfect time to try playing from the tips. If one group starts to catch up, let them play through. The less stress you put on yourself, the better you'll play. Of course, don't say I didn't warn you when you shoot 10 strokes over your average from back there.

Posted in: back tees,championship tees,golf,golf stinks,golfnoise,golfstinks,slope rating,the tips,USGA