I’d love to say Golf Course Owner Guy invented this idea, but clearly I have not been pontificating the right things in golf. A suggestion was made that we do away with the colors of tee blocks. Growing up in golf, it seems like “Blue” was always for the good players, “White” was for the average players and seniors, and of course “Red”, I think everyone knows who those tees were for. That was back when things were simple.
Then… seniors wanted their own set, and what to color the tees that ended up behind the blues? Where were kids supposed to play from? Ladies got sick of only one option, and that option was always red? Then courses tried to get clever, and they re-scripted all their colors. It eliminated all the stereotypes, but only confused golfers on where to push their tee into the ground.
Tee Blocks Based on Speed
It’s human nature to always overthink things. But maybe colors were always the wrong approach. What if the tees were classified by swing speeds. 110mph or more, you played those far back tees. 75mph or less you played those front tees. In the middle we had sets for those in the 80’s, 90’s and 100mph speed ranges. It would no longer matter your gender, your age, your ability to hit it straight, or your propensity to be a bit crooked. You simply go to the tee box where your swing speed is calibrated. I can feel all those egos moaning…
In theory…when a foursome reached their tee shots and were ready to play their approaches, wouldn’t all four players be in a similar place? It took a hundred years for the subconscious to know what red, white and blue stand for, there is no way my drivel can change anything…but it’s kind of fun to think about! You know it makes tons of sense.
Nick,
Sounds like a good idea.
And for those who don’t know their swing speed, I’ve been cruising around on the internet lately on this very subject (which certainly affects pace-of-play) and found a couple easy, general formulas: your average 5-iron distance × 36 or your average driver distance × 28 gives you the length of the 18 hole course you should play. Gotta love the E’enbright tees; better scores, more fun, and in clubhouse sooner for Chef Bob’s creations!
I agree Mark. I’m not sure I can single handily change the entire premise on where people decide to tee off. I’m still working on getting them to fix a ball mark. That’s at least been 100 years in the works.
Another method is based on average score. Tee boxes for 79 and below; 80-85; 86-90; 90-95; over 95. If everyone had a handicap this method could be converted to the handicap instead of the score. Also in the interest of slow play I played a course in South Carolina the encourage not returning your club to the bag until you arrive at either your next shot or your partners next shot. It proved to save about 12-15 seconds per player per non green shot-about 14 minutes per 18 holes. You could experiment with leagues to get a feel.