Slow Play: Golf's Downfall

Playing from the wrong tees is reason for a long day at the golf course

If you play golf, and, with this column I’m assuming you do—though we know the old saying, to assume is to make an “ass” out of “u” and “me” (hah, hah)—how do you determine from which set of tees you play?

I was introduced to this great game at the nine-hole gem of a layout, some say which was designed by Donald Ross of Pinehurst No. 2 fame, the Sanford (NC) Golf Course where there were three sets of tees: men’s first nine, men’s second nine (a repeat of the first nine but slightly different distances), and ladies tees, same for both first and second nine on the same nine-hole layout.

There was little distance difference from the first nine to the second nine, and while the scorecard taught us the yardages for every hole—first nine, second nine, and ladies nine—all we had to judge second and third shot distances to the par 4 and par 5 greens were 150-yard bushes located 150 yards (duh!) from the green on both sides of the fairways.

No sprinkler-head yardages; no yardage scopes; no GPS systems. No reasons to take a lot of time to determine your distance to the greens other than walking or eye-balling ahead or back to be in line with the bushes, adding or subtracting your paces from 150.

It was a simple system that took little time to make a club selection and hit your approach shot. Relatively speaking, scores back then were no different than scores today even with the technology of today available including your swing being analyzed and fitted club-by-club so you know tempo, distance, club, wind speed, direction, and rub of the green.

Lots to consider when playing golf today. The “rub of the green,” though, is that the pace of play today has slowed to a near crawl, not improved. And, that’s a shame. Technology has helped many golfers to play to a better level but, at the same time, destroyed the much needed steady flow of playing and enjoying.

Some of us still use the 150 yard plate in the middle of the fairway and, with “been there many times before,” know what club to select and how to use it especially when playing ready golf or waiting until it’s your turn.

Problem with the latter, some prefer to stroll instead of walking the course at a nice pace. And then there’s the the guy who takes his time and tells you, “It’s not a race.” To him, it’s usually an adventure. Good one day; not so good the next. Maybe he thinks too much. Maybe I don’t think enough.

While it’s not a race, most golf courses should allow no more than four hours to play 18 holes no matter if all four players are walking the layout or all four are riding the course or if there’s a mixed bag of riders and walkers.

One of the primary issues for slow play is from those who think they should be playing a longer set of tees not good for their game when actually they should be operating from the front tees, or somewhere in between but not so far back. Their ability and tee ball length don’t call for it.

Golf is not muscle-ball, though Bryson DeChambeau would disagree. Golf is a game of finesse that requires a constant, low blood pressure tempo that keeps you engaged with surprisingly great shots and keeps you on track to play the next shot after the previous attempt may have inspired or failed you.

After either shot, good or bad, what is done is done; move on without unnecessary fanfare that is directly related to slow play, such as over-celebration or questioning the wind direction or the club selection or banging the club against your head, and so on and so forth.

Hit the ball, good or bad, find the ball, good lie or bad, hit again, and move on.

Before teeing off, especially on a course you’ve never played or rarely played, ask yourself: which set of tees is best for my game? The answer usually comes from a quick glance at the scorecard, a search for a total yardage that golfers feel are right for their game. That may end up as a struggle distance.

When I was way younger, I could play any of three sets of tees as the course was set up for every day play at Lonnie Poole Golf Course. That would be the Black (6,916 yards), Red (6,498 yards), and White/Wolfpack (6,032 yards) tees.

Sometimes, I pushed further away from the green and played the “tips,” nearly 7,400 yards. That was when the course first opened in 2009, and I was 15 years young than my current 72-years old and was able to score well from any of the tees.

As I’ve aged and my game has changed, I feel somewhat comfortable playing the White/Gray hybrid set-up of 5,735 yards and, better yet, the Gray markers of 5,464 yards. When I score in the low 80s from that hybrid course, I want to move up to the Grays where I recently scored 72, unfortunately a week before my 72nd birthday, so shooting my age was not on the scorecard.

Determining the correct tees for you could be based on the distance you get from your tee shot with a driver or the distance you get from your 7-iron. Neither is a complicated system. Just beware of the lofts on those clubs as you take the test.

At Longleaf Golf & Family Club in Southern Pines, the practice fairway has seven (7) signs for which you should take dead aim. By determining the distance of your drive, you can determine the best set of tees to use on the course.

“With seven tee locations on each hole and a blend of six more, every golfer, regardless of skill, can play at a good pace, shoot lower scores, and have more fun,” it is written on the Longleaf scorecard.

Longleaf is very much a teaching facility, especially for younger kids just getting into the game, but it’s also there for the rest of us. Here’s the suggestions for drive distance versus course yardage variable:

Driver carry to roll yardage/18-hole yardage:

1. 100-125 yards / 3000-3150 yards

2. 125-150 yards / 3600-3650 yards

3. 150-175 yards / 4200-4410 yards

4. 175-200 yards / 4800-5040 yards

5. 200-220 yards / 5400-5670 yards

6. 225-245 yards / 6000-6300 yards

7. 250-270 yards / 6600-6930 yards

8. 275-295 yards / 7200-7560 yards

For less than 100 yards and more than 75, the 18-hole yardage is between 4200 and 2520. For greater than 295 yards, find a longer golf course. At Longleaf, they have blended (hybrid) 18-hole layouts, a comfort zone to be determined by the individual and the total yardage for the bended tees.

The use of the 7-iron for determining the set of tees from which to play is similar. This comes from the USGA by asking thousands of players, “What club do you prefer the most to use for your approach shot?”

 7-Iron Distance : Best Course Length

• 80 yards or less: 3500 - 3700 yards

• 80 to 95 yards: 4100 - 4300 yards

• 95 to 110 yards: 4800 - 5000 yards

• 110 to 125 yards: 5400 - 5600 yards

• 125 to 155 yards: 5,900 - 6,100 yards

• 155 to 170 yards: 6400 - 6600 yards

• 170 yards or more: 6700 - 6900 yards

I’ve come to understand the limits of my game, using the driver distance and the 7-iron distance methods for determining which set of tees to play: Wolfpack (6032 total yardage) or Gray (5464 total yardage) or the Wolfpack-Gray hybrid (5735 total yardage).

While walking the course is the same, over 8,000 yards, no matter which tees I play, my pace of play is best when playing well and not pushing limits not suited for my game.

What about you? Are you playing the right set of tees and keeping your pace of play suitable not just for you but for those playing with and behind you? Slow play drives people away from the golf course.

Don’t play from a length that slows the game, and don’t assume you’re at the right tee length and at a good and steady pace of play. Take the driver or 7-iron test because you know what to assume means! Hit and move on!