I was playing with my father in law’s weekly group one Friday. They were playing from the gold tees. I was young and petulant, and appalled at the idea of playing from the gold. First hole is dog leg left, I hit a driver through the fairway at the turn, and into the water. I remember thinking “See, I shouldn’t be playing this far up!” Couldn’t be my own fault, or my own poor decision making. I really didn’t understand what thinking my way around a course meant. It was all grip it and rip it. You ever see the guys who setup to play from the tips in the group in front of you, think to yourself these guys must really be good, then watch them dribble a ball fifty yards, or slice one or two deep into the woods? Yeah, I was that guy.
Fortunately my golf game is better than it was then however, it has taken more time for me to become less dogmatic about what tees I play. I play the blue tees at my club. Always have. Member tournaments are based off the blues and strokes adjusted from there for different tees. I play well from the blues, and know my way around the course. Where I want to be. Why would I play anywhere else?
I played with a friend and his father and friend, and they wanted to play whites. My inner turmoil began. “I can’t play whites” I was thinking to myself. Just trapped in the narrow mindedness. I agreed to play the whites, and became the guy who dribbled the ball thirty yards, just making the fairway. I recovered nicely, and began just playing the game. I had a great time! I played great, and posted a fantastic score. I saw angles of the course I had not seen before. Had to give new thought to the game and hit different shots than usual. I did hit a ball through a dogleg and out of bounds on a hole, but made a mental note to next time hit a different club, or take a different line. That was the fun part, sometimes the answer was not a lower club, just a different path.
One evening afterwords while playing by myself, I decided to play from the black tees. Again, I played well. Clearly I didn’t score as well as front the whites, but I was very happy. The course was again a new course to me. I was hitting six irons into greens where I usually would be hitting an eight. I was engaging my mind more, and thinking my way around. I would not play the blacks as a rule, the blue tees are right for me. But the change was good.
My home course like many others now have hybrid tees. I am now playing the hybrid tees, the white, blue and even black tees. I am enjoying all the variety, and really increasing my understanding of how to think my way through the course.
Now, to be clear, I am not advocating playing the inappropriate tees for one’s ability. The Tee it Forward campaign has it right. I would have enjoyed the game a lot more when I was younger if I had played the appropriate tees for my ability rather than viewing it as a shot to my pride. I probably would have even improved more. I am saying as you improve and you aren’t out slowing anybody else up, mix it up a little!