Ever experienced slow play on the golf course?

I’m a woman and a golfer. So of course, the answer to that question is automatically “yes.” At least if you ask the guys heading down to the tee box just behind my group.

Here’s the truth. Women are no slower than men when it comes to playing golf. In fact, I would wager that most women golfers make a deliberate attempt to speed up the game just so they don’t hear the moans and groans of the guys back at the club house who are always complaining about “the ladies” who can’t play. I’ve asked a lot of starters who manage tee times, “Who is slower? Men or women?” And the answer from the guy in the starter’s shed is always the same: “The guys are always slower. They may hit their drives further, but they fuss when it comes to putting, and they’ll spend a full five minutes searching for a ball they know is in the swamp.” Enough said.

First, a few facts are in order – (and these are from some of the best golf magazines): the vast majority of recreational golfers, both men and women, never break 100 when they play 18 holes. Never! Most of us are out there playing golf for the love of the game. We’ll never make a living at it. If you really want to improve you need to play at least three times a week. That’s a lot of time to give to the sport, and most of us don’t have it to give. But we still want to play and so we get out there, once a week, once a month, once in a while.

Second, those colored tee boxes you see at the start of each hole are SEXLESS. They are set and rated by golf rating specialists. The forward tees are not “the ladies tees” —  they are the FORWARD tees and are rated for golfers who have a certain handicap. The middle tees are for golfers with a mid-handicap, and the back tees are not just for the guys, but for golfers with a low handicap. And of course, if your club has a set of tees for the Pros or Scratch golfers, then those are for the golf wizards who win all the tournaments. 🙂

Bottom line: which tee box you choose to play from should relate directly to your handicap and the distance you typically hit the ball off the tee.  Check your club’s score card for total distance for each tee box through 18 holes and choose the tee box that matches your average drive according to the following chart:

Avg. drive – Recommended Tees
300 yards – 7,150-7,400 yards
275 yards – 6,700-6,900 yards
250 yards – 6,200-6,400 yards
225 yards – 5,800-6,000 yards
200 yards – 5,200-5,400 yards
175 yards – 4,400-4,600 yards
150 yards – 3,500-3,700 yards
125 yards – 2,800-3,000 yards
100 yards – 2,100-2,300 yards

For example, if the red or forward tees play a total of 5,200 yards, you should be hitting an average drive about 200 yards. If your drives are longer, say 225, you might be comfortable playing from the middle tees at your club. But it’s all up to you and what works for your game.

There will always be those golfers who think they are better than they really are and will always play from the back tees no matter what. The problem is they can’t hit that far and often end up out of bounds or hitting five times to get to the green. And this adds to slow play for everyone.

To solve the slow play problem a number of golf clubs are beginning to set their own standards for their members based on handicaps. They are recommending the appropriate tee box for each golfer based on the distance of their average drive. If the golfer plays from the correct tee box, the game goes much more smoothly and is a lot more fun. The PGA is putting a lot of effort into their program to combat slow play and keep people in the game and on the golf course. Read more about the program, Tee It Forward and learn how you can help implement it at your golf course.

It’s an innovative way of a handling slow play and we’ll have to see if it catches on.

What do you think? Should the club pro be the one to tell you which tee box you should use?