Based on that I'm right where I need to be. Besides when I play in CGA tournaments us senior players play tees that measure 5800 - 6100 give or take a couple. So when I play recreationally I play that distance so I will be ready for my next tournament.

Really interesting article Chuck - thanks for posting. Our course took an equally interesting approach to tackling pace of play.

We have 6 sets of tees ranging from 4,970 from the forward gold tees to 7,093 off the Black tips. Very roughly 350-450 yards between tees. What the course did was color code markers on the driving range to give folks an idea of which tees they should be using. If you are carrying your drive to the white markers, you should be (generally) using the white tees etc. Folks that use this seem to enjoy their round more than others!

Another thing we did was go to 10 minute tee times. Courses want to get as many tee times as possible in during the day - I get it - but the studies we did showed some interesting results. Short tee times worked right up to the first Par 3. Then the "elastic band" would compress the we would see folks waiting on the tee. When we went to the 10 minute tee times, we did not see this back up and folks were able to flow through each tee seamlessly. Yes we lost a few tee times during the day but the faster pace of play more than made up for it.

As an aside, we have set a 4 hour pace or play and we are often sub-4 hours.

we have 10min tee times and its not uncommon to hit 5+hrs if you tee of after 9am, its absurd the amount of time you have to sit and wait for. Is some of it newer golfers, sure. But ive experienced the worst pace of play when behind people that treat the local muni like its the sunday of a major and theyre in the final group.

16 practice swings, look at the hole, 2 more practice swings, toss some grass, re-shoot the pin to double check yardage, 2 more practice swings, change clubs, 2 more practice swings, address the ball, chunk it.

its the main reason i try to only golf before 8am, walking with the older gentleman that are no nonsense out there for the sake of being out there and not chasing BIG DRIVES and the fantasy ESPN Top 10 highlight reel shot, we finish in sub 4hrs.

lol. so funny and so true. Great stuff

I don't see it as a "pace of play" issue as much as an "enjoyable round" issue. Unfortunately, out here in our retirement community, we have very social groups that still take forever from the front tees. I for one can play just as fast (or nearly) from the back as from the front. I may have to hit it a few more times but my lose rate is about the same. I am one of the faster players when I reach my ball. I already know which club I am going to hit and I have a very fast pre-shot routine. That said, I do enjoy hitting mid to short irons into Par 4 holes instead of 3 and 5 woods and not hitting drivers on Par 3 holes.

Funny you mention that hitting from the front and taking all day. We have the same issue in our M/W/F rascals group. Have actually had some of those guys respond, when you mention, we need to speed up; "what is your hurry, we are retired, we have nothing better to do." Some see it as a social gathering and do not care how long it takes, even if they are three holes behind. Unfortunately we have no yardage markers on the course. So it takes some of them a long time to figure out the yardage. They have to have a meeting to determine the right yardage on a par 4, after a 180 drive and they are 184 yards out. They all congregate for every shot. Happens a lot. 4.5 to 5 hour rounds guaranteed. At our ages we should know how far we hit the ball. In most of our 4 somes they have been playing around 100 +/- combined years and most hit a 7 iron around 120 yards.

This makes absolute sense. The problem lies with several factors. 1. GAMBLING. I once played with a group that assigned you to tees by age group. What a crock. Everyone is afraid to let anyone play forward if there's a dollar on the line. 2. PEER PRESSURE. Men think that if they play a 5,000 yard tee, that they will be ridiculed. I play with some guys who play at 5,500 yards and can't reach a par 4 in 2 even if you let them tee it up in the fairway with a driver on their 2nd shot, but they continue to soldier on. I could go on , but to no avail. This is another noble attempt to penetrate the brain of the amateur golfer, but like the others, will probably fall short.

Sounds about right. I am going to be moving down a tee box soon enough!

It’s a great solution if all golfers check their egos and play the correct tees. I avoid playing the back tees unless it falls in my 7 iron yardages and have a good time.

Great article and pretty spot on. I'm on track for where I need to be but wish more people would "tame their egos"

As another senior member, I can agree with Dale. I can play 6200 yards as fast as I can play 5700 yards. But 85 with a shot at 80 is just a whole lot more fun than struggling to stay south of 96. It all comes down to GIR or GIR+1 (GIR+2…)
Even though I walk, I can keep pave with foursomes ahead. Too often the cart goes from ball to ball. Seems like walking 20 yards for ready golf is a struggle. My home course has benches at the back tees. With a 4-4.5 hour round, I’d appreciate the benches be where I have to wait.

I don't remember when or who told me this , but if you take your average yardage with your driver and multiply it by 27 that should be your yardage to play with. So if you average 200 yards this is what you do. 200X27 = 5400 yards , seems accurate.

Thank you for this.

Great article and thank you for posting. I never looked at it that way. I just discovered I am playing Tees too short :-). Time to go back to the Back Tees.

A little late reading this but very helpful. I am 67 and have been contemplating moving to the senior tees next spring. I am a 15 handicap from the regular (not the tips) tees. I don’t hit my drives as far as I did a few years ago, now only about 220-230. Any thoughts about when it’s the right time to move up?

While moving to the proper tees will help, it’s not the solution. My 55+ neighborhood is loaded with folks playing the two forward tees but still slow as heck. They refuse to hit out of turn (ready golf), never pick a club until over their ball, spend crazy amounts of time reading putts, never pick up even if it’s for a 8+ score, and spend more time talking than playing. I love summer in Arizona when I have the course mostly to myself.

After looking at some of the previous posts and using the suggested formula it looks like I should still be playing the back (not the tips) tees. I am not a slow player so that is not a factor I need to consider. I will play the white tees until I feel like it is to difficult and/or no fun to do so. Not forever young at 67 just young for a little while longer.

I actually prefer the challenge of a longer layout, based on my handicap (around 0-1) and my 7-iron distance (170-180), but playing 6,800 + is HARD. This is all based on IF you can hit Driver/3-Wood very well off the tee and have a good 200 yard club in the bag. At 6,800 yards, you need one. It's challenging, but it goes well beyond the 7-iron yardage. IMO. That chart is a good measuring stick for the majority though. Our back tees at 7500 yards got manhandled by the Korn Ferry guys 2 years ago, still head-scratching for many of us,

I believe in this!! I see way too many golfers out there playing from the wrong tees ( most of the time too long). I do also agree playing shorter tees than you should. Great article and thanks for sharing!!