[Jeff_Brauer]

Lately, I have been thinking about the most ignored feature of golf courses - tees!  They have evolved from simple starting points into distinct design entities, and it seems varying them may allow different or unique strategies, or at least different looks on every hole.

Brought to mind by an agronomist who "did me a favor" by pointing out that I "mistakenly" brought the fairway grass all the way to the tee. I pointed out that it was an ode to Geo. Thomas' "fair tee" concept.

Recently, I designed a tee very wide (at least 60 yards) to vary the angle of play (for Mike Cirba, this is a decscendent of no 9 at Avocet). While I often try to work in a double fairway hole, I am more often trying to work in examples of two distinct tees to the same fairway.

Am even looking for an opportunity to recreate the teeing sensation at Merion, where no. 1 tee is right out side the grill, and the many eyes and remote possibility of hooking one into the dining room all affect the thoughts of the golfer.

Any examples of tees that were more than starting points - tees that really made you take notice, and improved the enjoyment of the hole.

Jeff

[aclayman]

I'll nibble and say that the first time I came to the eighth at Pebble I took notice. The sign read "245 yards to cliff" I thought it meant to the right edge of the cliff but I just aimed over the thing called an aiming rock and hit to within 5 yards of the cliff.

I wonder if the original lower back tee on the first hole was a foreshadowing of this tee shot?

[Lynn_Shackelford]

The first tee at Pebble?  It was where?

[aclayman]

According to a recent post on another thread the back tee at Pebble Beach was Lower than the forward tees.

I can easily see that as being a design motiff with holes 4,(old)5,8,11,13 and 14 having uphill tee shots.

I think a key point in attempting to compare "Good" Architecture with "Bad", not just golf, is  the attention to detail.

And I particularly like it when a reoccurring feature is slowly introduced, and then becomes an integral part of the strategy, of the course, usually coming down the stretch. One of the most recent examples of a great use of this "teasing" is at the Eldiablo in Fla.

cheers,
adam

[APBernstein]

The 1st tee at The Old White is something special.  You walk up these stairs to the top of the patio where you hit your tee shots 10 feet from people having brunch.  Anyone who has played there will know exactly what I mean.

Pine Valley is another example.  I really enjoy any setting where people are milling around and provide a gallery, just like at Merion.  The caddies waiting in line to cross in from of the 1st tee to get to their players' bags while you stand on the first tee is a nice feeling.

[JSS]

1st hole at Riveria and the 1st at Olympic (Lake) can be pretty nerve wrecking if people are watching.

[Ran Morrissett]

Apart from the one in front of the R&A clubhouse, the original 1st tee at Banff Springs would have to be my all-time favorite.

The tee is elevated some 60 feet or so above the Spray river and was directly underneath a bar/gathering area for the majestic Banff hotel. 30-60 hotel patrons would stare as you made your first swing of the day, often with comical results!

Of course, if you caught it right, the ball would take off and hang in the thin mountain air forever for all (especially your goodself) to admire!

Today the original 1st plays as the 15th hole and the all-world original 18th is now the 14th  

[Ran Morrissett]

I meant to add that the key with any great first tee is the sense that you are embarking on an adventure and the original 1st at Banff did that better than most.

Similarly, the sense of playing home (in this case to the all-galaxy Banff hotel) is my favorite feature for an 18th hole to possess.

[Craig Van Egmond]

In a discussion of great first tee's then the first tee at Crystal Down's must come up. What a way to kick off a round.

[aclayman]

Craig, some of us are real ignorant, so please be more specific, if you could paint a picture with your words so we might have a chance to understand your point?

[Craig Van Egmond]

Adam,
     I'll do better than that, later tonight I will post a picture from the #1 tee at Crystal Downs.  

I will say that it is an elevated tee box, that faces into the wind overlooking about 7 of the first 9 holes.

[jglenn]

Wasn't there a first tee somewhere in the United States that was in the middle of the roundabout in front of the clubhouse?  I forgot which course (a private club).

[Mike_Cirba]

Jeff;

I like your thinking.  A few months back Tom Doak posted a similar question asking for feedback on interesting tee designs, so it's clear to me that you fellows are looking to stretch the envelope on what is commonly accepted as a relatively boring architectural feature.

One unique tee that comes to mind is the 1st at Castle Harbour (RIP), which was a grassed area virtually one story in the air on the resort patio.  

But, I think the best ones are those that somehow incorporate a natural or permanent manmade feature into the design.  The 1st at Merion was mentioned, and I've seen others that are situated on a natural bench in a clearing, or just something that is basically flat, but with subtle contours that continue out into the surrounding area.

Conversely, the worst tee area I've ever seen is something at Pete Dye's Mystic Rock in PA on hole 16.  In an attempt at making it a par 72 course, and providing the stereotypical Dye 5-3-4 finish, the tee area for 16 was located in a steep hollow.  The sad fact is, that a tee 130 yards up the hill further would have made for a lovely par four.  However, because it apparently made no sense to have a tee box in a pit, the tee was built up roughly 35 feet in the air, requiring a steep climb of steps to get to.

It is nicknamed the Volcano.  For some reason, I thought Dung Heap was a more appropriate title.

[Jim Reilly]

Jeff,

The first tee at Hubbard Heights golf course, a muni in Stamford, CT, has a porch that is usually crowded on the weekend with well oiled locals and a video feed into the bar (the 19th Hole) whose last owner was sentenced to 20 plus years for cocaine possession with intent to distribute.

The tee is elevated and requires a carry over a muddy pond to a fairway flanked by mature pines.  The waiting on this course starts at the first tee as I would guess that less than 10% of the punters playing the course find the first fairway; with probably an even split of 45% in the 18th fairway to the right and another 45% in the water.

Doak, I believe, christened it as one of the worst opening holes in existence.  It doesn't add to the pleasure of the hole, or the round, but it is worthy of study as an example of what not to build, unless your a sadist.

[Craig Van Egmond]

Adam,

I should have known, for a good picture of the first tee of Crystal Downs, look no further than GCA and the review of the course.
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/crystal1.html

[peter_p]

Jeff,
   I'd like to see a very large fair-tee area (60yd x 40yd) on a par 3 and have the green and complex reflect the many angles of attack. The tee would probably be very superintendent friendly.

[JSS]

Jeff:
Does any architect have the guts to make #1 a par 3 anymore?  If I'm not mistaken, the first at Westchester was a par 3.  Furthermore, the 18th a par 3 such as Congressional?  
I know it may slow down play but it seems interesting to have a demanding first shot on the first hole.

[aclayman]

Craig- Thanx for the pic, very cool.

Lynn- I just talked to Casey Boyns tonight and ask him about the old #1 tee box at Pebble and he said it used to be where the practice green is now, and they used to hit drivers.

[RJ_Daley]

While Craig points to #1 tee at Crystal Downs (I don't think the GCA course write-up oicture captures the elevation too well) I would say that on the other side of the clubhouse one can find a tee just outside the window of the far grill room that is equally as dramatic as it towers over the back nine and looks towards Crystal lake.  I wish I could post it but don't have a web site.

A couple of more mentions for cool teeing grounds are Stranz's # 6 par 3 at Tobacco Road, and Mike DeVreis set of tees at #1 at Kingsley club followed by his set of tees at #9 there.

I had an interesting conversation with Pete Galea on teeing ground preferences while he was still at HMB, and Pete advised that he strongly favors the sharp corner square or rectangular tees.   I on the other hand don't have a bias or favored look to the tees and feel different course design styles call for different looks from free form to ridged sqaures...

[Slag_Bandoon]

  Pacific Dunes has some remarkable teeing galleries. I believe it's the sixth that has a meandering terraced set that entices you to run to the back tee box and putt through the cascading levels to the forward tees. Many are noteworthy. On my initial exposure to the links neaar sunset, I ran amuck with my camera and found the forward tees at the ninth. Simple architecture of the tee box but grand central view of the grounds.  Any elaborate tee box there would go unnoticed as the vista is momentous.  
 

[Bill_Coggins]

Jeff,

I grew up on those RTJ Sr. runway tees.  Only the "runway" typically did not aim down the fairway.  Deceitful?  Perhaps, but certainly a little different.

[Gary Albrecht]

I love the back tees on the original course at Troon North.  They tend to be the high point of each hole, giving you great vistas of the hole and the fairways that ribbon through the desert before you.  Many are built among the boulders and are very interesting spaces.  

[T_MacWood]

There has been a lot of discussion about old practice of tees directly adjacent to the previous green, that share the same physical formation. I also enjoy tees that require an adventurous journey, perhaps on a trail through the bushes, maybe a staircase up a hill or a dune, where you are unable to see exactly where you are going and there us feeling of anticipation as to what you will ultimately find--many times a dramatic panaramic view. It appeals to the innate human desire to find places of propect while at the same time being hidden from view. Shinnecock Hills, Prarie Dunes and Cypress Point come to mind. And of course the utlimate treck from green to tee at Cape Breton.

[paul albanese]

Two of the best starting tees -- obviously, number 1 at St. Andrews -- is there really a more intense feeling than starting that course, knowing all the old guys on the white fence are watching you and that you are about to play the most significant piece of golf architectural history?
   The other tee is a few hundred miles north at Dornoch -- one of the best courses in the world, in my opinion, and on the first tee, the starter lets you know when to proceed, because he is watching for traffic that traverses directly in front of  the first tee!  The citizens of that great Northern Scottish town simply drive right in front of the first tee on their way to the beach -- I truly embraced this feeling and felt it integrated the golf course with the fabric of Dornoch.

[HR]

Jeff, I played Great Southwest last week. I was surprised at how much I liked the course. Once they get all the greens, it may well be one of the best kept secrets in the area.

When you renovated the course, did you change any hole numbers. After playing it, I couldn't help thinking of a back nine consisting of 1,2,3,4,14,15,16,17,18.

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