Unlevel tee boxes

[Brian Cenci]

Now let me preface my discussion with saying that unlevel tee boxes are rare (1 out of 18 on average for the average course, some none some more...).  Let me also state by saying that an unlevel tee box means that a tee is slanted predominetly in one direction (maybe 75% of the tee area) having a slope of roughly 1.0% (meaning on a 25 foot wide tee box there is roguhly a 3 inch difference from one side to the other).  Which may not seem like a lot but it makes a difference of roughly 1/2 an inch (up or down) on the average persons lie toward a ball (assuming one is 3.5 feet away from the ball).  Being a game of inches I think that is significant.  Ok now I can continue...

I'm not proposing a conspiracy here but I have noticed something over the years that is my absolute biggest irritation on a golf course and that is unlevel tee boxes always being unlevel in the same direction.  

I am a lefty and I've been doing a little study this year, of all the holes that I've played this year that had unlevel tee boxes (not the whole tee box necessarily but whever a course had the tee markers) 90% of them are unlevel where I have a downhill lie (meaning a righty would be uphill).  Why is this?  I'm not just talking crappy courses that have this problem.  #18 from the pro tees at Crystal Downs in unlevel in this direction.  

Maybe all the righty's don't notice it because you are slightly uphill and I would much rather have a slightly uphill lie than a slightly downhill lie.

I guess I have a couple questions of everyone else, those being:
*Has anyone else noticed this?
*Do some architects install tee boxes this way to help compensate the average right-handed slice?
*Is this an architecual matter in the design or do courses evolve tee boxes this way for some reason (maybe the tee is at the bottom of the hill and gets a lot of runoff that erodes a side over the years for example..I'm not sure)?

I know that it can't be that difficult to make sure the tees are level.  I'm a civil engineer.  Give me a rod and level and I'll tell you in 3 minutes where to adjust a tee box and by how much.

Interested too see what everyone else thinks...

[A_Clay_Man]

Brian, Not really a big deal but...Did you do a search within the discussion group for this topic? I know it's been discussed, and recently too.

To answer, the biggest justification I know of, for repeatedly sloped teeing grounds, is drainage.
On the older courses, the ridgeline uneveness, that allows the golfer to decide whether he wants a downhill or uphill lie, are my personal favorites. Maybe it's because so many of today's golfers bitch about them, but really that's just an added bonus. What makes them, for me, is that thay allow me to counter-act all the imperfections in my swing, to the point where I can actually hit the shot I imagined, conceived and hopefully executed.

[Stuart Hallett]

Brian,

The ridgeline line uneveness often comes from heavy-handed divot repairs caused by the right handers. This centre to right ridge is unfortunately where you stand, try teeing it up on the left side where righty's stand.

Maybe your compensated by the balance of draw and fade holes, which I usually find advantageous to the lefty.

[Brian Cenci]

Stuart,
     I do get somewhat compensated on the draw/fade holes since I am a lefty.  When you say "heavy-handed" does that mean the divots stick up farther then they did before?

-Brian

[Stuart Hallett]

Brian,

It's a build up of divot mix in the same area. The problem is most noticeable when tee markers are placed too often next to the distance plaque.

Relevelling of such areas should be routine maintenance, however it's a job that unfortunately gets pushed down the priority list. We try to straighten out 2 or 3 tees each year in early spring just to stop it becoming a committee issue, committee's generally prefer talking about bunkers, and us greenkeepers avoid the subject like the plague!

[Darren_Kilfara]

Semi-serious question: if teeing grounds were made intentionally unlevel at PGA Tour venues, forcing the big bombers to hit some or even most of their tee shots from uphill/downhill/sidehill lies, would that singlehandedly solve the distance issue without making any changes to the golf ball?

Cheers,
Darren

[Mike_Young]

If the means and the equipment are avaialble...tee boxes should be FLAT and either level, if the the correct sub surface is there or either a slight slope if not.
IMO

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