A thread about 'Joe Sixpack' got me to thinking about what tees people choose, and why. I must choose short tees because, as I said there, 200 yd tees shots are a happy occasion for me; and I try to make all par-4s at least theoretically reachable in regulation.
My question: Could you? If you were getting a bit older, and all your partners still were hitting big, but you were not, could you move up?
What if it was all the way to 5000 yd? What if it was labled 'Lady's tees'?
Or would you find some excuse to stop playing, pleading 'health' of 'busy' issues? Or perhaps would you insist on still playing back, no matter how out of reach GIR became?
Doug,
There are several issues in play.
If one no longer hits the ball as far as they used to, usually, their handicap will reflect that, hence, they'll still be competitive with their buddies because their handicap will increase.
Secondly, there's a social disconnect when one person hits from one set of tees and the others hit from another set of tees. And, golf remains a social game in the great scheme of things.
The real issue is the fun/challenge issue.
If the game ceases being fun from the back tees, not moving up will make the game difficult, in score and enjoyment.
Not long ago I went from playing the tips to playing the members tees.
My driving distance went from 250+ to 180-200, and, I couldn't get the distance and loft needed on my irons, especially long irons.
I simply realized that my game was no longer up to the challenge presented by the tips, and, I wasn't having as much fun as I used to, by continuing to play the tips.
So, I moved up.
While it didn't solve all of my playing woes, it was more fun, more within my range of capabilities.
As I began to hit the ball farther, I moved back.
I enjoyed playing forward, it allowed me to have fun while being challenged.
Length is a desired asset and we all want to hit the ball long or longer, but, there comes a time when Father Time or health will frustrate that pursuit. And, at that time, you have to ask yourself, do you want to continue to have fun, or do you want to tax yourself to such a degree that the game becomes less fun to play ?
If you can't make a birdie from the tips, you should move forward.
If it's rare that you make a par from the tips, you should move forward.
If you have to play with TEPaul, you should just move.