Great 1st Tees

[Pat Alpaugh]

My club is hoping to improve our 1st tee and surrounding area so I'm looking for examples/ideas of great 1st tees.  We're a private, very old (1879), parkland golf course.  Pictures of great 1st tee areas would be appreciated.

[Wade Whitehead]

Is your first tee next to the clubhouse?

WW

[Pat Alpaugh]

It's within 30 yards.  At the moment, it's a pretty typical set up; putting green, a couple of cart paths and a small hitting net.  I'm looking for ideas or examples (pictures preferably) of 1st tees that ooze golf.  Thanks for the message, Wade.

[John Connolly]

One height of grass from the apron of practice putting green to an only slightly elevated 1st teeing ground. Don't surround the tee with any rough - rise it just off of grade so it blends with putting green. It works for our old course - 1897. Ask your architect if that would make any sense for the kind of course you have. Put down markers only if you must. 

[Steve Salmen]

Two of the more unique first tees that come to mind are Elie and Renaissance.
Elie tee is pitched upward to help the shot carry the trouble.
At Renaissance, the driving range runs right into the putting green, which runs right to the first tee. You can literally practice putting from the first tee to the far end of the practice tee.

[mike_beene]

Not sure why but a quality clock feels like golf.

[Matt_Cohn]

Pat, can we see a picture(s) of your first tee? Or do you not want to reveal the specific club?

[Jon Wiggett]

When looking for great first tees then I do not think you need look further than Alwoodley which is surely the greatest of them all.

[Sean_A]

Great 1st tees are hard to come by.  For one, the buildings around it (and there should be the house very near) need to be attractive.  For another, a sense of coziness has to also give way to a sense of eagerness to play the game.  So while cozy, the tee has to have a promise of things to come. For me, the best 1st tees are


Alwoodley


Hunstanton


Blackwell...spoiled somewhat by the blind drive


Prestwick
Pennard
Prestwick
Royal Aberdeen
TOC...spoiled somewhat by the house not being open to all...sense of disconnect for visitors

But I fear what I look for can't really be added at a later date...the setting has to be designed into the course from the get go unless there is a serious overhaul of the property. Great 1st tees are incredibly rare.

Ciao

[Mark Chaplin]

Royal St George's is pretty special as is the obvious US choice in Merion.

[Adam Lawrence]

Machrihanish is the obvious answer, but probably not a very useful one for your purposes -- you can't exactly magic sea into existence!

[Jon Wiggett]

Machrihanish is the obvious answer, but probably not a very useful one for your purposes -- you can't exactly magic sea into existence!

Adam,


my understanding is Pat is interested in the tee complex itself though  I love Machriharnish and its spectacular tee shot.


Jon

[BCowan]

Inverness (US)

[Tim Martin]

Atlantic City CC

[Pat Alpaugh]

Thanks very much for the prompt replies. 

Matt: I'll see if I can find a decent image of our current set up. 

Jon:  You're correct.  At this stage, I'm primarily focussed on the 1st tee complex. 

[Kyle Harris]

Blackwell...spoiled enhanced somewhat by the blind drive

Sean, I fixed the above typo for you.

Simple and intimate are the watch words of my favorite first tee areas.

[John Crowley]

Inverness (US)

+1


Also, Dunes Club (MI)

[Lynn_Shackelford]

Riviera
Cypress Point
SFGC(10th tee)
Merion


The closer to the building, either clubhouse or pro shop, the better.
As Sean mentions Hunstanton fits this model.  You can hear the people on deck talking and swear they are all watching you.

[Thomas Dai]

Royal Jersey GC.


In Grouville, Jersey, the seaside village where both Harry Vardon and Ted Ray originated.


Par-5, prevailing wind from the left, beach and rocks all along the right, narrow fairway with additional hazards that are a yee olde stone fort and two WWII gun implacements, stunning view with Mont Orgueil Castle on its hilltop in the distance and the French coast on the eastern horizon -


https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@49.1854436,-2.0341321,16z/data=!3m1!1e3


Atb

[Kalen Braley]

[JJShanley]

Silloth has a great first tee, a little like Sean's photograph of Alwoodley, in that you can walk right from the clubhouse to the tee.  No other distractions.  We've discussed SoS's finer points elsewhere, so I shall stop there for now.

[Sam Andrews]

Littlestone's is pretty cool as it is right in front of the clubhouse and next to the putting green. Let down by not having a net nearby to warm up in. I think Deal's is great as you are right in view of the balcony on a summer's day. The Surrey courses are generally terrific. West Hill 1st lines up next to the pro shop, Woking is similar and New Zealand's is so close to the club house it needs a net alongside to prevent a slice into the secretary's office.

[Brian_Ewen]

Highfield Golf Club.


http://d2tbfnbweol72x.cloudfront.net/HighfieldGC/files/2015/08/Capture_00271%20A%20copy.jpg

[Sam Kestin]

Is that Highfield photo what it appears to be?


Looks like the first tee is on the second level of the clubhouse!


If so--unbelievably cool.


Bel-Air CC in Los Angeles should do something like this with their first/tenth tees. The tenth hole in particular is beloved because of the swinging bridge--but generally I don't much care for an uphill par-3 where you can't even see the green. If you threw the tee box up on the roof of the clubhouse--not only would you have a truly special view of Los Angeles but you'd also get a much better look at the 10th green.


It's a great green complex--I just wish the tee was about one or two stories higher!


Admittedly, this is kind of a circus. But it would be my kind of circus.

[PThomas]

Mid Ocean