George:
Would you play golf at all if you had to play from 8500 yds? I think most people here play the game with some expectation of scoring, shot making, and do it in a reasonable amount of time. I believe most on this site would not play a course from 8500 yds. What is the maximum reasonable distance for an 18-hole course from which you would play? Depends on the course, its obstacles, and how far you hit the ball. Pine Valley from 7,500 yds? I'd play Pine Valley from any tees, but that's not the point. The point is that golf is many things to many people. Score is not your thing. That's OK. You can play, not keep score, and I'll play along with you from the same tees and grind out my round. We will have a great time. I do exactly this on a weekly basis with a friend at our home course. He only hits it about 220 of the tee, never keeps score, and prefers to play from the back tees at almost 6,900 yds. I don't understand any of it, but it doesn't matter. He doesn't understand why I drive myself crazy trying to shoot my life's best round every time! But it doesn't matter. We respect each other and we can play together, each his own way. Now, bring my wife, her game, and her expectations into this formula. Is she expected to play from the back tees? Seems like your saying she should! JUST PLAY GOLF! Easy for you to say. She wants to be tested, challenged, and has expectations just like many of us. My wife is not playing the back tees with us. Wow, that's going to require another tee from which she would like to play. A teeing ground that provides her with a reasonable chance of being challenged like the rest of us. So, she is delighted to play from approximately 5,200 yds. A little too long in my opinion, as she hits many 3rd shot woods into par fours. For those who play golf to make some sort of score (we're not talking handicaps here), I don't know of any that play from tees requiring any 3rd shot woods. All 3 of us play on a regular basis with our varied games and expectations. One person would be left out if not for the teeing options given.
I started this thread wanting to know how far the spread between tees should be. It has been interesting to read the many posts that have followed. Some advocating for less tees and others more tees. Some for the same number of tees, but greater spread or less spread. Good stuff! The posts I don't get are those that tell golfers "take or leave it" or "we don't care if it's too tough, just play" or "If it's too difficult, maybe you shouldn't play". These types of comments can't be what golf is about. We need to find a way to let people experience golf as we do. It is incredible to play places like the Old Course or Bandon Dunes or Burnham & Berrow, all of which I have done with friends and family. It is incredible to play my home course each week with my wife, my sons, and my friends. In many of those situations, some have played from different tees. Not by the choice of others, but by their own choice. Play from where you want to play!
I don't know how many tees there should be. I know that many courses have limited forward tee choices and in most cases are far too long for my wife. Let's advocate for more people to get into golf. Advocate for teeing options for shorter hitters, including kids. I'm not talking about infinite tees, just another option or two to bring more people to the game.
Cheers