JohnV - you're right about ladies' tees here in Britain. There are a few red tees here at Machrihanish which are level or even behind the men's tees! And yes, that happens throughout Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. A shame, really, as there are plenty of carries which very few ladies can actually make.
Mike - your initial observation is spot on. In my opinion, American golf really needs to adopt the British example of having one set of markers denoting the "competition tees" (medal tees) and one other set for regular play. In Britain, play from the medal tees is PROHIBITED except during competitions. I'd suggest that such an approach could work in America as well, although a reasonable alternative would be to restrict access to the medal tees at private clubs to players with a certain handicap or better (and make that handicap good and low - 6, maybe?), and to SEVERELY restrict such access at public/resort courses (3?). Having fewer tees to choose between speeds up play, and forcing lesser players to play from forward tees should speed up play dramatically and help a certain type of golfer - the type who feels peer pressure, or has the masochistic desire of his own, to play from the tips - enjoy the game dramatically more than he currently does. Penalty for being seen playing the wrong tees: immediate expulsion from the course, with no refund of your greens fee.
Is there a single reason why this sort of policy wouldn't work?
Cheers,
Darren