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Patrick Little

square tee boxes
« on: March 23, 2011, 12:56:37 AM »
Has any reader ever considered the concept of tee box shape?  Many of the great, great golf clubs have these wonderful little tee boxes and they are often square, or rectangular, compared to the more contemporary curvey tee boxes.
My thinking, while probably quite off the mark and not evolutionary, is this.  The square tee box is symbolic.  Its symbolism is mapped in the philosophy that the golfer, while teeing off, is in a "safe" or "man-made" zone.  It then implies, once that tee shot is struck, the ball is played as it lies and all bets in terms of fairness are off, until the golfer :) :) reaches the next tee box.  From a human suggestion of geometry to a "gloves off" form of fun combat.
For what it's worth.

Ally Mcintosh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2011, 04:52:14 AM »
Hi Patrick,

All architects and many readers on this site will have considered the shape of tee boxes from a maintenance, cost, irrigation and aesthetic point of view.... But I for one had never considered the concept of a square tee-box as a safe zone after which all bets are off...

I like the idea though... Perhaps because I have a penchant for square tee-boxes (with soft corners).... Most likely as a result of where I grew up playing...

Derek Dirksen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2011, 05:05:42 AM »
Never thought of a tee "box" like you stated.  Interesting thought!!!  I have never been a fan of the square tee box.  There is nothing else on the course that has stright lines so why should a tee be a box?  I understand square tee boxes offer the most tee space possible but I have never liked the way they look.

Rory Connaughton

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2011, 11:55:58 AM »
Interesting post.  I find that square tee boxes provide anything but a safe zone!  The tees are square at my home club and many are oriented away from the ideal line of play. The result is that you have to be very very careful in lining yourself up.

Sean Leary

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2011, 12:01:05 PM »
Rory,

Is that on purpose or have they evolved that way with maintainence?

Rory Connaughton

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2011, 01:32:21 PM »
Sean I do not know.
If I had to guess, I would say purposeful.  For example, if the golfer lines up according to the line of the box he will go into a fairway or green side bunker.  Its not all tees just a few.

Matthew Rose

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2011, 01:50:48 PM »
I like them if they fit the motif. They look nice on traditional parkland layouts, but I think free form tees look better on more modern creations. Depends on the context they are used in, I suppose.
American-Australian. Trackman Course Guy. Fatalistic sports fan. Drummer. Bass player. Father. Cat lover.

Tim Nugent

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2011, 01:53:10 PM »
Square or rectangular tee boxes must have grown out of the mowing equipment limitation, drum-propelled reel mowers are difficult to turn.  Curved tees came more into vogue with riding tri-plex mowers that could turn easily.

Square tees are difficult in alignment setup.  You see this mis-alignment issue and cringe, knowing that many golfers tend to subconciously line up with the tee (especially the lower body) and then look down the fairway and line their upper body up with their target.  Hence they are doomed from the get-go with a hook or slice setup and don't even know why they went left or right.

Curved tees can also be misaligned but they offer more flexibility for the architect who knows how to use those curves correctly.  The biggest drawback for curved tees is that it is easy to misalign the tee markers since the setup guy doesn't have a perpendicular edge to use as a guide.
Coasting is a downhill process

Terry Lavin

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2011, 02:00:11 PM »
If they were called "tee rounds" or "tee triangles" or "tee ovals", I might have some issue with square shapes, but it seems to me that a box is usually a square or a rectangle, so that shape should almost always be preferred.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2011, 04:38:15 PM »
If a build-up is gonna be made it should be squarish because roundish ones don't look right.  Is that scientific enough?  If a natural plateau is gonna be used I would rather see the shape of the tee match the shape of the plateau.  The time when square for lower tees doesn't matter is when teh short grass flows from the previous green. 

Ciao
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2011, 06:33:06 PM »
I hate square / rectangular tees.  They look terrible in the landscape, and they're impossible to build when you are on a cross-side-slope.

Adrian_Stiff

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2011, 06:48:54 PM »
This is another area where you just cant please everyone, some like them, some dont like them. Golf course architecture will only ever totally please sections.

Squared tees look very 1930s, and IMO they look 'golfy' butas you say they dont match the landscape.
A combination of whats good for golf and good for turf.
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www.theplayersgolfclub.com

Kyle Harris

Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2011, 06:59:38 PM »
There is nothing else on the course that has stright lines so why should a tee be a box?

How else would you describe the line between the two tee markers, in front of which the ball may not be teed?

JESII

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2011, 07:06:25 PM »
Patrick,

I agree with you completely, right down to the "safe-zone" concept.

I only want two formalities on a golf course - small squared teeing areas and a 4.25" hole.

Kyle Harris

Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2011, 07:09:07 PM »
I only want two formalities on a golf course - small squared teeing areas and a 4.25" hole.

Well put.

Pete_Pittock

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #15 on: March 23, 2011, 07:27:48 PM »
Original rules had you tee within one club length of the hole, later changed to between 2 and 4 club lenghts. The next change was to tee between markers and I assume the 2-club length was kept to provide the golfer with some latitude in teeing.

I think the square tee boxes are simply a practical extension of the teeing ground definition, taking maintenance and minimum cost into consideration. Rounded corners came through shortcuts. 

Mike_Trenham

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #16 on: March 23, 2011, 09:12:11 PM »
Interestingly on the Ross routings I have seen all of his tees are drawn with rounded corners and bowed sides.  Yet most old photos show them with 90 degree corners.  Why is this?
Proud member of a Doak 3.

Derek Dirksen

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #17 on: March 24, 2011, 05:51:32 AM »
How else would you describe the line between the two tee markers, in front of which the ball may not be teed?

Yeah your right, I supposed we should just keep that concept going on down the fairway.  Would you like square greens too?

Sean_A

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #18 on: March 24, 2011, 06:42:03 AM »
How else would you describe the line between the two tee markers, in front of which the ball may not be teed?

Yeah your right, I supposed we should just keep that concept going on down the fairway.  Would you like square greens too?

Derek

Sounds okay to me.

Ciao
New plays planned for 2024: Nothing

Bruce Hospes

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #19 on: March 24, 2011, 07:28:47 AM »
I don't like them.  They are a pain in the ass to keep aligned as well as it's almost impossible to mow a sharp corner.  I prefer oval or free formed tees.

Bruce

Rory Connaughton

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #20 on: March 24, 2011, 08:22:38 AM »
Tom D

 Curious about the use of square boxes at Stonewall given your dislike of them.

Michael Blake

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #21 on: March 24, 2011, 09:05:44 AM »
Interestingly on the Ross routings I have seen all of his tees are drawn with rounded corners and bowed sides.  Yet most old photos show them with 90 degree corners.  Why is this?

I don't know which courses you're referring to, but could they be ones where Ross never set foot on the property and air-mailed his plans in?  And his associate who built it made the 'squarish tees' decision in the field?

Paging Dr. Klein.


As for square tees: I'm with Tom.  Most times I don't like their look relative to the landscape.

Jeff_Mingay

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #22 on: March 24, 2011, 09:30:35 AM »
I hate square / rectangular tees.  They look terrible in the landscape, and they're impossible to build when you are on a cross-side-slope.

I've learned this the hard way, and agree  >:(

But, I can't say I completely hate square/rectangular tees. I think there are certain instances where they work, and look fine. As Tom suggests, mainly at flatter properties.
jeffmingay.com

Tim Nugent

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Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #23 on: March 24, 2011, 09:44:50 AM »
If they were called "tee rounds" or "tee triangles" or "tee ovals", I might have some issue with square shapes, but it seems to me that a box is usually a square or a rectangle, so that shape should almost always be preferred.

Terry, the Tee Box, I believe, originally referred to the box that held the sand that golfers used to make a little mound on which to place their ball to "tee off".  Mission creep?  BTW, could those little sand "tees" be the grandfather of topdressing? ;D

I feel that, if all golf holes played straight and narrow, retalinear tees wouldn't appear as foreign to the landscape.  but as fairways curve, dogleg or are wide enough to afford multiple targets/options, it gets harder to have a particular tee alignment be all things to all players. With multiple tees, on a bending fairway, each square tee has to be placed at a different angle. To me, this is visually distracting from the tees behind. 

As with all things, Owners and Supts can have edicts with require retalinear tees.  When this is the case, I have tried to even "hide" forward tee with slight bumps to reducce this .

As TOm D states, it can be hard to build retalinear tees of suficient size on cross-slope, evn more so when you have cross and dow/up slopes in tandem.  Often times it takes a great deal of fill/earthwork to tie them into the surrounding area so they don't look like a series of package boxes.
Coasting is a downhill process

Mike Jansen

Re: square tee boxes
« Reply #24 on: March 24, 2011, 12:15:35 PM »
I recently read that the ideal shape for a tee box is an oval shape, in terms of efficient irrigation.

The term tee box originated from an actual box found on the tee containing the sand that was used for "tees" right?  Once those went away, the thinking was probably to hold on to the term "tee box" and start making the teeing ground square.

Personally I have no preference... my favorite course Spyglass Hill has the classic RTJ "runway" long rectangular tees for most of the course, with unique rounded shapes on the 4 holes in the dunes which blends in well with the terrain.