I am a beginner that basically started this summer, but have been playing a bunch. I have not officially broke 90 from the blues. I decided to move to the tips as I am getting more for my money. I maybe add 3 shots a round if even is my random guess after 2 rounds.

The problem is that since I play so much I usually go alone because my friends are broke ass bitches and I am playing with other people who play from the blues. I feel like an idiot since I am not even that good and am not sure how to handle it. Should I not be playing back there unless I am a certain skill level? Is it rude?

My course is a muni course where almost everyone plays from the blues except for the really good players that come out which is rare. It is a par 70 6445 yards from blue, 6814 from the tips. Rating is 70.3/128 and 72.0/131 respectively.

You, me and everyone over a 10 hcp should be playing from the whites.

play from wherever you would like. I feel like I am cheating if I play from not the tips. One of the fun things about golf, imo, is that you can play the exact same game as the pros. Rarely happens in sports. So if you would like to play from the backs, then go for it...as long as you aren't terrible...and you aren't.

I think its a question of speed and length, you need both to play from the tips and not look like a douche imo.

If you are a long hitter, say >250 off the tee with a driver on avg and are a fast player who keeps it in play then play from wherever you want.

If any one of those two elements is missing, for example you hit far but lose a lot of balls (and look for them making you slow), or you are a fast player but short hitter (especially if your group is on the slow side and the course is crowded) then you should just play from the whites like everyone else or realize that you're probably going to piss some people off.

I wouldn't say it's rude, but if you're paired with other players and they're playing the blues, I would play the blues.

If you're playing by yourself or with one or more others who want to play the tips, you're probably OK. Your course doesn't strike me as being all that long - unless your ballstriking is really terrible or your course has a lot of forced carries, it shouldn't make much of a difference.

The key, of course, is to keep up your pace of play no matter which tees you're playing.

Stay with the blue tees until you break 80 a few times, then consider moving back. Your thinking of getting more for your money is flawed. Unless you mean the actual cost per shot!

Also if I were in a group you teamed up with and you shot 90+ from the championship tees I would have a good laugh(and beat you by at least a dozen from the blue). If the whole group is playing back then that is another story.

Also, I imagine the other guys get tired of you having "honors" all the time because you're playing from the back tees even if they are scoring better than you. I agree with others that you should generally play shorter tees until you can score well from those; then move back. Of course, if you're out as a single, do whatever you want.

Actually, you could think of it as getting more for your money as you get to play two "different" courses when you play from the blues vs. the blacks. You should get to practice with different clubs and shot selections.

Last year I decided to play from the whites at my usual course until I started breaking 80. When I did I went ahead and moved back to the blues with the plan to stay there until I broke 80 again. So far that only happened once so I've left the gold tees alone.

I don't play the same course all the time, though. If I did, I'd probably mix it up more and even throw in the reds once in a while, just for some variety.

i don't follow this. it might not be fun for an average or short (but accurate) player to play from the tips, but i'd think they'd get around a lot faster than a long hitter who sprays it (handicaps being equal)

i played my last round behind a group of three guys IN CARTS playing from the tips who stunk and held up my walking foursome all day -- don't be 'that guy', OP.

I don't hold up play playing from the backs. I am young and relatively athletic and move quickly along the course. I play at a municipal so 90 is still better than the average golfer coming out. The thing is, I will look like a douche when the players playing the blue are better than me, but I feel like they are cheating themselves. By more for my money, I mean exactly that. I will get 2-3 extra shots for free a round (guess). I also feel like I'm setting myself up to score better in the future.

It is kind of annoying stepping up to the blacks and them assuming I'm going to crush a drive 300 only to see it go 250 if it's a perfect shot. I seem to be getting a lot of different responses.

I think if everyone I'm playing with is playing from the blues, I will join them and not play from the back tees unless I am way better than them or they are female.

Be courteous, play from the reds with them! They will love it. Yeah, ok, not so much.

Maybe its just me but this seems like a depressing approach to life.

How do you figure, I am trying to get better at golf here? The money part is more or less a joke, but still true nonetheless By getting in these extra shots, I am doing more around the golf course and have been using more clubs in my bag. I have been forced to learn my 4 iron these past two weeks and I am so glad I have a distance for 180-185 now that I can semi rely on.

^^^

agreed.

I played from the *not tips* with my friends the other day and I hit < 8 iron into every single hole and I didn't even touch a long iron all day. It isn't the same game.

Oh, also....my wife plays from the middle tees. So, some of you guys play from there. lol.

Um...you will get better at hitting your 4 iron, but does that mean you will get better at golf?

The goal of golf is to shoot a lower score and for that you will want to have a shorter (scoring) club in hand for your second shot.

The only time I could see a bogey golfer not wanting to play the whites from their regular course (because it would hurt progress) would be if their course had a lot of dog legs and such and therefore only allowed you to hit driver off the tee 2 or 3 times a round.

He said he's using more clubs, so that has to help his game.

By that reasoning, we should all be playing from the ladies...oops, the forward tees!

Just because people aren't scratch golfers, it doesn't mean they don't want a "full challenge" at the game. Playing from anywhere but the tips sometimes doesn't feel like you challenged the entire course.

I don't care where anyone plays from, as long as they play fast!

Troll, I feel like you only read what you want