By kickntrue on 2/16/10

By Matt Snyder, ClubSG contributer

Matt is an opinionated* golf enthusiast from Pennsylvania. He coaches at the high school level, molding the minds and swings of our next generation. His column will appear each Monday on ClubSG. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts and opinions of Matt in the comments. Don't hold back- because Matt won't.

You may not give it a lot of thought, but one of the most important decisions of your round and of your game as a whole is made on the first tee of each round. That decision that set of tees from which you will be playing your round that day. A lot of times, people make this choice for no reason or all the wrong reasons. "I don't hit the ball long enough to play 'back there'." "I may shoot 105 today, but everyone around the first tee will think I'm good because I'm playing the tips." Or how bout this, "I'm playing the front tees because I can't wait to brag about my score in the clubhouse at the end of the round." The nice guy says, "I'll play wherever you guys want to play." Those are all reasons we use to determine the answer to this important question, and they are all the wrong reasons.

First of all, I don't even want to hear about your score if you played the front tees. Keep it to yourself! You can tell me how you played, and I'll listen to you talk about your round, but don't tell me what you shot! If you are someone who likes to make your scores known to everyone you see, then you shouldn't be playing a watered down version of the course. You should be playing the course at its most difficult setting. If you're good enough to talk the talk, walk the walk. Now, that is not to say that no one should ever tee it up from the whites. There are several good reasons to play the front tees. For someone who is just starting to learn the game, the front tees are a good option... for a while. For someone who is older and just can't hit the ball far enough to have any fun at all playing the back tees, by all means, play the front tees. If you truly do not care about your score or your game in general, and you just want to have fun with your buddies, the whites are for you as well. But like I said, if you are going to play the white/front tees, understand what goes along with that decision.

Now, to all of you 'middle tee' people, what is the point? If you hit the ball far enough to play the middle tees, you hit it far enough to play the back tees. Distance is not an issue for you. Perhaps you choose neither the front nor the back because you see it as a compromise. "Well, I'm a little embarrassed to play the front tees, but I'm not good enough to play the tips." NOT TRUE! Playing the back tees is a great way for a mediocre player (10 -20 handicapper) to make himself better. If you are playing the middle tees, you are lying to yourself. The challenge of the back tees will increase your skill level much more quickly than staying at the middle length tees. The course is designed to be played from the back tees. Anything else is a watered down version of that course. Playing an easier course does not make you a better player. Challenging yourself by playing the tips makes you better because it makes you hit every type of shot. You can't avoid the long irons or fairway woods. Sometimes you're going to have to lay up on a par 5. That one hole that is short enough for you to hit a fairway wood off the tee, you now must use a driver. Obviously, when you first make the switch to the back tees, your scores will probably inflate slightly. You will, however, watch them fall quickly as you learn to manage your game. At that point, you know that you are playing the course at it's best and that your score is not tainted; it's legit. This will also help you with the transition from your 'home' course to other 'nicer' courses. Often times we go to play a 'nice' course and we are overwhelmed. Well, part of the reason is that we don't even challenge ourselves at our home course. We avoid hitting shots we aren't good at by playing the middle or front tees. But at other courses, we may need to hit those shots despite the tee box we choose to play from. So make yourself better. Work for a more complete game and stop compromising at the middle tees. Come on back and join us at the tips!

Lastly, let's talk to you 'low handicappers' (0-9). There is absolutely no excuse for you to be playing anything but the back tees everywhere you go! You should be ashamed of yourselves for ever teeing it up from anything but the tips. It's obvious that you play enough golf and care enough about your game to be challenging yourself by playing the course as it is designed to be played. Your scores from any other tees should mean nothing to you or anyone you care to share them with. As previously stated, those tees have their place, but they are not for you. They are for those who do not have either the physical strength to enjoy a round from a longer distance or those who do not care about their score or their game and are just out to have a good time. You, my friend, fall into neither of those categories. Your handicap assures us of that. Hopefully, there aren't many of you out there to which this applies. But if you are one of the few, it's time to change! It's time to take a step back and play the game 'for real'. Come on back and experience the tips. Don't be scared, you'll be a better golfer for it.

* Matt's views and opinions are his own do not necessarily reflect those of SkyGolf.

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