It’s time to abandon the gender-based tee system and let golfers choose how they want to enjoy the game
olf has a lot of quirky elements which outsiders find odd. The traditional tee system – where women must play from the red, and most often forward, tees while men play from the longest possible tees with their vast differences in ability and driving distance, is just one of them.
Imagine if we let golfers decide if they’d like to play a 5,200-yard course or a 6,800-yard course for themselves? Chaos would not ensue as some fear. Instead, lots of golfers may well enjoy the game a bit more.
If you get the chance, try this out – either at your home club if it’s allowed or on a driving range with Toptracer Range technology. Pick any course on there and play it once from the back tees, then once from the front tees. Which one did you enjoy more? Did having lots of options, with no one telling you what you were doing was wrong, give you more enjoyment or less?
There is simply no logical reason why tee boxes are divided up by gender. Instead, the system introduced this year by Foxhills in Surrey – and used at an increasing number of clubs around the world – is a far better way to get players onto a course that’s the appropriate length for them.
At Foxhills, there are four tee box options – Front, CJ, Medal and Championship – each with their own colour, and driving distance and handicap recommendations. It is recommended that players with a handicap of 24 or higher, or a carry distance of less than 180 yards, play from the Front tees. For players with a handicap of 10–24, or carry distance 180-220 yards, the CJ tees are recommended. The Medal tees are for golfers with a single-figure handicap or carry distance of over 220 yards. The Championship tees are reserved for major tournaments or scratch golfers with permission from the club first. The change has been made to focus on players’ enjoyment – giving golfers the opportunity to play from a tee that best suits them and their game.
Imagine how much more fun, let’s say older male golfers will have when they can reach the correct landing areas, or how about when hazards are back in the correct places for low-handicap female golfers who would normally fly the ball straight over them.
For the macho golfers out there, who don’t meet the criteria suggested by the Foxhills system but want to prove their golfing prowess (or lack of it), they will always have the option to trudge back to the tips and have no fun slogging around the course. I’m sure I’ll see some out there, while I’m having a whale of time playing a course that’s setup just right for me.
Dean Bailey
Northern Golfer editor
