If you generally break 80 don’t read this blog, however, if you don’t I’ve got a challenge for you.
Do you think you could break 80 from the forward tees or from the next set of tees up from the one’s you usually play at your favorite course (The Links at Northfork)?
One of the biggest problems with golf is that too many golfers play from a set of tees that don’t allow them to get a scoring club in their hands for their approach shots. When a golfer is constantly hitting long iron approach shots scores rise and speed of play slows down.
In an effort to make golf more fun and timely, I challenge any golfer to leave their ego at the door and “Tee It Forward”.
The concept of “Tee it Forward” has been advanced by Barney Adams and Jack Nicklaus. The concept is simple – a golfer should pick the appropriate tee box so that they will end up with an approach shot that they can reach the green with no more than 7 iron on the majority of the holes. Barney has gone as far as saying that an amateur playing a 6,500 yard course with average drive of 220 yards is the equivalent of a touring pro playing an 8,200 yard course. The pros ability to hit a drive 60-80 yards farther and hit a 7 iron 20-30 yards farther than the average amateur makes his concept very valid.
So until you break 80 on a consistent basis move up on the box. You will have more fun hitting short irons into greens, working on shots around the green and mentally getting the mindset it takes to post low scores. After you break 80, move back one set of tees (and repeat).
Remember that 90% of golfers cannot break 90 so if you can shoot 80 or lower regardless of the tee box you used, you will be scoring in the upper 2-3% of all golfers in the world.
At the Links at Northfork we want you to “Enjoy Golf”. Because of that philosophy we have five sets of tees that measure 5,400, 5,850, 6,200, 6,500 and 7,000 yards. I challenge anyone to start at the forward tees and shoot 80. Once you accomplish that goal move back one set until you shot 80 again.