Fitting for the Right Set of Tees

There is one topic I have yet to see written in any golf club fitting book but deserves a lot of attention – fitting the golfer for the right set of tees. No, we are not talking about the white wooden tees, although we will address that later in the book. Rather the set of tee markers one plays from. There are cases when the golfer’s ego can hinder any benefits a proper fitting session may have on that individual. In other cases, a golfer can be penalized from achieving par before they even step onto a course.

If you are fitting an individual in person, they are likely to come from the immediate area. You are well versed as to all the local courses as you might have played them yourself. One of the key parameters to scoring is playing on a fair set of tees. During the personal interview session, one of the questions may be “What course do you play?” I would follow that up and ask them what set of tees they play from as well.

The distance one hits the ball is often a matter of proportionality to their speed and strength as well as solid contact to realize their full potential. Here is a breakdown of typical distances by five different golfers. Note that these are not absolute values but will serve as basic guidelines only.

Let us say your customer is a playing professional and he is playing a par 72, 7200-yard course from the championship tees. We can break down the course as follows. Of the 72 strokes allotted to par, 36 of which are putts.  This leaves us 7000 yards for 36 strokes.  Chances are 14 of those strokes will be with the driver off of the tee.  If the playing pro has a typical swing speed of 112 mph, he will be averaging 280 yards per drive. Multiplying the 14 drives times 280 yards equals 3920 yards which is leaving 3280 yards for the remaining 22 strokes that the course was set up for.

While 3280 yards sounds like a lot of yardages for 22 strokes, this figures out to be only 149 yards per shot.  Looking at our chart, this leaves our professional on average a very manageable #9-iron into the green.

Let us show another example on the same set of tees but with our average golfer swinging their driver 88 mph. He will be realistically averaging 215 yards per drive. Multiply 14 times 215 yards equals 3010 yards which is now leaving 4190 yards for the remaining 22 strokes. The near 900-yard difference in the driving distances adds a lot of yardages for the remaining 22 strokes or 190 yards per shot.  Looking at our chart, this leaves our average strength male golfer with a #5-wood on approach shots to the greens. Even a professional golfer will struggle hitting a green in regulation with a #5-wood on a consistent basis further reducing the chances for a low score.

If this customer played the “white” or members tees (6400 yards), he would be much better off. Our same 22 shots would now be 154 yards or equate to hitting a #5-iron into each green.  By playing the right set of tees can go a long way in lowering one’s score. This is the reason most courses have three, four or even more sets of tee boxes to play from and just as valuable selecting the right one as a head, shaft, or grip.

The Distance Challenged Golfers

There is one type of golfer I would like to talk about and that is what I call the distance challenged. Through no fault of their own, their likelihood of posting a low score can be hampered by their lack of strength. If you look at the courses that have opened in your area lately, you have seen that they are amongst the longest in your area. Why? Well to be a challenge for the better golfers. But when was the last Par 3 or Executive course built in your area? That is of course if you are fortunate to have one.

There are a number of golfers who play this game daily that are not strong enough to hit par 4’s in two, even if playing from the forward set of tees. You can be assured they will be subjected to a higher number of strokes before they ever tee up the ball on their first hole. “Ability to overcome distance” is a term used to describe a way in which a player can reduce their score based upon their natural physical strength. 

For instance, it is easier for a player who is in the rough to hit a green in regulation with a 9-iron than it is for someone who is in the middle of the fairway but requires a 4-iron to do so. The USGA Course and Slope Rating are directly related to the length of the course; the longer it is the higher it will be rated.

The average lady golfer possesses a driver speed of around 64 mph and distance of approximately 126 yards when hit as solidly as possible. The same lady might hit her 3-wood 117 yards (tops). Combining the distances of the driver and 3-wood would total 243 yards. If this lady golfer could hit two solid shots back-to-back, any Par 4 longer than 243 yards has already penalized the player as her strength does not allow the opportunity to hit the green in regulation. The odds of hitting the ball on a recovery shot and then one putting for par will be quite infrequent. Women on average score 17 strokes more per 18 holes than men. Not being able to reach the green in regulation could be one of the biggest reasons for this discrepancy.

The average senior male golfer might have a driver swing speed of approximately 80 mph and subsequently a realistic driver distance of 180 yards, while the #3-wood might travel a total distance of 165 yards,  So any Par 4 over 345 yards is almost a penalty onto itself as this senior golfer is incapable of overcoming distance barriers.  For most golfers, hitting their best drive and following that up by solid contact with the longest club in the bag designed to hit off the fairway and still not reaching the green can be extremely frustrating.  There is a definite advantage to possessing strength and being able to knock the ball a long way.

This is one of the reasons why someone should want to play from the right set of tees, instantly giving you or your customer those 20 or 30 extra yards with the driver that person has been seeking. The average golfer should forego the championship tees or play from the tips as they can easily see a 400-yard difference in the yardage from the member's tees. Over 14 drives, this amounts to some 28 additional yards.  For the senior male golfer, who is used to playing the member's tees, opting for the forward tees devoted to them can see a 300-yard gain or another 21 yards covering those 14 drives.

But if you or the customers you are fitting are still unable to overcome distance barriers, then it is important to look at certain parameters or their set make-up. For example, this may be one reason LPGA players may use drivers longer in length than the male colleagues on the PGA tour. That player may also want to invest in more fairway woods than long irons since they will be required more often.

For strong golfers, the emphasis on fitting and selecting the right type of equipment should be focused on accuracy. Far too often I see strong young men obsessively seeking a driver they can hit an extra 10 yards, rather than considering the 13 other clubs in their bag and making them more efficient.  Concentrate on putting in clubs that will fill in any gaps, especially in the scoring clubs - primarily wedges. Also look at replacing long irons with hybrids as so many professionals have. Strength does indeed factor in how one should be fit.

I hope that in the future, smaller golf courses will be built, especially in retirement areas, for the future of golf. To be fair, golf courses should have tee boxes set up closer to the following so everyone can see how it might feel to use a mid-iron into a green.