Tee it forward, America!

Given my support of the idea of shortening courses by design, when I saw the late May announcement for Tee It Forward, the national initiative to encourage golfers to play from tees best suited to their game and ability, changing this month’s column to a review of that program was almost automatic.

If you happen to see the original announcement or this article too late to take part on the suggested days (the PGA and USGA are proposing this at all golf facilities from July 5-17), may I suggest you take the time-honored tradition of a “mulligan” and institute a similar program as soon as you can. And I encourage those who participate in the program to share your personal or manager’s comments on www.facebook.com/PlayGolfAmerica so the discussion can continue about the benefits of shortening America’s golf courses back to where the rest of us can enjoy them.

The chart below is from the Tee It Forward webpage, and may surprise some as to just how drastically many now recommend courses be shortened. I have been building and remodeling courses with forward tees as short as 4,400 yards, (which is at least 600 yards shorter than the typical forward tee) but this initiative is suggesting 4,400-4,600 yards for what would typically be “white” tees for longer women and seniors. At most places, white tees measure 5,200-5,400. This program recommends “typical” forward tees (for 125-150-yard tee shots) at 2,800-3,700 yards. And typical blue tees, normally at 6,200-6,400 yards get trimmed to a maximum of 6,000 yards, for those who (like me….) hit the “weak 225 fanned shot right.”

In other words, this initiative seems to be putting players up even one tee farther than the typical golf experience. It’s “radical,” but it’s worth a try. At best, everyone will see how much faster and fun it is to play a shorter course. At worst, this will still promote the “short course” idea even if courses ultimately decide to set up tees at longer distances than this initiative recommends.

I believe there is finally a benefit to the prodigious distance of PGA Tour Pros – it’s convincing us to stop playing longer courses. I played in a pro-am in 1982, getting dream pairings with Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Watson, Gary Player and Calvin Peete. I was “just a little” behind them in tee shot distance (more true with Player and Peete than Fuzzy and Tom) encouraging me to play at 6,800 yards while they played at 7,000.

Now that my tee shot is about 100 yards shorter than (Bubba) Watson, I prefer to play from tees where I hit the same approach club pros do, rather than tees that take my tee shot to the same landing zone, but leave me with longer clubs to the green.

I like playing “TV Golf,” reaching a par 5 in 2 shots, and having short and mid-irons in for my approach clubs on most holes. I don’t like most par 4 holes playing as par 5 holes for me, or hitting fairway woods or hybrids to most greens. It’s a lot more fun. It’s a lot faster. And, there are fewer lost golf balls.

I fully support of the idea of shortening courses by design, by management and by individual golfer choice. There is an old design adage that says “less is more.” It is also true in golf course yardages, and this is a chance for the golf industry to confirm that old adage in a dramatic way.