I Was Told I Had To Play From The 'Tees Of The Day' – Some Golf Clubs Need To Wake Up

While golf’s World Handicap System isn’t universally popular, it’s fairly easy to understand what it set out to achieve: to create a unified and globally portable framework.

If you’re a member of a golf club or registered with one of the many nomadic schemes around the world, such as iGolf in England, you’re able to attain a handicap index after you’ve put in the requisite number of cards.

Once you have a handicap index, you can work out your course handicap from any tees at any affiliated facility around the world.

The equation is: course handicap = handicap index x (slope rating/113) + (course rating - par). If that all sounds a bit complicated, don’t worry, there are signs and apps that work this out for you.

But the basic premise is that if a course has been assessed for course and slope rating, you’re able to use your handicap index to get a course handicap.

So, you should always be able to put in a card whenever you want, and from whichever tees you want, right? Well, in theory, but it’s not always that simple, as I’ve discovered a couple of times recently.

More shots from the back

My colleague Jeremy Ellwood penned an article last year about why he’s putting in all his general play cards off the back tees. That resonated with me, as I often find myself perplexed as to how few shots I get off the yellow tees at courses I feel are pretty difficult.

Generally (but not always), I choose to play off the white tees. Normally, I get an extra couple of shots as compared with the yellows and I’m not too bothered about the extra length as I can hit the ball a reasonable distance.

However, on more than one occasion, I’ve been told I can’t play off the back tees. When I’ve enquired as to why, it’s normally to do with them being reserved for a competition.

The trouble is I often don't want to put a card in off the yellows as I don’t feel I get an adequate number of shots. To be a paying customer and not have choice over which tees you play off feels more than a touch galling.

Last weekend, I experienced another head-scratching scenario.

I turned up to the first tee at a popular golf club in southern England and had a conversation with the starter, as you do. I was then informed the only option was to play from the tees of the day.

When I told him I was planning to put a card in and asked exactly how that would work, he didn’t seem to have an answer. This left me in a difficult position.

Clearly, I didn’t know exactly where all the tees would be located on each hole on the golf course. As you have to declare your intention to submit a score before you start, I was in a tricky position.

As far as I saw it, I had three options. Put a card in off the whites, put a card in off the yellows or don’t put a card in at all. After much deliberation, I went for the second option - the yellows.

Quiz: 15 questions every die-hard golfer should know the answer to

Random placement

As the round unfolded, it became clear the tee placement was random. Some holes were played from where the yellows would typically be and others where the whites would usually be located.

In essence, this meant I’d made things harder for myself from a handicap perspective. I received ten shots off the yellows instead of 12 from the whites, but some holes were effectively played from the back tees.

I couldn’t understand why there were only one set of tees out. I was having a conversation about this with one of my colleagues and he said he’d just played a round where the green tees were the only option. He still tried to put a card in, but the greens weren’t listed on the England Golf app.

Simply put, this shouldn't be happening in 2025. It feels like some golf clubs have been too slow to catch up to the changing habits of golfers, particularly from a handicap perspective.

Telling someone at a pay-and-play golf course, where they’ve dished out a reasonable fee for a round, that they have to play off one set of tees is ridiculous.

Some people don’t want to be members of golf clubs and have limited interest in competitions, while others can’t afford to be members. More still would ideally join a club, but it doesn’t work for them at that point in time.

There are plenty of golfers out there who only put in general play cards and submit a score every time they have a round. The system has to work for everyone.

Some facilities need to wake up and recognise the paradigm has shifted. Unfortunately, the words ‘adapt’ and ‘golf clubs’ don’t often go together in the same sentence