Like it or loathe it, the new World Handicap System has been the trigger of major change to our sport. One of the essential elements of its introduction was the need to measure every golf course in the UK and give it a slope rating.
As a consequence, many golf courses saw this as an opportunity to re-think tee positions, adjust or add extra tees, as inevitably, once measured the likelihood would be that new tee markers, scorecards and so on would be produced at significant cost to the club.
During the off season last winter my home course, Parkstone Golf Club in Dorset took the opportunity to introduce new forward tees. The new 50 tee has been a resounding success. My 11-year-old son Hogan has played golf from them throughout the school summer holidays. Instead of coloured markers we now have numbered tee blocks based on the length of playing the course from the number - 50 representing 5,000 years, 56 representing 5,600 yards and so on.
This was a decision taken after careful consultation of the members. It was triggered by a trend the club was starting to see that older members were leaving to join elsewhere. In fact when a small group of long-time female members left as a collective of friends to a shorter, flatter course it left a noticeable void in the vibrant section, both socially and in their subs. So discussions began.
How could the club avoid losing long-term members in the future? We are not the only club that has taken this measure. Open Championship venue Royal Birkdale has also introduced a new front tee, the main priority being to be a family-orientated course. A decision taken to help retain older players, entice younger ones, as well as make the course more enjoyable for women.
Hogan plays from the 50 tee at Parkstone Golf Club
Other courses like Bigbury Golf Club in Devon are in the consultation process with their members who are trying to convince the head green keeper that it needs to happen. The list is long.
As a nation we have an aging demographic. Medical care is better than ever before. We are living longer, but with age comes a loss of distance. No matter how fit and healthy you stay in your latter years you’ll undoubtedly lose the clubhead speed, power and distance you had in your youth.
Carries over trouble that you used to make suddenly become impossibly long. The course becomes overwhelming. The introduction of forward tees solves the problem. It brings joy back to the game for many ladies, seniors and juniors who were no longer catered for by the challenge.
As an entry point to the game, the yardage from the forward tees is spot on. They are a vital stepping stone, a starter tee that is friendly and fair. On the majority of the harder holes they eliminate the impossible long carries over rough. They give golfers the chance to score and compete on a level playing field with the longer hitters, fairly.
I had the fortune to interview Sir Nick Faldo several times during my role as an instruction editor on a golf magazine, he was always insightful in offering tips for the “average” club golfer. Sir Nick is a firm believer that golf courses should be designed with skill, not strength, in mind. For shorter hitters, not just for bombers of the ball, because golf, he says, is a game of skill.
It shouldn’t be all about driving as far as possible to eliminate the trouble. That’s no fun and not how the game was supposed to be played. To preserve the history and heritage of our great sport we should all embrace this.
Forward-tees are forward-thinking. They future proof courses for the older generation and give an important entry-level challenge for beginners. They also allow golf to be played fairly by all, handicaps adjusted accordingly. As far as I’m concerned every course should have them
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