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Thread: Red Tee Challenge
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05-27-2009 10:48 PM #1
Red Tee Challenge
Inspired by a thread on the GEA, I'm thinking of doing a Red Tee Challenge one of these days.
For those not familiar with the concept, the idea is that you move all the way up to the red tee's and try to shoot a crazy low score. This of course only works if you don't already play the red tees.
My strategy (if you can call it that) on playing from the reds it to go bombs away and try to drive every par-4 I can. Big surprise there.
mjf, who is in on this, has a different strategy that would involve laying up on many holes because of "trouble" and trying to score based on hitting wedges close and making putts. Crazy talk.
So, what would your strategy be and what do you think you would shoot from the reds at your favourite course?
I'm torn as to what I would shoot. I'm normally pretty straight with the long clubs off the tee so I figure I'll hit a few par-4s off the tee and my misses won't be terrible, so if I putt at all well, which is not a given from whatever tee I play, I have a chance at shooting below par. Or it's a total disaster and I shoot what I normally do.
The only problem with doing this is that it would have to be a slow day at the course since I'd be waiting for every green to clear before I could hit so it might take a while for this to happen.Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!
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05-27-2009 10:55 PM #2
Seeing that I played a few times from the white tees last year on Predator at Greyhawk and shot even par or very close with 3-5 birdies per round, I would not be satisfied with anything above par from the red tees.
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05-27-2009 11:02 PM #3
Did you try to drive the par 4s or did you lay up?
It's usually a pretty big difference from Red to White and all of a sudden many/all of the par 4's are reachable.
I did a Google Earth analysis of Stonebridge from the Reds and every green is driveable (depending on the wind), many with a FWY wood.Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!
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05-27-2009 11:20 PM #4
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I think you'll find it depends a lot more on the particular course than you think.
There are some courses (usually the older ones) where the red tees are basically 20 yards in front of the white tees. If you currently play the whites, that probably isn't enough to change the way you play the course. If you're a longer hitter that plays from the blues, you'll have to decide whether to drive past the trouble or take the easier lay-up - but the trouble will still be in play.
OTOH, for some courses the red tees will make for some interesting risk/reward choices - especially for the longer hitter. But it won't necessarily be easy pickings. A lot of people look at the scorecard at Stonebridge and Emerald Links and think they can bomb their way around the course - only to find out differently when they actually try it.
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05-28-2009 12:34 AM #5
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05-28-2009 06:28 AM #6Proud member of the 2009 Ryder Cup winning team
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05-28-2009 07:59 AM #7
That idea really appeals to me.. One (slow) day/night I think I'll get out and play from the forward tees. With a diffrence of 1200 yrds the outcome will be really interesting.
Some people are like Slinkies... they're really good for nothing, ... but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs...
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05-28-2009 08:31 AM #8
do i have to wear a skirt?
I got a fever. And the only prescription is more golf equipment.
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05-28-2009 08:47 AM #9
I'm not sure what kind of a difference this would make for me........I'm throwing away a TON of strokes this year around the greens so unless I see my GIR go up significantly I wouldn't expect a massive difference in scoring
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05-28-2009 08:48 AM #10
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05-28-2009 07:37 PM #11
It's a lot of fun.
My home clubs closing event is a 3-man scramble playing from the red tees, with the pins as difficult as you can make them. We won last year with a 63, or 9 under. Probably the most fun I had all year, even in spite of it being around 5 degrees. The reds are certainly not as easy as you might think.
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05-28-2009 08:37 PM #12
If it was a wide open course with no trouble around the greens, then I'd definitely consider the 'bombs away' strategy off the tee. But at Stonebridge, that's certainly not the way I'd play it. Of course, I generally play pretty conservatively anyway.
The problem I see with trying to drive the green at a course like Stonebridge is that, odds are, at least once or twice my tee ball will end up in the fescue which means a pretty good chance that the possible reward of a birdie will be replaced with a likely risk of a double-bogey. Two or three holes like that and there's just no way I'll make enough birdies to offset them.
So, on the holes where it's very unlikely a marginal shot would find any trouble, I'd go for it. But much more often I'd simply take a hybrid off the tee and play for position.
The way I see it, if I play well off the back tees, I will shoot somewhere in the 75 - 80 range at Stonebridge. If I have a wedge in my hands on every single hole for my approach shot (many times only a pitch shot) 70 or better should be very do-able.
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05-28-2009 09:25 PM #13
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I read that Jack Nicklaus used to do this as his final practice round before a major - he said it got him in the frame of mind to make a lot of birdies.
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05-28-2009 09:48 PM #14
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When I was a junior golfer with more ability than I have now, just couldn't hit it as far back then, I tried this. I never really scored all that much better back then than when I was playing off the blues. I guess it was just something mental where I couldn't get the scores better, or maybe just didn't try to brutalize the course. I probably could now.
I'd be interested to know how I'd do. I'd like to see a group of four decently skilled golfers get up on the reds and blast drives! lol
Fally
aka ScottTwitter: @Scott_Fally
"The finest people in the world...are golfers." -- Ben Hogan
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05-28-2009 09:51 PM #15
I tried it as a junior, as well. I am pretty sure it was around par, maybe even 1 or 2 under. I have always had a decent short game, and the course was quite short from the red. I think it was only 5000 yards.. I still could really only drive one of the par 4's, maybe two.
My name is Paul. And I'm a golfaholic.
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05-28-2009 09:53 PM #16
I'm telling you all right now, you won't go as low as you think.
Prove me wrong.
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05-28-2009 09:54 PM #17
Just wait till I post my report!
The reasoning behind my strategy is pretty simple. If I'm laying up in the fairway to short iron/wedge distances I know for a fact that I'm going to miss some greens and hit the occaisional layup into the junk. That means to go low I'm going to have to hit a lot of balls really close and sink a bunch of putts.
If I'm going at every green I can reach the chances are that I'll be either on the green or right next to it. I know that I can chip it on more often (and closer) than I can from the fairway.
Of course if the driver goes wonky I am screwed.Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!
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05-28-2009 11:08 PM #18
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So you know for a fact you would hit the occasional layup into the junk - but you figure you wouldn't do that with the driver?!?
I haven't played Stonebridge in a few years, but I seem to remember that "right next to the green" is where they like to put things like water hazards and bunkers, with many of the greens elevated in order to feed balls into them. And of course the ever-present "junk" is never too far away!
I'm sure it will be a lot of fun, but I suspect with your strategy may turn out to be a humbling experience too.
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05-29-2009 06:54 AM #19
When adn where and are you looking for witnesses?
Donny Vantage NFL Guru, since 1974
Money won is twice as sweet as money earned
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05-29-2009 08:41 AM #20
You have clearly never seen me play. Driver is my best club by far. If I go at a green with driver and miss it I will generally be chipping/pitching on. And from the reds several of the par 4's only require a 4W anyway, depending on the wind conditions of course.
If I layup with an iron off the tee I'll be 140-150 yards out, in the junk. I know which one I would prefer.
As I said earlier, if I have an uncharacteristic bad day with the driver, I am screwed.Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!
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05-29-2009 08:43 AM #21
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05-29-2009 11:03 AM #22
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05-29-2009 11:15 AM #23
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05-29-2009 11:18 AM #24
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05-29-2009 11:19 AM #25
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Actually I believe we played a round together last fall at Canadian - don't you have the really, really flat backswing? Maybe it was an uncharacteristic bad day with the driver for you.
Anyway, my point is you won't need to have a bad day with the driver to get into trouble at Stonebridge. You will need a great day with the driver to stay out of it!
Hey, its all in fun - but I think my money would be on mjf.
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05-29-2009 11:26 AM #26
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05-29-2009 11:28 AM #27
Flat swing, that's me. IIRC I did have a bad day with the driver at Canadian.
You need to remember, that if you're going bombs away at SB the trouble is different with driver from the reds than the blacks.Not fat anymore. Need to get better at golf now!
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05-29-2009 02:17 PM #28
I for one know that you wont score that low.I usually play a few games with my wife from the forward tees and where you get in trouble having doubts about witch club to hit into the greens or par 3's.I'm sure if you are straight there will be no problem but.....Worth trying and having fun at it.Bring along the wife or girlfriend just for moral support.LOL
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05-29-2009 02:55 PM #29
I agree that indecision about which club to hit might factor into our final scores, but I think it will be indecision off the tee... not into the greens. Both jvincent and I have laser range finders so that really won't be an issue. Having said that, since jvincent intends to basically go for every par 4 green off the tee, I don't think there will be that much indecision for him.
As for the Par 3's, I would anticipate we would, on average, pick up 2 or 3 strokes a round on the Par 3's at Stonebridge. Generally speaking, we'll be hitting wedges off the tee (maybe an 8 or 9-iron on #2) instead of something between a 3-iron and a 6-iron.
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05-29-2009 03:07 PM #30
I'll be more interested in seeing how playing from the Reds will affect your index.......granted your scores should be lower, but will they be in line with what you'd expect for a course with that slope/rating?
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