What tees should you play?
- wil ingram
- Jul 12, 2025
- 3 min read
Choosing the right tees isn’t about pride—it’s about playing smarter, faster, and having more fun. Learn how to pick the right tee box for your game, and how South Bay Golf Club can help you play better golf every round.
Playing the Wrong Tees Is Ruining Your Round
Let’s get something straight: the tees you play from are not a measure of your manhood, your age, or your status in the group. They’re a tool—like your clubs—to make the game more enjoyable, playable, and ultimately, better for everyone.
Yet every weekend, golfers saddle up to the back tees with no business being there—and then wonder why they can’t break 100.
Why Tees Exist in the First Place
Tee boxes exist to scale the golf course based on your ability. The idea is simple: the farther you hit it, the more course you can handle. The shorter you hit it, the more you need to move up to keep the course playable and fair.
This isn’t just about yardage—it’s about approach shots, angles, risk-reward decisions, and keeping pace of play enjoyable for everyone behind you.
The General Rule of Thumb
Here’s a quick guideline to help you pick the right tees:
Driver Distance | Recommended Tees |
300+ yards | Championship/Back Tees (~7,200+ yards) |
275–300 yards | Tournament Tees (~6,800–7,200 yards) |
250–275 yards | Regular Men’s Tees (~6,400–6,800 yards) |
225–250 yards | Senior or Forward Tees (~6,000–6,400 yards) |
<225 yards | Forward/Short Tees (~5,500–6,000 yards) |
Pro tip: If you’re not getting to most par 4s in two, you’re playing too far back.
Need a deep dive? The USGA and PGA of America’s “Tee It Forward” initiative is worth checking out.
But What About Pride?
If your ego’s keeping you on the back tees, ask yourself this:
Do I want to look like a golfer… or play like one?
Moving up tees doesn’t make you “less of a golfer.” In fact, the opposite is true. Playing the correct tees:
Speeds up play
Creates more birdie opportunities
Improves your rhythm
Makes the game more fun
Unless you’re prepping for a Tour event, there’s zero reason to grind out 460-yard par 4s with hybrids into every green. This is supposed to be enjoyable, remember?
How South Bay Golf Club Helps You Find the Right Fit
At South Bay Golf Club, we’re all about smart, data-driven golf—and that includes helping you choose the right tees for your game.
With TrackMan-powered simulators, you can:
Measure your average driver carry and rollout
Simulate rounds from different tee boxes at elite courses like Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, and St. Andrews
Use TrackMan Combine tests to find where your strengths (and weaknesses) actually are
Practice smarter, not just harder
The best part? We don’t just help you hit it longer—we help you play the right course for your ability, so you can shoot better scores, have more fun, and stop wasting strokes pretending you're on the PGA Tour.
Final Thoughts: Play Your Game, Not Someone Else’s
Golf is hard enough without trying to play from the wrong set of tees. Save the punishment for Tour pros. The game moves faster, feels smoother, and scores lower when you play the tees that match your skill—not your fantasy.
Want to get dialed in?Come try a session at South Bay Golf Club and use TrackMan to determine your ideal tee box, optimize your yardages, and start playing your best golf ever.
