Tee Selection

Selecting your tees

When you sign up for a round, you must choose the tees from which you will play that week.  You have a lot of flexibility here – it is not required that you use the same tee blocks every week.

You have several choices: in addition to the “standard” tees (red, gold, white, blue, and black), there are three "combo tee" options: red-gold, gold-white, and white-blue.  

These combo tees allow you to play the course from a yardage in between the lengths of the two standard tees.  For example, if you find playing from the gold tees is “too short” (5783 yards) and playing from the white tees is “too long” (6267 yards), then you could choose to play the gold-white combo tees (6029 yards).  The scorecard will indicate which tees to use.  For example, when playing the gold-white combo tees, you would play holes 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8 from the gold tees; and holes 1, 3, 5, and 9 from the white tees.

Using the USGA Rules of Handicapping, the Commissioner will assign your Course Handicap based on your current handicap index and selected tees.  Your Course Handicap could vary significantly, depending on which tees you choose.  

How do you decide which tees to choose? First, in OOGL there are no age restrictions for selecting your tees.  We don't require, for example, that men must be 65 years of age to play from the gold tees.  Choose whatever tees give you the greatest enjoyment. 

A Handy Rule of Thumb

Here’s a rule of thumb that may help you decide: Take your average 5-iron distance (be honest!), multiply that by 36, and choose the tees that most closely match that yardage.  If you typically hit a 5-iron 160 yards, for example, then choose tees that play to a yardage of 5760 (Gold tees).  Here are the yardages at Horn Rapids:

• Black tees: 6990

• Blue tees: 6709

• White-Blue combo tees: 6465

• White tees: 6267

• Gold-White combo tees: 6029

• Gold tees: 5783

• Red-Gold combo tees: 5324

• Red tees: 5068