Sloping Tees!!!!!

The comment below is from Dave Doncaster's Blog, I thought I'd copy it here to bring it to the forum table for all to comment

Dear All,

I wish to start a topic on the conditions of Tees at most golf courses in this country.

I for one, am continually getting frustrated that most courses seem to disregard the condition of their tees. They either slope away from you or too you. I want to see the conditions of tees improved. It is okay for low handicappers to identify what the slope in your stance is going to do for your shot, but us high handicappers struggle with this.

I would like to see flat tees on every hole and would like people to add in their course reviews wether the courses achieve this. This is a major part of a golfers round. After all, you hit off them 18 times in every round!

Please help me to improve the state of play for all of us and add this concern into your reviews. I would not wish to play a course that has sloping tees any more and if they do, I will make sure I never return.

All of you out there, let me know if this a concern of yours aswell. If you think, you hit 18 balls off of tees, that equates to 1/4 of your shots for the round. Dependent on where it lands, depends on how much you add to your round. Please let me know your thoughts.

Not found any problems myself with tee areas - I just have a good look around to assess my best footing etc..

Agree with you, Wayne, I too have never had to play off sloping tees in 55 years.

Why post, what is considered in your view, a valid and worthy discussion only to back down after a view replies?

I have played on sloping, uneven, bumpy tee's before, only on 1 certain course, which judging the area that the course is situated, doesn't suprise me in the least.  Local yobs can access the course very easily, therefore causing all sorts of damage to the course.  I can understand a club like that not wanting to make any improvements.  It's only 8 quid a round so don't expect anything flashy!

In my 2 and a bit years of playing, my experience tells me you get what you pay for.  I can't personally say its a huge problem.

On the matter of it, I can't imagine many golf clubs will see the reviews and therefore won't change anything.  You'd be better off putting a letter of complaint in with the club directly.  You may just notice some changes if enough people moan.

Please don't feel you need to back off, as Wayne said, stick to your guns, if you read through some of the forum posts you'll notice that it gets worse!!

Happy golfing Dave!

Dave, you have to be thick skinned to participate in any forum  my experience tells me. Everything one says, will be picked up, turned around, slagged off but all in the greatest spirit.

Due to some of the replies, it must surely be down to me playing cheap courses

I mearly commented on my own experiences, which is you get what you pay for.  I never suggested you play cheap courses, who cares how much a green fee is so long as you enjoy yourself??

Barring that one course I mentioned, I haven't experienced the tees as an issue.  I play courses whose green fees meet my budget, I don't play £100 green fee courses where I would expect the tees to be perfect.

If I were a member of a golf club paying £700+ a year then it would bother me no end.  But seeing as I choose to play pay & play courses I can't expect the whole course to be in tip top condition anyway.

After reading some of the replies it just seems as though you've been really unlucky in finding the sloping tees.

Dave, don't let them get to you mate! Everyone gets slagged off on here!!

Although i agree in some respect to what your saying, i reckon if you'd said "Un-Even" tee boxes all the dis-agreeing would've been minimal (though you'd still get the Black is White Brigade having a go?!)

I must admit, it is one of my pet hates on a golf course to get onto the Tee box only to find your feet an inch below or above the ball and whilst every endevour is sought trying to find a flat piece of ground with-in the 2 club lenght rule, its sometimes impossible to do so!

So head up Dave-Lad and don't let them get you down!

You  can believe what you like Mr Doncaster but I still maintain that I have never found teeing grounds to be a problem, no matter where I have played, which in fifty odd years is pretty extensive.

It is greens that are the most important part of the course, as it is their condition that helps or hinders your score.

I would suggest that you avoid at all costs the many fine links we have dotted around our coast, as the lie on the fairways will not be to your liking.

I have witnessed uneven tee boxes before but didnt feel at the time that it was an issue for me. Mental note, remeber to blame uneven tee boxes in future when having a bad round .

I have however witnessed some of the most appaling winter tees both on grass and off mats. Some of the courses near me use mats that even i find too small at only 5'7" and even worse that dont even face the line of play.

I would complain if i found anything on the course to be an issue and recently did after walking off on the 6th after playing 6 holes on off camber winter tees that had not been mown, where thick with mud and half way down the fairway. To top it off they were using winter greens that had been placed practicaly in the rough, were off camber and also hadnt been mown. The greens were just over 2 meters in diameter and one of the par threes was only 40 yards from winter tee to winter green.

I demanded my money back which i got eventually and went to another course nearby played off proper tee boxes on proper greens and had the round of my life.

The first club thought they had justified the bad condition by placing signs stating that they were on winter tees and greens by the clubhouse. My argument was that drawing a white circle on the fairway does not constitute a temporary green even if they were only charging a tenner. My time is more precious than my money and in my opnion they were wasting my afternoon.

Wayne, your gonna have a field day with the spelling in my post above. Im just gonna leave it to give you something to compalin about

Mr Doncaster, yoiu started this with one line that showed that you are a bitter and twisted person who knows very little about the game or the courses on which it is played. I repeat it here for you to digest.

 I wish to start a topic on the conditions of Tees at most golf courses in this country.

I have emboldened the word that told me where you were coming from, and I was not the only one to pick up on this, unfortunately for you I am not like the others who are prepared to change their attitude after you have realised that you made a pretty bold statement by saying that most of the courses in this country have bad tees when in actual fact very few suffer with this complaint in comparison.

Please don't worry about me, as I have been able to carry myself correctly at any course I have played at.

Personally I am not interested in whether or not my views coincide with yours, you are entitled to them, as I am to mine, but if you continue to post what I consider drivel, then you will have to be prepared to read responses that will not sit too well with you, as it is obvious you are a little thin skinned.