“That’s to hide them from the ding-a-lings who don’t belong there"

Bill Pennington manages to spin a fresh take on the subject of golfers playing the wrong tees. Love the accompanying art by Bob Eckstein and this from Pete Dye:

Pete Dye, the mad scientist of golf architecture, was showing me around one of his new layouts last year when I noticed that the most challenging tees, the ones farthest from the holes, were often obscured by landscaping, trees or other natural terrain elements.

“That’s to hide them from the ding-a-lings who don’t belong there,” Dye said, smiling mischievously. He was standing at the public Pound Ridge Golf Club, 35 miles northeast of New York City, a course so difficult it certainly doesn’t need added length.

“We love our pro tees, but too many nonpros march back there,” Dye said. “Then they wonder why they’re not having fun.”

And I've never heard this one before, but I like it.

One formula has a golfer estimate the average distance that his or her 5-iron shot will travel — an honest average, not the ultimate 5-iron — and then multiply that number by 36. If golfers were realistic, that would put most in the 5,300 to 6,300-yard range. Beginners, younger players, some seniors and some women would play from tees more forward, and be challenged. And the rare golfer, usually with a handicap in the low single digits, would be venturing back.