Anyone else find playing off the back tees every time they go out competitively a bit of a bore? Maybe it’s just me.
There are others who enjoy nothing more than taking on a course at its most difficult when a card is on the line.
But does that mean they can’t play in the same events, or does the World Handicap System allow them to go from different tees and still play in the same competition?
What happens in mixed events, and how are our Playing Handicaps worked out to make it as equal as possible for everyone? Let’s take a look…
How to play in multi tee golf competitions?
Yes, you can. If you’ve ever competed in a mixed event, with men off one set of tees and women another, you’ll know it’s possible.
But it’s also the case that men can play in the same competition and still play from different tee boxes.
So if you fancied the whites, for the sake of argument, and I wanted to play from further forward then the World Handicap System allows it – if your club’s terms of competition do too.
What happens to our handicaps? We’re going to look at it in two ways – a straightforward version and then getting into some more detail, as it’s shown in the Rules of Handicapping, for those who like to use their calculators.
Explaining multi-tee and mixed events
England Golf have produced a short explainer which really should be your first call for getting stuck into mixed and multi-tee events in a straightforward manner.
Here is their advice, on how handicap allowances and other adjustments are applied in an 18-hole event, in a nutshell:
– Each player works out their own individual Course Handicap
– Apply whatever handicap allowance is needed for the format of play to arrive at the Playing Handicap
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– With Course Rating Minus Par, no additional strokes are required in Stableford or Par/Bogey. This is because it has simplified the requirement for “equalisation strokes”. The play to handicap score is 36 points. In a Medal, the play to handicap score is level par so “the only equalisation strokes required are to take account of the difference in par of the tees in play”
– For fourball formats: An adjustment is only required to allow for differences in Par for the Medial and Stroke Play format
– For Foursomes: In Foursomes, the Playing Handicap is 50% of the combined Course Handicap of the two players. In Greensomes, it is 60% of the low and 40% of the high handicap index. England Golf’s explainer states that if multiple tees are being used, a tee must be chosen to be used for scoring purposes and stated in the terms of competition. “That means that all partnerships, regardless of which tee they tee off from, will score based on the Par/Stroke Index of that single tee”. If you’re trying to work out the Course Handicap of each player, Course Rating Minus Par says “the par to be used is the par of the tee nominated for scoring”. Do that and no further adjustments are needed.
Hang on? Which card would we use in mixed foursomes and fourball formats?
In foursomes, as above, a competition committee has to specify which single set of tees will “determine the Pars and Stroke Index that are to be used”. England Golf’s “strong advice” is to use the shortest tee. In fourball, from mixed tees, players score using the card and indexes for the tee from which they are playing.
Have your say
Have you played in any multi tee golf competitions? How did it go? Let us know by leaving a comment on X.
