17 / 20
17
Jan Bel Jan, ASGCA, introduced the concept of
‘scoring tees’ in 2011, when she worked on a
project at Green Valley Country Club in Greenville,
South Carolina, to open up the game to more
players than ever. She has since expanded the
concept at Pelican’s Nest Golf Club in Bonita
Springs, Florida, by using on-site fill generated
during the renovation of the Club’s Hurricane
Course to add scoring tees.
The concept is based on locating scoring tees
forward of existing tees in such a way that penal
hazards are either eliminated or can be managed
more easily.
At Pelican’s Nest there are seven different sets
of tee markers, which are indicated with Roman
numerals.Scoring tees have their own designation,
the ‘S’ tee, with their own scorecard and ratings for
men and women.
“The fact that the club honors the Scoring Course
with its own name and scorecard emphasizes that
this is an official ‘course within a course’, that it
provides an alternative challenge, and that it is
age, gender and skill neutral,” says Bel Jan. “By
creating these formal teeing grounds, the club
proclaims ‘we want you here’ whether you are a
junior, super-senior or scratch player.”
Immediate advantages of using scoring tees are
that golfers have more fun and enjoy faster play.
“Scoring tees allow more players to follow the
USGA/PGA’s encouragement to ‘tee it forward,’”
says Bel Jan. “We’ve seen that once players
experience better scores because they can more
often reach the greens in regulation, they are
less interested in going back to a longer course.
Enthusiastic participation will almost surely result in
increased pace of play and rounds played as well
as in greater satisfaction by the members.”
Find out more about Pelican’s Nest by reading the full
article in th
e Spring 2016 issue of By DesignCASE STUDY: PELICAN’S NEST
A course within a course
Simsbury Farms was one of the golf courses selected to
receive a pro bono consultation from the United States Golf
Association and the ASGCA Foundation.
One of its goals is to make the golf course become more
inclusive to all skill levels and groups.
Golf course architect A. John Harvey, ASGCA, was part
of the USGA/ASGCA Site Evaluation Program for Simsbury
Farms. He confirmed that the club is already doing some work
with forward tees (as reflected by its scorecards) and has cut
out teeing areas alongside the fairways on a few holes at
the edge of the rough where it can place simple tee markers.
“I feel teeing areas such as forward tees promoted by the
ASGCA’s Longleaf Tee System Initiative can appropriately cater
to an enhanced variety of players to promote enjoyment of
the game,” he says. “It’s an initiative that in my opinion helps
to make the game more fun for everyone. Under the guise of
an experienced golf course architect and working together
with course management professionals, a plan for tasteful and
appropriate teeing areas can be incorporated into the flow of
the course that carefully balances playability, costs, benefits
and maintenance considerations.”
CASE STUDY: SIMSBURY FARMS
Fun for everyone
Photo: Istockphoto/stevecoleimages