Picking up broken tees
 

Can anyone tell me a legitimate reason why the ambassadors on the execs have to pick up the broken tees ALL DAY LONG? I can see doing it near the end of day so the mowers don't chew them up in the morning. But every course I've played outside of TV let's the broken tees stay on the par 3 tee boxes so others can use the remnants instead of breaking another tee (think of the trees!). They usually leave a small box near the tee markers for broken tees.

So if you are an ambassador or know one please let me know the logic behind this. Seems odd.

Russ, I understand from those that have been here longer than I have that we used to have a small box on each tee for the broken tees, but for some reason they removed them. I usually just put my broken tees in my back pocket and use them again if I can, or throw them out when I get home.

A quite simple reason, they are told to, and they don't ask questions because there is a line of Ambassadors want-a-be's a mile long, so they don't rock the boat

I know that - they've told me that every time I ask. Just wondering if anyone knows why golf management feels that it is a good practice.

Russ, maybe you should ask them. You know any reply you get on here is just an opinion.:)

I would think that golfers would pick up their own broken tees when they are able. Just good common sense and being neat....but that's just me.

I pick up others' broken tees. Should I be leaving them?

As a former stockholder (part owner) in a golf course in another state I can tell you our management feelings of why we picked up broken and discarded tees all day long. I suspect this is exactly why ( in my opinion) that the Villages does so also. Broken or discarded tees are like garbage. We picked up our tees all day long during play to keep the tee areas looking nice. We also had many comments about how nice our tee areas looked compared to other golf courses in our area. Our neighboring courses say it requires too much time and manpower to do this continually all day long. I have visited the Villages numerous times and am considering moving there someday. One of the things we enjoyed was how clean the areas on the sides of the roads, public areas etc were. Free of garbage almost all the time. Same goes for the tee box res. when we first played in the Villages I was pleased to see the Ambassadors picking up broken and discarded tees all day long. MI appreciate the clean look of the tee areas just like I enjoy a lack of trash on the streets and sides of the roads etc. my hats is off to the Anbassadors for whatever reason they do it. Now I will say that for two years we kept the little tee collection boxes on our tee for broken tees, but usually people dumped them out when they needed a broken tee and now we had the same problem. We removed them after a few years and now most of our usual players have gotten into the practice of picking up their broken tees without us having to do much. Just pick up your used or broken tees as you play, put them in your pocket, and you should have more than enough broken tees to play all day long. Of course this is just my opinion, but I thought I'd let you know the reasoning behind one former golf management position on the reasoning from a management perspective. It jut looks much nicer, and that's one of the great things I enjoy about the Villages. I suspect there are others that feel the same.

Russ, just another opinion. There will be many more broken tees on an executive 9 than on a regulation 9. On average, there are eight times you may break a tee on an executive course versus 2 on the other. So, there tends to be a lot more broken tees on the executive courses. Would you rather have to pick all those broken tees from the entire day on every hole after hours, or share the workload with other ambassadors by picking up some periodically during the course of the day? Plus, waiting until the end of the day effectively takes the ambassador away from their primary purpose.

I am guessing the same folks that don't pick up their dog poop, don't pick up their broken tees.

Probably the same ones that don't fix their ball marks either.

We pick up broken tees to keep the tee area looking neat and making it easier for the next golfer to tee it up.

They used to have small containers for the broken tees but it was decided it didn't look very nice so they stopped using them.

I have no problem picking up the broken and unbroken tees. They go into a small tin bucket and if anyone wants to use/take them I'd be happy to let them choose the ones they want.

Personally I don't think tees are expensive and if I break all of mine I buy more. You can get 100 of them for about $5 to $8 from amazon...no tax/no shipping if you spend enough. One bag lasts a season or more...my hndcp is about a 5 so I break my share.

Good luck and have fun....don't sweat the small stuff. :-)

I like to use a broken experienced tee...

That was my point. Why waste natural resources when a used one works fine. (Actually I almost always just place on a nice piece of turf to simulate my second shot on a par 4 - just for practice)

I love how TOTV people misread a question.

> NO I'm not cheap and don't NEED to use a broken tee.
> NO I don't like DIRTY looking tee boxes.
> YES I repair and repair and repair mine and ALL ball marks on the green

I personally don't think the broken tee collection system (putting a small box on the side) looks bad but to each their own.

The ambassadors pick up broken tees for the same reason they pick up any trash they find on the course. When was the last time you saw any litter on a golf course, or for that matter anywhere in The Villages. It happens, just doesn't stay on the ground for long.

Get it - just don't consider it trash - move them to the side and pick them up later in the day. I play a lot of golf and I don't think the courses that leave them there (in the collection jars) are trashy places (far from it actually).

I pick up my broken tees just like I pick up my intact ones. It takes no more effort to pick up a broken one than an intact one!!

When I first got to the villages I asked the ambassador why they were picking up broken tees. I said up north they leave them as other golfers reuse them. He politely told me he had a whole bunch in the back of his cart and to help myself. Now I try not to use tees on par threes and hit the ball from the turf. Saves a lot of bending over. I guess one could say I'm not only cheep but lazy too. By the way why does almost every post goes to dog poop.

As long as you fill in the divots, you can hit the ball from the turf. It is really frustrating to get to the tee box and not be able to find a place to tee off from with all of the holes in the ground from people not filling in the divots.

For Russ, if you want to use broken tees, why don't you police the tee boxes and put all of the broken tees in a bag and carry them around with you. Then you will always have one to tee off with.

Z

I try - sometimes I can't even find one! Believe me I try to keep the tee neat. Just goes against my nature to waste. In fact I have used my plastic tee for over 1 year on all drives (with my driver) on championship courses.

As far as replacing divots go - anyone who DOESN'T deserves at least a strong warning. Actually my only gripe with the ambassadors is that it seems like they are told to do things like pick up broken tees (and I see them do it all time) but I wonder how many times they watch for unfilled divots? Or why, when I play first tee time in the morning, do I see unrepaired ball marks, and sometimes many, on the greens? If I were an ambassador I'd rather spend my time doing these repairs as it means a lot more to the golf course than picking up tees every 1/2 hour.

While I respect every person's pet peaves. A concern surrounds broken tee clean up escapes me?

I have a concern that not a sufficient number of golfers repair their divots. I have a concern regarding the number of players that are unfamiliar with golf etiquette and I have a concern with the pace of play. but never in my short golf life had I a concern about broken tees being cleaned up on a regular schedule

:police: Same as a smoker picking up their butts

I must admit in all my years chasing the little white ball I have never picked up a broken tee like it is litter. Does any golfer really do that? I only responded at all because I wondered the same thing Russ posted when I started playing here.

I do understand why courses do this (i guess...), but I also think they could find a way to leave a few off to the side by the sandbox or tee marker as many courses do.

I quoted two posts because they match exactly how I think on this subject. There may be more....

For the Ambassadors it's not a "concern"...
 

it's simply a matter of picking them up...as is putting sand in divots...offering sand to those who may have run out...hoping you're having a good time...well you see the way this goes...we just do it because we hope it makes things more pleasant. Some think it's a good idea(moi :-)and some don't(doesn't make it a 'concern' :-).

There is a story about The Masters...
 

about a player who teed off during a practice round and left the broken tee in the ground....a member in a green jacket was nearby and noticed this...the member went up to the professional golfer and told them that tees were not left in the teeing ground as it was unsightly...the player then removed the tee .

It's a matter of what one considers trash in this case....some folks can have a yard full of stuff and they view it as their stuff...others may feel it looks like a dump....some folks don't mind a yard full of weeds...others may not prefer an uncut and weed filled lawn. It really doesn't matter what everyone thinks in this case....since I've played the game(more than 45 years)I've usually picked up my tee because it was considerate and removed the litter. If everyone left their tee there you'd notice after thousands of rounds. Yes the mower will pick up most of them, but the blades would dull faster(wood vs. grass).

As for leaving a few on the tee box so some golfers can use them...then they'll just have to be picked up again. I know the reason some golfers use broken tees on par 3's...it's so they won't have to use a whole tee...it's not that they are cheap...it's because they find it wasteful and it'd be fine if you could get everyone to pick up their tees(broken or not), but since they don't....we do. :-)

Maybe because if you look for your broken tees, your slowing up play?? LOL I think the Ambassadors do a great job in cleaning up tees on tee boxes. Some of the tee's today are made of plastic, and will not disintegrate like wooden tees, so that could cause a problem too. For driving, I use those cocktail tee's, so I have to find it each time to use it again. Had same one for 3 years now. I use broken tee's on par 3's. Instead of a box for tee's on tee box, I rather see a sand box on par 3's, so everyone will remember to fix divot!! All in all, I don't see a big problem

A poster referenced the Master's and a player being admonished concerning a broken tee still in the ground (not on the ground)

First were talking about professional play where pace of play takes on a whole different meaning than those playing on the executive courses here.

Secondly the tee was in the ground and was viewed more as a distraction than trash.

Pace of play is a big issue in the golf world today because it is one of the reasons people stop playing golf (take too long to play) So the USGA, etc are encouraging people to play faster. If I pick up or continually look for my tee, If I waggle my club too often or stand over my ball too long, if I look for my priceless ball forever and then add to that proper etiquette in filling in and repair my divots are not my actions defeating the goal of faster play?

I am a neatness nut and appreciate a clean tee box as well as anyone but these are competing goals. I prefer faster play and I prefer that an ambassador encourage faster play over picking up tees.

Now that I think about it faster play is non-existent on the executive courses so while I am waiting on the tee box for ten minutes I can both pick up tees, fill in divots and perhaps if they allow me mow the darn thing.:D