In Larry Gilhuly’s opinion, the three biggest issues facing the game of golf are pace of play, player enjoyment and economic sustainability. Larry believes he has the solution for all three: “The answer for all of these, in my opinion, are properly placed forward tees.”
This week our host Colin Weston speaks with Larry Gilhuly, who is an Agronomist with The United States Golf Association and a passionate advocate of the TEE IT FORWARD program.


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TEE IT FORWARD is a joint initiative between the USGA and The PGA of America that encourages players to play from a set of tees best suited to their driving distance. In addition to providing more enjoyment for golfers, teeing it forward also can be one of the most important steps that golfers take in improving pace of play.
A recent survey of TEE IT FORWARD participants found that:
56% played faster
56% are likely to play golf more often
83% hit more-lofted clubs into greens
85% had more fun
93% will TEE IT FORWARD again
New forward tees allow more golfers to play from a yardage that is appropriate for their swing speed and ability. They also help new players take up the game.
For much of his 35-year career with the United States Golf Association, Gilhuly was all about agronomy. His formal title with the USGA is Agronomist, West Region. In other words, Gilhuly is an expert on growing grass. But in recent years, Gilhuly has become passionate - very passionate - about teeing it forward. And by forward, he means way forward. “This topic that I am talking about has got me fired up,” Gilhuly told us. It was hard not to buy his argument. Gilhuly came armed with data to back up his claim that courses are too hard, even from the current forward tees, for average female golfers and senior players.
As we age, our swing speeds decline and so does the distance we hit the ball. The average female player, Gilhuly said, has a swing speed of about 60 miles per hour. She averages about 140 yards with her driver, 120 yards with her 3-wood and about 60 yards with her wedge. That makes it impossible for that player to hit greens in regulation on the vast majority of holes from the current forward tees at most courses. “There are a lot of golfers, males, who can reach the green in regulation with a lot of different clubs, but not the women,” Gilhuly said.
This isn’t a new problem. Gilhuly described an article headlined, “Women Handicapped By Men’s Courses.” It was written in 1917 by Alexa Stirling, a past U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion. “This has been a problem for a lot longer than I think we all realize,” he said.
U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion Alexa Stirling, Circa 1919
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Over 100 Years Ago Stirling concluded that golf courses were set up for men to the detriment of female golfers. Thankfully, golf course operators are slowly starting to get it. Gilhuly and other 'Tee it Forward' proponents have been able to convince them that in order to set up a course so it presents an equal challenge to that faced by more accomplished players playing from the regular or back tees, the forward tees need to be moved forward, on average, about 1,000 yards.
“Properly placed forward tees give all players a good experience,” Gilhuly said. “Think about it, if you started a business from scratch and wanted to be successful, would you say 'let’s make sure in our model here that half of the population tries it once and quits.' I don’t think that is what you do. You try and encompass everybody. This is not just for female players. It is for everybody.”
From most current forward tees, which average in the neighbourhood of 5,200 yards, players with slower swing speeds have no chance of hitting greens in regulation on