DEAR MOLLY: I changed tees mid-round. Can I still post?

Written by Aaron Kellough | February 13, 2025

Dear Molly: On vacation in Arizona I played a course that was new to me, and after the first five holes it became clear that I had teed it up a little farther back than I should have and so I moved up a set of tees. Is there any way that I can post that round?

Golf clap here for your wisdom! Golf is supposed to be fun. When you’re hitting driver, fairway wood, hybrid just to reach the green on a par-4, that sounds more like agony than fun. Playing too far back creates an even bigger margin for error than golf inherently contains, not to mention wearing yourself out so you may not be able to even lift your glass at the 19^th hole!

So you showed your smarts by moving up for the last 13 holes and your integrity by still intending to post. And, with a little help from the calculator on your phone and the charts found below and on the Rules of Handicapping website, yes, indeed, you can post.

Here, with notes on your particular situation, are the steps to follow, courtesy of the CGA’s guru on course ratings and handicapping, Aaron Guereca. Feel free to use these any time for your recreational rounds, even to create your own personal combo tees at a favorite course.

Total the yardage from the tees you played. So in your case, holes 1-5 from the longer tees and 6-18 from the shorter set. Sometimes there’s a shortcut calculation. For instance, you could just figure out how many extra yards you played those first five holes. In cases where you played less than 100 yards shorter or longer, you can skip the rest of the steps and just go ahead and post as usual.

If the total difference is 100 yards or more, determine the closest set of rated tees (in your case, the shorter of the two sets of tees) and calculate the difference in yardage between the two.

Head to Appendix G of the Rules of Handicapping and determine, based on gender and the calculated difference, which row needs to be used to adjust the ratings. For example, let’s say the 18 holes you played were 250 yards longer than playing the shorter tees for 18 holes. Using that chart, also shown below, a man would add 1.1 to the tee rating and 3 to the tee slope; a woman would add 1.4 to the rating and 3 to the slope.

Now you can select Post Score in GHIN, scrolling down to the bottom where it says Manually Post Total Score. For Course, put “(Course Name) Custom” so your post doesn’t get spit back, then input the Course Rating you just calculated and the Slope you calculated. Input your adjusted front nine, back nine and total scores, and you’re done.

Simple enough, yes? Next time you vacation outside Colorado, I suggest you eye the scorecard with leniency in mind before you select your tee. Unlike your home course, you don’t know every bounce and break here. If the elevation isn’t at least a mile or the weather isn’t mild and dry, you’re probably sacrificing distance. And, you’re there to have fun, not win the weekly sweeps. So be kind to yourself and do as the golf powers-that-be recommend: Tee it Forward.

Do you have a question about golf etiquette, golf relationships or the culture of golf in Colorado? Email it to Molly McMulligan, the CGA’s on-the-course advisor on how to have more fun on the golf course. Her creator, researcher and writer is golf journalist and CGA member Susan Fornoff.