There is a most likely apocryphal story I heard years ago. Jack Nicklaus wouldn’t let his kids move back a tee until they could break par. For the last couple of years during the “offseason,” I have been doing the challenge myself. Last year, I only got past the White tees on the North Course at Whitmoor. I shot 1-under from the Black tees (tips), but never did from the Blue. On the South, I didn’t finish anything past the Gold tees.

This year I am going for it again.

I’m off to a decent start as in the first round of the year at Whitmoor I finished 1-under from the Red tees on the North Course. That is obviously not overly impressive, but it did come down to the wire. I drove the green on the first and made an easy birdie, and I thought this was going to be a piece of cake. I didn’t make things easy on myself by blading a wedge into the water on the second hole and making double.

The rest of the round was about how you would expect it to go. I racked up two more birdies down the stretch of the front to finish 1-under. A badly struck 60-degree on the par 5 14th left me on the wrong tier and I made an unfortunate 3-putt bogey. I got it back on the next hole and nearly drove the green on the 17th with a high cut 3-wood, but settled comfortably 2-under heading to the 18th.

It should have been a cruise to the finish. Even from the tips, it is less than driver to a decent landing area and at most a gap wedge in. However, my nerves and overaggressiveness got the best of me and my hands refused to let me overcook a draw and instead hit a block slice that ran out into the bunker at the end of the fairway. I fatted the bunker shot that left me with 60 yards into one of the tougher pins at the front of the green with everything running away. I tried to cut across a 60-degree and pulled it left of the pin on the collar. OK, 2 putts to win. I overestimated how much the fringe would kill it and sent the ball down the slope behind the pin and left myself 10 feet back up the hill to save bogey. Thankfully, I clutched up to avoid disaster.

This is a great challenge because it gives you something different to play for while giving you an entirely different look at a course you play all the time. You are in spots on holes and have clubs in your hands that you never have when you play the tee you are expected to play all the time. It also makes you dial in your aggressiveness. Do you really have a better shot at birdie trying to hit up by the green with driver or from 100 yards out in the fairway after an easy iron? I find when you are trying to drive a green it really makes you pick a target and commit instead of just wailing on driver and trying to hit it anywhere in the fairway.

I highly recommend this challenge to anyone who has flatlined in their development or is just getting bored playing the same old course all the time.

One warning if you are going to take this on: you might get a few weird looks or questions teeing it forward, especially the red tees. Most people are intrigued more than anything. Just be respectful. If you’re not careful, you can hit into the back of people because you are not used to being in certain spots or waiting for targets to clear.

Next up is the Red tees on South on Tuesday. Fingers crossed, I’ll be on to the Golds 10 days into the year.