I think Paueett and myself were pretty much on the same page and I was not dismissing him in any way - just curious about how much apparel may or may not be playing a slight role, which he sought to sort out with more testing.
AnaNikolaj:Although I have no idea why one would do it, apart from entertaining themselves, cause it's a total disadvantage in competitive terms.
As you know - even top players are forced up on tees during showdowns - and while there are some shots from the back tees, which should be tougher actually become easier when played on back tees because forward tees can have more tree hazards in play. I know that was the case when I first started testing this myself after catching Lizard69's video years ago.
Now - it can largely be dependent on what holes are selected for a showdown, sometimes you may not see any holes where such a shot would be necessary at all - but there are holes if they do show up and are in play - can give a player a competitive edge in the sense that it could save them a random shot if their ball inadvertently catches a tree - when it normally would not do so. A top tier player in rookie may still win or finish well after hitting a tree - but in veteran division that can be just as competitive as expert to a degree - if you absorb one bogey or lost ball - it can effect your countback score on tie breaker and significantly drop you back a number of positions so it could easily be the difference between earning multiple balls and winning credits back or just earning 1 ball further down the standings.
Something else to consider - I have tested shots on forward tees to find out when trees may be in play or not - and sometimes you get into a coin room and suddenly the trees knock down a ball that you had just tested to make sure you could clear - is that randomized gaming algorithms - bad luck - or what - but the thing is IF you can use another shot type - that completely takes the trees out of play - then you are certain to avoid being forced to try and save par or card a bogey if you lost a ball - in a showdown type of event - every single stroke matters especially with count back for ties - so as I see it - if you do happen to draw a situation where this type of shot can save you an inadvertent tree and lost shot - then it does help and in a way offer a competitive advantage if only from a course management standpoint.