Skipping holes as a single

[Argonne69]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

A faster group shouldn't have to ask. Etiquette requires a slower group to allow the faster group to play through. The OP followed these nitwits around for 7 holes. If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

[Argonne69]

The group should have let you play through. I don’t really condone skipping holes without checking with the group ahead of you as you don’t know what the pro shop has going on at the time. We had one particular gentleman that to put it nicely was a bit of a nuisance with our shop. He always played by himself and would randomly skip holes at his convienence even if it meant jumping directly in front of another group that was playing ahead of pace. He would often come in and complain about pace of play and try getting a rain check. We had one particular Saturday morning that he had booked a tee time for a foursome but only came out by himself and we didn’t have another group to pair him with. I personally told him that we had a shotgun outing going out after the tee times and he needed to play the back nine first and he couldn’t skip around today because he wouldn’t be able to finish the holes he skipped because of the outing. Well he ended up playing two holes on the back nine and jumped to the front nine because there was no one there. Well guess what? He cane around to try to finish the back nine and we had two groups on every hole for a shotgun start and he threw a fit and wanted his money back.

 

I understand that this is a very particular situation but I’ve seen it more than once in our shop. Someone will skip holes without asking and then get out of position and won’t be able to finish their round. It would just be so much nicer if slower groups would have the common curtesy to let others play through.

 

I do believe that there is a big difference between skipping a hole to bypass a slower group that refuses to acknowledge the faster group waiting behind them, and randomly jumping around.

[ecrugger]

I like skipping holes. I usually post my best scores that way.

[Ferguson]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

A faster group shouldn't have to ask. Etiquette requires a slower group to allow the faster group to play through. The OP followed these nitwits around for 7 holes. If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

 

 

I would also like to state there is no difference between skipping and playing through. Both require some sort of exchange between parties - either verbally or the big hand wave.

 

 

Re: If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

Before we try to guess what answer he would have received, maybe we should ask why would anyone wait 7 holes to play through/ skip?

[mackepa]

The group should have let you play through. I don’t really condone skipping holes without checking with the group ahead of you as you don’t know what the pro shop has going on at the time. We had one particular gentleman that to put it nicely was a bit of a nuisance with our shop. He always played by himself and would randomly skip holes at his convienence even if it meant jumping directly in front of another group that was playing ahead of pace. He would often come in and complain about pace of play and try getting a rain check. We had one particular Saturday morning that he had booked a tee time for a foursome but only came out by himself and we didn’t have another group to pair him with. I personally told him that we had a shotgun outing going out after the tee times and he needed to play the back nine first and he couldn’t skip around today because he wouldn’t be able to finish the holes he skipped because of the outing. Well he ended up playing two holes on the back nine and jumped to the front nine because there was no one there. Well guess what? He cane around to try to finish the back nine and we had two groups on every hole for a shotgun start and he threw a fit and wanted his money back.

 

I understand that this is a very particular situation but I’ve seen it more than once in our shop. Someone will skip holes without asking and then get out of position and won’t be able to finish their round. It would just be so much nicer if slower groups would have the common curtesy to let others play through.

 

I do believe that there is a big difference between skipping a hole to bypass a slower group that refuses to acknowledge the faster group waiting behind them, and randomly jumping around.

 

I agree and that’s why I said that it’s a different situation but it still has merit. What happens when you try skipping in front of a slow group and you find that the next two holes are also full? It’s likely that when you drive back to your original hole the gap has now closed and now you don’t have a hole to play on.

 

I’m not trying to be a jerk or troll. All I’m saying is it would be more beneficial to have the slower group learn some manners and let you play through or get the pro shop politely involved. I want everyone to have fun at my facility.

[moadhia]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

A faster group shouldn't have to ask. Etiquette requires a slower group to allow the faster group to play through. The OP followed these nitwits around for 7 holes. If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

 

 

I would also like to state there is no difference between skipping and playing through. Both require some sort of exchange between parties - either verbally or the big hand wave.

 

 

Re: If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

Before we try to guess what answer he would have received, maybe we should ask why would anyone wait 7 holes to play through/ skip?

 

Waited 7 holes to give them a chance to allow me to play through. I think that's ample opportunity. We went through two par3s which i find is usually an ideal opportunity to allow a faster group to pass through.

 

I would have asked to play through but all evidence points to the fact that they didn't want to do that so I decided to skip a hole.

 

 

 

 

[Ferguson]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

A faster group shouldn't have to ask. Etiquette requires a slower group to allow the faster group to play through. The OP followed these nitwits around for 7 holes. If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

 

 

I would also like to state there is no difference between skipping and playing through. Both require some sort of exchange between parties - either verbally or the big hand wave.

 

 

Re: If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

Before we try to guess what answer he would have received, maybe we should ask why would anyone wait 7 holes to play through/ skip?

 

Waited 7 holes to give them a chance to allow me to play through. I think that's ample opportunity. We went through two par3s which i find is usually an ideal opportunity to allow a faster group to pass through.

 

I would have asked to play through but all evidence points to the fact that they didn't want to do that so I decided to skip a hole.

 

 

Evidence? This is not "A Few Good Men." It's golf.

 

Why must a par-3 be the play through hole? You wait until they are walking off a green of any hole, and you politely ask if you can play through on the next hole.

 

They hit and wait in the F/W, you finish the hole you're on, go tee off and play through while they are in the fairway. You then thank them when you're hitting your second shot (assuming it's not a par-3).

 

Sounds to me like you're afraid to play through? Don't be. They are only people.

 

My point, if you let 7 holes go by and don't say anything - they probably assumed you didn't mind waiting. Then when you jumped ahead without a wave or a friendly gesture, they took offense to it.

[third-times-a-charm]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

A faster group shouldn't have to ask. Etiquette requires a slower group to allow the faster group to play through. The OP followed these nitwits around for 7 holes. If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

 

Some groups/people dont know this 'rule'. They may be nice people and playing to a 'standard' 5 hour round, and when someone comes behind them who wants a 4 hour round, they shouldn't automatically know what to do - especially these days when people rarely talk to strangers they dont know, even on a golf course.

 

Hell, I didnt even know walking in front of someones ball on a putting green was a super serious thing until my 4-5th year playing golf. There's so many rules and 'expected' behaviors in golf that you need to give the benefit more often than not.

[sailfishchris]

Ha! My experience this weekend was I was second off behind a foursome With the rain that was forecast the other 3 players in my group no showed. (It wound up not raining) No one else on around. Starter sent me out as a single. Played first hole -caught the group on second hole. On 3rd tee -I watch 3 of the 4 tee off. As they are hopping into carts one of the group says-" I hope you brought a book!" Next hole was a par 3. I walked the edge of the fairway as they played 3rd. Guy asked what I was doing I said, "I didn't bring a book!" played the par 3 before they putted out . I was on 16 green before they got to the 10th tee box. I finished in under 3 hours. They probably finished 90 minutes behind me.

[Argonne69]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

A faster group shouldn't have to ask. Etiquette requires a slower group to allow the faster group to play through. The OP followed these nitwits around for 7 holes. If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

 

Some groups/people dont know this 'rule'. They may be nice people and playing to a 'standard' 5 hour round, and when someone comes behind them who wants a 4 hour round, they shouldn't automatically know what to do - especially these days when people rarely talk to strangers they dont know, even on a golf course.

 

Hell, I didnt even know walking in front of someones ball on a putting green was a super serious thing until my 4-5th year playing golf. There's so many rules and 'expected' behaviors in golf that you need to give the benefit more often than not.

 

Perhaps the U.S. should follow the U.K. model and require one to take a class on rules and etiquette before being allowed on a course.

[Argonne69]

So standing in the fairway with one's hands on one's hips isn't an indication that the player wants to play through?

 

If I'm in a group, and there's a group on our tail, I'm always going to ask them if they want to play through. If they want to follow, that's fine. I don't wait for them to ask.

[Skaffa77]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

A faster group shouldn't have to ask. Etiquette requires a slower group to allow the faster group to play through. The OP followed these nitwits around for 7 holes. If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

 

Some groups/people dont know this 'rule'. They may be nice people and playing to a 'standard' 5 hour round, and when someone comes behind them who wants a 4 hour round, they shouldn't automatically know what to do - especially these days when people rarely talk to strangers they dont know, even on a golf course.

 

Hell, I didnt even know walking in front of someones ball on a putting green was a super serious thing until my 4-5th year playing golf. There's so many rules and 'expected' behaviors in golf that you need to give the benefit more often than not.

 

Perhaps the U.S. should follow the U.K. model and require one to take a class on rules and etiquette before being allowed on a course.

 

We (U.S.) have enough issues with people understanding and using general etiquette standards...

[Skaffa77]

So standing in the fairway with one's hands on one's hips isn't an indication that the player wants to play through?

 

If I'm in a group, and there's a group on our tail, I'm always going to ask them if they want to play through. If they want to follow, that's fine. I don't wait for them to ask.

 

Agreed! Yesterday evening, I played twilight and walked 14 holes in about 2 to 2.5 hours. I started off slow...played behind a husband/wife combo in a cart that were a little on the slow side. For 5 holes, they kept looking back and realizing I was playing fairly decent golf at a good pace. I kind of felt bad as I could tell they felt rushed, but I was trying to walk slow and not push them. Finally on the 6th hole, they waived to let me hit onto the par 3 while they were searching for their balls. After finishing, I decided to get a few more holes in with maybe 30-40 minutes of daylight left. I caught up to a foursome 2 holes in and decided to skip a few holes (without holding anyone up), to finish up the round.

 

I think it's all a matter of judgement...personally, given the timing of the day, I don't think the last foursome would have wanted me on their tail nor do I think they would have waived me through.

[QuigleyDU]

if you are going to skip, do it on a par three. i feel that is where you can get away the easiest and not hold anyone up, and never skip to a par three.

[Neverfadeaway86]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

I had a threesome once that wouldn't allow my daughter to play through at a private club. I was driving and she was playing. There was no one in front of them. As we drove by I smiled and waved. One of the guys threw an F bomb as well as other obscenities at us as we drove by. I calmly turned my cart around and drove back to confront them. No one was going to use that language in front of my daughter. I grabbed the driver out of his hand with my left hand while grabbing his throat with my right hand and pushed him up against his cart. Told him if he ever talked that way around my daughter again I would beat his $%^$. His buddies were in awe. I then drove to the pro shop to tell the pro what happened. The guy was fined by the club and eventually left. Apparently, he had done these things before and the club has a policy to let smaller groups or faster groups through. I don't think I have ever been that hot in my life.

 

Bottom line, people not letting others play through or to skip a hole are more in the wrong.

 

 

I am hoping this post is mostly in Jest, as it is hard to read sarcasm but if not how is it better to choke someone in front of your kid opposed to them hearing someone shout obscene words ?

[Argonne69]

if you are going to skip, do it on a par three. i feel that is where you can get away the easiest and not hold anyone up, and never skip to a par three.

 

If a single is skipping the current hole, and heading to the next teebox while the foursome ahead is walking on to the green, then any hole is as good as the next. I'll be hitting my 2nd shot from the fairway before they even walk off the green. Actually, I think a par 4 or 5 would be faster, as the next shot doesn't require reading a green, and likely two putting.

[Neverfadeaway86]

I would say I play as a single about 75 % of the rounds I play. I usually am not in a hurry so even when asked to play through I at times will say no thanks and let them know I am not in a hurry. If I keep catching up I just turn it into a practice round and play a few balls each hole and work on my short game. I have always found that when I do play through I usually feel rushed and have 2 crappy holes to get out ahead of the group

[QuigleyDU]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

I had a threesome once that wouldn't allow my daughter to play through at a private club. I was driving and she was playing. There was no one in front of them. As we drove by I smiled and waved. One of the guys threw an F bomb as well as other obscenities at us as we drove by. I calmly turned my cart around and drove back to confront them. No one was going to use that language in front of my daughter. I grabbed the driver out of his hand with my left hand while grabbing his throat with my right hand and pushed him up against his cart. Told him if he ever talked that way around my daughter again I would beat his $%^$. His buddies were in awe. I then drove to the pro shop to tell the pro what happened. The guy was fined by the club and eventually left. Apparently, he had done these things before and the club has a policy to let smaller groups or faster groups through. I don't think I have ever been that hot in my life.

 

Bottom line, people not letting others play through or to skip a hole are more in the wrong.

 

 

I am hoping this post is mostly in Jest, as it is hard to read sarcasm but if not how is it better to choke someone in front of your kid opposed to them hearing someone shout obscene words ?

 

agreed. little bit of an over reaction. It is probably nothing your daughter (depending on age) has not heard or even said, or will hear or say in the future.

[daegyu]

I played as a single last week. The group in front of me was a foursome. They were moving along pretty well but of course me playing alone, I was right behind them on every hole. Frustrated at not being allowed to play through ( I never asked them to let me) I skipped a hole and went past them around hole 7. One of the guys from the foursome comes up to me on the next tee and starts yelling that I can't jump in front of them without asking. I told him I skipped a hole for which I don't need permission from them. In the past , people always let me play through as a single. This was a very weird encounter.

 

What do you guys do if you are playing as a single behind a group that doesn't let you play through ?

 

Same thing you did. You don’t ask to skip a hole, you should be asked to play through.

 

If not you skip a hole and your the only one that is inconvenienced.

 

If you end up being upset about it, seems kind of passive-aggressive to me. Why not just take the chance and ask? Maybe they don't know what the proper etiquette is in that situation. Worst case scenario you're stuck doing what you're doing anyway.

[Barfolomew]

My golf bro and I jump all over the course when we hit the famed dreaded hole 7 that often has 2-3 groups waiting on it cause very elevated and takes while to drive down etc......we play fast (both scratch) and know our home course too well but we will not jump in if we will slow down another group..... we will skip a driver shot and ride up and drop in fairway so that we fit in better if necessary. Best of both worlds cause we get to play fast yet we dont get in anyones way and often jump back to 1 if later in the day

[Mikey5e]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

Ok, "Mr. Etiquette"!

[Chip32]

You'd think me or any other single riding a 4 somes a** (within reason of course) for 3-4 holes is implicit enough that I don't have to verbally ask - it's ridiculously obvious unless you're brain damaged ( or an insufferable D Bag)

 

Pretty poor etiquette to not have some simple awareness and let a single thru

[scottjbaker]

I play as a single a lot. I will skip holes come back and play them latter. That has not happened to me. I think I would say sorry and drive

off not giving him a opportunity to rant. Like some people have said some people are jerks.

Scott

[heavy_hitter]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

I had a threesome once that wouldn't allow my daughter to play through at a private club. I was driving and she was playing. There was no one in front of them. As we drove by I smiled and waved. One of the guys threw an F bomb as well as other obscenities at us as we drove by. I calmly turned my cart around and drove back to confront them. No one was going to use that language in front of my daughter. I grabbed the driver out of his hand with my left hand while grabbing his throat with my right hand and pushed him up against his cart. Told him if he ever talked that way around my daughter again I would beat his $%^$. His buddies were in awe. I then drove to the pro shop to tell the pro what happened. The guy was fined by the club and eventually left. Apparently, he had done these things before and the club has a policy to let smaller groups or faster groups through. I don't think I have ever been that hot in my life.

 

Bottom line, people not letting others play through or to skip a hole are more in the wrong.

 

 

I am hoping this post is mostly in Jest, as it is hard to read sarcasm but if not how is it better to choke someone in front of your kid opposed to them hearing someone shout obscene words ?

 

Not in jest at all. There are things you don't do and when someone crosses the line there are consequences. This is one of the biggest problems in the world today is that kids don't understand that there are consequences when they do something wrong. I explained to my daughter why I did what I did. Men don't stand up for woman anymore. If it happened again, I would do the same thing again. I am the guy in public when I hear someone cursing around woman and children that tell them they need to watch their language. People are too afraid to stand up for themselves anymore and why?

 

Back to the topic.

 

The people that are in the wrong are the ones that don't let people by or pass through. Don't care how you look at it. They are being rude and not showing gentlemanly behaviors. If they get upset one of two things is happening. 1) They realized they are slow and are upset. 2) They realized they are a horrible golfer and upset.

[QuigleyDU]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping. "Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day." But maybe that's too much to ask. No wonder you guys play alone.

A faster group shouldn't have to ask. Etiquette requires a slower group to allow the faster group to play through. The OP followed these nitwits around for 7 holes. If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received?

I would also like to state there is no difference between skipping and playing through. Both require some sort of exchange between parties - either verbally or the big hand wave. Re: If he had asked, what answer do you think he would have received? Before we try to guess what answer he would have received, maybe we should ask why would anyone wait 7 holes to play through/ skip?

Waited 7 holes to give them a chance to allow me to play through. I think that's ample opportunity. We went through two par3s which i find is usually an ideal opportunity to allow a faster group to pass through. I would have asked to play through but all evidence points to the fact that they didn't want to do that so I decided to skip a hole.

Evidence? This is not "A Few Good Men." It's golf. Why must a par-3 be the play through hole? You wait until they are walking off a green of any hole, and you politely ask if you can play through on the next hole. They hit and wait in the F/W, you finish the hole you're on, go tee off and play through while they are in the fairway. You then thank them when you're hitting your second shot (assuming it's not a par-3). Sounds to me like you're afraid to play through? Don't be. They are only people. My point, if you let 7 holes go by and don't say anything - they probably assumed you didn't mind waiting. Then when you jumped ahead without a wave or a friendly gesture, they took offense to it.

 

i find par these are easily the holes the get bogged down and really take the longest to play. There are a lot of par threes were players take the same number of strokes as a par four. that, combined with the short travel distance means that if you move on right after they tee off. you are probably going to tee off on the next hole that for 99% of course is a a longer hole. you can tee off, and hit from the fairway before the finish the par three. i just generally find it the easiest place to skip a hole and move on without disruption. Not a hard fast rule.

 

I am also in the camp that i dont feel i need permission to move on and skip a hole. i will ALWAYS politely wave as i move on though.

[Ferguson]

I would be willing to bet had the OP been able to text the group in front he would have...........but to engage a fellow human being with a verbal conversation or a polite request - that's OUTRAGEOUS, and way too much to ask apparently!

 

I love tech and my smart phone, but I understand the value of a direct conversation with people, too. This incident is a microcosm for a serious communication problem in this country. Human Dialogue is a dying thing.

[wrmiller]

Dialogue is a dying thing.

 

Many younger folks I meet nowadays couldn't even spell that. Including my daughter. :D

 

Probably a discussion for a different thread though. ;)

[HatsForBats]

Does anyone else imagine an image of Walter the errrr 'puppet' from the Jeff Dunham specials when reading some of Ferguson's posts?

 

...Get off my lawn.

[Ferguson]

"Santiago was substandard marine...................."

[DrCRHop]

The polite thing to do is advise the group in front (not necessarily ask) that you are skipping.

 

"Hey guys, I'm just going to skip around and jump ahead - have a great day."

 

But maybe that's too much to ask.

 

 

No wonder you guys play alone.

 

I had a threesome once that wouldn't allow my daughter to play through at a private club. I was driving and she was playing. There was no one in front of them. As we drove by I smiled and waved. One of the guys threw an F bomb as well as other obscenities at us as we drove by. I calmly turned my cart around and drove back to confront them. No one was going to use that language in front of my daughter. I grabbed the driver out of his hand with my left hand while grabbing his throat with my right hand and pushed him up against his cart. Told him if he ever talked that way around my daughter again I would beat his $%^$. His buddies were in awe. I then drove to the pro shop to tell the pro what happened. The guy was fined by the club and eventually left. Apparently, he had done these things before and the club has a policy to let smaller groups or faster groups through. I don't think I have ever been that hot in my life.

 

Bottom line, people not letting others play through or to skip a hole are more in the wrong.

 

 

I am hoping this post is mostly in Jest, as it is hard to read sarcasm but if not how is it better to choke someone in front of your kid opposed to them hearing someone shout obscene words ?

 

Not in jest at all. There are things you don't do and when someone crosses the line there are consequences. This is one of the biggest problems in the world today is that kids don't understand that there are consequences when they do something wrong. I explained to my daughter why I did what I did. Men don't stand up for woman anymore. If it happened again, I would do the same thing again. I am the guy in public when I hear someone cursing around woman and children that tell them they need to watch their language. People are too afraid to stand up for themselves anymore and why?

 

Back to the topic.

 

The people that are in the wrong are the ones that don't let people by or pass through. Don't care how you look at it. They are being rude and not showing gentlemanly behaviors. If they get upset one of two things is happening. 1) They realized they are slow and are upset. 2) They realized they are a horrible golfer and upset.

 

So physical violence is justified simply by hearing a bad word? You may want to re-think who did something wrong in this scenario (hint - it may be you).