Impatient people on the course

[pbcgolfer]

Twice on Sunday I almost got hit by a moron who could simply not wait for me to get out of the fairway, he did not do it once but twice on the front 9. I was with my dad and he was relaxing on his day off, so I did not want to start a confrontation. This happened last time and I almost got into a fight. What do you guys do when someone like this is behind you, I mean if you ever got hit in the head it kill seriously injur you. I'm not looking to fight anyone, but after the first time, something should be said am i right?

[jdub123]

Play faster

[bekgolf]

Was the course stacked up? Were you keeping pace with the group in front? Were the holes blind? There is no excuse for purposely hitting into the group ahead but it does happen to groups who take too much time and hold up the course. The golf course is like a one lane road, if traffic is stacked up behind and there's nobody in front then pull over and let people pass.

If I was keeping pace with the group in front and someone was hitting into me (it's happened) I would let them know I have nowhere to go and ask that they stop hitting into me. That request usually fixes it. If that wasn't good enough for them I'd offer to let them play through. They will have nowhere to go and will not enjoy the rest of their round.

[webmstrk9]

if youre keeping up with the groups in front of you, i would consider contacting the marshal/clubhouse. If there is room for this single, from what it sounds like, let him play through.

[johndeere10]

Hit it back to him...

[Golfdog]

I think some of you guys are WAY off base. It doesn't matter if there are 17 holes open ahead, it is NEVER okay to hit into someone.

[TheCapedAvenger]

I think some of you guys are WAY off base. It doesn't matter if there are 17 holes open ahead, it is NEVER okay to hit into someone.

 

So you're that guy who doesn't let me play through. If you've got 17 holes open and I'm riding your arse, let me play through or buy a hardhat.

[webmstrk9]

I think some of you guys are WAY off base. It doesn't matter if there are 17 holes open ahead, it is NEVER okay to hit into someone.

 

So you're that guy who doesn't let me play through. If you've got 17 holes open and I'm riding your arse, let me play through or buy a hardhat.

 

A couple of things, the OP asked if he should have said something to the 'player' behind him, yes. Also, keep in mind, pace of play, if youre lagging behind the group in front of you, then let him play through.

 

As for hitting into a group KNOWING there is 17 open holes, that is still a no no. If the group doesnt let you play through, skip the hole and come back to it.

[wkuo3]

Since there are more golfers in this decade than ever before, we all need to know this situation could be either hazardous to your health or your wallet.

Simply, do unto others as you would like to be at the receiving end; a single following the twosomes ahead need to be a little more patient; hit several balls, do somthing else, since if the twosome ahead did not let you go through ( which you have less right if you have less numbers in your group).

For the twosomes followed by the single behind, if you're being pressed and no one else were ahead of you, LET THE SINGLE THROUGH, this way both of you would have a better time.

Should there be other groups ahead of you and it's senseless to let the single play through, either call the club house to have them extract the sigle off the golf course or have a stern look back at the single to deliver the message that you don't appreciate being hit into while the course is packed; and prey the single either has a lot in his bank account or has a great earning potential in his lifetime.

There are more fish in the tank now, and we all need to learn to live with each other and at the same time be more considerate to the others.

Learn to live with the others or you'l pay the price of not able to adapt to changing times.

Remember this is not a video game and you could cause great harm to others and could ended up paying for your mistake your whole life.

[pbcgolfer]

Me and my dad are very fast golfers, we can usually get 9 done under an hour and a half. But since we are in season here in florida, rates pretty much doubled (or even more) everywhere so we play later in the day now, because it's cheaper, and of course it's crowded. There was a twosome and two foursome's ahead of them so of course it was gonna be slow. I have golfed over 17 yrs. ( started at age 3), played all over Ohio til I was 13, then moved to florida and, it's definitely a part of course ettiquete (sp?) / rules that is overlooked the most to me. If you have a chance of "getting ahold of one", don't hit.

[starbuxinvestor]

Hitting it back is always the wrong thing to do. If you are going to complain it's dangerous to be hit into hitting it back is worse. All it proves is you are a jerk too.

[cdesana]

First of all a single has no rights on a course, they take the chance of playing through when they go to the first tee.

 

From what I get from your post is this.

 

You were a twosome playing behind a twosome and in front of a single, why in the heck were people not matched up by the pro shop?

 

All of this could have been avoided if the starter and pro shop knew what they were doing.

 

Last thing, I would have called the pro shop upon the the second ball coming close!

[g8a_golf]

tee it up and let HIM have it! I've done it before...

[bloodredsun]

Nope, just tee up his ball. It's the politest way of letting someone know that they hit into you and that you know they did it. One can be an accident and left alone, the second gets teed up and the next ones just get kicked into the rough or picked up depending on how confrontational you want to be. If you do pick it up and he storms over and asks for his ball, you just act surprised and say that you thought it was a lost ball as you couldn't believe that his ball would be anywhere near you bearing in mind how dangerous and rude it is to hit into someone.

 

From what you said, this guys sounds like an arse so don't rise to it but just make sure that he knows you aren't going to be bullied. If he had half a brain he would have approached you and asked to be let through. There's no excuse for hitting into someone in my book.

[skinny99]

If someone hits near me once thats an accident, but the second time is no accident and they will never see there ball again I wouldn't hit at them but there ball would get launched a long way away. If they hit at me again I would hit them with my Pw.

Todd

[krustyburger]

First of all a single has no rights on a course, they take the chance of playing through when they go to the first tee.

 

What rights would a twosome have in this situation that a single wouldn't?

 

I've seen this posted before about singles not having rights and it gives me fits. It just seems to be some arcane rule used at private clubs that has no real bearing at public courses.

[wkuo3]

Me and my dad are very fast golfers, we can usually get 9 done under an hour and a half. But since we are in season here in florida, rates pretty much doubled (or even more) everywhere so we play later in the day now, because it's cheaper, and of course it's crowded. There was a twosome and two foursome's ahead of them so of course it was gonna be slow. I have golfed over 17 yrs. ( started at age 3), played all over Ohio til I was 13, then moved to florida and, it's definitely a part of course ettiquete (sp?) / rules that is overlooked the most to me. If you have a chance of "getting ahold of one", don't hit.

 

You semed to be a seasoned golfer and konw the etiquette playing golf.

We have all sorts of golfers on the courses now and really, just look at the drivers on interstate highway; there is not much difference. Facts are, golf should be played under or around 3 1/2 hours, but that's in the past, today on a public course during the "rush" hours of early bird or twilight rate, you'll be expecting 4 1/2 to 5 hours of 18 holes.

 

If after trying to be friendly and / or you just want to be playing with your father alone, call the proshop and have someone to either come out to monitor his behavior or extract him off the golf course.

Don't get involved unless you're under direct threat, you'll never know what kind of person this guy is; I had seen on the TV News, a guy was knived to death some years ago on a golf course by another golfer over something similar.

Call the proshop and if they don't do anything to better their service and properly pairing the groups and not monitoring the twilight rate golfers, I would give them an unpleasant time when I get back to the proshop and will have a talk to the head pro.

[littlepingman]

I keep the first tee time at my course mainly to avoid situations such as this. My group likes to play fast and unimpeded, plus the greens are freshly cut with no footprints, etc. Its the best time to play if you can deal with a little morning dew and the cool air this time of year.

[Golfdog]

I think some of you guys are WAY off base. It doesn't matter if there are 17 holes open ahead, it is NEVER okay to hit into someone.

 

So you're that guy who doesn't let me play through.

 

I don't know how you can draw that conclusion from my post.

[Golfdog]

Nope, just tee up his ball. It's the politest way of letting someone know that they hit into you and that you know they did it.

 

This is a great way to handle it, IMO. I was once playing at a resort course with my wife. We breezed along for a few holes, then ran into some traffic. After a few holes of this, we got to a tee and saw the group in front of us already on the green (I recognized a guy in bright red pants). I hit my drive, and it disappeared in the fairway--there was a depression that wasn't really noticeable from the tee. When I got to my ball, it was sitting on a tee. No question I had hit into someone. It turns out there were guys wearing bright red pants in two consecutive groups. I drove up and apologized profusely. They were very nice about it. You can bet I didn't hit a ball within 200 yards of those guys the rest of the day!

[abefroeman]

First of all a single has no rights on a course

What!!!! a single paid just as much as each member of any foursome.

 

A single has every right to be out on the course, and should you let a single play through, they will be out of site by the next hole. So just let them though guys!

 

As a side note, I have not yet hit a ball back to the tee that was hit into me, but once I was chipping on a par 3 and a ball came very close to my head. I looked back at the tee and got the wave. I finished the hole calmly but just happened to step on the guys ball on the way to the next hole. When I looked back, I noticed that his pitch shot did not clear the bunker for some reason. Ahh the sweet smell of revenge.

[Ogre41]

I think the best idea is to just call the proshop as several others have said. It just doesn't seem worth dealing with the chance that someone could do something stupid and escalate the situation. After all, if they purposely hitting into you, they have already proven their lack of sense. I would rather not deal with people like that. I would let the course workers handle them.

[stage1350]

I'll give anyone the first as an "accident." Anything after that, the offender has to start using the embedded ball rule, as his ball is going to be stomped into the ground.

[RagingAardvark]

I play as a single pretty often. I also like to play fast. When I show up to the course, if it's even remotely a nice day and not first thing in the morning, I accept that it's not going to be a 3 hour round. Yes, I can play faster than the groups, but if it's group after group after group, do I really think I deserve to be let through by everyone ahead of me? No. If it's a quiet day or the group ahead of me is slow (and there's a gap), then yes, I'll ask to play through. Most people are pretty good about that around here.

 

The last time I went out as a single it was a pretty chilly day. Got to the course too late, so there were groups ahead of me (but none behind). From the first tee on, I just played two balls, as there was no point in me getting worked up about having to wait. I got two rounds in, didn't get worked up, and had a just fine time.

[bstevens2008]

There are way too many people and probably alot on this site, that seem to refuse to let others play through. The shear fact that you might have to wait 5 to 10 minutes for the group behind you, to hit their shot and and their next to get ahead is simple. The amount of golfers that are not aware of their surroundings is freaking amazing. And there is a good chance some of you are reading this, and are to self absorbed to realize that I am talking about you, that is the sad part.

[cdesana]

First of all a single has no rights on a course

What!!!! a single paid just as much as each member of any foursome.

 

A single has every right to be out on the course, and should you let a single play through, they will be out of site by the next hole. So just let them though guys!

 

As a side note, I have not yet hit a ball back to the tee that was hit into me, but once I was chipping on a par 3 and a ball came very close to my head. I looked back at the tee and got the wave. I finished the hole calmly but just happened to step on the guys ball on the way to the next hole. When I looked back, I noticed that his pitch shot did not clear the bunker for some reason. Ahh the sweet smell of revenge.

 

A singe has the right to use the course, but as far as prferred treatment in playing through not the case.

[dday]

I've often wondered what's the hurry? You're usually at a beautiful place to be on a nice afternoon, why do some golfers want to get it over with so fast? I don't mind the 5 hour rounds but I will let others go through it doesn't bother me. That being said I won't tolerate people hitting into me but you can't be too careful of some of the jokers on the courses these days.

 

Subtle solutions are:

 

Pick their ball up, run it over with your cart, I like the tee it up idea or call the pro shop (which is the safest way).

 

Be smart be safe, no one should ever be seriously injured in this game.

[krustyburger]

First of all a single has no rights on a course

What!!!! a single paid just as much as each member of any foursome.

 

A single has every right to be out on the course, and should you let a single play through, they will be out of site by the next hole. So just let them though guys!

 

As a side note, I have not yet hit a ball back to the tee that was hit into me, but once I was chipping on a par 3 and a ball came very close to my head. I looked back at the tee and got the wave. I finished the hole calmly but just happened to step on the guys ball on the way to the next hole. When I looked back, I noticed that his pitch shot did not clear the bunker for some reason. Ahh the sweet smell of revenge.

 

A singe has the right to use the course, but as far as prferred treatment in playing through not the case.

I've had discussions about the "rights" of singles on other threads, and I have yet to have someone tell me exactly what rights a single gives up. What difference does it make who has some perceived preference to play through when it is entirely up to the group in front to decide if they want to let someone play through or not?

 

You may have some rule at your private club that says to let certain groups play through or else there may be ramifications, but it just doesn't apply to public courses, and probably doesn't apply at all private courses. It certainly doesn't apply to the original poster's situation.

[titleistpro2]

singles have absolutely no rights on a golf course. this is a long standing rule / guideline of golf courses.

 

if you go out as a single, rest assured that the clubhouse / marshall will not assist you regarding pace of play. you are up to the mercy of the groups in front of you to let you play through, and if they don't, they have that right.

 

that said, even though a group may have that right, it would be absurdly rude of them to utilize it, assuming the course in front of them is open. But, if you are a single, don't expect to show up at a course at 10 am and play through 14 groups.

 

technically, singles have no rights. But you hope people abide by the spirit of the law and not the letter of it.

[Golfdog]

singles have absolutely no rights on a golf course. this is a long standing rule / guideline of golf courses.

 

if you go out as a single, rest assured that the clubhouse / marshall will not assist you regarding pace of play. you are up to the mercy of the groups in front of you to let you play through, and if they don't, they have that right.

 

that said, even though a group may have that right, it would be absurdly rude of them to utilize it, assuming the course in front of them is open. But, if you are a single, don't expect to show up at a course at 10 am and play through 14 groups.

 

technically, singles have no rights. But you hope people abide by the spirit of the law and not the letter of it.

 

That's not a rule, it was an etiquette guideline that the USGA dropped a long time ago.