At the turn

[Thereisnospoon]

What's the etiquette for a group ahead of you at the turn?

 

I finished 9....walk up to 10.  I don't see anyone on the tee.  I had no idea where the group in front went so I assumed the tee as a single .

 

As I wait for the fairway to clear.  A guy drives up to the tee and says "so your just gonna jump in front of us?"

 

Mind you I was on the tee for 5 minutes ....nobody around anywhere....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nsxguy]

7 minutes ago, Thereisnospoon said:

What's the etiquette for a group ahead of you at the turn?

 

I finished 9....walk up to 10.  I don't see anyone on the tee.  I had no idea where the group in front went so I assumed the tee as a single .

 

As I wait for the fairway to clear.  A guy drives up to the tee and says "so your just gonna jump in front of us?"

 

Mind you I was on the tee for 5 minutes ....nobody around anywhere....

 

 

 

Forgetting for the moment you seem to have contradicted yourself, if you just finished 9 and were entitled to just go to 10, why is it the guy who confronted you didn't know you were already in front of them ?

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by nsxguy

[Thereisnospoon]

There was a group in front of me.

 

On the 9th hole the approach is 50 feet below the green ...as they cleared.  I played the hole.. finished moved on.  From my vantage I had no idea if they left ...played 9 or.  Went to the grill. 

 

 

I also was alway 150 yards away so I didn't know their carts.  There were a dozen carts at a pro shop 200 feet away and at least 12 minutes passed while I played my shot.   Walked up a hill putted walked 100 yards to a tee.

 

 

 

 

 

[rogolf]

Imo, if they went to the clubhouse and left the 1oth tee open with the fairway open,you're free to carry on in front of them.  They left the queue - didn't "buy" a place on the golf course.

[Thereisnospoon]

When I was accused,  I simply told the guy that I had no idea where they went as I was 50 feet below the hole, the clubhouse and had no idea if they were going after 9.  Etc.  They were also drinking heavily.   The guy wouldn't listen.  Kept accusing me of jumping them 

[Thereisnospoon]

Sounds right to me. 

 

 

[Thereisnospoon]

I told him that if he had just been polite and said excuse me sir, I would have gladly said take the tee.   I just teed off and ignore his ranting...

[Mr. Bean]

2 hours ago, rogolf said:

Imo, if they went to the clubhouse and left the 1oth tee open with the fairway open,you're free to carry on in front of them.  They left the queue - didn't "buy" a place on the golf course.

 

At my club it is customary to take a short break at the turn, especially if you cannot tee off from the 10 due to the group in front of you. Leaving the scene to take that break does not mean you lose your place in the queue. It is also customary to know by looks who are in the group in front of you (and behind) so you do know where you "belong" in the queue. Once you arrive at the turn and see an unrecognized group teeing off at the 10th or playing that hole you may assume that the group in front of you is taking a break. Should you wish to play through it is up to you to find that group and ask for permission. Stepping in is somewhat rude and not recommended.

 

Should the entire 10th hole be free I would be very tempted to tee off and most likely would as taking a break does not mean undue delay but keeping the queue unbroken. But if I need to wait to tee off then I would wait until the entire hole is free or the group in front of me came to take its place.

 

Then again, at my club taking a break has been made very handy as there is a halfway house very close to both of the 10th tees (we have two courses) and you can see both tees from the house (tees are less than 70 meters apart).

 

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by Mr. Bean

[Mr. Bean]

2 hours ago, Thereisnospoon said:

What's the etiquette for a group ahead of you at the turn?

 

I finished 9....walk up to 10.  I don't see anyone on the tee.  I had no idea where the group in front went so I assumed the tee as a single .

 

As I wait for the fairway to clear.  A guy drives up to the tee and says "so your just gonna jump in front of us?"

 

Mind you I was on the tee for 5 minutes ....nobody around anywhere....

 

So were you waiting for the fairway to clear out ? If so, it seems the group you are referring to realized they cannot tee off so they decided to take a quick break. They could have been more polite in asking, though, but it seems to be they had not given you the permission to play through nor had you asked for it.

 

If you could have teed off immediately when you arrived at the tee then I feel that they had granted you the permission to play through.

 

[Mr. Bean]

2 hours ago, Thereisnospoon said:

I told him that if he had just been polite and said excuse me sir, I would have gladly said take the tee.   I just teed off and ignore his ranting...

 

To me you were equally rude. No winners in that match...

[Augster]

If the tee was open, and the fairway was open, you walk up and hit and keep moving. 
 

I have no idea why you were “on the tee for 5 minutes” before hitting. If it’s your preshot routine, you need to fix that. 
 

If you know you’re likely skipping a group, tee off fast and play quickly. Your dilly-dalliance on the tee caused the kerfuffle. 

[T_Golf_23]

This is a huge pet peeve of mine. If a group stops at the half way house to have lunch….. even a quick lunch…. Their spot isn’t held…. Guys like this back up my course constantly…. We are private. 
 

I am curious ….. when the guy confronted you, was the rest of his foursome with him ready to tee off…. Or where they still eating? 

[T_Golf_23]

3 hours ago, Thereisnospoon said:

What's the etiquette for a group ahead of you at the turn?

 

I finished 9....walk up to 10.  I don't see anyone on the tee.  I had no idea where the group in front went so I assumed the tee as a single .

 

As I wait for the fairway to clear.  A guy drives up to the tee and says "so your just gonna jump in front of us?"

 

Mind you I was on the tee for 5 minutes ....nobody around anywhere....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I notice you reference a guy…. Not his group….. 

[bcjim]

Our course has a sign posted indicating that taking excessive time at the turn may result in losing your place on 10.

 

 

[Schulzmc]

If you were waiting on the tee for the fairway to clear, then you did indeed jump ahead of the group in front of you with no justification. They knew they were going to have to wait a bit and went inside to grab a drink or a snack. Since you were still on the tee when they arrived it sounds like they timed it right and would have been ready to tee off when the fairway cleared. Ranting at you is never the answer, but the way you describe it I think you were the one in the wrong...

[bobfoster]

OP - think you were totally in the right. The turn is always weird because it varies so greatly. 

 

Golf is, and has always been two different things: A sport, and a social event. And it is at the turn that the difference comes into stark relief. Hate to generalize, but Sport Golfers do the turn and maybe hit the restroom, but don't want to lose the rhythm and the flow of the round. Social Golfers will get food (even on some courses a drink). No reason for a Sport Golfer to wait for a Social Golfer at the turn. I've skipped ahead plenty of times, usually with no complaints - in fact it isn't that unusual to be invited to. 

 

Sounds like this was an unusual situation. The group behind you were Sport Golfers, not Social Golfers, but you were not aware of that. 

 

IMO? No harm, no foul. They were not wrong, but neither were you. 

Edited October 10, 2022 by bobfoster

[T_Golf_23]

I am still curious from the OPs comments, he mentions one of the guys came up to him…. 
 

where was the rest of that group? If they were still eating or not there, he had every right to go. If they were all driving rolling up to the tee, then it’s a simple misunderstanding. The guys behind him just were not very nice the way they handled it. 
 

this past Friday at our club, we had a situation. my 3some played the front in 1hr 35 minutes. We had tons of space in front of us. All the foursomes were at least 3 holes ahead, even at our pace. I know the guys, they are not slow players….. but they all decided to eat a late morning snack at the halfway house…. The two 4some groups lost their gap and were now causing a backup on the 10th tee. 
 

the problem was, that their gap was just enough so they can eat and then get on the tee without anyone jumping them, but not enough where they didn’t cause a back up… jammed the whole pace of play up….  Played the back in 2 hours and 5 min… had to wait on a couple holes even with picking up a 4th at the turn. Fortunately these guys ahead of us  played fast…but far too often this is not the case 
 

So, I am not whining about pace of play….. still played in 3hrs 40 min with a 3/4some, but groups can’t chill out at the halfway house and then impact the pace of play on the course. When groups are behind you, it’s grab and go or you concede your spot to the groups coming up. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Bean]

3 hours ago, bobfoster said:

OP - think you were totally in the right. The turn is always weird because it varies so greatly. 

 

Golf is, and has always been two different things: A sport, and a social event. And it is at the turn that the difference comes into stark relief. Hate to generalize, but Sport Golfers do the turn and maybe hit the restroom, but don't want to lose the rhythm and the flow of the round. Social Golfers will get food (even on some courses a drink). No reason for a Sport Golfer to wait for a Social Golfer at the turn (I've skipped ahead plenty of times, usually with no complaints). 

 

Sounds like this was an unusual situation. The group behind you were Sport Golfers, not Social Golfers, but you were not aware of that. 

 

IMO? No harm, no foul. They were not wrong, but neither were you. 

 

It is still unanswered by the OP why he waited for 5 minutes. That is the crux of the matter. To me it sounds he was not able to play due to the group in front. And if and it seems to me most likely when this was the case the behavior of the OP was simply rude when he did not let the cart group continue their game in their rightful place in the queue.

 

Hopefully we get some clarification from the OP to the question regarding waiting for 5 minutes.

 

[Mr. Bean]

2 minutes ago, T_Golf_23 said:

So, I am not whining about pace of play….. still played in 3hrs 40 min with a 3/4some, but groups can’t chill out at the halfway house and then impact the pace of play on the course. When groups are behind you, it’s grab and go or you concede your spot to the groups coming up. 

 

Couldn't agree more.

[mshills]

When I was a caddie, the halfway house was great!  On weekends, two doubles on Sat and on Sun was not unusual at all, so the big hot dog and can of Arizona tea or a Coke was really appreciated. 
 

As a player, I can’t understand not being able to finish a round of golf without stopping to eat….but the turn causes FAR less trouble than the bev cart.

 

The OP sounds like he made a mistake, and the group he went to jump in front of overreacted. 

[Colin L]

I've often thought it would be good to have a halfway house on my course, having enjoyed them occasionally when refereeing elsewhere, but after reading this I'm not so sure we're not better off just carrying a halfway snack in our bags. 🙂  

[Soloman1]

If it took all that long to get to the 10th tee and you still had to wait, that says there was nowhere to go anyway, even for the group in front of you. I probably would have gone to the clubhouse too.

 

Kind of like passing people on the road just to get to the next stoplight, like that 20’ is going to make a difference.

 

But getting aggressive on their part is just as bad. People get spun up too easily. It’s a day at the golf course, have fun and be civil.

[Bob Cat]

On 10/8/2022 at 11:32 PM, Thereisnospoon said:

What's the etiquette for a group ahead of you at the turn?

 

I finished 9....walk up to 10.  I don't see anyone on the tee.  I had no idea where the group in front went so I assumed the tee as a single .

 

As I wait for the fairway to clear.  A guy drives up to the tee and says "so your just gonna jump in front of us?"

 

Mind you I was on the tee for 5 minutes ....nobody around anywhere....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The comment above is not conducive to a good outcome no matter what's happening at the turn.  Jagaloon.

[North Butte]

I have no idea about the culture of the place you were playing, that varies a lot in expectations of how to act in situations like that.

 

For my part, I play a lot as a single, walking, and there's a limit to my situational awareness when people are ahead of me in carts.  I'll go to the 10th tee and hit if the fairway is clear and I don't particularly care if someone stopped off for a snack, quit after nine, whatever. 

 

But in a situation like you described where I'm still waiting on the fairway to clear, I'd let the group that previously playing ahead of me resume their place. As someone said, in that situation it's hurry up and wait anyway.

 

To me there's a difference between going ahead and playing while the hole ahead is open versus "jumping a place" in line when everyone is waiting anyway. 

[nsxguy]

On 10/8/2022 at 11:51 PM, Thereisnospoon said:

I told him that if he had just been polite and said excuse me sir, I would have gladly said take the tee.   I just teed off and ignore his ranting...

 

7 hours ago, Mr. Bean said:

 

It is still unanswered by the OP why he waited for 5 minutes. That is the crux of the matter. To me it sounds he was not able to play due to the group in front. And if and it seems to me most likely when this was the case the behavior of the OP was simply rude when he did not let the cart group continue their game in their rightful place in the queue.

 

Hopefully we get some clarification from the OP to the question regarding waiting for 5 minutes.

 

 

@Thereisnospoon

 

Your presence is requested at your own thread.

 

Thank you.

[Flashman]

Okay,correct me if I am mistaken. But why as a walking single did you have to wait(play) behind a two groups . I always thought the golf etiquette was to let singles play through. 

[WilliePPQ]

Definitely no need for the guy to have lit you up, a civil question as to your intention to play through would have been appropriate. However, old school grouch that I am, always understood that Singles have no status on a course, and they always need to defer to a "match" in progress. Having said that, Singles can play pretty quickly and yes common practice is to let you play through. But that's a courtesy, not an expectation IMHO. Rudeness on the course goes against our game no matter what.

[North Butte]

3 minutes ago, WilliePPQ said:

Definitely no need for the guy to have lit you up, a civil question as to your intention to play through would have been appropriate. However, old school grouch that I am, always understood that Singles have no status on a course, and they always need to defer to a "match" in progress. Having said that, Singles can play pretty quickly and yes common practice is to let you play through. But that's a courtesy, not an expectation IMHO. Rudeness on the course goes against our game no matter what.

That whole "singles have no status on the course" guff was removed from the USGA's etiquette guidance a decade or two ago, by the way. Which was good because it was idiotic to start with. A single has exactly the same "status" as anyone else who paid his green fee, no more or no less. Etiquette, consideration and courtesy are the same whether it's one walker, four drunks in carts or a traveling tour group who arrived at the course in a bus. 

[Wham49]

if a group takes a break at the turn and the group behind gets to the tee and the group ahead is still on the their "break" they should conceed and let the group ready to hit tee off, take all the time you need at the turn but others may get in front of you. Everybody behind should not be on their time schedule, if it was that important to stay ahead you would not be taking a break in the clubhouse, and if it is something you have to do, be cool and let the people that were behind play through

 

in this situation, maybe if you had to wait on the tee box for a while the group ahead of you on their break knew this, and were waiting to hit for the tee to clear. but if you are a single and are wanting to move quickly through they still should have let you go 

Edited October 10, 2022 by Wham49

[mshills]

Why should the group let the single play through if there was nowhere for the single to go?  He said he waited on the tee for the fairway to clear, which means unless he is expecting Moses to part the Red Sea, there is nowhere to go.