The Ettiquette of Flying Solo

[jvr1]

fair enough. i suppose my question was kinda vague. i was trying to gauge an expectation for when my group gets paired with a single with a higher handicap..

[ezra76]

My opinions.

 

#1 doesn't happen very often. Most courses I play require a tee time for weekend mornings and some only will take a 4some. I call ahead on weekdays and ask if they can get me out if I'm going to play as a single. Never have had a problem.

 

#2 If I'm joining a 3some I'll play the same tees unless it's a 3some of women, which only happened once and it was actually one of the best rounds I've played. I don't like playing some courses off the whites as I score worse and feel like I have to lay up a lot of shots off the tee. I'm an 11.9 so I guess a 12, so also don't want to look like a ****** if I'm having a bad round off the tips, rather play crappy off the whites if everyone else is.

 

#3 No issues with walking. I always walk. I play worse out of carts and I'm not paying $17-$18 to ride. I usually let the guys know I'm fine with ready golf. So if they are ready, hit it. 99% of the time I'm the longest off the tee anyway unless I'm hitting 3irons or 5W's to drivers.

 

 

Yesterday I played with a guy, his wife and his sister. He and I played the blues (tips). His sister had to be a single digit and his wife a beginner. I think he was feeling a little reluctant to have me join since his wife was pretty darn slow, drawn out routine and then usually a very poor shot or 2 per hole. They offered to have me jump ahead when a twosome of older guys played through riding but I stuck with them. Ended up having a great round until thunderstorms came on 15 and we got called in. I appreciated that cart with his sister as a single then, for sure. I was bullshitting with his sister half the round, really cool gal. Unfortunately about 20yrs. older than me, lol.

[Blackfinn]

I've always wondered about exactly this issue. I like going alone when really trying to improve my game. I avoid weekend mornings, and if it is busy, I bring my daughter along by design. She's 8 and most threesomes don't want a kid in their group. I let her pitch and putt with me on the green. We are always pushing the group in front and never lag. Oh, and yes, I pay for 2 to stay in good graces with the club.

[classick]

Every weekday I play on my own. Those days I don't like playing with others very often because it's my time to practice. This isn't much of a problem because my course is only busy on Men's day (and I play with my Dad's group then).

 

On weekends I play with another kid on my golf team in the morning. We're always welcome to have another golfer or even two-some tag up with us. I like it because I have terrible nerves when it comes to golf and the more I play in front of others, the easier it gets. It does suck when you find out they're not very good golfers though (and don't deny it, you can frequently make a fairly accurate initial judgement based on appearance).

 

As for your questions:

1. Going out by yourself is just fine. You want to golf, you paid to golf, so golf.

 

2. This often depends on the course and if you're walking or riding and the course. At my club, the tips tend to be about 20 yards back from the next tees. This can definately cause problems so if I'm alone, I'll play whatever the group ahead is playing. I just keep the driving in the bag on every hole and use a 3 iron of the tee.

 

3. This depends on the group. Are all 3 riding in separate carts? If there's 2 in one, I think you'd have no problem keeping up. If you do find yourself lagging, be sure to pick up a cart at the turn.

[phil75070]

Interesting topic and discussion. I belong to a private club so maybe that makes it different. We have four of us that try to play every Saturday and Sunday, but with work and kids, young families, two of the guys can't be counted on to show up every week and both days so my buddy and I often have a single (or two) or a twosome paired with us. We will ask them what tees they want to play (we usually play one up from the tips, the gold tees, which have the course playing at just over 6900 yards). If they want to play one tee up from there (blue) or even the men's tees (white), we will just as often play those tees with them from a social aspect. Or we might ask if they mind us playing further back. Either way, we work it out so everyone is happy. Bottom line, even though it is our tee time, we try to make them feel comfortable.

 

As for riding vs walking, it does cost a cart fee to ride so we can understand someone walking for that reason as much as exercise. There are a few long walks between a few holes and we will either let a walker jump on the back of the cart, or we will take his bag for him while he does the walk. Many times, due to the fact that our pace of play is pretty quick, a walker will sometimes take a cart on the back nine realizing it is the only way to keep up with us! :clapping:

[Gungagalunga]

I'm a business man so I side with the 3 guys. You pay for a service and you should get what you want. If a course consistently did this to me I honestly would go play some where else. It is different if you are a member of a club where you are one of 450 but really other people I don't know usually throw off my game.

 

Playing from the tips I am again going to side with the fact that you are a paying customer and can play from where every you like. Regardless of the people you are playing with

 

The walking vs riding part I could care less about, the only question is if you are playing a course that changes elevation often. Usually those that are walking get around faster than two in a cart... it just depends how good the two or three you are paired with.

[phil75070]

I'm a business man so I side with the 3 guys. You pay for a service and you should get what you want. If a course consistently did this to me I honestly would go play some where else. It is different if you are a member of a club where you are one of 450 but really other people I don't know usually throw off my game.

 

What "service" did they pay for? If the policy is that you pay for a foursome even if less than that show up, then I agree with you. However, if every group took the attitude that they did not want strangers paired with them then no walk ups would ever get out on the course.