Let me play through!!!

[Dizz]

AceAZ,

 

Unfortunately, you are the one without a clear understanding of etiquette.

 

Twosomes have NO rights on the golf course. If you can't make a foursome, sit back and enjoy your wait.

 

There's a difference between what you are entitled to and good etiquette. Does the 4 some of walkers in front of his group of 2 have to let them through? No, should they? Yes if there are open holes in front of them. If there's nowhere for his 2 some to go then no way should they let them through. Playing on a busy day at peak hours is 100% different then booking a tee time for a 2 some on the weekends at 9 A.M.

[Viking Golfer]

One of the problems is that buggies are designed for people who can't physically walk the golf course and are used far too much by people trying to whizz round a busy golf course in 2 and a half hours. When it's busy just walk, you may play through a couple of groups, but you'll have a lot more experiences like this where people won't let you play through.

 

These threads are becoming more and more common. Sort it out people.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of the courses in the United States don't allow you to walk anymore. And most only allow walking late in the afternoon.

 

Why is it so - because of $$$$$ only ?

 

Where I'm from, you can walk any course you like - buggy's are very rarely used, and only by people who really need them.

[crucible]

Played Friday morning 0745 start with two of my buddies. One dropped out after 13 holes and 16 in by himself to make a Drs. appointment. Myself and the other continued on behind two slow foursomes. And finished just shy of 6 hrs. on the course. Maybe a twosome have little rights but explain to me how 6 hours is justified? And yes we saw rangers on the course but nothing was done to improve the pace of play.....they didn't seem to care and as a twosome any complaint would have been made with the obvious " as a twosome you will of course play faster than a foursome there's nowhere to go". It's not uncommon to have 5 hr. rounds any more......the two of us wanted to play another 18 but not at this same course, called another about 25 miles away got on with no one in sight and played a nice 3 hr 20 min. 18 holes.

[jiffypop]

Step Aside And Let the Man Come Through! IF not wait till they are just out of range and send off a warning shot.

[alfie]

I agree with the OP about how he should be able to play through when there are open holes. However, if you are a twosome on a busy day where the course is already crowded then, you have no "rights" as far as I am concerned. It would be foolish for my foursome to let you go through when you have no where to go. The pro shop should make that emphatically clear to singles, twosomes, and threesomes as well. Do not expect to be allowed through if there are no open holes.

 

+1... Golf courses are just becoming waaay too crowded and the golfers themselves are not making things any more enjoyable. Etiquette is going down the drain, along with common sense. It's also bad when people take too long to play thru a hole (c'mon people, if u lost your ball, take a max. of 1 to 2 mins. to look for it if it's busy or you're holding up the pace of the group/rest of the course. Can't find it? Freakin' drop another ball!).

[AcesAZ]

I should also add one of the kids didnt even make it to the ladies tee on the 4th and they were looking for his ball. At that point we decided to just skip it after being ignored. It was obvious it would be another 15 minutes for them to get to the green.

[rooks]

Where were the on-course marshals? Was anyone monitoring pace of play?

 

By the way, where does it say that anyone has the right to expect to play a round at a pace they determine to be acceptable. Slow play is not conducive to good golf but neither is golf at a macht schell, "Sherman through Georgia" cavalry charge.

 

Good etiquette is a multi-laned highway. Don't expect to get what you are unwilling to give.

 

 

Well said.

 

Having a little patience may have helped. If OP had waited, and followed them as usual, by the end of the hole they may have noticed you waiting, and let you play through on the next hole.

 

As for the teens ... young players can only learn rules & etiquette from other players. All one has to do is walk up to them and explain things.

 

Not playing as fast doesn't necessarily constitute slow play ... Everybody on a golf course, at some point, has to wait their time. It's how things are. 2 blokes in a cart are going to be faster than a group of 3+ walking. Every golfer should take this into account when they step up to play. A little patience & perspective never hurt anyone.

[J13]

I assume most people don't know rules or etiquette. Why didn't you just ask to play through? In my experience most people won't say a word but if I politely ask to play through because I don't want to rush them 90% of the time people have no problem at all.

 

 

He did ask.

 

I'm not going to argue online with you. If you read the first post he say's "i asked loud enough for them to hear me but they didn't even turn around" Basically they were turned and walking away from him and he said it assuming they could hear him That's not really asking. My point is to walk up to someone face to face and say excuse me do you mind if i play through, I don't want to rush you guys all day as I know your just trying to enjoy your round" then wait for a response. Saying something to someones back and hoping they hear you is not the way to get it done.

[Señor Rafa]

Rules are rules, and they are there for a reason - but sometimes, they can be bent a little. If there is a two-ball infront who are being incredibly slow taking f****** ages on the green ahead of you you're playing to and not having the common-courtesy of letting you through I will (only very rarely) hit my approach shot when the guy in that group puts the flagstick back in the hole just send them a little warning to hurry the f*** up and stop being so damn slow. There's nothing worse than stubborn golfers who know they're being slow and that the group behind them is having to wait all the time. Completely unacceptable.

[rooks]

Rules are rules, and they are there for a reason - but sometimes, they can be bent a little. If there is a two-ball infront who are being incredibly slow taking f****** ages on the green ahead of you you're playing to and not having the common-courtesy of letting you through I will (only very rarely) hit my approach shot when the guy in that group puts the flagstick back in the hole just send them a little warning to hurry the f*** up and stop being so damn slow. There's nothing worse than stubborn golfers who know they're being slow and that the group behind them is having to wait all the time. Completely unacceptable.

 

Rules & etiquette aren't the same thing.

 

Slow play & 2 guys in a cart playing faster than everyone else aren't the same thing.

 

J13 is on the money. All you have to do is walk up to them, face to face, and say "Excuse me fellas, do you mind if we hit through? There's only 2 of us, we're in a cart and moving along rather quickly. We'll be out of your way in 30 seconds".

 

Making a comment as you walk by a few metres off to the side in the hope they hear you doesn't cut it.

[highergr0und]

You hit the approach before the guy gets the chance to clear the green? Why? I'd like to say that I would leave every pin out for the rest of your round, but since you decided to risk killing me, I'd just go ahead and get you tossed with a quick phone call. No way you can deny seeing me or deny that you thought you couldn't hit the green with a 150 yd approach. Why does everyone have to be standing over the ball and swing the second it's clear? That adds to your own stress level. I say find your ball, decide on a shot and club, and once it's clear, pull the club and prepare to hit. You guys make it worse on yourselves.

[nightwalker]

I just wanted to clairify the "no status" of singles and twosomes. Regardless of what was done in the past, the USGA rules covers this on Page 2 of etiquette.

 

"It is the group's responsibility to keep up with the group in front. If it loses a clear hole and it is delaying the group behind, it should invite the group behind to play through, IRRESPECTIVE of the number of players in that group."

 

That said, I agree with a number of posters about the carts racing around trying to work through the course as fast as possible. I do think that the slower group should have invited the OP through (bad etiquette), but the group behind needs to realized that whether or not that group of kid's knew the correct etiquette, they also showed the same "self importance" ("I" need to get around) as the kids they were complaining about.

[palmettoman]

I am amazed at some of the responses on this post. Have more patience, no status on the course??? I'm sure the same ones talking this way would not have the same opinion if they were stuck behind a slow group of walkers and having to wait on every shot. Groups backing up on each other because some group is slow and refuses to let faster groups through is what causes alot of the slow play that everyone gripes about!!!

 

If more people started treating others the way they would like to be treated, everyone would be better off. Course etiquette is something that I was taught early on as a young kid. Letting faster players through is a basic lesson everyone should be taught. Too bad that is not the case nowadays.

 

Also, to everyone that does get let through, play fast and get out of the way.

[mcmski]

As someone who usually walks I'm a little offended by this whole "Walkers inherently slow down the pace of play" business. I'm usually stuck behind a group of people in carts and while it might take me a few more moments to get to my ball and to the next tee, I'm not holding up my group by walking. I'm usually waiting on people in carts to drive back and fourth in their cart to each other's ball or find a good place to park their cart.

 

I can play in less than 3 hours walking if there is no one in front of me. I've never played any faster than that with a cart.

 

I played a 6 hour round yesterday with no walkers on the course.

 

Walking isn't what slows the pace down. It's people being slow unto themselves.

[Dbogey]

wow!

 

All I have to say is this "there's right way to do things and a wrong way to do things".

 

If it was me in the 4ball I would allow the 2ball in a cart to play through....who want's a group up your A** the whole round?

 

Yeah, it sucked for the OP to have to skip holes but unfortunately if they wanted to play fast and the group wasn't letting them....so be it.... skip holes. It happens at private courses as well....probably not as much but it happens.....usually everybody knows one another.

 

Let's face it if you play public/muni's you're not going to play fast unless you're the first few groups off in the am......5-6 hour rounds are the norm......if you want to play fast you need to be at a private club.

 

and when does "sending a warning shot" constitute good etiquette??

[larrybud]

Twosomes have NO rights on the golf course. If you can't make a foursome, sit back and enjoy your wait.

Show me in any rules manual where it says this.

 

Common sense says they should have let this guy play through. Maybe he didn't approach it in the best manner, but why in the world any group would want another on their butt all day long when there is open holes ahead is beyond me. They're obviously oblivious to their surroundings and current situation.

[benkodi]

Twosomes have NO rights on the golf course. If you can't make a foursome, sit back and enjoy your wait.

Show me in any rules manual where it says this.

 

Common sense says they should have let this guy play through. Maybe he didn't approach it in the best manner, but why in the world any group would want another on their butt all day long when there is open holes ahead is beyond me. They're obviously oblivious to their surroundings and current situation.

 

 

It's stated in the bylaws of almost every private club. The reason being that they want some continuity on the tee sheet. Many clubs will not let twosomes out at all (at peak times), unless they join up with another twosome. I wholeheartedly agree with this and would never think of trying to get out as a twosome before noon at my club.

 

Additionally, I am in no way encouraging slow play (I play in 3:20 on Saturday/Sunday mornings at my club), but occasionally when we head over to a public course it feels like it's taking forever. I often remind myself that the group in front of me paid good money to play the course, so they have just as much right to enjoy it as "better" golfers. Unfortunately, if they can meet the pace of play requirements posted on the card or in the clubhouse (which are often 4:18), they've held up their end of the bargain. The whole concept of "we're scratches, we're fast" is ridiculous. I've played with plent of 20 handicappers who are quite a bit quicker than the +2's - 4's in my group. Regardless of skill level, everyone has the same rights on the course.

 

If it's taking six hours, simply don't book tee times at that course. I would certainly imagine that burden of responsibility to increase pace of play, lies on the course, not the golfers if it is indeed taking six hours. Or, make the first time, get out of bed and race around so you can be done in two hours and tell everyone just how fast you play golf....sweet.

[benkodi]

Oops forgot to add this.

 

Any of you who have stated that you "buzz the tower," "fire a warning shot," etc...are complete fools. There's nothing I would love more than to see you slapped with a huge lawsuit after you have to pay for $5k in new dental work.

 

I can't believe that you consider yourself golfers, let alone men, and hit into others.

[larrybud]

For all of you who think a single or twosome have no "rights" on a golf course, I refer you to the R&A and USGA Etiquette manual:

 

"It is a group's responsibility to keep up with the group in front. If it loses a clear hole and it is delaying the group behind, it should invite the group behind to play through, irrespective of the number of players in that group. "

[Bucken77]

Rules are rules, and they are there for a reason - but sometimes, they can be bent a little. If there is a two-ball infront who are being incredibly slow taking f****** ages on the green ahead of you you're playing to and not having the common-courtesy of letting you through I will (only very rarely) hit my approach shot when the guy in that group puts the flagstick back in the hole just send them a little warning to hurry the f*** up and stop being so damn slow. There's nothing worse than stubborn golfers who know they're being slow and that the group behind them is having to wait all the time. Completely unacceptable.

 

There is one thing worse. That is hitting a person with a struck shot. I love the fact you think slow play is horrible but hitting at someone isn't.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Unfortunately, it's not just regarding playing through that people display a lack of common sense. I was at a local course's pro shop today, not playing but looking to buy a rain suit, when a guy comes in to check in for his tee time. He looks at the clock and says, "10 minutes, right?" So the guy working tells him yes, but the course is actually ahead on tee times today - a beautiful, perfect for golf Sunday with the parking lot full and the course packed - and the starter may be able to get his group off early if all 4 of them head to the first tee. Unheard of, right? So what does this joker who shows up 10 minutes before his tee time do? He says, "I'll get a small bucket for the range." I know what the guy working the counter wanted to say was, "Forget the range, pal. If you wanted to warm up, you should have gotten here earlier. We are AHEAD of schedule on a SUNDAY, and you're going to screw that up!!!" Of course, what he had to say was, "OK sir." Some people just got no sense. Probably played a six hour round too.

Hey you saw "that guy" :)

 

Similar story about two years ago, I pull up to the bag drop of a very nice $150 a round course on a beautiful Saturday morning. It's 8:00 AM and our tee time is 9:20. So I've got enough time for a bite to eat and a nice leisurely warm up. This car pulls up behind us and four guys get out. The bag drop guy ask their tee time. One of the guys says 8:10. The bag drop attendant says "Sir that is your tee time, not your arrival time. We won't be able to get you to the tee in 10 minutes, it looks like we have a foursome at 9:50, you can tell them inside if you want that time."

 

they were arguing with the guy as I pulled away, but I couldn't help thinking to myself. THANK YOU, finally a course that takes pace of play seriously and DOES something about it. From what I could tell they must have taken the 9:50 time, as they were out on the range when we teed off.

 

I can't stand rushing to the course, I know nowdays everyones time demands are so tight, but I get to a course a minimum of 30 minutes ahead of time, and I think that is pushing it for me. I much prefer 45 minutes to an hour.

[sigep1967]

As a walker who plays alot of golf by myself I tend to play through a lot of groups. I only play through if asked, if the group in front of me is playing at a resonable pace for the number of players in that group I will throw down balls and hit multiple shots to give them time. BUT if they are idiots who are drunk and can't hit a ball more than 30 yards I will stay on their rear utill they let me through. I really detest playing behind someone who cannot hit the ball out of their shadow but will not let someone through. Let me clarify if it is a group of golfers who are hitting it well and playing a good pace for their group size I will not push them at all!!! I just enjoy my practice time. I was walkign yesterday and played through 2 groups. The first group of idiots were all in their 20's and were terrible. I had hooked up with a guy in a cart. They cleared a par 3 and then sat waiting on us to finish. i thouhgt great they are going to get out of the way. As we putted out they decide to go and tee off?????? after sitting in their carts for 5-7 minutes????? They tell us to goo ahead and hit so I go to the back tees and get snide little remarks about being a pro. Really pissed me off. The second group was a group of older guys they invited me to play through as my guy in the cart decided to go to the back nine. Had no issues with these gentlmen in fact I hit a bad chip shot over the green so picked up my ball to get out of their way.

[golfortennis]

I agree with the OP about how he should be able to play through when there are open holes. However, if you are a twosome on a busy day where the course is already crowded then, you have no "rights" as far as I am concerned. It would be foolish for my foursome to let you go through when you have no where to go. The pro shop should make that emphatically clear to singles, twosomes, and threesomes as well. Do not expect to be allowed through if there are no open holes.

 

+1... Golf courses are just becoming waaay too crowded and the golfers themselves are not making things any more enjoyable. Etiquette is going down the drain, along with common sense. It's also bad when people take too long to play thru a hole (c'mon people, if u lost your ball, take a max. of 1 to 2 mins. to look for it if it's busy or you're holding up the pace of the group/rest of the course. Can't find it? Freakin' drop another ball!).

 

I've got one better than that. Playing a course on vacation in Arizona. I was on the tee sheet by myself, and they didn't want to send me out because I would run up the foursome who had the first tee time, and the maintenance staff, which was fair enough. End up another guy shows up, and so they pair us up. The guy insists we not get paired up with another twosome, and we keep our own carts(fine by me at this point).

 

We get to the 5th hole and are waiting on the foursome for a minute, nothing big. This guy gets a little antsy and kind of says something to the marshal. I don't care because I'm playing golf in January. Anyway, on 6 the marshal says they will let us play through on #8, a par 3. On 7 I didn't see them in the fairway, and hit a real good drive. When I saw they were probably close enough to be spooked, I went up and apologized, they said no problem, but I could tell English was not their primary language.

 

We get to #8, and they are there waiting to let us go. I tee off first since I'm playing the tips. The other guys says "they're your countrymen, but they don't speak your language." Well it turns out I do know french so I have a bit of a conversation with them. They had already hit so everyone drove up. I was on the green, this other guy was in the bunker in front, and there was a finger of turf and then more of the same bunker he needed to clear to reach the green. He ends up chunking the bunker shot into the front part of the bunker. And then, no word of a lie, drops another ball to hit to "get it out of his system", and then proceeds to play his original ball! I could not believe it. On a hole we are playing through and the guys are standing right there.

 

On our way back to the carts I made sure to say in French to them that I was paired up here, I had no idea who the guy was. It was unbleievable.

 

Although I probably shouldn't be surprised after having to argue on the first green that my putts inside of 4 feet are not good, I am putting them out.

[dfegolfer]

I think what the OP experienced is not the same as the usual slow play, group holding up a little stuff most encounter on a busy weekend round. On weekends, most good courses in my area are quite busy. It gets backed up as the day progresses. Most Marshals are volunteers and don't really want to get into a hostile situation. So it doesn't matter how good you are and how many are in the group...as long as the group in front is keeping up with the group ahead there is really nothing to complain about. If your twosome/onesome is behind me and my 4some keeping up with the group ahead, but the course is just backed up, then I will not let you through. I will politely let you know that all you are going to do is wait in front of another group.

 

OP's situation is quite different (If i understand correctly) and is something I also encounter during week days twilight hours. The course is generally empty with maybe 10 - 12 groups on the whole course. It is a good time for beginners or people just starting out golfing to come and play the course. It is all good for golf. Unfortunatley, most of the time, they just dont understand the etiquette or poorly schooled in on course etiquette. During twilight, there is really nothing wrong with hitting a tee shot which doesnt cross the ladies tee or hitting multiple balls on a single hole or trying to teach your 6 year old. But if 2 holes in front of you is empty and the guy/group behind you seems to be better golfer, let him through. When I play twilight golf and if anyone is behind me, irrespective of how fast I am, I always invite them to play with me and if there is gap in front then through me. Like OP clearly said, at that time of day, you will rarely see Marshall's on the course. So in these situations, common sense should prevail. If it doesnt, then like the OP, I would also pass the group. Some guys think that if they avoid eye contact or act like they is no one behind them, the group behind will go away. Yep, they are going to go away by passing them. Passing a group without their permission is absolutely rude. Sadly, I do it every other week during twilight.

 

IMO, Twilight etiquette is a little different from the a regular round. The course is generally not crowded and it lends itself to some unique situations - Practice, work on shots, beginners playing some golf on real courses, parents enjoy some golf with the young kids or just catch some holes on the way home. And we all do that at a bargain price. So if we just use some common sense, then we all can co exist and go home happy after a work/school day.

[uvm]

AceAZ,

 

Unfortunately, you are the one without a clear understanding of etiquette.

 

Twosomes have NO rights on the golf course. If you can't make a foursome, sit back and enjoy your wait.

 

 

i find that this line of thought is accurate for private courses these days to some extent but not really at public course. at least that has been my experiences in a few different places.

[Mr blue]

This is the way golf is now. I played for 25 years in southern California and saw it get worse each year. I now live in Colorado and it is no better. I played my first 18 holes in 10 months yesterday. Recovering from quad bypass surgery in December and was really looking forward to playing. We a threesome ( one of us a beginer)in carts are playing behind a couple in a cart and 2 walkers. I had seen one of the walkers on the range and already knew it was going to be a slow round. Waited until they where on the first green before we teed off. To this courses credit they send out groups 8 minutes apart. Caught them on third hole getting snacks and drinks from cart girl before teeing off. While waiting for them on the next hole to clear green. I see one of the walkers writing down his score ( or something ) right behind the green. 2 minutes go by while I wait to hit. We catch them again on the next tee, so I ask if he would mind clearing out of my line of site before writing down his score. I am told to "relax and enjoy the day it is just golf and we are faster because we are riding" I told him no we are faster because we can hit our drives past the ladies tees, play ready golf on the greens and got our snacks before the round not during. He gives me a dirty look and walks away. By the way did not see a marshall all day. The only good thing was the 2 walkers left after nine holes. Sorry for the long rant but someone really needs to do something about this, but I don't think any one will. By the way the starter announed over the PA that a round of golf should take 4 hours no more.

[RICKYBOBBY]

I am sorry but I have to call you out on this one. You played 11 holes in 5 and a half hours??? That means it took you 30 min to play each hole!! I am sorry but I find that hard to believe.

[stevestrike]

So my buddy and I were in a cart playing as a twosome and the course was pretty wide open, later in the evening.

As someone who frequently plays late evening golf, let me just point out that we are all dealing with a limited amount of daylight. In fact, we often time our tee off to allow us just enough time to finish before dark. I figured that letting a single play through costs us 10 minutes of time. If we let every single come through that is playing late afternoon golf, there would be no way for us to finish our round, not to mention it would add 20, 30, or even 40 minutes onto our own round.

 

If it's late, and the sun is going down, you can forget about "playing through". We are playing as fast as we can, and we paid the same amount of money you did to be out here. Your best option will be to suck it up and wait (how about pairing up with any of the 12 other single players behind you?), or skip a hole. Nothing burns me more than a steady stream of singles trying to "play through"

 

My $.02

[Lefty402]

I am amazed by the amount of responses that don't agree with the OP. Why would you want to hold someone up, if there's room in front of you and they're faster then let them go. I don't think the OP did anything rude in this situation, and I would have been mad enough to start a topic about it if I was him.

 

The one question I have is concerning asking to play through. I have always thought it was rude to ask a group if you can play through, but if they clearly don't know anything about golf I'll ask. What do you guys think, if there's a slow group that clearly knows enough about golf to know they should let you through, is it rude to ask to play through?

[Jean-Claude]

It's quite simple. People, in general, are arrogant snobby punks. It's the same attitude that people show when you try to pass them on the road, or blocks up the passing lanes on the interstate. They think letting someone go ahead of them somehow means they are weak or a push-over. That attitude spans from teenagers to old timers.

 

I've been unreasonably held up for HOURS longer on 18 holes by a slow group with open holes ahead of them. I've told people how rude they were being too. I'm not one to keep my mouth shut around jerks. I don't have to cuss them out, but they should hear it in front of others so maybe they will feel some form of shame and maybe think of others next time.

 

It happened to my father-in-law and myself 2 weeks ago. A pack of idiots held us up about 1.5 hours over 9 holes. Oh man these types of people aggravate me. Man up and let people through when you yourself are not being held up.