Etiquette Question

[jdpjamesp]

Being very new to golf I'm unsure of the etiquette here. It worked well, but not sure if I was breaking unwritten rules?

Yesterday I was playing alone and having a nightmare. Duffing almost every shot. As a result the two ball behind me was being held up. After taking shots where I was ahead of them on the fairway I'd wave at them to play their shots whilst I waited on the side of the fairway. Then I would go after my ball and take my next shot. I carried on doing this until they'd caught me on a tee and then let them through.

Like I say it worked well but now I'm worried I did something wrong!

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

If you wave to the group behind to play then really you should stand aside and let them carry on. Applying a bit of common sense though never does any harm and sounds like in this case it worked well.

 

[User20205]

Being very new to golf I'm unsure of the etiquette here. It worked well, but not sure if I was breaking unwritten rules?

Yesterday I was playing alone and having a nightmare. Duffing almost every shot. As a result the two ball behind me was being held up. After taking shots where I was ahead of them on the fairway I'd wave at them to play their shots whilst I waited on the side of the fairway. Then I would go after my ball and take my next shot. I carried on doing this until they'd caught me on a tee and then let them through.

Like I say it worked well but now I'm worried I did something wrong!

just don't bother waving 'em through, no one else does it

 

[Lord Tyrion]

A judgement call but I would say as long as you are not holding people up then what you did is fine. Personally, if I was having a mare, I would have just let them through. Perhaps take my shot then stand by the side and wave them through. Walk with them until I reached my ball but let them finish the hole before taking my next shot and finishing the hole myself.

You don't have to wait until you meet on a tee to wave people through. If my group is slower than the one behind then I would encourage our group to let the others through as quickly as possible.

 

[GB72]

I was always told that when you call someone on you are giving over your place on the course to them and should stand aside until they finish the hole before continuing your round but, if it worked, no harm no foul

 

[garyinderry]

Nowt wrong with what you did but you really should have let them through at the green.

You can hit your shot towards the green. Let them then hit their approach. You can putt out as they walk up as long as you don't step on their line.

Call up and call through so to speak.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

A judgement call but I would say as long as you are not holding people up then what you did is fine. Personally, if I was having a mare, I would have just let them through. Perhaps take my shot then stand by the side and wave them through. Walk with them until I reached my ball but let them finish the hole before taking my next shot and finishing the hole myself.

You don't have to wait until you meet on a tee to wave people through. If my group is slower than the one behind then I would encourage our group to let the others through as quickly as possible.

I'd go with this with the minor tweak that were there another group close behind the one the you have waved through, then after you've stood aside and the group has played their shots, I'd continue to play up myself (always standing aside as soon as they are ready to play)- and not wait for them to pass me and get to the green - so just as you did. Otherwise if I stood and waited for the called through group to pas me; get to the green and finish before I played, then the next group could be upon me and I'd probably feel that I should stand aside and let them through as well.

That's how I think we should do it all the time btw.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I was always told that when you call someone on you are giving over your place on the course to them and should stand aside until they finish the hole before continuing your round but, if it worked, no harm no foul

This is very true - but I think that given the snails pace of much of todays play it is best that, once you have called a group through, you keep playing but remain fully aware of where the group coming through is so as not hold them up at all.

 

[garyinderry]

Exactly, standing twiddling your thumbs as people play through is pointless and can impact those behind the ones playing through.

It really is just common sense.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Exactly, standing twiddling your thumbs as people play through is pointless and can impact those behind the ones playing through.

It really is just common sense.

..and at my place it's when groups don't use their common sense in this way that a group calling another through ends up creating a backlog and hold-up - when it's really quite avoidable. They think they are doing the right thing - well they are - but just not doing the right thing very well.

 

[MashieNiblick]

I completely agree with SILH and GiD. Calling through then playing up saves a lot of time, and is fairly common practice at our place especially on longer holes. You just let the group behind through as they naturally play up without holding up the group behind. Didn't a recent GM article highlight that waving players through can actually send a ripple back down the course holding up play for everyone else coming up behind.

But Etiquette section says

"Having allowed the group behind to play through, they should not continue play until that group has passed and is out of range."

Maybe this is something that the R&A should change, especially given that there is so much concern about slow play.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I completely agree with SILH and GiD. Calling through then playing up saves a lot of time, and is fairly common practice at our place especially on longer holes. You just let the group behind through as they naturally play up without holding up the group behind. Didn't a recent GM article highlight that waving players through can actually send a ripple back down the course holding up play for everyone else coming up behind.

But Etiquette section says

"Having allowed the group behind to play through, they should not continue play until that group has passed and is out of range."

Maybe this is something that the R&A should change, especially given that there is so much concern about slow play.

And it can take quite some time to clear. It's the same effect as you get when there is a little shunt on the motorway. The cars can be moved out of the way pretty quickly, but if the motorway is busy (direct comparison being a full course for such as a medal) the congestion that formed immediately the shunt happened will continue for quite a long time - like a 'standing wave'

 

[Three]

I completely agree with SILH and GiD. Calling through then playing up saves a lot of time, and is fairly common practice at our place especially on longer holes. You just let the group behind through as they naturally play up without holding up the group behind. Didn't a recent GM article highlight that waving players through can actually send a ripple back down the course holding up play for everyone else coming up behind.

But Etiquette section says

"Having allowed the group behind to play through, they should not continue play until that group has passed and is out of range."

Maybe this is something that the R&A should change, especially given that there is so much concern about slow play.

No it shouldn't be changed because that's what should happen in a tournament, last thing you want if someone calls you through in a comp is a 6 ball playing to the green.

However it makes good sense in general play.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

No it shouldn't be changed because that's what should happen in a tournament, last thing you want if someone calls you through in a comp is a 6 ball playing to the green.

However it makes good sense in general play.

You would never have a 6 ball playing to the green though. The group called through might find balls on the green for the group they passed through that they have to mark - but that's not a big deal.