playing through?

[Slicedwight]

Playing this morning on my own i caught up after a few holes to a group of 3 lads ahead of me all in the early twenties obviously not particularly good but seemed to be playing at a decent speed, as i came off the 3rd hole i walked to the tee for the 4th and found them all sat waiting for me to allow me to play through, i duly sliced my drive back onto the third fairway and shared a bit of a laugh and banter with them. On the ninth hole i had a group of 4 infront of me all in their sixties obviously were good golfers from what i could see. After the 9th i had got to the 10th before any of them had teed off so exchanged pleasantries and kind of expected them to invite me to play through, unfortunately they didnt and proceeded to each take a good 2 or 3 minutes of practise swings before hitting their bendy drivers (i call them that as it looked like the shafts were made of elastic and they each hit their drive a good 200 yds with a putting stroke!). This continued each hole for the rest of the round, i was unsure about the protocol and whether i should ask to play through but was sure i have been told before to wait until invited to do so? By the time we came to the 18th i was on the verge of just leaving it and walking off to the car park but thought i should finish my round out. As i came off the 18th and walked to the clubhouse they had stopped in a row blocking the path and were comparing scores, luckily i managed to stop myself from wrapping my driver around one of the old goats necks but have to say it really detracted from an otherwise enjoyable round. I appreciate that people play at their own pace and i certainly wouldnt want to rush or put anyone under pressure but what is the etiquette in those situations, were they right not to let me through or would it be common manners to do so, would it be right for me to ask to play through? Have to say in 12 rounds ive played since starting thts the first time its been an issue as everyone else has let me play through if i catch them up so dont know whether these guys were just being funny.

 

[john0]

There is a unwritten rule among senior golfers that states any pensioners playing in a 4-ball have the full right of the course and can do whatever they bloody want!

 

[patricks148]

Being Duffers they probably still think an single player has no rights on the course as was a few years ago.

 

[DaveM]

No they dont have to let you though. If you were in a two ball then yes a four ball would have to let you though. Even if you are on your own you would have to let a two ball though. Why did you not ask to see if you could have joined the three lads and make a four ball. Must be better than playing on your own. I go down to the course on my own and nearly always get invited to join up with someone. This is on a muni so I dont know any of them.

 

[Aztecs27]

No they dont have to let you though. If you were in a two ball then yes a four ball would have to let you though. Even if you are on your own you would have to let a two ball though. Why did you not ask to see if you could have joined the three lads and make a four ball. Must be better than playing on your own. I go down to the course on my own and nearly always get invited to join up with someone. This is on a muni so I dont know any of them.

What? Single golfers are as entitled to play through as groups of two or three.

 

[Monty_Brown]

Unfortunately, most people over 50ish (sorry for the generalisation) still adhere to the idea that players on their own have no status on the course. Personally, it would diminish my own enjoyment if I knew I was holding up a solo player, even if I had some theoretical right not to let him through.

That said, there are instances where I've seen a guy on his own try to come ploughing through a courseful of 3 and 4-balls on a busy Saturday. At which point I think the guy must have known it would be liek this, and it just annoyed me that he's disrupting so many games.

 

[USER1999]

No they dont have to let you though. If you were in a two ball then yes a four ball would have to let you though. Even if you are on your own you would have to let a two ball though. Why did you not ask to see if you could have joined the three lads and make a four ball. Must be better than playing on your own. I go down to the course on my own and nearly always get invited to join up with someone. This is on a muni so I dont know any of them.

You are hugely out of date on this one.

Unless there is a local rule in place, a single has as much priority on the course as a four ball. this was changed in the etiquet section of the rule book about 8 years ago.

 

[Slicedwight]

in hindsight i should of dave as i think i would have had a good laugh with them and as they looked even worse than me probably wouldnt of been embarassed, today was the first time ive played on my own to be fair as ive always thought it would be boring but i have to say on the whole i really enjoyed it, was fair flying round the course before i ran into the duffers backside ! I spend a lot of time at work with 'older' people and they nearly all like to have a moan about the manners and behavious of youngsters - today just reinforced something i have felt for a long time that the older generation should get there own manners sorted before criticising youngsters. Having said that if they dont have to let me through then fair enough i can't really complain, maybe next time i should insist that me and my imaginary friend are a twosome and have to be let through, all explained with wide eyes a big grin and a frothing mouth - that might do the job!

 

[Richie13]

yesterday me and a mate, played a round no1 infront noone behind for 3 holes, we got to the 7th tee and noticed a single playing on the 5th green, so we sat off waited for him to finish the 5th green play the 6th and let him play through us on 7, lost sight of him by 9

just consideration in my eyes if we are slower then others and get caught up or can see we getting caught up, i will offer to let them play through, or wait the 5/10mins at our next tee like last night and extend the offer

 

[gripitripit]

I played on my own a few weeks back. I finished on the 4th and there was a 3 ball in front of me on the par 3 5th. They had already tee'd off but waited for me to putt out and go ahead of them. Decent to say the least..!

 

[Twire]

yesterday me and a mate, played a round no1 infront noone behind for 3 holes, we got to the 7th tee and noticed a single playing on the 5th green, so we sat off waited for him to finish the 5th green play the 6th and let him play through us on 7, lost sight of him by 9

just consideration in my eyes if we are slower then others and get caught up or can see we getting caught up, i will offer to let them play through, or wait the 5/10mins at our next tee like last night and extend the offer

You waited for him to finish the 5th, then play the 6th so you could let him through on the 7th tee? That's madness, why didn't you just carry on playing until he caught you up, then let him through?

 

[Richie13]

we in no rush had plenty of time and i had a ciggy and the 5th and 6th are short par 3's

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I've often bemoaned some of the seniors at my club. Sadly there are a few who really do make it a problem for either a single player or indeed a two or three ball and will invariably rather cut an arm off with a rusty nail than let common sense prevail and allow them through. Fortunately it isn't everyone and I have gotten to know the good and bad ones.

It is a problem across a lot of courses I think but don't think it's fair to generalise the seniors with the same brush. There are some onhere (Leftie etc) that have been brought up correctly in golfing terms at least and who have proper golfing etiquette and education. Sadly it is those stuck in some kind of time warp that do get most of the publicity certainly on here. I think if it is an ongoing problem at your place joing others of a similar standard would be the obvious choice and you'd probably get some regular partners out of it

 

[scozzie]

In the not to distant future I will be an "old timer" on the course but never the less I like to play quick and usually my regular 3ball can get around in 3.5 hrs which i think is about right..do people "catch us"? yes! do we let them thru? always...Its always seemed to me to be better for everybody to just let them thru...followed by some banter on the fairway and we all get on with our day..its suposed to be fun and no one really wants to be out there for 5 hrs.....do they?
If I'm the lone ranger on course its because I have snatched a chance to get a few holes in while kids/wife are away/busy/not back till later etc and dont want to spend all evening watching a 4ball saunter around just like they dont want to notice me me cross armed on the every fairway as they putt..a quick wave,2 swings and all sorted ,"thanks gents,enjoying yourself?" and then i just pick up from the green and head to next tee so i dont hold them up any more than needed...easy...

 

[Bratty]

Oi! Leftie's no senior! The man's a more mature middle-age, is all.

 

[Crawfy]

You should have nailed one of the seniors on each hole with your drive. As old duffers, they have had their day...and after 4 holes you would have been free to carry on your round free as a bird.

Kind Regards

The Lone Golfer Revolutionary Party ( especially ones who wear ipods..)

 

[Slicedwight]

i did think about it crawfy i really did but in fairness with my driving the 3 lads who had kindly let me through and were a good 3 holes behind me would of been more likely to kop it! i think what made them so slow was the fact they couldnt go past a bunker without sticking on the hard hats and burrowing themselves in to relive 'the war'!

 

[CliveW]

No they dont have to let you though. If you were in a two ball then yes a four ball would have to let you though. Even if you are on your own you would have to let a two ball though.

There is no rule which states that anyone should be allowed to play through whether it is a two-ball, four-ball or single.
It does however state in Section 1 - Etiquette; Behaviour on the Course, Pace of Play.... "It is a group's responsibility to keep up with the group in front. If it loses a clear hole and is delaying the group behind, it SHOULD invite the group behind to play through, irrespective of the number of players in the group. Where a group has not lost a clear hole, but it is apparent that the group behind can play faster, it SHOULD invite the faster moving group to play through."
The key word in this is "Should" and not "Must", and the fact that it is in the "Etiquette" section also means it is not compulsory.

 

[sev112]

The key word in this is "Should" and not "Must", and the fact that it is in the "Etiquette" section also means it is not compulsory.

Blimey - i bet you would be fun coming up against in a court of law if you can interpret an instruction that says "should" to mean you can choose whether you need to do it or not.
I'll try that out with my boss and client tomorrow and see if they are happy with my etiquette of not doing what they think i "should"

 

[CliveW]

The key word in this is "Should" and not "Must", and the fact that it is in the "Etiquette" section also means it is not compulsory.

Blimey - i bet you would be fun coming up against in a court of law if you can interpret an instruction that says "should" to mean you can choose whether you need to do it or not.
I'll try that out with my boss and client tomorrow and see if they are happy with my etiquette of not doing what they think i "should"

The rules of Golf are full of "Must", "May" and "Should"