Tee off time gaps

[BrianM]

8mins then 7mins intervals, the 1st hole will be cleared by then normally.

 

[Slab]

So the 2 ball match in front of you have cleared the hole and off to the 2nd, and you're going to wait the full 10 minutes with your 4 ball?

I think trying to vary the spacing between individual groups based on number of players/comp format is well beyond what most courses can accommodate and at best it will be set for the days play

If (one of) the course choke points happens to be on the 2nd or 3rd hole then groups starting as soon as the 1st (par 3) is clear, will be far too close to the groups in front (your example being the probable exception)

 

[Bwgan]

Our season kicks off proper this weekend. 3balls every 8min
Starts 6:56 - Ends 15:12 (189 Golfers)
I usually start @ 08:30 and expect to finish around midday, so pace isn't bad.

 

[Capella]

At our place it is 10 min for comps, regardless if it is 3balls or 4balls. Seems to work reasonably well. There can be a bit of a wait on the second hole, which is a par 3, but after that it normally runs smoothly (unless you have a really slow group in between or the rough is left too high).

For normal, non-competition play we don't have tee times and groups just tee off when the group in front is out of range.

 

[jim8flog]

Our competition gaps are either 9 or 10 minutes depending on the format. 9 being the usual for monthly medals and we will have ten minutes for Opens (a lot of visitors who are expected to play a bit slower because they do not fully know the course).

For general play our gaps are alternate 7 and 8 minutes which in the main works very well because they are a fair mix of single player, 2, 3 and 4 balls most days.

Our slowest hole is the 15th par 3 and if the gap is too short players will wait for a long time on this tee anyway. I have played with 4 groups waiting on that tee before now.

 

[Orikoru]

I believe it's 8 minutes at ours if you're booking a tee time. It is a public course though and 8 minutes is pretty standard.

During the club times on Saturday morning though, I don't think people stick to their exact 8 minute times though to be honest. All that tells you is what order you're going off in - people just tee off when the first green is clear.

 

[Bxm Foxy]

10 minute gaps where I play. It's a nine hole course, has a few 9 hole tee times interspersed.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The only time we have booked times are for the drawn competitions and then we go off in threes at 8 minute intervals. Seems to work quite well and usually get done on or under four hours

 

[Lord Tyrion]

During the club times on Saturday morning though, I don't think people stick to their exact 8 minute times though to be honest. All that tells you is what order you're going off in - people just tee off when the first green is clear.

I suspect that is the same at most places, apart from elite clubs who have a starter.

 

[Orikoru]

I suspect that is the same at most places, apart from elite clubs who have a starter.

Yeah, probably. So the difference between having 8 or 10 minutes intervals is negligible really. People just tee off when they're ready until the point where there's a gap in times.

 

[TheJezster]

8 minutes on a Saturday morning and 6 minutes on a Sunday morning for us.

It's only weekend mornings where we have specific tee times.

 

[Jamesbrown]

So the 2 ball match in front of you have cleared the hole and off to the 2nd, and you're going to wait the full 10 minutes with your 4 ball?

Yeah unless they are the first group out in a morning and will be quickly gone.
Not only that, to be a pedant, it’s against the rules in a comp.

 

[duncan mackie]

Yeah, probably. So the difference between having 8 or 10 minutes intervals is negligible really. People just tee off when they're ready until the point where there's a gap in times.

Not necessarily.
Anywhere that has booked slots the difference will be very real - there will basically be between 1 and 2 additional games an hour arriving at the 1st tee to play at 8 rather than 10m 'gaps'.
It's generally accepted, and reflected in most posts above, that courses flow better (which impacts positively on the overall time an average game will take over 18 holes) the lower the density on the course. 8m intervals for 2 balls, 9 for 3 and 10 for 4 ball play being cited to minimise the impact of density issues.
It's one of ( but obviously not always the only) reasons that slotting a large group of 4 balls into many course at 8m intervals will result in slower rounds (in exactly the same way as playing any stroke play comp in 4s at 8m will do).
3s @ 8 is common; and like motorway traffic flow, it's fine until something happens....and then it simply doesn't have the space to resolve itself and rounds will get longer, and longer, through the field.

 

[Orikoru]

Not necessarily.
Anywhere that has booked slots the difference will be very real - there will basically be between 1 and 2 additional games an hour arriving at the 1st tee to play at 8 rather than 10m 'gaps'.
It's generally accepted, and reflected in most posts above, that courses flow better (which impacts positively on the overall time an average game will take over 18 holes) the lower the density on the course. 8m intervals for 2 balls, 9 for 3 and 10 for 4 ball play being cited to minimise the impact of density issues.
It's one of ( but obviously not always the only) reasons that slotting a large group of 4 balls into many course at 8m intervals will result in slower rounds (in exactly the same way as playing any stroke play comp in 4s at 8m will do).
3s @ 8 is common; and like motorway traffic flow, it's fine until something happens....and then it simply doesn't have the space to resolve itself and rounds will get longer, and longer, through the field.

There will be more people trying to play, but eventually you get to a slot that wasn't booked by anyone and it evens out anyway. Unless every slot is booked for the entire day which seems unlikely.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

Think 10 minutes tend to work better but see 8 and 10 mins at different places.

 

[Deleted member 1418]

8 minute intervals at my club, even for the board comps (which are 3-balls). Seems to work ok, although we have the same problem as at probably most places with groups failing to keep up with play and letting those behind through - seems particularly evident with societies where there are a mix of abilities and some players not fully understanding etiquette around pace of play.

 

[duncan mackie]

There will be more people trying to play, but eventually you get to a slot that wasn't booked by anyone and it evens out anyway. Unless every slot is booked for the entire day which seems unlikely.

For many courses with visitors and societies it's quite common for there to be many, many hours of solidly booked tee times during the season.
Ours is bookable midweek from 1004h and it's not uncommon in June July for the main course to be booked solid from 1004 to 1600.
We are definitely not alone in this

 

[arnieboy]

8 minutes at our place regardless of playing in threes or fours. Running fifteen minutes early on Monday as there was a foursomes competition in front of us.

 

[r0wly86]

8 minutes in theory, in reality whenever the group in front are out of range.

I would like to see stricter tee times enforced and a bigger gap between tee times as all that happens at the moment is everyone gets bunched by the first par 3

 

[simonm8]

During comps I think we are 8 minutes, not played any yet to see.. but normal days its just queue up and go, which sometimes can be a nightmare, my place don't do tee times. one Saturday I got down there and at 8:30 there were 26 people all waiting on the 1st!! and 10 on 10th all waiting to tee off.. plus we have 6 swindle go out one after another on a Saturday so you got no chance teeing off before 9 anyway..