What's the earliest tee off on a Saturday at your club?

[Kennysarmy]

Ours is 8 am - is this normal?

Once the weather gets lighter I don't see why golfers cannot get out earlier and reduce the wait on the tee later on....

 

[Hobbit]

Winter; 8.00.
Summer; 7.30

 

[HomerJSimpson]

We don't have booked times so go out as soon as you think you can see far enough. We have a small group of about 6 or 7 that are on the tee before light, as I'm arriving around 7.15 (so still dark) and we all joke they must play off the yellows (about 160 yards) with miners lamps or in pitch darkness.

 

[EamonnC]

Our usual first tee time is 8.00 but in the summer we have tee times as early as 6.30.

 

[patricks148]

Summer its 7.30 but people do go out earlier as long as they give way to the greenstaff.

Winter, today the first time is 8.52 as it is pitch black at 8.30 still so only just light for the first time

 

[jimbob.someroo]

07:50 at ours this weekend. Will get back towards 07:30 in the summer, although they're looking at potentially re-routing the course as, due to the complaint of one ridiculous neighbour, the greenstaff now aren't allowed into the plot of land where our 9th, 10th and 11th are until 09:00. As a result, if you do get round quickly at 07:30, you've got to sit at the halfway hut until 09:30 when those holes open.

The neighbour complained about the noise of mowers at 08:00, despite the course obviously being there long before they moved in. However, their complaints took the form of spray-painting the greens under cover of darkness ... our club buckled and put the 09:30 limit for first play from the 9th tee.

Hopefully, if they do re-route it, those holes will become 13, 14 & 15 which will allow a few of us that like to play early the option to start doing that again!

 

[patricks148]

07:50 at ours this weekend. Will get back towards 07:30 in the summer, although they're looking at potentially re-routing the course as, due to the complaint of one ridiculous neighbour, the greenstaff now aren't allowed into the plot of land where our 9th, 10th and 11th are until 09:00. As a result, if you do get round quickly at 07:30, you've got to sit at the halfway hut until 09:30 when those holes open.

The neighbour complained about the noise of mowers at 08:00, despite the course obviously being there long before they moved in. However, their complaints took the form of spray-painting the greens under cover of darkness ... our club buckled and put the 09:30 limit for first play from the 9th tee.

Hopefully, if they do re-route it, those holes will become 13, 14 & 15 which will allow a few of us that like to play early the option to start doing that again!

Royal Dornoch had a sim problem with someone who moved into the house opposite the 1st green. complained the GS cutting woke them up, so club had to wait to cut it till after 9am. i think they have since moved out and the new owners are members so back to normal

 

[cookelad]

You can't access the locker room until reception opens at Toya so if your clubs are in there you can't get out till 8:00 otherwise daylight was the only restriction.

I remember a big group of us waiting for it to get light enough for us to play in the 8:00swindle at Shooters Hill and a bloke walked past us leaving the course having played 11

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I'm not sure there is a restriction at our place. According to BRS I could book 6.52 am . I do know people are going out at 8am on a weekend at the moment and it is dark. I know this as I have been at the club at 8am for my 8.24 time to look on in bemusement at the 3 ball going off when they clearly can not see more than 20yds in front of them. Hey ho.

 

[Slab]

You can't access the locker room until reception opens at Toya so if your clubs are in there you can't get out till 8:00 otherwise daylight was the only restriction.

I remember a big group of us waiting for it to get light enough for us to play in the 8:00swindle at Shooters Hill and a bloke walked past us leaving the course having played 11

I was wondering what club facilities are open for the folk first out but didn't know if it was worth a thread, might just start one...

 

[Orikoru]

No idea. I certainly won't bloody be there.

 

[Capella]

At hour club you can play in the middle of the night, if you want to. We don't assign tee-times. Even some facilities of the club house, like the toilets and the caddie room, are accessible day and night with an entry code which all members know. And even as a guest you can start your round before the office opens, provided you deposit your greenfee in a post box at the club house before you start. There is always someone out there playing as soon as it is daylight. The greenkeepers start their work around 7 in summer and with first daylight the rest of the year, so if you play early, you will have to be prepared to stand by and let them do their job (mow the greens, rake the bunkers etc.), and in summer, the sprinklers might come on in the early hours before the sun is out.

The same is true at night. There is no definite time at which you have to end your round, but there is usually a sign up at the first tee, telling you from what time you have to expect the sprinklers to go on (and from experience I'd say it is advisable to abandon the course before that ).

Comps (which are the only fixed tee times) normally don't start before 8 o'clock.

 

[AMcC]

8am winter and summer are the first bookable times, however daylight determines first tee times just now. You can go out before 8 in the summer, except on a medal day. You just turn up and take your chances, never that busy though.

 

[jim8flog]

7.30 to 8.00 depending on the time of the year.

Green staff have priority on the course until 9.30.

 

[Kennysarmy]

For those that have a designated tee-time - do you think this is because of a legal requirement for the club/course to know who is on their land?

I personally can't see why if you're a member you just can't get out as soon as it's light....what magical thing happens at 8 am ?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

For those that have a designated tee-time - do you think this is because of a legal requirement for the club/course to know who is on their land?

I personally can't see why if you're a member you just can't get out as soon as it's light....what magical thing happens at 8 am ?

I suspect it is a mixture of allowing green staff to do their job and also your first point. It could be for insurance purposes, H & S, the need to contact someone in an emergency etc.

Why this would be different for turn up and play / ball in a chute courses I don't know? Perhaps it is not.

 

[Slab]

For those that have a designated tee-time - do you think this is because of a legal requirement for the club/course to know who is on their land?

I personally can't see why if you're a member you just can't get out as soon as it's light....what magical thing happens at 8 am ?

Is it maybe more to do with the club deciding when the course opens & not an individual member?

 

[hacker_al]

7am through the summer. Moves around in winter, 7am or 10 minutes before sunrise whichever is the latter.
People were seen going off at 6.30am in the summer but we were advised we were not insured before 7am.

 

[Matty6]

Our usual first tee time is 8.00 but in the summer we have tee times as early as 6.30.

Same here

 

[TheJezster]

Weekends it's 8am for us, but during the week there is no restriction, other than light I suppose...