Golf etiquette when playing thru

[Cherryman]

Does anyone have thoughts on the best way to play thru the group in front of you, when playing as a single (in a cart). In situations where the group is noticeably slow and no one is in front of them.  

I will often jump out in the afternoon as a single (private club, but this applies to public as well). I experience all kinds of groups in front of me. 
1. A young kid learning golf with their parents. Quick wave thru, nice and happy. 
2. 4some hacking all over the place. They need me to ask them when I catch them on the next tee box. 
3. Old stodgy group that is fishing out balls on every hole. Never know, really. 
4. Etc etc
 

I realize that the old rules say a 4some ALWAYS has the right to say no to someone playing thru. 

However I am not normally someone that just rolls up to the next tee, parking 10 feet behind the 2 carts and watch them hit. Creating that not-so-subtle hint that I’m waiting on them. 

Or maybe this is just like life…there are nice people and those that are not so understanding and not willing to pay it forward. 

(Of course, after the wave thru, that’s a whole different can of worms on whether you play the hole with them and then set sail, skip the hole, have them watch you play it, etc)

thoughts?

 

 

 

[Shapotomous]

When in a cart I skip around them and then go back to play that hole later.  I stay out of the way of anyone else out there and am careful not to jump in front of anyone so as to hold them up.   

When walking then I play a couple balls and hit practice shots to get my pace to match theirs if I don't have a finish time that I need to make it by.  If I have to be done by a certain time then I skip holes and don't go back to play the skipped holes.

[WaffleHouseTour]

No one in front of them? In a cart? Why not just jump ahead - skip that hole and your on the next green before they are on theirs. Yeah, yeah, you played 17 rather than 18, but does that really matter? If in a cart I just zip around, give a friendly wave but don’t try to play the hole - not asking them to wait for a second on me so no reason they should be upset  

The real challenge is how do you play thru when you are walking?  That’s just physically more difficult.  You want to make sure they aren’t waiting on you to hit your tee shot, but you’ve got to fast walk out to your drive. As I typically walk I can’t zip around them, but I’ve been waved thru and it’s a challenge. Hopefully it all happens on a par three…

[Cherryman]

1 hour ago, Shapotomous said:

When in a cart I skip around them and then go back to play that hole later.  I stay out of the way of anyone else out there and am careful not to jump in front of anyone so as to hold them up.   

When walking then I play a couple balls and hit practice shots to get my pace to match theirs if I don't have a finish time that I need to make it by.  If I have to be done by a certain time then I skip holes and don't go back to play the skipped holes.

I’m with you there. Sometimes can be tough on courses where you don’t have clear visibility to how open 1-2 holes are in front of you. I’ve definitely had the uncomfortable situation where I skip a hole and then get slowed down again and the groups I skipped catch me. 

[Cherryman]

1 hour ago, WaffleHouseTour said:

No one in front of them? In a cart? Why not just jump ahead - skip that hole and your on the next green before they are on theirs. Yeah, yeah, you played 17 rather than 18, but does that really matter? If in a cart I just zip around, give a friendly wave but don’t try to play the hole - not asking them to wait for a second on me so no reason they should be upset  

The real challenge is how do you play thru when you are walking?  That’s just physically more difficult.  You want to make sure they aren’t waiting on you to hit your tee shot, but you’ve got to fast walk out to your drive. As I typically walk I can’t zip around them, but I’ve been waved thru and it’s a challenge. Hopefully it all happens on a par three…

I’ve had that experience too when walking. Usually hustle it up as I jog out to my ball. Skipping holes when walking can be tough, especially if you are at a course with an interwoven layout and someone pops out of nowhere now playing right behind you. 

[DoubleBogeyDad]

I lived on a nine hole course for a couple of years and used to hop out early AM or after work as a single walker quite a bit. I would typically just play a couple of balls and match my pace to the group in front of me. I always felt like going out as a single, I was at the mercy of the course. When there was clearly space in front of the group I was waiting on I'd ask to play thru at a tee box and then hoof it out of their way for a hole or two and resume playing a couple balls once I created space and wasn't holding them up.

[Stuka44]

Most of the time if I end up having to  play alone I do one of two things, at my local public courses, mostly #1. 

 #1  I arrive before the course opens,  well before the first tee time of the day.  If the first tee time is anything but another single, I very politely inform the employee who opens, and most of them I have gotten to know, and they know me, "that I am by myself today, that I would be grateful, if I could jump out first. That I expect to shoot between,  78-85, that I understand that the group likely took the first tee time so as not to be held up, and I give a 100% gaurantee that by the time they are ready to tee off, I will be on hole #2 or further already, and they will never see me again.

#2 If I go at any other time, aware that the course is likely fairly busy, and I have been given a tee time by the course, or told to go ahead, I will play multiple balls, and inform the group behind that I will be doing so to match the speed of those in front of me.

[russtopherb]

I play as a single a lot, usually walking/pushing, and more often than not the group in front of me offers to let me through without my needed to even say anything.

When that doesn't happen, I simply approach the group on the tee and ask if they mind me playing through. I make a point to state I'm playing alone and I'll be out of their way quickly (this usually is a lie because Murphy's Law states that when I ask to play through I will immediately duck hook my tee shot off the face of the earth and I'll need to re-tee and hit 3) and the answer is almost always "sure go ahead!"

I can only think of one time when a foursome refused to let me through - I replied that wasn't a problem, and I immediately walked off to cut through the trees to get to the next open hole in front of them (there was no one on any of the 3 holes in front of them, BTW). 

[Rockerdude]

On 5/31/2023 at 12:03 PM, russtopherb said:

 I make a point to state I'm playing alone and I'll be out of their way quickly (this usually is a lie because Murphy's Law states that when I ask to play through I will immediately duck hook my tee shot off the face of the earth and I'll need to re-tee and hit 3) and the answer is almost always "sure go ahead!"

 

hahaha i got paired up with this old man. The course was a tad slow but I wouldn't say terribly slow and the group in front of us had another 2 groups ahead. I think they were maybe half a hole behind but at one point this old man ran over to ask if we could play through. Man the nerves kicked in because the group was annoyed, since there was really no where to go, and they all stared as we hit. Luckily i hit it in the fairway but that was a scary moment ha

[heavygolffeels]

The thing I don't get is that the group will offer to let you play through, and then they dont tee off. The all stand there watching you finish the previous hole. And then stand there watching you run up to the tee box to hit a rushed shot, and then stand there complaining as you are hitting your second out of the rough. Tee off! Get your balls out there and lets go!

[Brooky03]

On 6/13/2023 at 12:07 PM, scooterhd2 said:

The thing I don't get is that the group will offer to let you play through, and then they dont tee off. The all stand there watching you finish the previous hole. And then stand there watching you run up to the tee box to hit a rushed shot, and then stand there complaining as you are hitting your second out of the rough. Tee off! Get your balls out there and lets go!

I'd feel just as rushed if the group letting me play through hit their drives as I would if they waited to hit their drives.  I think it's an unavoidable feeling.  I've experienced both and from both sides of the coin.  I prefer the method of waiting to hit drives (as the one playing through and the one letting somebody through) to hitting drives and then waiting.  It usually creates more of a gap, which takes a little pressure off of the one playing through.  The only time I'm in favor of hitting tee shots and then waiting is when the course is really packed and creating that slightly bigger gap is going to disrupt the golfers behind the one(s) playing through.

If I'm letting somebody through, I do my best to move as far away from the tee box as reasonable and try to make it obvious I'm not watching them.  I'll fiddle with my bag quietly or quietly talk to somebody in my group; stuff like that.

[heavygolffeels]

8 minutes ago, Brooky03 said:

I'd feel just as rushed if the group letting me play through hit their drives as I would if they waited to hit their drives.  I think it's an unavoidable feeling.  I've experienced both and from both sides of the coin.  I prefer the method of waiting to hit drives (as the one playing through and the one letting somebody through) to hitting drives and then waiting.  It usually creates more of a gap, which takes a little pressure off of the one playing through.  The only time I'm in favor of hitting tee shots and then waiting is when the course is really packed and creating that slightly bigger gap is going to disrupt the golfers behind the one(s) playing through.

If I'm letting somebody through, I do my best to move as far away from the tee box as reasonable and try to make it obvious I'm not watching them.  I'll fiddle with my bag quietly or quietly talk to somebody in my group; stuff like that.

Oh brother.  Even on a par 3? This is the butterfly effect on how the course gets backed up all day. The guy driving 55 in the fast lane at rush hour sees himself as being safe and only a minor inconvenience for the driver behind him, when infact brake lights are flashing for 10 miles behind him. People are exiting early and trying surface streets. There's been an accident from people trying to switch lanes and get around. Aim for efficiency no matter the situation. 

[Brooky03]

2 hours ago, scooterhd2 said:

Oh brother.  Even on a par 3? This is the butterfly effect on how the course gets backed up all day. The guy driving 55 in the fast lane at rush hour sees himself as being safe and only a minor inconvenience for the driver behind him, when infact brake lights are flashing for 10 miles behind him. People are exiting early and trying surface streets. There's been an accident from people trying to switch lanes and get around. Aim for efficiency no matter the situation. 

On a par 3, the difference is even less.  If we all hit our shots, then let the faster golfer(s) through, there's a really good chance we're going to be walking off the green as they're walking off the next tee box.  Then we're waiting for a tick on the next tee box for the group we just let play through, in all likelihood.  If we wait to hit our shots (let's say the next hole is a par 4), we're probably teeing off on the next hole as the golfer(s) who played through are on/near that green, so no wait.  So I see it as the difference between waiting twice or waiting once.  The real life difference in time between the two is probably only a few minutes.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Brooky03

[Cherryman]

On 5/31/2023 at 1:51 PM, Stuka44 said:

Most of the time if I end up having to  play alone I do one of two things, at my local public courses, mostly #1. 

 #1  I arrive before the course opens,  well before the first tee time of the day.  If the first tee time is anything but another single, I very politely inform the employee who opens, and most of them I have gotten to know, and they know me, "that I am by myself today, that I would be grateful, if I could jump out first. That I expect to shoot between,  78-85, that I understand that the group likely took the first tee time so as not to be held up, and I give a 100% gaurantee that by the time they are ready to tee off, I will be on hole #2 or further already, and they will never see me again.

#2 If I go at any other time, aware that the course is likely fairly busy, and I have been given a tee time by the course, or told to go ahead, I will play multiple balls, and inform the group behind that I will be doing so to match the speed of those in front of me.

First out is always the play, def with you there! 
i have never considered #2 but like it. Especially if the group behind you has NO possibility of also jumping through.
Visually I’ve found it’s always a tough thing to play more than one ball…as when I watch that happening in front of me I get fired up haha. Appreciate you reframing for me!

[Cherryman]

23 hours ago, Brooky03 said:

I'd feel just as rushed if the group letting me play through hit their drives as I would if they waited to hit their drives.  I think it's an unavoidable feeling.  I've experienced both and from both sides of the coin.  I prefer the method of waiting to hit drives (as the one playing through and the one letting somebody through) to hitting drives and then waiting.  It usually creates more of a gap, which takes a little pressure off of the one playing through.  The only time I'm in favor of hitting tee shots and then waiting is when the course is really packed and creating that slightly bigger gap is going to disrupt the golfers behind the one(s) playing through.

If I'm letting somebody through, I do my best to move as far away from the tee box as reasonable and try to make it obvious I'm not watching them.  I'll fiddle with my bag quietly or quietly talk to somebody in my group; stuff like that.

I often give the person playing through some s*** but all in good fun. now if they then are hitting their 7th shot from the fairway and don’t hurry up I may make a little noise from the tee (rightfully so). 
 

Altho I’m the guy that wants to pay it forward so I’m rarely bitter in those circumstances. 

[Cherryman]

21 hours ago, Brooky03 said:

On a par 3, the difference is even less.  If we all hit our shots, then let the faster golfer(s) through, there's a really good chance we're going to be walking off the green as they're walking off the next tee box.  Then we're waiting for a tick on the next tee box for the group we just let play through, in all likelihood.  If we wait to hit our shots (let's say the next hole is a par 4), we're probably teeing off on the next hole as the golfer(s) who played through are on/near that green, so no wait.  So I see it as the difference between waiting twice or waiting once.  The real life difference in time between the two is probably only a few minutes.

Also depends on the quality of guys you are playing through. If they are hackers then 1 or more will be looking for their balls in the woods anyway…so everyone teeing off together would work. Granted you don’t know that for sure until they hit. 
 

if they are low hcpers they are gonna hit their little fades into the fairway and either watch you hit your next shot from the teebox or wait while you finish from their 2nd shot. I get the red light thing tho…fine line here. 

[Stuka44]

19 hours ago, Cherryman said:

19 hours ago, Cherryman said:

First out is always the play, def with you there! 
i have never considered #2 but like it. Especially if the group behind you has NO possibility of also jumping through.
Visually I’ve found it’s always a tough thing to play more than one ball…as when I watch that happening in front of me I get fired up haha. Appreciate you reframing for me!

 

I haven't had any trouble if I explain it to the group behind.  Also I should have clarified a little.  I am not hitting two balls off the tee ( because one could be way left, and the other way right).  I will just hit my one ball I am "keeping score" with, and if my 2nd shot isn't going to be a punch out or anything(i'm not punching two balls out of the trees back into the fairway) I will then play, and hole out two balls the rest of the way.