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Taking the game on the road...


I had to travel to pick up someone at the airport Saturday and since my club was packed I decided to play a round of golf at a course I had never played before. I set a tee time and asked if I was playing with anyone and they said no.I get to the course and it is fairly busy but no playing partner however I easily caught up with the twosome in front of me (one of which informed me later he had picked up ball on the first hole, as the round progressed :mad:). I played 5-9 with two guys, a dad and his recent college grad son. Dad was an average player and son was very athletic but erratic although my game was nothing short of twice my handicap that day. The "kids" dad stops after 9 and we keep playing. The guy is nice and easy to play with but the conversation we had was interesting. He tells me first that he just started playing golf a year ago and he spends every day at the golf course after work (summer job before grad school) at 3 since the summer started. He has all the typical "newbie" delusions. Thinks he hits it farther than he does, inconsistent irons and no short game. He also takes multiple second ball shots, granted this course is under construction and some of the back nine are temporary tees and some holes. Along the 11th hole he talks handicaps with me and says he is a 7 handicap, his best round is a 76 and that he doesn't post his scores very often because he does want give strokes to people... Indeed, I was perplexed. I just smiled and played along as he also told me that he has no short game and hates practicing it but will hit hours of driver shots... This guy totally reminded me of me sans the the thought of being a 7, let alone a 27 handicap my first year playing. I am sure my out driving him was annoying but if he keeps playing and getting better technique, I am sure he would hang or out drive me regularly. He used to play college baseball and probably no used to not being better at sports than others around him so golf might be a hard pill to swallow. All in all I enjoyed the company, conversation and of course, the unintended humor.

5 Comments


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David in FL

Posted

Sounds like a good day all around.

Drives me nuts though.  They put a single out, by himself, behind a two-some.  And people wonder why we have pace of play issues...  

bkuehn1952

Posted

I find that many courses have started avoiding "pairing up" singles and groups less than 4. They apparently have gotten enough complaints about "pairing up" that they try to accede to the wishes of their customers to play as a 2-some, etc...

Personally, I think this is wrong-headed.  It is annoying for 4-somes to be pressed by a long string of 2-somes and singles. Letting a group through every other hole can be a bother. Everyone's expectations when arriving at the course with less than 4 should be they will met a new friend or two.

  • Upvote 2
David in FL

Posted

1 minute ago, bkuehn1952 said:

I find that many courses have started avoiding "pairing up" singles and groups less than 4. They apparently have gotten enough complaints about "pairing up" that they try to accede to the wishes of their customers to play as a 2-some, etc...

Personally, I think this is wrong-headed.  It is annoying for 4-somes to be pressed by a long string of 2-somes and singles. Letting a group through every other hole can be a bother. Everyone's expectations when arriving at the course with less than 4 should be they will met a new friend or two.

Yep.  Pace of play starts with the course.  If they don't/won't do their part, it all falls apart.

WUTiger

Posted

In the 1990s, I came across some golf courses and country clubs that took a dim view of pushy twosomes and singles. The local rules would often state something to the effect that:

      Singles and twosomes have no standing on this course.

That means ones and twos should not expect to go through larger groups.

Apparently courses and clubs have gotten away from doing this. I mentioned this old policy a couple of years ago, and got pinged by TSTers about being an elitist.

David in FL

Posted (edited)

6 hours ago, WUTiger said:

In the 1990s, I came across some golf courses and country clubs that took a dim view of pushy twosomes and singles. The local rules would often state something to the effect that:

      Singles and twosomes have no standing on this course.

That means ones and twos should not expect to go through larger groups.

Apparently courses and clubs have gotten away from doing this. I mentioned this old policy a couple of years ago, and got pinged by TSTers about being an elitist.

From the etiquette portion in The Rules of Golf:

Play at Good Pace and Keep Up

Players should play at a good pace. The Committee may establish pace of play guidelines that all players should follow.

It is a group’s responsibility to keep up with the group in front. If it loses a clear hole and it is delaying the group behind, it should invite the group behind to play through, irrespective of the number of players in that 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 real problem lies in the course(s) that don't pair up singles and two-somes and allow the course to become choked with small groups during peak hours.  

Edited by David in FL

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