Right of Way - Turning or Tee Time?

[Sandy Lie]

This is an interesting topic.  At Pinehurst #2 they have in the past had Members and Guest alike starting on the 1st and 10th tees. Now this isn’t year round it’s only during the Summer and Spring months when the Resort gets very busy. (Revenue!)  The 10th tee start time was 1 hour 20 minutes after the earliest tee time on the first hole which in the summer at 7:30.  For the most part it worked but more than often the only complainers were the Members.  I’ve always felt that pace or rhythm in a round produced or kept a good round going.  Telling the guy who just birdied the 13th he has to wait 15-20 minutes isn’t pretty.  Starters on the 10th had their hand full!  
 

But now the split tee times has a new format.  The 1st hole and the 14th hole. The first 4 or 5 groups starting on the front early can actually get through the 14th hole with ease. They don’t start the 14th hole times until 10:00.  But after that it gets interesting.  And then what invariably happens is the groups that start on 14 run into groups going off the First tee!  No one plays through the first tee if there are still groups going off. And of course the problem is the Clubs own doing if they decide to add or squeeze in a couple of tee times that were not on the tee sheet (again, Revenue).   From the 14th tee box you can see the First Tee.  If it’s crowded many Members just go home.  In some cases it just seems like they moved the problem to another hole.  From a Guest perspective you don’t want to start on the 14th tee. And from my perspective they shouldn’t, it would ruin the experience. Especially after paying the Green Fees.

[Double Mocha Man]

1 hour ago, Sandy Divot said:

I kind of think it was ok for the first group turning to go, but the second group should have had to wait. Several years ago I was at the PGA Tour event in Greensboro. We followed the first group off #1 on Thursday morning. They were done with the front before the #10 tee times had teed off. They had to wait.

Bet I can tell you which PGA pros weren't in that group.

[iacas]

On 6/4/2020 at 8:10 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Why on earth is your course taking tee times for the back nine before 10 in the morning?!  Makes no sense whatsoever.

Because it’s not 1 and 10. For once please read more before you post.

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IMO the 7:30 group should have to wait until the 9:30 group goes. Easy.

I think you got gender biased.

[DaveP043]

I've played at a nearby club where they do front and back, split tees.  If the first group off one side gets done quickly, they understand that they'll have to wait until their spot comes up,  The people with tee times get to go, as long as they're on the proper tee at the appointed time.  To me that's the only way to keep order.  If you want to play your first 9 in 1:30, that's fine, just plan on having a late breakfast before you can start your second nine.

[Double Mocha Man]

44 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I've played at a nearby club where they do front and back, split tees.  If the first group off one side gets done quickly, they understand that they'll have to wait until their spot comes up,  The people with tee times get to go, as long as they're on the proper tee at the appointed time.  To me that's the only way to keep order.  If you want to play your first 9 in 1:30, that's fine, just plan on having a late breakfast before you can start your second nine.

First time in golf history anyone's been told to play slower...

[DeadMan]

My home course is 27 holes. They will send people off on all three 9s in the morning. The rule is that tee times have precedence over people turning. This is normally fine, although they schedule 2:15 of tee times in the morning, so the first group or two turning can end up waiting. If there is a gap in the tee sheet, they will let people turning go. 

FWIW, this is a public course, which I think matters. They can't go around pissing a bunch of fee-paying customers off by allowing groups in front of them when it's their turn to go. Not that it makes sense in other contexts, but I could see that at a private course, faster groups could get priority.