Respectful way to play thru

[Kraemer]

Bomb it over their heads on a par 4

I tried this; it doesn't work real good.

Much appreciate the input/feedback from everyone! (Note; Any single player playing through a foursome will not really cause the foresome to wait much especially if you are diligent / quick about it.) Skipping a hole is aways an option too... And yes, mdl; and everyone-- asking is a correct way about it; however without yelling, it's hard to even get the opportunity to do so unless you come up behind them on a par 3. Which works out well if you can par or bogey the previous hole. Keep the replies coming; all the info is very valid and constructive! Thanks everyone!

[FHopper]

Ask if they have room for you to join them, they will usually tell you to just play through.

[Chief Broom]

But it is very important while playing through, don't dilly dally. Hit your ball and play..... even a little faster than normal just to show your gratitude. So what if you play that one hole bad.

Exactly. This can be the one draw back on asking/insisting on playing through. You've got to hustle on that hole in order to get out in front of the group and that necessarily means you aren't going to be as deliberate as you normally would on the hole. The upside to this is that this isn't any worse than jumping ahead of them (something etiquette dictates you shouldn't do). If I'm in this situation and I'm really cocking up the hole I'll simply pick up and move ahead. This way I'm not holding up the group that was nice enough to let me through, and my round isn't unduely held up either as I resume a faster pace.

Incidentally if more people would do this, insist on playing through, you wouldn't see anywhere near as many course backlogs being caused by slower playing groups.

I've never understood how you're supposed to do this unless the group in front is super polite and waits for you at the next tee. My buddies and I are often riding up behind a group, but we walk, and most of the bad players drive, so it's hard to get a chance to ask, even if the group in front is a hole or two behind. Like, the group in front is taking their 2 chips and 3 putts a piece while we sit in the fairway waiting to take our second shot. Never seems reasonable to run 150 yards, ask them if they can wait for us after their tee shots on the next hole or something, then run back and finish the hole.

If this is the case then you really aren't being held up much by the group in front of you. It's when you are waiting 5 minutes or more on every shot by a slow group, then it really isn't a problem to catch them on the next tee box prior to them all teeing off. That's when you want to ask them if they don't mind if you play through. They all tee off and then your group tees off and you all go down the fairway together. They may have to wait a few minutes before they hit their next shot for you to clear the green or whatever, but usually slow groups aren't playing well and while you're hitting your second shot they may well be trying to find their errant drives. It doesn't always work out that well, but usually it isn't that hard to catch a slower group before they leave the next tee box.

In a perfect world the slower group sees that you are constantly dogging them on the course and also knows that it's open in front of them they wave you through without having to ask. It's when that doesn't happen that I will pursue a slower group so that I can ask them if I can play through. I've had it happen before where a slower group basically says no. While ackward I'll then just tell them I'm going on through because they are holding up the entire course. One time another player and I (he had joined me a couple of holes prior to confronting the slow group) faced this situation where the group was reluctant, but we simply teed off before they had a chance to drive down the fairway. They looked really indignant about it but like I said they were too busy looking around in the woods for their drives and we were off the green and teeing off on the next hole before they were even thinking about hitting into the green.

[tm22721]

I'm no longer mr nice guy. I have a membership so I just walk to some empty holes then rinse and repeat until I have played enough. Sometimes it takes three circuits of the course to play 18 holes. That's a 10 mile walk and I carry my bag so I'm wasted but that's better than cooling my heels for hours behind a bunch of bozos.

[Smallville]

I play most on a links style course and it would be hard to skip ahead except on a few holes.

[normdamarine]

Both my home courses hardly let any singles off, it will have to be dead out there for that to happen. They usually make the singles wait and then pair them up with at least 3 of them but the good news is when they get 3 or 4 they will slide them in between a t time...

[Big_M]

... but the good news is when they get 3 or 4 they will slide them in between a t time...

Actually that's crappy for them to squeeze singles into a tee time between two others... that's what jams up the courses. Singles need to be paired with 2-somes or 3-somes on busy days. Only way they should EVER slide in is if there was an open tee time, and if that's the case why the hell would they make you wait for another single or two.

[normdamarine]

Actually that's crappy for them to squeeze singles into a tee time between two others... that's what jams up the courses. Singles need to be paired with 2-somes or 3-somes on busy days. Only way they should EVER slide in is if there was an open tee time, and if that's the case why the hell would they make you wait for another single or two.

The conversation is about letting singles out on the course. You tell me what jams up a course more, fitting in a couple extra t times a day or letting singles off on the course? Either is not really a good practice but I do not know many golf courses that are booked solid for t time all day every day either...

[Big_M]

The conversation is about letting singles out on the course.

actually it is about the "respectful" way to play through... not about being out there in the first place. If you read my other post you would see that I actually already answered the question and shared an experience I had a few days ago. I play as a single about 1/3 of the time (usually getting paired up)... so read my posts, I'm not saying singles are bad, or they have no standing or anything like that...

You tell me what jams up a course more, fitting in a couple extra t times a day or letting singles off on the course? Either is not really a good practice but I do not know many golf courses that are booked solid for t time all day every day either...

Not 100% sure exactly what you mean... A golf course should NEVER add players, singles or otherwise, to a full tee sheet. However, it is seldom that a tee sheet is 100% booked, usually there are slots with 2-somes and 3-somes, and those are the spots where a single should be added, or even a 2-some with another 2-some... OR if there are entire open tee times with 0 golfers... send whatever type group is ready on out single, 2-some, or otherwise. I was specifically speaking about the practice of having tee times on a tee sheet that are say 1:00, 1:10, 1:20, etc. and a course waiting to get 3-4 singles and sending them out between the 1:10 and 1:20 time despite the fact that they are booked solid. That WOULD indeed jam up a course... extra golfers should NOT be sent out, they should follow the sheet and make people wait for an open time.

[Fourputt]

The conversation is about letting singles out on the course. You tell me what jams up a course more, fitting in a couple extra t times a day or letting singles off on the course? Either is not really a good practice but I do not know many golf courses that are booked solid for t time all day every day either...

If you put a single out in a regular tee time because it wasn't filled by a foursome, then how does that jam up a course???? It doesn't.

It's far more damaging to the flow of play on the course to hold them back and then squeeze in a group of four between regularly scheduled tee times, and it's unfair to the players who did schedule those times and then have to follow the squeezed in group. It's equally unfair to the single who has to sit there and watch open tee times go unused because of a questionable policy. I'm a starter, so I have several years of experience with this. We are not even allowed to squeeze a single, much less a foursome. The tee sheet has fixed starting times and they are rigidly adhered to, except in the case of a frost delay (in which case I am sometimes required to be creative). If a single walk-on is waiting and I have an open tee time, he gets it. I'm not going to make him wait just because I don't have anyone else for him to play with. I will certainly try to match him up with another group who is short a player or two, but that doesn't always work out, so if I have an open time, I'll send him out. This policy does NOT jam up the course. If anything just the opposite. The single will be stuck waiting a lot because he will naturally play faster than the full groups in front of him. He's the only one who gets "jammed up".

[glenntwo]

You are at the mercy of the group in front of you. They should "invite" you to play through. If they don't, about all you can do is bit your tongue and enjoy the weather.

No you are not. Most people will let a single play through without a problem, but won't always offer first, so you need to ask. And if they refuse, just let the shop know at the turn. I'm sure the manager won't like hearing how one group is clogging up his revenue stream and will do something about it.

[Golfer71]

At my home course in the UK they have a local rule which says a single player has no standing - meaning a single has to stand down and let grouped players play through. Last time I played as a single I was required to stand by and let a 2 ball pass through at the 2nd hole. I then got wait for them on every tee and fairway until the 18th... I was slightly gobsmacked that the group seriously wanted to exercise this rule and then have me wait for them on every hole.