Players Crossing Fairways

[VMAN]

Etiquette is for the person in the wrong fairway to make sure they are not impeding on the people playing the correct hole, being there first has nothing to do with it. That being said, sometimes if you are on the wrong hole a simple wave at someone on the tee box or fairway is all it takes for you to take 10 seconds and hit your shot, the key being that the person in the wrong fairway should curtail their preshot routine, hit back onto their fairway and get out promptly. It seems that the people in the wrong fairway handled this poorly, but there are entitled jerks everywhere. Usually I just let those people do what their going to do, blame it on ignorance and try not to let it get to me at all.

The one that gets me is when the person in the wrong fairway acts like they own the place and then tries the miracle shot over the trees (that they clearly don't have the game for) and gets himself in even more trouble on the wrong fairway.

[jetsknicks1]

Sounds logical. Maybe the OP needed to back off on this one.

Just seems to me that we all deal with enough stress & hassle doing our jobs, do we really need to deal with more of it on the golf course? If the guy in the wrong fairway really was being a jerk then you will never convince him that he's wrong because he's most likely a jerk all the time.

Let him hit, odds are he'll attempt to "Crush it" to prove that he deserves to hit first and that he'll either chunk it or rocket it off a tree further into your fairway. Then you can just smile, hit your ball and drive off.

[zeg]

That seems odd, I'd have thought that unless there's a callout in the local rules, a set of white stakes on either side of a scrub region would mean that both fairways are in bounds, irrespective of the hole, but the region between the white stakes is OB. Around here, it'd usually be an environmentally sensitive area, perhaps marked as a lateral hazard.

Personally, if I hit the ball into an adjoining fairway, I walk up along the very edge, under / behind trees for cover if possible, and wait until I see whether there's an oncoming group. I wait for them to hit, then while they're walking up I play my stroke. That seems to me like the proper etiquette---I want to be aware so I can watch for an oncoming tee shot, but I don't want them to know I'm there, since it might be a distraction. I usually leave my bag off their fairway and don't waste any time, though I don't feel I should have to rush, just play as efficiently as possible while on their turf.

If I were in the fairway already and a group came up on the tee, I would expect them to wait until I'd cleared. If that's what happened, I think it's fine of them to ask you to wait a moment until they play out, just because otherwise holds them up a lot while they all get out of the fairway, then go back to play. If they're dawdling, or if you were setting up before they drove on, then they're way out of line.

Under no circumstances are you justified in driving into or over them, ever.

[steelernation]

To the OP, you didnt do anything wrong. They were huge horses arses. Its hard to keep cool, I know.

[Lefty-Golfer]

you should have gotten out of your cart, walked straight to the ball in question and hit it back in the direction of the T box they were coming from...then you could have looked at them and said don't ever let me catch you on my hole again...maybe you could have thrown a divot at them if there was one in the area...or you could just smile and wait the 30 seconds until they clear the area. it is kind of a coin flip.

[Fat Slice]

Once they saw you insisted on playing first, they should have let you. Meanwhile, you probably didn't need to insist to play first. It's kind of a no-win pillowfight. Try and relax on the course - don't let idiots ruin your day.

[sean_miller]

So I'm out doing 18 last Sunday.

I think the point you guys are missing is they seemed to be already there getting ready to hit their balls and the OP was in a powercart - probably made really good time between teeing off and reaching his ball. Maybe the guys who were already in the fairway could have been more polite, but since I don't know the poster and have obviously never spoken with him, he might have been rude right off the hop as well. What is the accepted custom on that course and in that area of the country? Maybe as an admitted new golfer he should check in at the proshop and find out what is the typical course of action.

[mdbuschsr]

I was thinking about this at work today. I'd just be glad that my ball was still in the fairway. I've had enough times when a well struck straight drive, or iron has magically disappeared.

[Radford Wooly]

Pick your battles. Be courteous even if they're not. Complain at the clubhouse if you feel the need.

[VinoGolfer]

Meh. Could I have just ignored them? Sure. Did I get a little testy at being ordered to wait vs. a "Hi, sorry about this, we'll be right out of your way"? Sure. Did I escalate it? No, I just stopped talking and went about my thing (which, btw, did not involve hitting into them or over them). Have we all done something that maybe wasn't the most diplomatic? I'm willing to bet.

[bplewis24]

Isn't it just a question of who's there first? If I tee off and as I'm driving to my ball somebody comes from the other fairway to his ball, I just let him hit, no sense in him waiting for me to get to mine, line up the shot and hit.

In my opinion it can be, but other things factor in. For me, this issue is completely driven by pace of play factors. Assuming everybody can play their shots right away, then whoever gets there first or is ready to play soonest can go. However, if I have to wait for the green to clear, I would always let the other people go first. Chances are that if they are that far from their fairway, they don't have much of a shot at the green and instead are laying up back into their own fairway.

Other factors matter as well. If I'm part of a foursome that has to play before this one person can get back to his fairway, I'd rather let the one person play his shot and the rest of us can resume. If all four of us have to play before he can get back to his own fairway, it makes more sense to let him play first. There was one time this weekend in my tournament (ready golf though), where I asked my playing partner if I could play out of turn. He was in the correct fairway, shorter than me. I was in the adjacent fairway, further ahead. The problem was that my ball was about 50 yards in front of the adjacent fairway's tee box. I could see the people approaching the next tee box and if I waited for my partner to play first, they would be on the tee box ready to swing, and I'd have to wait for all three to tee off before taking my shot. So the result would have been playing partner playing, then about a 3-5 minute delay until I could play my shot. Instead, I played first, and my partner played 30 seconds later. I'm sure the group behind us could appreciate that. Ultimately, you should be more likely to have two guys arguing to let the other play first in golf, rather than two guys arguing to play first themselves. Brandon

[Stretch]

You're lucky those guys weren't carrying guns. You should probably go buy one yourself anyway in case you run into them again.

Oh, sorry, wrong thread.

[VinoGolfer]

You're lucky those guys weren't carrying guns. You should probably go buy one yourself anyway in case you run into them again.

I already have an RPG launcher by Bushnell, with a nifty little clip to attach it to my bag.

[JWL1957]

Lets face it.........for the last 15-20 years, golf etiquette has gone to shit. I learned the game from a guy in the navy who wouldnt let me go with him unless I could answer basic questions about etiquette. He said that a newbie is fine......as long as the newbie understands etiquette. I didnt understand why at first, but it made sense very soon after. Too many •••••••s buy $2000.00 worth of clubs these days and create back ups on every freaking course they go to. People are getting more rude each and every year.

One recent example which happened two weeks ago. My buddy and I go to the Virginia Beach National and get paired with a couple other guys. One guy has a wad of tobacco in his mouth and is loud and obnoxious for the first 7-8 holes and being just a total jerk to us and everyone around us. My buddy and I are biting out tongues and being polite. My buddy tells me that the guy is spitting juice all over the greens....... Freaking Gross! I sent a shot to number 9 way right, and it takes me a couple minutes to find the ball in the bad rough and pitch onto the green. I hit a nice pitch shot, and it finishes about 20 feet from the pin. I get to the ball to mark it and find that its sitting in a big wad of his spit. I asked him to pick up my ball and clean it...... he just laughs really loud and calls me a F-ing wimp. Well..... I dont know what happened to me, but I did a real slow quiet burn and told them all to go ahead and finish. I went to his cart and tossed his clubs into the water hazard. The buttwipe never said a word. My buddy and I left and went to our home course and played 18. I felt really bad about my actions later....... but that ass needed a hard lesson.

[mdl]

I would have let them play on. If I hit my ball, drive up and see another group in the general vicinity of where I hit, my first concern would be that I may have unknowingly hit into them. The other thing is that if I'm driving up to my ball and I see someone in my fairway holding a club, I make the assumption that they are going to be hitting towards me, and I would have stopped and/or tried to find some cover. If you play the game long enough, you will end up in the wrong fairway at least once. Their ball technically being OB has no bearing in my mind, as not everyone on the course strictly follows the rules.

My first thought is always to assume that they're hitting my ball and I need to hustle and ask them what ball they're hitting before they swing. Tells you the level of etiquette on my local munis...

[pavespawn]

One recent example which happened two weeks ago. My buddy and I go to the Virginia Beach National and get paired with a couple other guys. One guy has a wad of tobacco in his mouth and is loud and obnoxious for the first 7-8 holes and being just a total jerk to us and everyone around us. My buddy and I are biting out tongues and being polite. My buddy tells me that the guy is spitting juice all over the greens....... Freaking Gross! I sent a shot to number 9 way right, and it takes me a couple minutes to find the ball in the bad rough and pitch onto the green. I hit a nice pitch shot, and it finishes about 20 feet from the pin. I get to the ball to mark it and find that its sitting in a big wad of his spit. I asked him to pick up my ball and clean it...... he just laughs really loud and calls me a F-ing wimp. Well..... I dont know what happened to me, but I did a real slow quiet burn and told them all to go ahead and finish. I went to his cart and tossed his clubs into the water hazard. The buttwipe never said a word. My buddy and I left and went to our home course and played 18. I felt really bad about my actions later....... but that ass needed a hard lesson.

Awesome. That is justice. I would not feel bad at all. Granted that is not correct behavior but I bet that guy will think twice before being rude or spitting on greens again.

In the situation at hand however, I would say both parties could have done better but no one should ever assume that they have the right of way in some else's fairway. If you are playing so poorly that you can't keep it in your own fairway then you also should not be dictaing the actions of the guy who is rightfully there. On the other hand if they are already there and lining up thier shot then let them swing away. Right up until the moment they insist you wait on them. Then throw thier clubs in the water... I always make a point to be nice to people who I play with or around but if they come off rude from the start then to hell with them.

[saevel25]

Key to not having your ball hit, black out the brand.. Whats treat knowing its a ProV1 with out it saying ProV1 ;b

[DocWu1948]

With the OP's original story, why are all four of those bozos in the wrong fairway? Was it a scramble and that's the best they could do? Awful. Anyway, OP had play thru rights.