Let singles through please!!!!!

[RyderJ]

Originally Posted by emitz5

Most golfers play like shit when a stranger is watching them. Eventually you'll get through.

This is so true it's not even funny...oh, wait...yeah, it kinda is.

[debdaz365]

I tend to play around anything from 6am to 7:30am....not much of que on the courses I go round...!!!!

[camper6]

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

"You" as-in someone with the attitude you described. If that attitude is yours then I'm addressing you, if not I'm not.

Huh? Come again?

[rustyredcab]

I disagree with the attitude of some posters here that a single is somehow entitled to play through a group if there is open space ahead of the group. It is a courtesy for the group to extend the offer to the single, but it is not required. The act of playing through delays the group and anytime you are invited to play through, it is kind gesture that says, "We'll finish a few minutes later so that you can tee off, hit your second shot, and get out of our range on this hole while we wait on you, and then you will no longer need to wait on us."

Imagine you are playing as a single on a wide open course. Imagine the ranger drives up to you while you approach a tee box and informs you that another single is going to start on that hole and you will need to wait for him. "He's a fast player so you wouldn't need to wait again after you wait for him to tee off, hit his second shot, and get out of your range." Imagine you are not asked, you are told. This minor delay is exactly what any single is asking of a group that let's him play through. Maybe five minutes delay -- longer if you're walking. Would all you entitled-to-play-through singles be OK with waiting while a single tees off, goes to his ball, and hits his second shot?

The single is not entitled to play through. The group may be generous and offer. IMO, a single or smaller/faster group is entitled to skip a hole.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

I disagree with the attitude of some posters here that a single is somehow entitled to play through a group if there is open space ahead of the group. It is a courtesy for the group to extend the offer to the single, but it is not required. The act of playing through delays the group and anytime you are invited to play through, it is kind gesture that says, "We'll finish a few minutes later so that you can tee off, hit your second shot, and get out of our range on this hole while we wait on you, and then you will no longer need to wait on us."

Imagine you are playing as a single on a wide open course. Imagine the ranger drives up to you while you approach a tee box and informs you that another single is going to start on that hole and you will need to wait for him. "He's a fast player so you wouldn't need to wait again after you wait for him to tee off, hit his second shot, and get out of your range." Imagine you are not asked, you are told. This minor delay is exactly what any single is asking of a group that let's him play through. Maybe five minutes delay -- longer if you're walking. Would all you entitled-to-play-through singles be OK with waiting while a single tees off, goes to his ball, and hits his second shot?

The single is not entitled to play through. The group may be generous and offer. IMO, a single or smaller/faster group is entitled to skip a hole.

He may not be "entitled" to play through but it's etiquette, if there's open space, to allow him through.

I don't know what's wrong with that. Yes, I think people should wait five minutes to let a single through. They'll finish their round five minutes later but the single may very well finish AN HOUR or more earlier. Not letting the guy through is selfish and, again, against basic etiquette.

[rustyredcab]

To be clear, I ALWAYS invite a single to play through if there is space ahead. I also let people with fewer items go ahead of me in the grocery line. And when I taught my son about golf etiquette, he saw, by example, that it is simple good manners to let people play through (and when you do, try and make them comfortable and not make them feel rushed). He also learned that when we were the small group, it was not our right to play through any more than it was our right to take our one item and expect the person in front of us to let us jump the line. We have the right to play around, but not through. We can change lines.

Iacas, I am guessing that you and I are on the same page. The I'll-act-like-a-jerk-and-make-them-uncomfortable-untill-they-act-with-proper-etiquette guys should back off and act with proper etiquette. And BTW, I can't remember the last time I ran into a rude group or a rude single. I've seen plenty of clueless groups that I simply play around, but never a single that acted like they were entitled (as I'm reading here), or a group that understood the concept of playing through but just refused. People are nicer when I play golf. Maybe it's me that brings out the nice guy in people.

[MiniBlueDragon]

OK here's one for you; When I was playing a trial round at a local club the other day I caught up on a two ball. At first it was simply a case of waiting for them to take their shot and move on before I took mine but after 5 or so holes with me standing on the tee or in the middle of the fairway waiting to play I eventually ended up standing at their tee box watching take their tee shots. The first guy hit his and pulled it straight OOB. The second hit his and did exactly the same. The first re-tee'd and hit another, this time catching it thin and skittering it across the ground (but straight). The second sliced his but decided it was playable.

As they came down off the tee box one of them said "would you like to play through?" to which I said, "I'm in no hurry but if you'd like me to I'm happy to oblige" and he nodded.

I went up onto the tee box and hit my shot but fluffed it and sent it long and low, landing on the fairway ahead of the other guy's ball which left my ball the longest and straightest of our three respective bad tee shots.

Then as I'd hit my ball I bent down to grab my tee and looked down from the tee box to see the other two guys walking up to their respective balls and continuing to play. Of course that then forced me to wait behind them for them to take their shots and then for them to walk ahead again and take their next shots which put me back at square 1.

Random! Not sure if they knew what letting someone play through actually means, whether they were just being d***s for some reason or whether there's something I've missed about play-through opportunities like, "If we don't like your tee shot we reserve the right to put you back behind us"? lol

[BugDude]

On my home course where I'm a member and own my own cart, I go out as a single a lot.  About 75% of the people will wave you through.  In the case of the other 25%, I just skip around and play open holes to get the entire round in.  By myself, I usually play 18 on my home course in less than 3 hours just messing around.  In a hurry, I've played it in 2 hours.

I often play other courses with my father-in-law as a 2some, and on public golf courses the percentages are 25% wave you through and 75% don't.  We are both pretty fast players.  Together we can play 18 holes in less than 3 hours.  The worst was a 4some in front of us where they had carts and were walking back and forth across the fairways, walking off distances, helping each other find balls, and not paying any attention to how to traverse the course efficiently.  The husband was walking all ove the place giving the wife golf lessons (and it looked like she had never played before).  We were waiting on the tees with them before they finished teeing off lots of holes.  Their round must have taken over 6 hours.  We finally skipped a hole and came back to it later and never saw them again.

When I go out with the guys from work as a 4some, I always wave faster groups through singles or not.  My experience is it only takes an extra 3 minutes and they're not breathing down my neck the rest of the day.

A majority of public course players on Saturdays don't know squat about etiquette and don't care about anyone but themselves.  That extra 3 minutes to let a single through isn't going to make a dent in their day but they're not about to let someone through.  It's like the people that drive in the left lane on the interstate.  Saturday and Sunday mornings when most courses are very busy shouldn't be the time to take someone and give them lessons all over the whole course, dig golf balls out of the creek, hit 5 balls off every tee, etc.  That's weekday or evening kind of stuff.  Unfortunately, it has gotten so bad with that stuff in the traditional golfers times, that I play in the evenings and have the course to myself.

[BugDude]

My experience has also been that the people who don't care about etiquette also don't replace their divots, repair ball marks, rake sand traps, they drag their feet on the greens, leave the flags laying on the green, etc.  They watch golf on TV, go to the driving range, and think they know how to play golf.  I was taught by playing with old school guys.  Leave the course in better shape than you found it.  Repair your ball mark and several others.  Let faster players through.  Be courteous and polite.  Don't talk while others are hitting.  Pay attention to where your shaddow is so that it isn't in the other players line or view.  Don't walk on others lines.  There's a lot more to playing golf than just hitting a ball.

And what in the heck is up with all the practice swings?  I see guys take 6 practice swings that look pretty good and then top their actual shot 25 feet.  I only take practice swings on little touchy chip shots.  I noticed many moons ago I always wished my actual swing had been as good as my practice swing, so I just started hitting the ball the 1st swing.  Improved my game a lot.

Sorry for the rant...

[Flyman]

Want to know how bad I am? I played 9 holes by myself Wednesday, and I let a pair kinda play through. They caught up, asked to join me for one hole, and moved on ahead. I never caught up with them. I thought of this thread, and all I could do was chuckle. At least the course was fairly empty until I was getting to the end of my 1/2 round.

[RC]

Letting a single play through is also a two way street... the single, in my opinion, has no business playing extra slowly after you offer them the courtesy of playing through.  I've been quite irritated by singles whom we invite to hit after we have hit and waited for him on the tee.  Not a few times, the single accepts the invitation then turns into a turtle.  Here we are, all waiting to hit our second shots, the single looks an extra long time for his ball which is invariably poorly hit and frequently lost, then he starts talking on his cell phone while wandering around, then when finally to the green starts doing the multiple plumb bob routine from all sides on a putt, even on the last of a three putt performance.  More than once they have hit a second practice ball on a chip shot or putt.  We stand in the fairway wondering what on earth happened to turn a guy trying to catch us into a performance master thinking they are playing the 72nd hole of the US Open.  Playing through implies to me a reasonable pace of play by the one playing through.  I'm not thrilled to have to watch and wait through a prima donna performance.  There should be some special rule that states you pick up the ball and go on after you are two or three strokes over par or only search for a lost ball for a minute or so -- just to move things along.

We joke a great deal about the "play through bogey."  This is because when we are waved to play through, we play a little faster than normal and frequently make a bogey.  I am not asking for people to play faster than normal, even though I do when playing through -- just don't play more slowly.  As a foursome that can easily play 18 in 3 and a half hours if unimpeded, my group has allowed singles that hurried to catch up play through, and then we wind up being held up by the single's slow play more than once.

[BugDude]

RC, I could not agree with you more!!!  If someone waves you through, for the love of Pete scoot on through quickly.  Don't hit multiple balls, don't look for lost balls, pick up once you get close to the hole, and most of all don't talk on your cell phone.

People looking for golf balls irritates me as much as anything.  It's just a ball.  Most of us have hundreds of them.  Make a quick pass and if you dont' see it, take a drop.  If you're just looking for extras to add to your bucket full of crappy balls, do that later in the day when the course is empty.  In the fall, play with crappy golf balls so that when you lose it under a leaf, you're not losing much.  To me, my time is worth more than a golf ball.  I don't have tons of extra time to play, so I want to spend it playing not looking and waiting.  I too often see people who do not know how to make their way around a golf course efficiently.  Even if they take their time hitting, most folks could shave 45 minutes off their round time if they just took a couple clubs with them to the green, took the direct route to their ball.  Park between their ball and partner's ball when they are pretty close and each hit their ball (rather than ride to one ball and wait on him to hit and then ride 10 feet to the other ball and do it all over again), etc.

I grew up walking courses, so I learned how to save myself some time and steps...I still think that way even when riding.  Most people could learn a lot by walking courses.  When a golf course is crowded, you can walk it just as fast as ride it.  I still walk on occasion in the evenings when I'm not in a hurry and it isn't too hot.

[dustyshelf]

Played as a single today and the 2 guys in front of me invited me to play with them the rest of the way once I caught them on #6 .

As for this thread, I really don't think this is all that complicated .If the single is playing faster than a 2ball group, or 3 ball, then let them through. The End.

[newtogolf]

Had this happen Friday, a single came up on us at the turn (just two of us) and we decided to let him play through.  His tee shot was a slice into the woods, took him close to five minutes to find his ball.  His 2nd shot was a chip out of the woods onto the fairway.  3rd shot was a hook into the woods on the other side followed by a few minutes of searching for his ball.  4th shot was a chip back onto the fairway and his 5th shot was a slice again into the woods, but he was out of range of our drives so we finally got to tee off.  I'd guess he took about 12 shots on the Par 5 slicing and hooking across the fairway like a sailboat, which he did on every hole for the rest of the round, fortunately for us, he ran out of golf balls at the 16th and left.

Originally Posted by RC

Letting a single play through is also a two way street... the single, in my opinion, has no business playing extra slowly after you offer them the courtesy of playing through.

[Yanks Fan]

As an aside for this thread. If you're a single playing behind a three or four some on an empty course and they offer to let you through, play through for the love of God. I don't care if you're out practicing taking your time and don't mind waiting. My buddy and I behind you (whom you denied to play with) play fast and don't want to wait on you and the threesome every damn shot.

[RyderJ]

Chances are if you and your buddy are playing that fast, even if the single plays through you're still going to be waiting on the foursome, so I don't get your logic on this...

[Yanks Fan]

Single goes through then couple holes later we go through. I figured I didn't have to spell it out in my first post but that was my logic.

[DaSportsGuy]

Originally Posted by BugDude

On my home course where I'm a member and own my own cart, I go out as a single a lot.  About 75% of the people will wave you through.  In the case of the other 25%, I just skip around and play open holes to get the entire round in.  By myself, I usually play 18 on my home course in less than 3 hours just messing around.  In a hurry, I've played it in 2 hours.

I often play other courses with my father-in-law as a 2some, and on public golf courses the percentages are 25% wave you through and 75% don't.  We are both pretty fast players.  Together we can play 18 holes in less than 3 hours.  The worst was a 4some in front of us where they had carts and were walking back and forth across the fairways, walking off distances, helping each other find balls, and not paying any attention to how to traverse the course efficiently.  The husband was walking all ove the place giving the wife golf lessons (and it looked like she had never played before).  We were waiting on the tees with them before they finished teeing off lots of holes.  Their round must have taken over 6 hours.  We finally skipped a hole and came back to it later and never saw them again.

When I go out with the guys from work as a 4some, I always wave faster groups through singles or not.  My experience is it only takes an extra 3 minutes and they're not breathing down my neck the rest of the day.

A majority of public course players on Saturdays don't know squat about etiquette and don't care about anyone but themselves.  That extra 3 minutes to let a single through isn't going to make a dent in their day but they're not about to let someone through.  It's like the people that drive in the left lane on the interstate.  Saturday and Sunday mornings when most courses are very busy shouldn't be the time to take someone and give them lessons all over the whole course, dig golf balls out of the creek, hit 5 balls off every tee, etc.  That's weekday or evening kind of stuff.  Unfortunately, it has gotten so bad with that stuff in the traditional golfers times, that I play in the evenings and have the course to myself.

Right on the money. I really could care less who is behind me. Single, twosome, threesome, foursome. It doesn't matter...if they are faster and their is room ahead of you, then let them play through. I'd much rather let them play through than to like you said, have them breathing down my neck the whole round.