Encounter on golf course

[Paradox]

the only way to get a "free round" would be if you snuck onto the course without paying a green fee.  After that, as long as you keep pace of play and are respectful of the course, its ok.

Just remember that playing two balls means you can't use either score for a handicap.

[newtogolf]

If a guy is teeing it up from two different sets of tees and playing every shot except putting it out I'd say it's a bit different than a guy who hits his ball OB.  I'm not sure how they kept up with the group in front, but it would be possible if it was just the two of them so they were taking close to the time of a group of 3.

Originally Posted by CraiginKSA

Free round?  THat's a stretch.  By that logic, the mulligan man who tops his drive into the water or hits every ball OB is also getting a free round.  If he's not holding up the other golfers, I wouldn't care if he hit 5 balls.  Although the marshalls may not agree.

[kris]

Some people are just complete a*sholes. I remember a couple years ago I was about to tee off on the 1st hole when a group was coming towards the 9th green which is near the 1st tee box on the right. I am about to hit when a dude darts his cart out right in front of me and stops to play his ball. I back off and wait for him to play, when he sees me and starts shouting "WTF ARE YOU LOOKING AT, DON'T YOU F*CKING ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME!" before hitting angrily and storming off in his cart. Somebody must have had a bad front 9.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by Paradox

the only way to get a "free round" would be if you snuck onto the course without paying a green fee.

I've seen people do that too. One guy I played with last summer lived by the 6th hole, a chunk of the course that's isolated from the rest. He said he plays the 8 or so holes nearby all the time for free. I don't condone it but he shared a couple beers with a stranger and was an enjoyable playing partner. Better than paying full price and being an ******* I guess.

If you really want to be thrifty, shoot in the 140s. Really get your money's worth. Honestly though, playing an extra ball isn't exactly hurting anything. If the course wanted to put a stop to it, they could tackle slow play a bit better so you could actually make 36 holes in a day. Since the group seemed to be decent players, not spraying balls or threatening to hit anyone, I say no big deal. I'd say it's more considerate to avoid hitting a loud driver with people in front of you, though.

[HoboTrekker]

Originally Posted by Paradox

the only way to get a "free round" would be if you snuck onto the course without paying a green fee.  After that, as long as you keep pace of play and are respectful of the course, its ok.

Just remember that playing two balls means you can't use either score for a handicap.

its not okay, read the rules of a course you dont pay to spend time on the course you pay to play it, once.

[Mr. Desmond]

Free round?

C'mon.

I've seen guys play 2 balls when they can't move. It all depends on the situation. As long as they don't putt it out, as it was in this case, not an issue to me.

As to the guy confronting others, irritable male syndrome takes its toll.

[Paradox]

Originally Posted by HoboTrekker

its not okay, read the rules of a course you dont pay to spend time on the course you pay to play it, once.

It IS ok.  Its no different than someone who shoots 130+ playing.  Do they need to pay again because they've almost doubled par?  After all, they've swung enough that they've essentially played two normal rounds.

There are no rules at any course I've ever been to that state how many balls you can play. Only that you maintain proper pace of play, observe proper dress, and follow all signs and markings on the course and things like that. Again..as long as you are staying with the group ahead of you, it doesn't matter.

[HoboTrekker]

its not okay, you must play absolute shitholes btw, its not acceptable on any decent course anywhere in the world, completely out of order and arrogant beyond belief, a golf course is not to be practised on thats what the practice ground is for, go and ask a greenkeeper if they think playing 2 balls is okay, you pay your greenfee for a round of golf, whether that takes you 70 or 150 shots is irrelevant, you get to play each hole to completion, once, 18 holes, one round.  I'm absolutely astonished among a bunch of golf geeks I have to actually explain that, amazing levels of ignorance on display in this thread.

[Missouri Swede]

Don't the pros play multiple balls during their practice rounds? I haven't been to one for a practice day, so I can't say. But I seem to recall some blurb about one of the pros only playing a single ball for a practice round or practice hole, with the implication that a single ball was out of the ordinary for them in that situation.

[Fore Left]

Originally Posted by Paradox

It IS ok.  Its no different than someone who shoots 130+ playing.

O.K....

I said it before,  but it bares saying again:   "His handicap doesn't matter,  I'd be irritated if I saw a guy playing two balls"     ALSO,  I know guys  (personally)   who are scratch or +1 players who play WAY SLOWER than buddies I have who are legitimate 25 handicaps!     Being "Good"  doesn't mean he is "Fast"

Again,  I wouldn't have said anything,  especially if you were keeping up with the group in front of you,  but playing 2 balls is pretty much a "No-no" everywhere.

Also,  you didn't "see any rules about it" ?    Really?    I didn't   "See any rules about not using a slingshot for my approach shots"   so I guess I should start carrying one.

[Bastid]

The guy with the awesome avatar is correct, it's just simple golf etiquette to not be playing two balls. The irate man's response lacked an eloquent touch, but he was well within his rights to say something. Why not just play from the blues? If he's truly a scratch golfer, he could adjust to any tee for the tournament. Just saying...

[LovinItAll]

Originally Posted by Fore Left

O.K....

I said it before,  but it bares saying again:   "His handicap doesn't matter,  I'd be irritated if I saw a guy playing two balls"     ALSO,  I know guys  (personally)   who are scratch or +1 players who play WAY SLOWER than buddies I have who are legitimate 25 handicaps!     Being "Good"  doesn't mean he is "Fast"

Again,  I wouldn't have said anything,  especially if you were keeping up with the group in front of you,  but playing 2 balls is pretty much a "No-no" everywhere.

Also,  you didn't "see any rules about it" ?    Really?    I didn't   "See any rules about not using a slingshot for my approach shots"   so I guess I should start carrying one.

Logic says I shouldn't be bothered if he is keeping pace, but still, it would get under my skin if dude was hitting two tee shots/two apporach shots, and I don't annoy easily on the golf course.

[WhackAndHack]

Well to clear up stuff, here is how a typical par 4 happened. We had to wait until the hacker 4 some in front got onto the green due to my friend's 280 yard drives, and the scratch golfer blasted a few out to 310. The scratch golfer would tee off, then I would, then my friend, then the scratch golfer. He played very fast and only took 1 practice swing. After teeing off, the scratch golfer would drive to his ball and hit his first drive onto the green and then go sit next to his 2nd drive. By the time my friend and I walked out to our tee shots, we would then all hit our approach shots, and then my friend and I would walk to the green to chip or putt. we all then putted out. He added no time to the round.

[Goonsidious]

I'd bring it up to the Marshal and be done with it

[HoboTrekker]

Originally Posted by Missouri Swede

Don't the pros play multiple balls during their practice rounds? I haven't been to one for a practice day, so I can't say. But I seem to recall some blurb about one of the pros only playing a single ball for a practice round or practice hole, with the implication that a single ball was out of the ordinary for them in that situation.

yes they do but theyre ****in pros playing on an official practice day its completely different to an amatuer playing a course open to public play, did you not read me saying about idiot amatuers who think theyre on tour ?   when the pros play a practice day the course is closed to everyone but them they might spend 20 minutes on each green hitting putts from all angles to all different pin positions maybe hit 75 putts or more on each green do you think thats okay for an amatuer on a sunday medal ?  never compare what you or other amatuers do to the pros they play a different game under different circumstances.

[HoboTrekker]

Originally Posted by WhackAndHack

Well to clear up stuff, here is how a typical par 4 happened. We had to wait until the hacker 4 some in front got onto the green due to my friend's 280 yard drives, and the scratch golfer blasted a few out to 310. The scratch golfer would tee off, then I would, then my friend, then the scratch golfer. He played very fast and only took 1 practice swing. After teeing off, the scratch golfer would drive to his ball and hit his first drive onto the green and then go sit next to his 2nd drive. By the time my friend and I walked out to our tee shots, we would then all hit our approach shots, and then my friend and I would walk to the green to chip or putt. we all then putted out. He added no time to the round.

all thats completely irrelevant, it doesnt matter if he floated to the back tees hit his drive then teleport to the other tees and hit another drive the point is he was playing 2 balls and thats completely out of order on any course anywhere in the world unless its a private course of which he's a member and its very very quiet, even then it may well be out of order depending on the club, its massively arrogant and hugely ignorant, and is against both the rules and etiquette of golf.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by HoboTrekker

all thats completely irrelevant, it doesnt matter if he floated to the back tees hit his drive then teleport to the other tees and hit another drive the point is he was playing 2 balls and thats completely out of order on any course anywhere in the world unless its a private course of which he's a member and its very very quiet, even then it may well be out of order depending on the club, its massively arrogant and hugely ignorant, and is against both the rules and etiquette of golf.

Ever play a 6 hour round? You might spend 2 1/2 to 3 hours in that time just waiting for the fairways and greens to clear, totally ready to hit. What should you do, bring a smartphone? Guzzle beers? Make 10 practice swings per shot? Go into the woods and search for free balls? Do donuts in the golf cart? Most likely you're just sitting there for as much as 10 minutes per hole. Easily enough time to play the course twice, especially if you don't lose balls.

Personally, if a course isn't keeping pace of play reasonably, (read: letting way too many players on) I'd be within my rights to walk off and ask for a refund. If a marshal or another player bothered me for practicing (in such a way that doesn't affect those behind me), I'd tell him to feck off and do something to get the course moving if he wants me to play a single ball. It's the marshal's duty to keep up pace of play and if they're not trying to take any action, my patience will wear thin. I can't amuse myself in any other way, really. As long as you stay behind the group in front of you, you have no duty to play the course their way. Playing mulligans is against the rules of golf, and it's done on every course every day. But surely the guy behind you won't come up and yell at you? Most likely the group behind them thought they were the cause of the holdup; that would be cause to get upset in my opinion, though not to explode.

Besides, the course is likely a dog track with no maintenance budget. They make money by doing minimal work with minimal staff and get the maximum amount of players on. It's not Pebble Beach where they fill every divot and keep the greens immaculate. I've been told to hit by the starter with a group 250 yards in front of me on the first hole, If I didn't wait until they were out of range I'd have hit them, and I was certainly up theirs all day, even if they wanted to let me through there were other groups holding them up too. If I played a round where I hit every third shot backwards, in order to get more practice, that would be massively arrogant and likely infuriate the other players.

[Topper]

Originally Posted by WhackAndHack

The worst part is he's an ex police officer..... But yeahhh that's probably the case.

I'm glad that he's an "ex" police officer.  I can't imagine someone with his temperament and lack of self control with a weapon.