Waving up group on tee on par 4s or 5s

[nevets88]

If you have good tree coverage to protect you from drives, do you think it's reasonable to let the group behind you hit their drives off the tee if the course is very backed up? I was just thinking about it - we do it for par 3s, why not other holes? It may not speed up play that much but might make it seem less slow.

[David in FL]

If your purpose is to let them play through, there's nothing wrong with that.....it can be especially quick on a par 5. I wouldn't do it just to let them hit up to you without playing through though. Nothing gained. You're just trading a wait in one place for another.

[bkuehn1952]

I agree with David in FL.

[RayG]

waving up on par 3's was a plot... Probably started at private clubs under the guise of "speeding up play". It was really developed so your fellow club members could laugh at your abilities. Especially under the watchful eyes of your playing partners AND the folks on the green. It does NOTHING to speed up play- it should only be used if you are going to let them play through if there is nobody out in front of you.

[jetsknicks1]

If the group behind you is so close that by the time you get to your drives they're already on the box ready to go, I think the best bet is for your group to tee off and then wait on the tee to let them play through.

[Justforgolf]

i've been stuck in that position hundreds of times since the only time i can go out on the course is weekends. and David is definitely right its just replacing waiting spots

[sacm3bill]

Agree with everyone else. Waving up, whether par 3, 4, or 5, can't possibly speed the pace of play. The duration of any given round is always going to be as long as it takes to get to the 18th green and putt out, and the only thing that depends on (assuming you're waiting on groups ahead of you, which is the case here), is the speed of the slowest group in front of you.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by nevets88

If you have good tree coverage to protect you from drives, do you think it's reasonable to let the group behind you hit their drives off the tee if the course is very backed up? I was just thinking about it - we do it for par 3s, why not other holes? It may not speed up play that much but might make it seem less slow.

Definitely not.  I even think that waving up on par 3's is illogical, but at least I understand the rationale behind it.  Your average golfers are pretty sucky, and so, by and large, nobody is hitting the green on long par 3s.  If you pause for a minute to let them hack their tee shots all over the place, then putt while they're searching for their balls, then hit your drives on the next hole while theyre waiting for the group behind them to hit tee shots, then get to and hit your second shots while theyre finishing up putting, then I get how it could, at least in theory, move things along.  (Of course, once you catch back up to the group in front of you then you are where you were going to be anyway, so nobody is actually playing faster.)

But if you are waiting in the fairway anyway, what's going to happen when they hit their drives up by you?  Nothing ... theyre just going to be waiting in the fairway next to you, and no time at all will be saved.  At least when you are waiting on a tee box you have benches and water fountains (sometimes) and you can play silly little chipping games to the tee markers with your friends and you are together.

[mad max]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Agree with everyone else. Waving up, whether par 3, 4, or 5, can't possibly speed the pace of play. The duration of any given round is always going to be as long as it takes to get to the 18th green and putt out, and the only thing that depends on (assuming you're waiting on groups ahead of you, which is the case here), is the speed of the slowest group in front of you.

I completely agree it does nothing to speed up play if the course is backed up.  If you are the slow group what does making you wait accomplish anyway.  If you are doing it the let the group behind you play through by all means go for it.

I think it also causes much more of a delay than just the time it takes for the players on the tee to hit their shots.  1: It takes time for everyone to mark their balls and move off the green.  2: It takes time to convey to the the group on the tee that you are waiving them up.  3: The group on the tee might not be ready to hit (I know on a par 3 that I don't have the club in my hand ready to hit until the group on the green is close to finished).  4: If I am the first to putt I usually have lined up and replaced my ball and gone though my thought process and I am ready to putt shortly after the last player in my group gets on the green.  If I wave someone up I have to go though the process all over again.  5: I don't like to have a ball or a ball mark close to my line when I putt, so if anyone that I waved up hits the green someone in my group has to fix a mark or mark someone's ball before playing.  I know these are short delays but they add up.

I also find it dangerous for no purpose.  I know that I sometimes can't see the ball and I have fine eyesight, sometimes you lose the ball if it is hit from 170 yards away, especially if you have a white sky or the sun is behind you.  What do you do if you hear fore?  Cover your head so if you do get hit hopefully you only have a painful bruise.

Another thing I find annoying about being waved up is sometimes it forces me to change my shot.  Sometimes people don't move far enough away to be safe.  An example would be when the pin is on the left with trouble around, some guy stands 1 pace off the right edge.  Where my usual shot would be center green or even right-center because if I miss I should end up with bogey at worst.  Instead I feel as if I have to go for the pin.

O.K. this has turned into a rant.  In case you can't tell I am not a fan of waving up.

[Rick Martin]

One of my courses used to do it on a long par 3 (200-220 yds) where players would hit from an elevated perch and have to walk down a meandering path - most of us were walkers on this course, so it took awhile to get to the green - so while the group ahead putted out, the group behind would be walking.  This was a hole where getting  GIR was somewhat difficult and required a lot of chipping/pitches as well as putting. Seemed to speed up play on this particular hole - but in general, don't think it's needed unless playing through.

[Mac62]

I've never even considered waving somebody up unless I intend to let them play through.  If we're playing a foursome and a single or twosome overtakes us (and the course is open ahead of us), I'll always wave them up and let 'em through - but if we're holding our place on the course and it's backed up ahead of us, there's no sense in waving them up...it's just going to make the traffic jam worse.

In context with the OP - if we're on a par 4 or par 5 hole and intend to let a group play through, we'll hit to the green, mark our balls and then wave them up (just as you would on a par 3).