Golf Rules & Etiquette. Is it ok to insist that I want to play alone, or just two people ? without joining others..

[shong9]

I've been to several 9-hole courses.

And my impression is that for those 9-hole courses, they do not usually force to team up (so that 4 people will play together).

But I'm not sure about those 18-hole courses.

Is it true that even if I make an appointment for only two people, they will try to join people together ? (for example, golfnow.com shows players 1- 4, but I only choose 2 people. Does this mean, two spots are still remaining for others ?)

In this situation, is it ok to insist that I don't want to join ?

I'd like to know what the current traditions are :) and some protocols that i should be aware of.

Thanks !

[MS256]

Originally Posted by shong9

I've been to several 9-hole courses.

And my impression is that for those 9-hole courses, they do not usually force to team up (so that 4 people will play together).

But I'm not sure about those 18-hole courses.

Is it true that even if I make an appointment for only two people, they will try to join people together ? (for example, golfnow.com shows players 1- 4, but I only choose 2 people. Does this mean, two spots are still remaining for others ?)

In this situation, is it ok to insist that I don't want to join ?

I'd like to know what the current traditions are :) and some protocols that i should be aware of.

Thanks !

On some courses it's standard procedure to send off foursomes when it's busy, and other courses never do it.

I doubt if insisting on playing alone or as a twosome would get you anywhere if they are requiring foursomes. You are probably dealing with employees that are simply doing what they've been told to do. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask but it may not get you anywhere.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by shong9

I've been to several 9-hole courses.

And my impression is that for those 9-hole courses, they do not usually force to team up (so that 4 people will play together).

But I'm not sure about those 18-hole courses.

Is it true that even if I make an appointment for only two people, they will try to join people together ? (for example, golfnow.com shows players 1- 4, but I only choose 2 people. Does this mean, two spots are still remaining for others ?)

In this situation, is it ok to insist that I don't want to join ?

I'd like to know what the current traditions are :) and some protocols that i should be aware of.

Thanks !

They are in business to make money.  They make twice as much when they send out 4 players for a tee time as for 2 players.  You can do the math, so what do you  think?  When a course is busy, they will always send out full groups if possible.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by shong9

I've been to several 9-hole courses.

And my impression is that for those 9-hole courses, they do not usually force to team up (so that 4 people will play together).

But I'm not sure about those 18-hole courses.

Is it true that even if I make an appointment for only two people, they will try to join people together ? (for example, golfnow.com shows players 1- 4, but I only choose 2 people. Does this mean, two spots are still remaining for others ?)

In this situation, is it ok to insist that I don't want to join ?

I'd like to know what the current traditions are :) and some protocols that i should be aware of.

Thanks !

Sure you have rights.  You have the right to not play there if you don't want to do what they require you to do.  But you do NOT have the right to insist that they cater to your desire.  You can ask, but insisting is going to get you nowhere.

[Dave2512]

Pay for all four times and the box is all yours, problem solved.

Not sure why it matters but if you prefer to play alone play at off peak times or frequent courses that are slow. I play alone quite a bit but not by design. It's just the way it is at 5:30 PM. Not uncommon for me to be out there surrounded by other singles a hole or two ahead and behind. Sometimes we pair up other times we don't. I don't really care as long as it's not a disruption.

[Meltdwhiskey]

No way Jose. Imagine if you want to play the 2pm tee time because it is what works for your schedule.  But some guy has reserved the 2pm all for himself - so you can't play until 4:15.  Not fair to you, not fair to the course, not fair to another guy who would maybe like to play at 2, etc.  All because the guy simply wanted to play alone.  Empty spots wasted.

[TourSpoon]

During peak times you most likely will get paired up, but when the tee sheet is empty you will not have a problem getting out by yourself or as a twosome.

[Dave2512]

That's the cool thing about GolfNow. Want to play alone? Pick a course with a block of open times and book a time in the middle. My experience is others will avoid a partially filled time in favor of an open one and obviously foursomes would have to. That site is close to real time. Once a time has been booked the site updates in a matter of minutes. I see a lot of guys out with their non-golfing SO's these days. They try to get out alone so they can do their thing without bothering others with their tagalong.

[Hacker James]

I frequently get sent off alone. Timing is everything. I find that just after the "early bird rush" I have the course to myself. The same goes about 45 minutes before twilight discount hours as people are waiting around for it. Obviously late in the afternoon also, especially if you only want to take in nine holes ( I usually won't however).

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

That's the cool thing about GolfNow. Want to play alone? Pick a course with a block of open times and book a time in the middle. My experience is others will avoid a partially filled time in favor of an open one and obviously foursomes would have to. That site is close to real time. Once a time has been booked the site updates in a matter of minutes.

Of course there's still the possibility that, regardless of how open the tee sheet was at the time you booked, it might be busy by the time you play. If so, and another single or twosome show up wanting to get on, the course is going to put them with you.

But in general yeah, what I do if I want to play alone is monitor the booked tee times - not necessarily on golfnow, I can use the course's booking system directly because I usually don't book a time for myself, I just show up when it looks like they have a lot of open slots.

[flintcreek6412]

And especially if you book a "hot deal".  I played last week at my home course where I booked a single through my club at a time I knew was a golf now hot deal time.  Once I booked it, I had my buddy book his prepaid round(mine was obviously free being a member).  When we showed up a 2some pulled up behind us and told the starter they had our same tee time.  My buddy began to argue with them that they couldn't because we already booked it.  I stepped in, being the voice of reason, and welcomed them and advised my buddy that with our 2 bookings it left 2 more for that tee time which they picked up at a very good rate.  I told him if he wanted to play as a 2some to man up and pay the full price and we could then pick any time we wanted without much effort.  When they offer only 2 hot deals a day they tend to fill up.

[Brandon138]

It all depends on how busy they are. If it won't slow play and it isn't back to back tee times then courses usually don't care. I hate when they try to stick you with people though. Somtimes I like to chip around or putt a little after each hole, so when they stick you with people they're basically just making you go play normal golf and not get any practice in.

[Dave2512]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Of course there's still the possibility that, regardless of how open the tee sheet was at the time you booked, it might be busy by the time you play. If so, and another single or twosome show up wanting to get on, the course is going to put them with you.

But in general yeah, what I do if I want to play alone is monitor the booked tee times - not necessarily on golfnow, I can use the course's booking system directly because I usually don't book a time for myself, I just show up when it looks like they have a lot of open slots.

Around here that's giving the pro shop clerks more credit than due. There is no maiximization of filling tee sheets. All of it done on-line now. The person manning the desk could be anything from less than average retail clerk with zero golf experience, a Taco Bell refugee or volunteer retiree with an MBA working for free golf. I play at courses where they still haven't greeted or addressed me by my name and I've been there 30+ times.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Of course there's still the possibility that, regardless of how open the tee sheet was at the time you booked, it might be busy by the time you play. If so, and another single or twosome show up wanting to get on, the course is going to put them with you.

But in general yeah, what I do if I want to play alone is monitor the booked tee times - not necessarily on golfnow, I can use the course's booking system directly because I usually don't book a time for myself, I just show up when it looks like they have a lot of open slots.

Around here that's giving the pro shop clerks more credit than due. There is no maiximization of filling tee sheets. All of it done on-line now. The person manning the desk could be anything from less than average retail clerk with zero golf experience, a Taco Bell refugee or volunteer retiree with an MBA working for free golf. I play at courses where they still haven't greeted or addressed me by my name and I've been there 30+ times.

I hear ya, but in my experience, no matter how clueless the desk person is they're going to try to put singles and twosomes together.

[Dave2512]

Anyway I wish they'd pair me up most days. There are days I get to the 6th hole and it feels like I'm the star of an apocalypse film. Barreling down the fairway in my cart is strangely Mad Max.

[WUTiger]

If it's fairly open, some courses will let you do it.

One thing starters want to avoid is a string of singles and twosomes, which messes up the pace of play. On some courses, singles and twosomes "have no standing" - they aren't allowed to play through larger groups.

[adam e]

I belong to a private course and this is actually a terrible problem. Not if you want to play by yourself, but it slows up play and wastes times. A number of people feel entitled to play by themselves or hold times and never release them. It's come up in committee meetings. The basic feeling is that people want to be by themselves and don't want to join up, whether it's a single or twosome or threesome. When the course is not busy, it's not a big deal and I think it's ok to have people play that way. However it burns times on the weekends and early mornings and that is not ok. The pro shop used to try and pair people, but because people didnt check in properly, people ended up getting booted off the tee sheet or delayed because people might team up on their own. Since I was one of the complainers about this, I noted down times i would encourage people playing with me. This year out of 2 dozen times of trying to pair up, only twice did anyone take me up on my offer. These were all people I didn't know. Pretty sad. One time I offered with a twosome behind me and then they yelled at me for not hurrying up when I had a slow twosome in front of me.