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Is there Etiquette on Pairing Up?


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Most of my golf outings are paritial rounds after work.  I'll play til sunset, trying to get in as many holes as I can.  I walk in as a single, and if I don't get paired up by the proshop, will play til I run into another person/group and join them. At the courses I play, many times a two-some in front of me wants to play by themselves. And often the groups ahead of me are just a series of two-somes, and there's typically a wait on most tee boxes.

I for one, would be happier if everyone decided to merge into foursomes, and we'd all get in 3-4 more holes in the evening. Is this a breach of any etiquette?  i.e. when there are like 8 groups of two-somes in a row that don't want to join up together, and everyone is waiting on most tee boxes.  Mind you, we're all still playing well below a 4.5 hour pace (afternoons are just fast paced here), but still it could be so much faster if groups joined up.  I'm often waiting up to 5 minutes on every tee box.

Nice courses watch out for this kinda stuff (e.g. before teeing off, proshops will tell a two-some to join up with the previous two-some), but it's pretty bad with the muni's in my area.

 

 


Some golfers are self conscious and don't feel comfortable with strangers watching them play golf.  I didn't like people randomly joining us when I first started out but now I enjoy it.  As for your question, the etiquette seems to be that you wait for the group in front to invite you.  Sometimes they will just wave you through, sometimes they will invite you to join and other times they will just ignore you and hope you just skip a hole and pass them.  

Joe Paradiso

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This is one of those dammed if you do, dammed if you don't scenarios.

Everyone who pays their green fees has the right to play the way they want. This, just as long as they are not damaging the course, personal property, or being a safety risk to other golfers.  

Should a twosome, or threesome let a single join them or play through? In my mind, the answer is yes. Do they have to? No.

I walk on as single quite a bit. A lot of times on the first tee, another single, twosome, or threesome will show up. I offer to let them join me. Sometimes they accept. Other times they don't. No big deal to me. 

I also don't think it's fair hold it against a golfer who is not yet comfortable enough with their game, who does not want to play with strangers. IMO, most new golfers feel this way for a while. I know I did, but I played my way out of that personal issue. Some golfers have forgotten they were not very good either when they first started out. 

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(edited)

@newtogolf @Patch Definitely understand both your points.  But I also wonder if the positives of increased pace of play would be larger than the negatives of enforcing pairing up?  Also, the afternoon two-somes I run into that don't want to pair up, much more often are decent+ golfers.

USGA has clear etiquette guidelines on when you should allow a group/player to play through*, just wondering if there's one on pairing up.  To me, it is clearly bad etiquette if 10 groups consisting only of singles won't join up, but is the line officially at 1 person and not at 2 people?

*http://www.usga.org/rules/rules-and-decisions.html#!etiquette - Priority on Course Section

Edited by bones75

I don't know of any specific USGA rule governing pairing up. I could be wrong. I have played courses who had very good marshals who enforced pairing up as a local rule.  

The rules the USGA have In place on ettiquette are a good thing. It's just too bad that a lot of golfers, for whatever reasons,  don't pay much attention to them. 

In a perfect golf world, every golfer would be considerate of all other golfers. All golfers would play by the rules, 100% of the time. All golfers would play at the same pace, and finish 18 holes in under 4 hours  All golfers in less than a foursome would join up as needed to shorten the pace of play. Heck the 10 singles mentioned above, could/should make two fivesomes. Problem is there are just too many different mindsets out there playing their own games, for their own amusement. 

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  On 5/22/2016 at 4:03 AM, bones75 said:

Most of my golf outings are paritial rounds after work.  I'll play til sunset, trying to get in as many holes as I can.  I walk in as a single, and if I don't get paired up by the proshop, will play til I run into another person/group and join them. At the courses I play, many times a two-some in front of me wants to play by themselves. And often the groups ahead of me are just a series of two-somes, and there's typically a wait on most tee boxes.

I for one, would be happier if everyone decided to merge into foursomes, and we'd all get in 3-4 more holes in the evening. Is this a breach of any etiquette?  i.e. when there are like 8 groups of two-somes in a row that don't want to join up together, and everyone is waiting on most tee boxes.  Mind you, we're all still playing well below a 4.5 hour pace (afternoons are just fast paced here), but still it could be so much faster if groups joined up.  I'm often waiting up to 5 minutes on every tee box.

Nice courses watch out for this kinda stuff (e.g. before teeing off, proshops will tell a two-some to join up with the previous two-some), but it's pretty bad with the muni's in my area.

 

 

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First, it's not as much faster as you might think it is.  Foursomes naturally play slower than twosomes, and if they are inexperienced in playing at a good pace, can actually be slower yet.  I see it often that a group of guys who don't know each other will stand around waiting for someone to take the initiative, not wanting to look like they are being rude by hitting out of turn.  When I join with someone I don't know, I make sure that they know that I'll be playing ready golf.  That doesn't mean that I'll deliberately jump ahead and play first, only that I'm not about to stand around when it's time to go.  If the player who is supposed to be up isn't ready, then I will play.  

I joined a threesome the other day for 9 holes, 2 teens and their Dad.  The teens were fairly new to the game, so the first time they were standing looking at each other and me, I told them that the right course was for whoever was ready first to go ahead and play, regardless of who is away.  I explained that this was the only way to keep a good pace on the course, and they took it to heart and we had a good, efficient round.

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Rick

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I know of no "rule" or etiquette regarding pairing up.   I like it when a course takes action to create larger groups.  If the clubhouse/starter doesn't force the issue, then everyone is on their own. 

Once on the course, I have always considered it the group in front's responsibility to ask a single or twosome to join them. If they don't want to extend an invitation, then they should allow the faster group/player to play through.

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Brian Kuehn

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  On 5/22/2016 at 12:53 PM, bkuehn1952 said:

Once on the course, I have always considered it the group in front's responsibility to ask a single or twosome to join them. If they don't want to extend an invitation, then they should allow the faster group/player to play through.

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This is exactly the way I expect it should work.  If you're waiting on my group, I'll invite you to play with us.  If I know there's a steady stream of backed-up groups ahead, I may not invite you to play through, but you're always welcome to play with my group.  Heck, playing at a private club, we'll (very) occasionally play as a 5 or 6-some, as long as we're keeping up with the logjam. That's probably not a great idea at most public courses. 

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It's a pretty personal decision, I'd say. I play 90% of my rounds as a solo walker but am always looking for either another solo or twosome to pair up with. As long as they seem to have a similar interest in the round as me, Im never opposed to it.

I usually like to go out and play a "straight-edge" round (finishing every putt, lining up shots, thinking through course play, one ball per hole). So if I see a group of friends out to have a good time, having some beers, and hitting multiple tee shots, I'll either play through or back off and give them their space so I don't interrupt or bring down their vibe. Luckily, it seems most solos have a pretty relatable mindset to a lot of us on this forum so I rarely hesitate to ask to join if I run into them.

The only ettiquatte I would say that comes into play is when the course is open in front of the group ahead. Then, I'd say they are obligated to allow the smaller/faster group to either pair or play.

 

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I played 9 this morning trying to finish before a tournement started. I started on the back and wanted to play alone as I wanted to practice some bump and run shots. Another person made the turn and i was going to let him through but he suggested we play together. It didnt matter to me but there are times I want to practice and dont want to play with others.

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  On 5/22/2016 at 1:08 PM, DaveP043 said:

This is exactly the way I expect it should work.  If you're waiting on my group, I'll invite you to play with us.  If I know there's a steady stream of backed-up groups ahead, I may not invite you to play through, but you're always welcome to play with my group. 

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I adhere to this logic as well. I just wish more people abided by it and more courses encouraged/enforced it. I strongly agree w/ the USGA's campaign in recent years to increase pace of play. Net-net it gets more people golfing more often.

imo even some PSA's would be helpful, for people still learning golf etiquette.


I play a lot myself very similar to the original post. However now we seem to be getting more and more golfers at the local muni so it's getting so there is a string of singles almost 9 holes long. I always believed it is the starters job to see that this situation does not occur. When I played decades ago you played where there was a slot to fit you our your group. If you didn't like it you didn't play. I think when super busy the course should put players together to save time. That is just my opinion and am sure others will disagree. 

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It's a bit of pain these days as you need to play with someone in order to be 'allowed' to record the score for Handicap. I tend to avoid courses where they don't have an online booking system. At least that way I have an argument if someone doesn't want to be paired up. Some courses have much better starters than others.

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  On 5/22/2016 at 6:30 PM, parman said:

I play a lot myself very similar to the original post. However now we seem to be getting more and more golfers at the local muni so it's getting so there is a string of singles almost 9 holes long. I always believed it is the starters job to see that this situation does not occur. When I played decades ago you played where there was a slot to fit you our your group. If you didn't like it you didn't play. I think when super busy the course should put players together to save time. That is just my opinion and am sure others will disagree. 

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No disagreement here, the starter should have the authority to require golfers to pair up.  That was always the way things were done when I was playing public courses.  When my wife I travel for golf, I always let the management or starter know that we're happy to meet and play with other players.  Golf as a twosome can feel tediously slow, even when the foursomes in front of us are playing at a decent pace.

Surprisingly enough, the Old Course at St Andrews doesn't require that people pair up to fill foursomes.  If you have a tee time, as a twosome or threesome, you may be asked to let someone join you, but you're within your rights to decline.  To my way of thinking that would be rude, but it does happen.

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Dave

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  On 5/22/2016 at 4:07 AM, newtogolf said:

Some golfers are self conscious and don't feel comfortable with strangers watching them play golf.  I didn't like people randomly joining us when I first started out but now I enjoy it.  As for your question, the etiquette seems to be that you wait for the group in front to invite you.  Sometimes they will just wave you through, sometimes they will invite you to join and other times they will just ignore you and hope you just skip a hole and pass them.  

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My wife is self conscious and it messes up her game, I tend to play a bit better when with strangers.

This weekend we were on the 1st green as a twosome and a cart approaches and asks to join us.  Ken, the stranger, was 91 years old and plays 9 holes 4 times a week, plays quickly and very well.  It was an enjoyable round with Ken for me.  The only small problem was he was giving some swing advice to my wife during the round.  I'm sure Stacey would have rather not paired up.

  On 5/22/2016 at 4:03 AM, bones75 said:

 

I for one, would be happier if everyone decided to merge into foursomes, and we'd all get in 3-4 more holes in the evening. Is this a breach of any etiquette?  i.e. when there are like 8 groups of two-somes in a row that don't want to join up together, and everyone is waiting on most tee boxes.  Mind you, we're all still playing well below a 4.5 hour pace (afternoons are just fast paced here), but still it could be so much faster if groups joined up.  I'm often waiting up to 5 minutes on every tee box.

 

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I think whether to pair up is a situation by situation decision.  In your example I think everyone should pair up as you suggested.

I play a course where there are a group of singles and sometimes doubles that go out really early in the morning.  The pace of play at that time is usually very fast and any pairing up would slow things down.  In this example it's best if everyone plays as singles.

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  On 5/23/2016 at 5:42 PM, DaveP043 said:

No disagreement here, the starter should have the authority to require golfers to pair up.  That was always the way things were done when I was playing public courses.  When my wife I travel for golf, I always let the management or starter know that we're happy to meet and play with other players.  Golf as a twosome can feel tediously slow, even when the foursomes in front of us are playing at a decent pace.

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Require is a strong word and might open a course to liability lawsuits depending on the circumstances.  I've been paired up with some people I really enjoyed playing with but there have been a few that I would not want to golf with again.  Every course has their known jerks so overall i think pairing people up is a good thing, but requiring it is a bit more than I'd suggest.  

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In answer to the thread. If it's a swingers party, always give back the other blokes wife.

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  On 5/23/2016 at 5:51 PM, newtogolf said:

Require is a strong word and might open a course to liability lawsuits depending on the circumstances.  

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I'm not sure what kind of liability issues could arise, can you describe any?  If I'm running a course, and the course is even semi-busy, I'd never allow a single or two-ball to start off if there were other singles or twosomes waiting.  Of course, if I'm running the course, I'd find someone to marshal who could politely but firmly keep play moving, but that's another conversation.

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Note: This thread is 3172 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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