Tee box etiquette for walkers

[hack2scratch]

It seems like im the only person walking whenever i play... everyone uses carts but i prefer to walk and carry.

 

What is proper etiquette for a walker and 3 riders? After i tee off should i start walking even tho there may be one or two left to tee off?

I feel like im showing courtesy by starting to walk to my ball as the riders will get there way before me if i wait for the last person to tee off.

But at the same is it not polite to not watch your group play their shots?

 

What's the proper etiquette here?

 

I choose to walk because i like how it keeps me i rhythm and i can talk to myself for my next shot. I try to play 3 times a week after work, so its cheaper. Also play with 5 clubs and wont add another until i need to fill a need. My driver 6 8 P 56* putter is all i need. Plus its healthier for me.

[Yukari]

I too walk even when others are riding.

You should NOT start walking until everyone has teed off.  You should try to watch where their drive is going so that you can help find any errant hits.

I have no trouble keeping up with the riders, as I walk briskly.  Of course, that excludes courses where the distance between the green and the next tee box is too long.

[Patch]

I walk most of the time, and I never start walking from the tee until everyone else has hit. Although ettiquette has a lot to do with it, there is also a safety issue involved. 

Once in the fairway, I might start walking a head of others, depending on where our locations in the fairway are. 

[Papa Steve 55]

I always walk also, in this situation make sure you tell the riders to play ready golf. They may feel they should wait for you if your away.

[Hardspoon]

I'm in a similar situation most times I play. I definitely don't walk forward until everyone has hit. If I hit first, I will move off the tee box over near my bag, but I don't advance and I help others "spot" their tee shots.

As long as there are two people sharing a cart, and they play ready golf, you should be able to keep up fine. Only time I've ever felt rushed is when it was me (walking) with one other single (riding). 

[mcanadiens]

  On 6/8/2016 at 11:06 AM, Hardspoon said:

As long as there are two people sharing a cart, and they play ready golf, you should be able to keep up fine. Only time I've ever felt rushed is when it was me (walking) with one other single (riding). 

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I concur. Never had a problem keeping up with two people in a motor cart. Any single in a motor cart will generally meet my pace halfway if he's agreed to play with me in the first place.

Do what you can for pace of play, but don't put that brain bucket in the line of fire. It just isn't worth it.

[jkelley9]

Like others have said, everyone needs to have teed off before you start going down the fairway.

Pace has never been an issue with me (I walk all the time) unless a cart is trying to play a 2-hour round and rushing. Otherwise, most people can probably walk a course in 3 hours which is a better-than-fine pace. This only applies if the holes ahead of you are wide open. If you're playing when the course is even half-full you really shouldn't have an issue at all with pace. 

The only thing I'll do to cut the gaps down is if I'm away, I will hit and then start walking shortly past the next guy away (if he's taking some time) and then several steps ahead of him so long as I'm not in his way AT ALL. 

[RayG]

I've taken to walking when I can while my friends will cart it. And surprisingly enough, we finish at the exact same time. It beats sitting around in the cart waiting for the group in front. 

[rehmwa]

I walk ahead and keep my eye on the others.  But I usually ask the others if that's a problem for them.  If it is, I'll hang back (unless my tee shot is terrible and I think I'll need extra time, then I go).  If not, I'm moving.  Never had issues either way.

[Elmer]

I believe the proper etiquette is to wait until all have tee'd off before you start walking.

I walk nearly 99% of my rounds.
I do not leave the tee box until all have hit. 
Luckily I usually out drive my playing partners, so they can drive to their ball and hit the 2nd shot with minimal wait time on my part.
If their ball is off to a side and not in the fairway I may walk to my ball, while keeping my eye on their shot.

It is only a problem when I tee off last and the others are already driving to their ball while I am still putting my headcover on and grabbing my bag.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Elmer

[SavvySwede]

I walk ahead. All you need to do is be quiet and walk along the edge of the hole. Caddies do it all the time while their players are teeing off, it's nothing unusual.

[bkuehn1952]

  On 6/8/2016 at 2:36 AM, hack2scratch said:

What is proper etiquette for a walker and 3 riders? After i tee off should i start walking even tho there may be one or two left to tee off?  ...But at the same is it not polite to not watch your group play their shots?

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On the tee I generally wait.  Unless I am the last to hit, I try to be mounted up and ready to move.  If my tee shot was very wayward, I might try to get a head start if I can safely move ahead at an oblique angle to the tee, watching the action as I walk.

And yes, watching other's shots is the proper thing to do.

[mcanadiens]

  On 6/8/2016 at 3:14 PM, SavvySwede said:

I walk ahead. All you need to do is be quiet and walk along the edge of the hole. Caddies do it all the time while their players are teeing off, it's nothing unusual.

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Hello Mr. 4-handicap. You must play with a straight-hitting lot. The edge of the hole is about the worst place you could walk around people like me. Better off going straight down the middle of the fairway. 

[MSchott]

Never start walking until your entire group has hit. You don't have to worry about the riders getting ahead of you. It's the group ahead of you that will determine your pace of play. The riders will have to wait to hit to the green most of the time.

[rehmwa]

I need to change my answer......I thought the thread topics was "Tee Box Etiquette for Wankers"

 

I run ahead and dodge from tree to tree making camel noises and waving my arms, and raking fairway bunkers and fixing other people's divots.  I'm a bit of a enigma of good and bad.

[Cupcakus]

I'm usually the rider while the rest of my group is walking, and everyone waits at the tee.  However, I will hit next regardless of distance (ready golf) as I will be at my ball first.  This usually results in sub 4hr rounds which makes everyone happy.

[SavvySwede]

  On 6/8/2016 at 3:25 PM, mcanadiens said:

Hello Mr. 4-handicap. You must play with a straight-hitting lot. The edge of the hole is about the worst place you could walk around people like me. Better off going straight down the middle of the fairway. 

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The trick is to stay to the left side of the hole. Most golfers are righty so you'll always be out of the shank zone on the left side. Obviously not all holes are optimally shaped for this practice so you have to use your judgement but caddies do it all the time and learn the right places on the courses to be.

  On 6/8/2016 at 3:32 PM, MSchott said:

Never start walking until your entire group has hit. You don't have to worry about the riders getting ahead of you. It's the group ahead of you that will determine your pace of play. The riders will have to wait to hit to the green most of the time.

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But what if there isn't a group in front? I often play in the late afternoon when the course isn't busy, getting a little bit of a head start on my playing partners who are riding ensures a smoother flow/better pace of play.

[RayG]

I have walked with people in carts on an empty course. For the most part, they are playing army golf anyway, so they're swarming all over the place looking for balls and will take just as long to get to the hole as I am. If they are being rabbits or something and they are zooming off before my ball even lands, then to hell with them. Let 'em go and I'll wind up playing through anyway later on for some reason or another.