Respect (Or Lack Thereof) for Singles/Walkers

[Lihu]

On 7/30/2016 at 3:42 PM, drmevo said:

Does anyone else run into this regularly? Not to get all "woe is me," but it starts to feel like the rest of the course wishes you weren't there, and in some cases people behave as though you aren't. Is this just the norm?

Kind of the norm for twilight play, but I'm really surprised that the pro shop let you out in the middle of a league play? The ladies could have been much more polite, but I'm guessing they've been harassed many times before as that one lady parked her cart in the middle of the fairway seemingly to "protect" the others. People become all defensive sometimes when it comes to playing on Public courses. Municipal courses can be even worse sometimes.

So, the dad and son thing is also not unusual, sometimes they want to play alone. It's frustrating, but that's the case. My son and I usually join whoever wants and we let them join us as well. There's really no problem one way or another. We asked a couple players in front of us on the last hole if we could join them. They refused, so we just waited at the tee box for about 15 minutes as one of the players took an entire minute standing over the ball getting ready to hit. My son started counting off in 2 second intervals up to 34 before the shot was made.

People are people. I have no idea why they refused, since when we got to the green we met up with them again, and they were very friendly. So, it wasn't that they didn't like us or anything. My son even hit the right fringe pin high from 240 yards while they were putting, and we apologized for that. That's when we started talking and discussing different aspects of the course. Very friendly even though we kind of hit into them, possibly more than once (the course has lots of big bumps and you can't see over them, so all you can do is wait about 5 minutes before teeing off). We didn't know that one of the players took over a minute to take a shot plus another 3 practice swings per shot.

On a public course you kind of expect this and one way to avoid this is to get a cart and drive past all the nonsense. Play random holes*** and get your golf in that way.

 

***My one peeve of GG is that once you pass up a hole, there is no way to score it when you go back to it without post editing the round.

[JonMA1]

When putting a single in with a group, does playing a different set of tees ever cause any issues? I voluntarily joined a threesome for the last 7 holes on Sunday and switched to their tees because it just made more sense.

[Lihu]

1 minute ago, JonMA1 said:

When putting a single in with a group, does playing a different set of tees ever cause any issues? I voluntarily joined a threesome for the last 7 holes on Sunday and switched to their tees because it just made more sense.

You can play different tees or the same tees. It doesn't save that much time. I played with 3 other people of which 2 of them played the tips and the other player and I played off the "back" tees. They walk back hit, then we'd move forward and hit.

I've also played with a mix of a man who played the tips, me, then the man's wife, then their 8 year old kid who played a "specially made" kiddie tee by his coach. It didn't take any longer than most rounds I've played.

[DaveP043]

9 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

When putting a single in with a group, does playing a different set of tees ever cause any issues? I voluntarily joined a threesome for the last 7 holes on Sunday and switched to their tees because it just made more sense.

I regularly play with people playing from different tees, its never a problem among my friends.  However, if I'm a single joining another group, I'd strongly consider adapting to play the same tees as them.  I probably won't move way way forward too often, nor would I move to the tips on some courses, but within reason it seems easier to play from the same tees.  If the situation is reversed, and a single joins my group, I really wouldn't care what tee he (or she) plays.  The only exception would be the relatively unskilled golfer who decided to play the tips.

[Kalnoky]

I think the root cause of these bad feelings is that golf has not found a way to reconcile (or even identify) the varying levels of skill among players, which is a really big spread, if you think about it. There needs to be different colored flags attached to your cart, or a simple 5 question letter grade quiz assigned by the starter.. and not handicaps, that is really impractical for everyday hacks... but something very simple, so the best possible pairings are going out.

How many times have I heard fellas say "oh, I'm not very good", and it turns out to be true - they're not very good compared to Dustin Johnson! And the opposite has happened, where people say, "sometimes I shoot in the 90's, sometimes in the 80's", and it turns out they are horrible, unlikely to break 110 much less 100. Knowing how subjective all of this is, I can understand why people are reluctant to join up sometimes. 

My experience is the people I meet playing golf are by and large some of the nicest people I've ever met anywhere. But everyone wants to (and deserves to) get their money's worth for their green fees. 

[drmevo]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

Kind of the norm for twilight play, but I'm really surprised that the pro shop let you out in the middle of a league play? The ladies could have been much more polite, but I'm guessing they've been harassed many times before as that one lady parked her cart in the middle of the fairway seemingly to "protect" the others. People become all defensive sometimes when it comes to playing on Public courses. Municipal courses can be even worse sometimes.

Yeah, but this wasn't the ladies' league - I know to avoid that night and men's league night. They have these "work leagues" and "town leagues" pretty much every night and the tee times vary so there is no real consistency to them. I don't even think they all go off in the same block of time. They are more informal as far as I understand, as well as being open to both men and women. My main issue was she was trying to take matters into her own hands after I explained they had sent me out instead of either calling the pro shop or dealing with it.

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

So, the dad and son thing is also not unusual, sometimes they want to play alone. It's frustrating, but that's the case.

I understand people wanting to play together alone if that is a possibility with how busy the course is.  In this case, I was steps away from the tee box, just having been sent that way by the starter - there was literally nowhere else I could have been going - and they drove past me to the next tee box up.  And again, if I wasn't waiting on them every shot, it wouldn't have been as big a deal.

 

1 hour ago, JonMA1 said:

When putting a single in with a group, does playing a different set of tees ever cause any issues? I voluntarily joined a threesome for the last 7 holes on Sunday and switched to their tees because it just made more sense.

I think it tends to slow things down if there are more than two tee boxes being used. I was put into a group with a twosome and another single.  The other single was playing from the tips and was near scratch - speed of play was no issue for him. I played from the blues (the next set up). The twosome was a husband-wife couple and he played the next set up, then his wife played the ladies' tee in front of that. It was just too slow, so I joined the husband up at the forward tee after a few holes, even though I prefer to play the blues at that course.

[Lihu]

10 minutes ago, drmevo said:

Yeah, but this wasn't the ladies' league - I know to avoid that night and men's league night. They have these "work leagues" and "town leagues" pretty much every night and the tee times vary so there is no real consistency to them. I don't even think they all go off in the same block of time. They are more informal as far as I understand, as well as being open to both men and women. My main issue was she was trying to take matters into her own hands after I explained they had sent me out instead of either calling the pro shop or dealing with it.

Yeah, it ws definitely rude for her to almost accuse you of being "in the wrong".

10 minutes ago, drmevo said:

I understand people wanting to play together alone if that is a possibility with how busy the course is.  In this case, I was steps away from the tee box, just having been sent that way by the starter - there was literally nowhere else I could have been going - and they drove past me to the next tee box up.  And again, if I wasn't waiting on them every shot, it wouldn't have been as big a deal.

My son and I were being sandwiched between an 8 some and the two people in front of us. After watching one of them play, I have to say I'm kind of glad we didn't play with them after all.

The main thing is to just to reduce your expectations for a "country club" type of round.

Sure, I can join two clubs in my area, but they're not exceptional courses, you end up playing with the same people all the time and come out to $120 a round with food and everything, so, why?

My "player's club" can get me into courses that are just as fun and challenging as the two clubs near me.

Just expect more types of people, some "weird" as you described and some nice.I hope you meet more nice people.

 

10 minutes ago, drmevo said:

I think it tends to slow things down if there are more than two tee boxes being used. I was put into a group with a twosome and another single.  The other single was playing from the tips and was near scratch - speed of play was no issue for him. I played from the blues (the next set up). The twosome was a husband-wife couple and he played the next set up, then his wife played the ladies' tee in front of that. It was just too slow, so I joined the husband up at the forward tee after a few holes, even though I prefer to play the blues at that course.

Next time, just play the blues. I can't imagine it taking more than 30-40 seconds longer per hole? Of course, I'd never say no to someone wanting to play up. . .

[TRUCKER]

When this thread first came out I was like, "Single golfer? Who cares, just let them play through." Well, now I can see why people do get, "annoyed" by singles, when the course is BUSY. It's like, oh great, now this guy's gonna want to, "play through." For what though? So now we have to wait on the single that's in-between us, and  the (3) 4-some's we've been following. Oh and they will never join anybody because, "Oh I'm just working on my game." Fine then. You can stay behind me because I'm not letting you go by anymore...✋

[DaveP043]

43 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

When this thread first came out I was like, "Single golfer? Who cares, just let them play through." Well, now I can see why people do get, "annoyed" by singles, when the course is BUSY. It's like, oh great, now this guy's gonna want to, "play through." For what though? So now we have to wait on the single that's in-between us, and  the (3) 4-some's we've been following. Oh and they will never join anybody because, "Oh I'm just working on my game." Fine then. You can stay behind me because I'm not letting you go by anymore...✋

LOL, unless you've changed your user ID and signed up a second time, the last post in this thread was almost a year before you joined here.  But I do agree, on a crowded course a single should realize that there's no place to go, and do his best to accept the pace of play.  The single player should also accept gracefully when he's invited to join another group, its simply more efficient (generally) if everyone is playing in groups of 4.  

[TRUCKER]

I always do a search for a topic I'm interested in so I don't clog up the forum with repeat threads. I remembered reading this thread a long time ago, so I looked it up...🤷‍♂️ I didn't respond before because our club wasn't as busy, so I never noticed the issue. Now it seems like every weekend this is happening. Maybe it's worse too at a private club because it's always the same couple of guys, so you kind of feel obligated to do something. Where as a public course, you'd be dealing with a stranger every time, and just turn your back to them.

[billchao]

1 hour ago, TRUCKER said:

When this thread first came out I was like, "Single golfer? Who cares, just let them play through." Well, now I can see why people do get, "annoyed" by singles, when the course is BUSY. It's like, oh great, now this guy's gonna want to, "play through." For what though? So now we have to wait on the single that's in-between us, and  the (3) 4-some's we've been following. Oh and they will never join anybody because, "Oh I'm just working on my game." Fine then. You can stay behind me because I'm not letting you go by anymore...✋

If the course is busy, why would you let a single play through? Nobody is going anywhere.

[TRUCKER]

1 minute ago, billchao said:

If the course is busy, why would you let a single play through? Nobody is going anywhere.

I don't anymore.

[jmanbooyaa]

I play as a single, if the course is busy there is 0 chance of playing through and don’t expect to. When I show up as a single I always let them know I am more than willing to be paired up. I enjoy golf more when paired up. Not really a fan of playing solo but sometimes there is no choice. 

[uitar9]

I play as a single whenever my wife decides to pass. Our muni trys to make foursomes and it usually works out.

DavePO43 mentioned trying to play the same tees. While I prefer the whites I'll play the blues to fit in. Surprisingly, many strangers I meet prefer the whites. It makes a difference.

and often a duo or threesome do not feel comfortable golfing with a stranger. I'll give them two or three holes then ask to join them, not play through. Normally nowhere to go. and I get to chat while waiting for folks ahead of us. That usually works out.

[Bonvivant]

As someone who plays lots of solo golf, I have plenty of experience with all sorts. I don't often play as a single when the course is crowded so most of the time it should be a join/play through. What always amazes me is how fast people start getting off the teebox, but the rest of their game stays slow. 10 seconds a man to drive, but a minute or more per man for anything else. This is the rudest behavior I run into, and I usually call the clubhouse, especially if it is in the evening and I am trying to finish before dark. 

If the whole course is a log jam, it is usually when I am playing with others. If I show up to a crowded course solo I will ask the starter if there is a goo place for a single on the sheet, or just hit the range instead of playing a round.

[dagolfer18]

Whenever I go out to play, I usually go solo or, in more recent rounds, with my brother. As a bogey golfer, I play pretty quick, and when I used to go solo (walking), I would play a full 18 holes in about three hours. I’ve run into several groups in my solo rounds, and most of them are happy to let me play through, or join them if they’re not a foursome. There have been a few groups who refuse to let me through/join I don’t mind if they play quick, but some are extremely slow and turn my 3-hour rounds into 5, and occasionally 6, hours of frustration. 

Edited January 1, 2020 by dagolfer18

[luchnia]

On 1/1/2020 at 11:16 AM, dagolfer18 said:

There have been a few groups who refuse to let me through/join I don’t mind if they play quick, but some are extremely slow and turn my 3-hour rounds into 5, and occasionally 6, hours of frustration. 

I really hate it when a decent round turns into a waiting session that is that long. When I play I am always conscious of those in front and behind me and if I think I am slowing folks up behind me, I will give them an opportunity to play through if there is a gap in front of me.

[dagolfer18]

3 hours ago, luchnia said:

I really hate it when a decent round turns into a waiting session that is that long. When I play I am always conscious of those in front and behind me and if I think I am slowing folks up behind me, I will give them an opportunity to play through if there is a gap in front of me.

We had that case today. Started at 10:45, didn’t finish til 3:30. Almost a 5-hour round, but I didn’t let the slow pace keep me from playing well. Getting ready to post about the round on “What’d You Shoot Today?”