An Alarming Trend in my Area - Waiting

[DaBuckBoys]

This- but this past year it was Covid related to space out the second tee backup. First hole- Starter waits for people on Green to start putting. Normally, it's a relatively short Par 4, then a tough-ish Par 3 that might have 2,3,4 groups waiting. It helped immensely, but did not totally eliminate the problem. Still had to wait a bit for the group to clear on #2.

Home course has a little bit of this although a different configuration. A short-ish par 4 1st hole. The green is elevated but the cart path is a bit of collection area for long drives. Guys are always picking up balls near there parked carts that someone hit while they were putting.
The 2nd hole and tees aren't visible from the 1st hole so guys rush thru the 1st (especially with groups stacked up to start) only to get across the bridge and find several groups waiting on #2. The 2nd is a long-ish par 4 with 3 stream crossings and bridges that is a nightmare of slow play. It's a great hole but honestly the design does it now favors. The following short par 3 and par 5 are usually much better and the pace plays out well the rest of the front 9.
The wait on that 2nd hole can be a "2 beer" wait as it has become known among the regulars...

 

[tequila4kapp]

Years and years ago I played a course north of Chicago where the first hole was a downhill par 4, followed by an uphill par three with the tee directly behind #1 green, guarded by a chain link fence in between. The starter would hold you up on the 1st tee until the green was cleared and the group in front of you was on the 2nd tee. They marshalled the course seriously so that you never waited for the group in front of you all day, and if you were too slow and the group behind caught up the marshal would move you ahead. I don't recall the exact pace of play as it was many years ago but I do remember never having to wait nor being pushed.

At first I thought I’d never seen what the OP described but your post reminds me that a course I play here does something similar on the first tee. The starter holds the group on the first tee until the group ahead is walking off the green. The 2nd hole has a target golf second shot and tends to get backed up on the tee, even after holding the groups on the 1st tee.

 

[Bullfrog]

You obviously have never played with someone that’s hit a 3i 390 yards.....

Lol!

Post of the thread so far!

I think that if this happens to you, that you inform them of when the proper time to hit is. If they still wait, ask to play through. I haven't ran in to that here in NW Ohio. But I'm sure it's bound to happen sometime.

 

[AndyL0711]

the guy that waits for the green to clear is always the guy that either rolls his drive or tops his fairway wood and looks like a fool.

we do have a couple of drivable par 4's on one of our courses. 3 that are under 300. not a big deal for our group, since none of us drive over 250 anymore. but of course 1 day i get lucky and roll it onto the green as the guys are putting. fortunately for me they were very cool about it after i apologized for doing it. BTW i 3 putted and was pissed after...lol

 

[MrDC]

There's tons of newbies to the game out there now, so I'm surprised, but I haven't seen this yet and if we do people behind will make noise, NY'ers aren't the nicest people when slow play is involved. Hopefully the courses are aware of this new thing and putting a stop to it.

 

[PatsFan]

Playing with @snafu most times we all hit first. He can hit the ball so far it's not fair.
it was funny during league play last year someone gave him a hard time on the 3rd for waiting and questioned him when he said he hits it over 300. They argued back and forth till I told him to stop arguing and just show him. He was the one guy everyone in the league said we had to beat. He won't ever give a putt even if its 6".
We get to #5 when he launches one into space the thing went like 320+ and the guy just turns and Apologizes it was pretty funny.

 

[bigskyirish]

If anyone waited at my course for the green to clear on pretty much every non-par 3, heads would roll hahaha

Same here. We had a lot of new members this year and some of them were noticeably brand new to the game. But thankfully, pace of play was mostly reasonable and we never had to deal with anything as ridiculous as waiting for the green to clear on every hole.

 

[Carolina Dundee]

Post of the thread so far!

I think that if this happens to you, that you inform them of when the proper time to hit is. If they still wait, ask to play through. I haven't ran in to that here in NW Ohio. But I'm sure it's bound to happen sometime.

Better than a 4 putt

 

[blugold]

I haven't noticed this problem.

thoughts and prayers.

 

[PuffChippy]

the guy that waits for the green to clear is always the guy that either rolls his drive or tops his fairway wood and looks like a fool.

That's the truth. If you wait then the odds of shanking the ball into the woods goes up exponentially. If you go ahead and hit it'll surely be the one time this year you catch that 3 wood on the screws and hit right into them.

 

[tehuti]

I have seen this a lot more since the pandemic began. But it's still more common for the group behind to hit into you than for them to wait too long.

 

[RayG]

Several years ago before the world stopped, I played a small 9 holer on Long Island. Played there many, many times and it gets busy and can be slow. We were waiting on the first tee box, and the group ahead had NOT cleared the fairway Bunker on the left side which, to carry, is 200/210. I was waiting as I should have. Starter makes the announcement from the counter area inside. "Go ahead and play..." I looked over and kind of pointed and shook my head 'no'. "GO AHEAD AND PLAY..." Again... 'no'. He came storming out in a huff and went on a tiff about he's in charge, etc... Fine, I launch one down the middle over their heads- I DID YELL FORE! (I was a monster then). He was speechless, and he had a stupid look on his face. I walked over to his face and told him "YOU go out there and apologize because YOU'RE THE BOSS, RIGHT?"
We caught up to them on the next tee of course, and I did apologize for it AND for the starter being a richard. Worst part is I never hit another fairway the rest of the day.

 

[wazzubrew]

Several years ago before the world stopped, I played a small 9 holer on Long Island. Played there many, many times and it gets busy and can be slow. We were waiting on the first tee box, and the group ahead had NOT cleared the fairway Bunker on the left side which, to carry, is 200/210. I was waiting as I should have. Starter makes the announcement from the counter area inside. "Go ahead and play..." I looked over and kind of pointed and shook my head 'no'. "GO AHEAD AND PLAY..." Again... 'no'. He came storming out in a huff and went on a tiff about he's in charge, etc... Fine, I launch one down the middle over their heads- I DID YELL FORE! (I was a monster then). He was speechless, and he had a stupid look on his face. I walked over to his face and told him "YOU go out there and apologize because YOU'RE THE BOSS, RIGHT?"
We caught up to them on the next tee of course, and I did apologize for it AND for the starter being a richard. Worst part is I never hit another fairway the rest of the day.

This makes me angry to read but I am glad you vindicated yourself with your great drive. Sometimes there is nothing better than an “I told you so” purely through action.

 

[snafu]

Playing with @snafu most times we all hit first. He can hit the ball so far it's not fair.
it was funny during league play last year someone gave him a hard time on the 3rd for waiting and questioned him when he said he hits it over 300. They argued back and forth till I told him to stop arguing and just show him. He was the one guy everyone in the league said we had to beat. He won't ever give a putt even if its 6".
We get to #5 when he launches one into space the thing went like 320+ and the guy just turns and Apologizes it was pretty funny.

now if i could putt that woulx bd something lol

 

[tahoebum]

I ran into this a couple times this last year and both times they had misunderstood the first tee instructions and applied them to every subsequent hole. Most courses here want you to tee off on #1 after they've cleared the green. It's all standard after that though. Only took a minute to sort them out.

This is exactly what I've seen at a couple of courses in Florida over the winter. Newbies are confusing first hole instructions and carrying those instructions over to each hole. I had to explain it twice this winter to groups waiting on the 2nd tee for the green to clear on a 380+ yard par 4.

 

[GolfTravelDude]

Overall, many times there is just a lack of understanding etiquette on the golf course. In these type instances, I may be a little perturbed but I try to chat with people in a way to educate and inform.

 

[Buckeyegolfnut]

1. Don't call it cali.
2. It is called a rhetorical question.
3. I see no reason to get truly upset over trivial things.

I guess what set me off is that you were actually trying to help the guy by imparting pertinent information, and he basically gave you the big "go F yourself" by ignoring you. That doesn't end up in the "trivial" file with me.

Another thing.
Before I moved to N. Myrtle Beach I played a ton of golf at Bethpage Park on Long Island. It’s one of the biggest busiest golf complexes in the world. Every single golfer who plays there knows if you want to play under 4 1/2 - 5 hours, you’d better get an early tee time.
Why? Old guys play fast. Young guys play slow, and once the younger guys are out there, the course backs up.
It’s not about new golfers, it’s about younger golfers.
If you’re young or middle aged and live in an area where golf is popular, and you want to play fast, get up early or join a private club.

Not necessarily. This happened to us last year. We go to the starter and he tells us we have to play the back 9 first, they have an outing coming a little later. Okay, we, a 4 some, head to #10 tee. There are two 4 somes ahead of us that look to be seriously old, well into their 80's! Either that, or these were the most beaten up septuagenarians I have ever laid eyes on. One group in the fairway, the second on the tee. After 20 minutes of waiting, the first group is still on the green, and the second group has dropped anchor in the fairway. I don't think any of them hit his drive more than 150 yards, nor could any of them reach the green, yet there they stood! I told everybody to saddle up, and we were going back to see the starter!

First thing I do when we get back is look in the parking lot. There's nobody around! Sure didn't look like any outing was imminent! I told the starter that I was in no mood for a 7 hour round of golf, and asked him what time the outing was supposed to tee off? It was an hour and 15 minutes away! Are you kidding me? We'd be 5-6 holes in, and they'd never lay eyes on us! I told him that we were teeing off on #1 or I was going in and demand my money back! He relented and let us go off the front.

You know what? We caught up to the old-timers on #18! And we had to wait on them! But that wasn't so bad. I don't mind waiting on one hole. I'd mind waiting on 18 holes a lot! It had taken them a little over 4 hours to play 9! And that so called "starter" had no idea what he was doing, but I suspect his orders came from on high. It's a nice course, we like it, and they have a very good restaurant and bar. But sometimes they do quirky things!

 

[Space Bandito]

I guess what set me off is that you were actually trying to help the guy by imparting pertinent information, and he basically gave you the big "go F yourself" by ignoring you. That doesn't end up in the "trivial" file with me.

Perhaps I relayed the story poorly. He didn't ignore me in a rude way, I genuinely don't think he had a clue. After that we did make a point to play quickly off the tee in an attempt to show them the kind of pace we expect - we would tee off as soon as they moved away from their approach shots, and by the time they got to the green we were in the fairway waiting.

By the 7th hole, the longest par 4 on the course at 465 yards, they opted to stop for beers from the cart girl about 60 yards in front of the tee box (again the hole was empty at this point.) I made the executive decision that we would tee off over them, and play through. We hit our tee shots, they didn't notice. As we drove past while they were trying to flirt with the poor cart girl, I announced very clearly "we're playing through, you guys are a hole and a half behind." The guy responded "the group is on the next hole!" to which I said "I know, that's my point."

As we arrived to the green, the group in now in front of us was leaving the green on 8.

 

[Buckeyegolfnut]

You are correct, sir! They were completely and totally clueless!