Early morning golf...the right time to bring beginners out?

jdtox

Lord Tox
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New influx of golfers thanks to Covid. Great for the game, bad for securing tee times, pace of play and maybe the courses as I have seen so many divots and ball marks not being fixed. This morning @Lions81 and I arrived for our 7:30 tee time and was told there was a foursome in front of us which is fine as we were paired with another twosome. We stood there for a solid 10 mins and watched a guy who clearly had never played golf before get a lesson from his buddy on the first tee:oops:. At 7:30 AM on a track that isn't really conducive to beginner players. Eventually the starter walked over and told them to get moving and to be fair they did ok after that and eventually on the turn they let our foursome pass which saved us quite a bit of time on the back 9.

As a seasoned golfers we know better than to do such things don't we? I mean muni's are great for beginners as is twilight or afternoon golf? I'm just not sure that would even be fun for the guy who was struggling. Am I just being too get off my lawn?
 
It is a really tough line to stand on. On one hand, they are playing on a Thursday rather than a Saturday or Sunday, on the other hand yeah it's tough to play behind.

I am not in the camp that believes new golfers need to be relegated to bad courses or cheap courses or times that may not work for their schedule. Yet I am in the camp that pace of play is crucial to the sport growth long term.
 
Instead of the lesson on the tee box he should have been taught a lesson in courtesy. His friends who where maybe more experienced could have told him "maybe we let this group go ahead of us and there will be a little less pressure on you".
 
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It is a really tough line to stand on. On one hand, they are playing on a Thursday rather than a Saturday or Sunday, on the other hand yeah it's tough to play behind.

I am not in the camp that believes new golfers need to be relegated to bad courses or cheap courses or times that may not work for their schedule. Yet I am in the camp that pace of play is crucial to the sport growth long term.
Thats fair. I'm not drawing a line in the sand, I mean everyone has to start somewhere. My son who I would still classify as a beginner even though he has had lessons and stuff and can hit the ball I would never bring out on a Thursday morning to that type of course nor pay that price for him to get frustrated. I'm guessing that guy wasn't having much fun out there though but who knows. Like I said they did keep a decent enough pace to where we weren't waiting on every shot and were nice enough to let us pass at the turn. I just haven't seen anything like that before and it made me think about if I would do it and the answer is a big No.
 
They really should have let ya'll play through earlier. Being new to the game and trying to learn on course is important, but so is the course's pace of play. New guy maybe should be more on a driving range for the time being until they have a bit more comfort in their game cause yeah, that's not a fun foursome to be behind.
 
Thats fair. I'm not drawing a line in the sand, I mean everyone has to start somewhere. My son who I would still classify as a beginner even though he has had lessons and stuff and can hit the ball I would never bring out on a Thursday morning to that type of course nor pay that price for him to get frustrated. I'm guessing that guy wasn't having much fun out there though but who knows. Like I said they did keep a decent enough pace to where we weren't waiting on every shot and were nice enough to let us pass at the turn. I just haven't seen anything like that before and it made me think about if I would do it and the answer is a big No.

Yeah I am so conflicted on it. The lesson on the first tee box is a no no to me. Keeping pace is important and they probably should have you through earlier. But I struggle with the best way of implementation...Outside of course 6,12 and 18 hole rounds. :D
 
Right now, I don't know the right time to bring beginner golfers out. I'm trying to get my boys out, but even afternoon/evening times are busy each and every day of the week. A buddy and I were going to get out tomorrow afternoon and are having difficulties finding a tee time as the courses we usually go to . As a decent golfer I don't want to get out on a course that takes a while to play. As a beginner, I too wouldn't want to hold up others on a course that packed.

An interesting conundrum right now with the influx of new golfers is this very aspect. When can you get out on course if you are learning the game without negatively impacting the rounds of others. One thing my neighbor, who doesn't golf but once or twice a year will do, is basically hit every tee shot, but after that pick up and move to where I hit my shot if his wasn't so good. So as a twosome we basically play a scramble, he has fun and gets to hit shots, and we keep moving.
 
Morning Weekend I would say no, but morning weekday.... I can't really say no.

The sad thing is you have people who only played casually before inviting friends that have never set foot on a course before so it isn't like they really know what to tell the beginner what to do.

New players are integral to the long term health of the game, but the sport in general and courses/people in particular need to help new players to understand pace/etiquette/taking care of the the course.
 
I think the big issue here is pace of play. Bottom line to me is that. If beginners keep up, pick up and move on when needed and the pace of play is observed, I'm ok to have them play no matter the time of day. Pace of play, time for shots and between shots with practice, etc... must be kept up. If not, let others play through even on hole 2 if needed. Just keep up.
 
We were all beginners once! I don’t think beginners should be “relegated” to cheaper courses or early tee times. But it’s also totally out of order for someone to be giving someone a lesson on the tee (I suspect the lesson was something along the lines of slow backswing and keep your head down LOL). I don’t give people a free pass when it comes to slow play just because they are a beginner.
 
Week days vs fri-sunday is a factor, but weekend morning times should be kept with a good pace since that's when more people play. The other people in the group should be able to keep an eye and see that they are falling behind and to let a group through, its not the newbies responsibility.

Courses should let people know the expectations because people generally don't. Give em a warning or two, and then after that may have to force the groups hand to let a group through.

Weekend twighlight I think is great for beginners.. they can practice more, play multiple balls, and have less to worry about
 
One of our local courses had a well-advertised Saturday after 6 policy that kids under 16 played free with a parent who paid for his/her round. Having played a round at a different local course this year on a late Saturday, I think it still makes sense. Perhaps it could be extended to include all new golfers. If you're gaming the system, then you have to put up with that pace of play. And you know what? Pace of play on those Saturday evening wasn't that bad because it was something almost all parents taught their kids.

I put it on the established golfers to set those kinds of expectations for beginnners..
 
I'm fine with whatever time and course they want to play, but know your limitations and allow groups to play through. Goes for beginners or slower seasoned vets.
 
since other people can have scheduling issues, i don't think you can have a time when "beginners" should play. but like everyone else said, pace of play is key here. my nephews are beginners and we just played this weekend. they are all over the place but still keep up and pick up when needed. we all started somewhere.

and for those that think they shouldn't be "on the course yet"....come on. play when you want just keep up and have fun.
 
Beginners have every right to play on any day or any time in my opinion. But if someone is giving on course lessons, that needs to stop. Give the lessons on the range.
 
It's a tough call. I was definitely not amused by the 1st tee/hole, but they did OK after that. I don't have a problem with beginners being out there, so long as they move quickly, especially early in the morning when generally people are trying to play fast. That course is personally not one I would bring a beginner to play though. But to each their own.
 
Play whatever course you wish but I’m not a fan of beginners playing during prime hours, especially if you’re going to be giving lessons on the course. I guess the exception would be if you’re actively allowing groups to pass through
 
I was taught and still firmly believe that it doesn't matter if you're good or bad as long as you play fast.

Everyone has been bad at some point in this great game and I think its kind of off putting when I hear other players bad mouth someone just for being bad especially if they're on the pace of play.

That being said except for maybe help with aim point I don't think the golf course is the place for golf swing lessons.
 
As someone who adores early morning or twilight golf, I am fine with beginners going during 'peak' hours. I like early morning so I can churn through a rapid pace and get on with my day before it turns into a scorcher - same with the evening.

No matter when beginners golf, they just need to be cognizant of knowing when to pick up the ball and just take a drop (something that goes for all handicaps really) to ensure that the pace of play is maintained. If it's taking 10 on a Par 5 to get to the green, considering playing best ball with a better player is preferred.
 
It's a tough call. I was definitely not amused by the 1st tee/hole, but they did OK after that. I don't have a problem with beginners being out there, so long as they move quickly, especially early in the morning when generally people are trying to play fast. That course is personally not one I would bring a beginner to play though. But to each their own.
This is where I'm struggling. Where are you supposed to get someone off to a good start? After they start? I mean, if their time rolled past or into the next tee time that's one thing, but I'd definitely rather someone get sorted out on a couple things on the first than fight them the whole round. That's gotta be faster. And it sounds like it mostly worked for him/them.

I'm with most others saying weekday morning is better than weekend, probably could have let the group through sooner, etc. There's no great general answer or time that's right though. Depends on the course and player and beginner imo.

Honestly, some of those early guys are the worst to deal with on any change or change of pace thing, so I think it's probably good for them to have to be around it. The ones that are out there to break a speed record to start their day can be a crabby bunch and part of the problem.
 
Instead of the lesson on the tee box he should have been taught a lesson in courtesy. His friends who where maybe more experienced could have told him "maybe we let this group go ahead of us and there will be a little less pressure on you".

I would expand on that to say that the lesson can and should start in the car on the way over, and sound something like:

“Hey don’t worry about the rules, or your score, or where the ball goes. Take a swing, and if it goes great, we’ll go find it and hit it again, and if it doesn’t, just come out in the fairway with us and hit from there. Let’s just have fun until you get the hang of it. This game is tough even for long time players; don’t feel like you have to get it all right today.”
 
This is where I'm struggling. Where are you supposed to get someone off to a good start? After they start? I mean, if their time rolled past or into the next tee time that's one thing, but I'd definitely rather someone get sorted out on a couple things on the first than fight them the whole round. That's gotta be faster. And it sounds like it mostly worked for him/them.

I'm with most others saying weekday morning is better than weekend, probably could have let the group through sooner, etc. There's no great general answer or time that's right though. Depends on the course and player and beginner imo.

Honestly, some of those early guys are the worst to deal with on any change or change of pace thing, so I think it's probably good for them to have to be around it. The ones that are out there to break a speed record to start their day can be a crabby bunch and part of the problem.



not gonna lie...if i have one of the first 2-3 tee times of the day (normally 6:37am for me :cautious:), i expect lightning pace to finish by 930-945 :LOL:...this keeps other players far in the rearview and keeps me from getting in my own head while waiting :LOL:
 
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