Etiquette question about teeing off

[hybrid25]

After 4 full pages of advice and comments, I wonder when I play today will the pace be improved? Or is it just a small minority of golfers venting and there will never be a change because of it?

[I_HATE_SNOW]

If they are out of range then hit. That gives you more time to pick up your mulligans and find your balls in the rough.

[North Butte]

After 4 full pages of advice and comments, I wonder when I play today will the pace be improved? Or is it just a small minority of golfers venting and there will never be a change because of it?

No amount of complaining can possibly outweigh the example set by every televised round of golf. Plus all the books and article about "mental game" advising golfers to adopt endless superstitious "routines".

[br61]

Any chance we are over thinking this just a bit? I have been playing this game for a lot of years and i have found that, sometimes you should go ahead and hit, and sometimes you should not.....The situation in front of you will answer the question for most reasonable players.

 

Exactly, it depends on the situation in front of us. Last Friday, playing at a resort course(7100 yds long) with my club pros and being the shortest hitter in my group at 260 yards or so. Playing behind a group of hackers that took few shots to reach the greens, they let me hit first as long as the group in front of us are over 50-75 yards out of my normal range as they can hit few drives over 300 yards. They knew they needed to wait as their drives can land too close to the group up front. Never had a problem and we played our round in 4 hours or so without rushing.

[Greenie]

Let's look at this from a slightly different perspective - if you were the group in the fairway waiting for the green to clear, and you are 100-125 yards out waiting to approach the green and first you hear four balls hitting behind you in various locations, then you look back two minutes later and see that the group behind you is now standing on the 150 yard marking waiting, how would you feel about that?

 

I would feel like the group on the green is to darn slow.

[Greenie]

Any chance we are over thinking this just a bit? I have been playing this game for a lot of years and i have found that, sometimes you should go ahead and hit, and sometimes you should not.....The situation in front of you will answer the question for most reasonable players.

 

Best answer in this thread!

 

I have played golf for many yrs. too. I find some of these replies a real eye opener for me. We have always hit when safe to do so to keep pace of play moving. Safe meaning no chance of disturbing the group ahead of us within reason. I think some of you are going to have a problem no matter what if we tee off behind you while you are in the fairway. I have always played with a short hitter in our group. 200yd drives. We always let him tee off first then either the rest of us wait or tee off one by one depending on our safe distance. Teeing off is no different than taking your second shot on a par 5 that so many of us b**** about.

 

I know this is WRX and we are all pros here. In my experience how many times have I seen the group in the fairway now duff their second shots another 30 yds down the fairway. Do we now wait another group of shots from them or do we tee off if it is now safe to swing away? They are still in the fairway.

[Noles]

Any chance we are over thinking this just a bit? I have been playing this game for a lot of years and i have found that, sometimes you should go ahead and hit, and sometimes you should not.....The situation in front of you will answer the question for most reasonable players.

 

Best answer in this thread!

 

I have played golf for many yrs. too. I find some of these replies a real eye opener for me. We have always hit when safe to do so to keep pace of play moving. Safe meaning no chance of disturbing the group ahead of us within reason. I think some of you are going to have a problem no matter what if we tee off behind you while you are in the fairway. I have always played with a short hitter in our group. 200yd drives. We always let him tee off first then either the rest of us wait or tee off one by one depending on our safe distance. Teeing off is no different than taking your second shot on a par 5 that so many of us b**** about.

 

I know this is WRX and we are all pros here. In my experience how many times have I seen the group in the fairway now duff their second shots another 30 yds down the fairway. Do we now wait another group of shots from them or do we tee off if it is now safe to swing away? They are still in the fairway.

In my opinion, you do not have to wait at that point. Remember, in the OP, the question was about waiting for the group to hit their second shot into the par 4...not just any shot from the fairway.

[rawdog]

I've read it all. By hitting my tee shot sooner, I'm somehow causing groups behind me to hit theirs later than they otherwise would have.

 

Got it.

[MrJones]

If I'm in the fairway waiting to hit my approach shot and a ball lands back behind me I don't just assume they knew they were laying up.

 

I don't know you and as far as I know you just hit the worst drive you've ever hit. And that next guy I see teeing up behind you? I don't know that he can "only" hit it 30 yards behind me. I'm watching and waiting to see where the ball lands at this point because I don't know. I could be in danger of being hit. For all I know you're a bunch of rowdy drunks that's gotten tired of waiting and are trying to get your point across.

 

You guys on the tee know, but you're not the ones being hit at. Now you've pissed off the guys in the fairway and stopped them from playing their normal shots. It probably isn't going to accomplish the goal you had of speeding up play.

[Nessism]

The problem here is that most courses are too slow. A great many people in this thread must like to play slow though because they make one excuse after another why people should slow down and not hit up when they can. We need less princes and the pea concern about balls from behind rolling up within 40 yards of us and more focus on getting moving and finishing in four hours or less.

[North Butte]

The problem here is that most courses are too slow. A great many people in this thread must like to play slow though because they make one excuse after another why people should slow down and not hit up when they can. We need less princes and the pea concern about balls from behind rolling up within 40 yards of us and more focus on getting moving and finishing in four hours or less.

 

What I'm seeing is an attitude something like this:

 

1) If someone hits up 40-50 yards behind me I'll assume they were trying to hit into me to piss me off

2) I don't want to hit up 40-50 yards behind someone because they'll assume I was trying to hit into them and they'll get pissed off

3) If the course is backed up and play is slow, I'm so pissed off I might as well just let some space empty out in front of me so maybe I can calm down

 

So I'm back to being glad I play mostly at my club and otherwise at a couple of the public courses in town where I'm pretty darned sure nobody is trying to hit into me, nobody is trying to piss me off and if things are slow we're all in it together and just need to make the best of the situation rather than making it worse by passive-aggressively hanging back to, I dunno know, prove kind kind of cockeyed point?

[MrJones]

The problem here is that most courses are too slow. A great many people in this thread must like to play slow though because they make one excuse after another why people should slow down and not hit up when they can. We need less princes and the pea concern about balls from behind rolling up within 40 yards of us and more focus on getting moving and finishing in four hours or less.

 

The ONLY explanation I've heard so far as to why hitting on up would speed things up is that the people teeing off are going to be short and spray their shots so they need more time to look for them.

 

I also wonder how many courses boast groups that are each consecutively 30 yards shorter off the tee than the group ahead of them. One group is short enough to tee off behind one other group and pace of play is somehow miraculously improved on the course.

 

Makes no sense at all.

[MrJones]

The problem here is that most courses are too slow. A great many people in this thread must like to play slow though because they make one excuse after another why people should slow down and not hit up when they can. We need less princes and the pea concern about balls from behind rolling up within 40 yards of us and more focus on getting moving and finishing in four hours or less.

 

What I'm seeing is an attitude something like this:

 

1) If someone hits up 40-50 yards behind me I'll assume they were trying to hit into me to piss me off

2) I don't want to hit up 40-50 yards behind someone because they'll assume I was trying to hit into them and they'll get pissed off

3) If the course is backed up and play is slow, I'm so pissed off I might as well just let some space empty out in front of me so maybe I can calm down

 

So I'm back to being glad I play mostly at my club and otherwise at a couple of the public courses in town where I'm pretty darned sure nobody is trying to hit into me, nobody is trying to piss me off and if things are slow we're all in it together and just need to make the best of the situation rather than making it worse by passive-aggressively hanging back to, I dunno know, prove kind kind of cockeyed point?

 

I play at a private club and we only have two groups that are 30 to 40 yards shorter off the tee than any other groups. They play from the tee it forward green tees. From those tees they're too close to tee off on any par 4 that has people in the fairway.

[chippa13]

And there is the winner. If every group is playing the appropriate tees then there really shouldn't be a chance for a group to hit on a par 4 with a group in the fairway waiting to hit their 2nd shots.

[2bGood]

And there is the winner. If every group is playing the appropriate tees then there really shouldn't be a chance for a group to hit on a par 4 with a group in the fairway waiting to hit their 2nd shots.

 

SHAMBLES! For a few reasons:

• the appropriate tees are not just based on length but also handicap. You can have a short hitting scratch playing the tips and long hitting 30 cap play up front.
  
• a mix of players in each group,
  
• tee boxes that are not spread out very much on certain holes
  
• matches happening that must be played from the same tees
  

[Bushwood Country Club]

Group 2 should hit their tee shots

[chippa13]

And there is the winner. If every group is playing the appropriate tees then there really shouldn't be a chance for a group to hit on a par 4 with a group in the fairway waiting to hit their 2nd shots.

 

SHAMBLES! For a few reasons:

• the appropriate tees are not just based on length but also handicap. You can have a short hitting scratch playing the tips and long hitting 30 cap play up front.
  
• a mix of players in each group,
  
• tee boxes that are not spread out very much on certain holes
  
• matches happening that must be played from the same tees
  

 

I love the internet, where low percentage exceptions are used to define a hard and fast rule.

[rawdog]

Serious question... on tight courses (munis are famous for this), where a tee box is maybe 20-30 yards from a green sometimes, do people really get upset if an approach shot to the previous green makes a thump as you're about to tee off?

 

Not a knock, I just never realized people actually consider it rude to take your shot when it's time to take your shot.

[chippa13]

I think that case is different since there would be a holler of "Fore" if a ball was heading wayward from the green toward the tee box. The folks on the tee box know there shouldn't be a ball approaching them so they wouldn't be startled to hear a ball land on or around the nearby green.

[MrJones]

Serious question... on tight courses (munis are famous for this), where a tee box is maybe 20-30 yards from a green sometimes, do people really get upset if an approach shot to the previous green makes a thump as you're about to tee off?

 

Not a knock, I just never realized people actually consider it rude to take your shot when it's time to take your shot.

 

At least then you know for sure they're aiming at the green. Even if they hit one near you, you know that wasn't their intention.

 

In this case I'm betting people's dispersion, length, and "aim" aren't as consistent off the tee.

[HatsForBats]

That's not even close to accurate. The group in front of me waited on the 18th tee for at least 5 minutes. I waited for longer than that. Again, where is anybody going?

 

Agreed. Nobody in close proximity to your group is going anywhere. No sense in pressing the group in front if they are not the cause of the delay and are waiting like everyone else. If the pace of play is 'OK' then what's to be done about it?

[2bGood]

And there is the winner. If every group is playing the appropriate tees then there really shouldn't be a chance for a group to hit on a par 4 with a group in the fairway waiting to hit their 2nd shots.

 

SHAMBLES! For a few reasons:

• the appropriate tees are not just based on length but also handicap. You can have a short hitting scratch playing the tips and long hitting 30 cap play up front.
  
• a mix of players in each group,
  
• tee boxes that are not spread out very much on certain holes
  
• matches happening that must be played from the same tees
  

 

I love the internet, where low percentage exceptions are used to define a hard and fast rule.

 

You do see that you stated the hard and fast rule right? And I pointed out there are lots of exceptions to your rule. You make think it is a low percentage but each exception I pointed out I do see it happen regularly.

 

There are too many variables in golf to come with hard and fast rules of how everything should work, and I am sticking with my very simple view, that if the players are safely out of range you can go ahead and hit.

[chippa13]

Funny, I don't see any absolutes in my statement yet you apparently read them.

[golfortennis]

I can't recall if it's been mentioned, but "pressing forward" runs a risk of slowing down play completely.

 

After all, if you've "pressed forward" pretty close to me, and don't feel there is a need to apologize, you will spend a long time looking for the ball that I have either taken with me or hit into woods/water. You deserve having it hit back to you, but you're not worth the trouble that could ensue. So I'll have to be satisfied with your ball disappearing. How good is your plan then?

[golfortennis]

If the group in the fairway starts moving, then we hit. If they are waiting, so are we. All you can do is spook them, and for what? The benefits being bandied about here are quite small, frankly, with far too much downside.

 

Rather than hitting the second they are clear of the perceived landing zone, why don't people actually just step up and hit the ball when it is their turn rather than their minute long pre shot routines? Not "pressing forward" is not the problem. Not getting on with it when it's time is.

 

And agreed on ready golf with one exception: don't step in front of a birdie. Bad karma if you do.

 

If I am waiting throughout the round the last things I want to do is rush a shot after having to wait and to be stuck with a bunch of 'ready golfers' that don't need to be playing ready golf. No sense in hurrying up just to make the wait longer on the next shot. Would much rather try to space it out so that the wait is not as long. Having been stuck with some 'hurry up and wait' golfers on crowded days I probably drove them a bit nutty. The more they hurried up the more I had to slow down my routine to balance them out.

 

Maybe for you just getting up and hitting works, it does for one of the guys I play with, but for me the longer I wait the longer I need to get some of my swing back. No sense in starting the pre-shot routine when you have no idea how long the group in front will be there.

 

Oh I agree. I was just responding to the part about St Andrews' ready golf stuff. If it's clear ahead, go ahead and hit. I don't care about honors, unless someone has made a birdie. Then they go first. Period. Bad karma to step in front just because "ready golf!"

 

I have a bit of a problem when people say ready golf, because I'm usually longer then the people I play with. How am I supposed to be ready to hit when I would be prepping right in front of the other guy who is hitting first?

 

I just hope your routine isn't one of these that are what is the real cause of slow play. :)

[Augster]

The problem here is that most courses are too slow. A great many people in this thread must like to play slow though because they make one excuse after another why people should slow down and not hit up when they can. We need less princes and the pea concern about balls from behind rolling up within 40 yards of us and more focus on getting moving and finishing in four hours or less.

 

This.

 

If you're not part of the cure, you're part of the problem. Excuses for not hitting when the landing area is clear get more and more unfathomable in this thread.

 

We're hitting when the landing area is clear. If that makes the group ahead antsy, angry, pissed, what-have-you, I honestly don't care. The landing area was clear, I hit, that's that.

 

I'm with North Butte on this too. I don't play private, but we play in a large group on our public course. Usually 2-6 groups. I nearly always know the guys in the group behind and know they aren't "trying to hurt us". They are just hitting when they know it's clear because they've played the same course 2000+ times.

[chippa13]

I love how everyone conveniently forgets that the group on the fairway was waiting for the green to clear. They weren't slow, they were stuck. The next group hitting was trading waiting time on the tee for waiting time in the fairway.

[Noles]

I love how everyone conveniently forgets that the group on the fairway was waiting for the green to clear. They weren't slow, they were stuck. The next group hitting was trading waiting time on the tee for waiting time in the fairway.

It has been stated before in here, but common sense is not so common. Apparently neither is common courtesy.

[HatsForBats]

The problem here is that most courses are too slow. A great many people in this thread must like to play slow though because they make one excuse after another why people should slow down and not hit up when they can. We need less princes and the pea concern about balls from behind rolling up within 40 yards of us and more focus on getting moving and finishing in four hours or less.

 

This.

 

If you're not part of the cure, you're part of the problem. Excuses for not hitting when the landing area is clear get more and more unfathomable in this thread.

 

We're hitting when the landing area is clear. If that makes the group ahead antsy, angry, pissed, what-have-you, I honestly don't care. The landing area was clear, I hit, that's that.

 

I'm with North Butte on this too. I don't play private, but we play in a large group on our public course. Usually 2-6 groups. I nearly always know the guys in the group behind and know they aren't "trying to hurt us". They are just hitting when they know it's clear because they've played the same course 2000+ times.

 

Excuses? I'm not sure I understand. If the pace of play was OK, as stated in the original post, what do you gain by hitting up? If it's only a few holes throughout the round I get it but at some point you have to realize all you are doing is hurrying up to wait longer on the next shot? I'm with the others that say the answer depends on many factors. Sometimes it calls for hitting up when clear and other times waiting is the better choice for that particular shot/round. If pace of play is 'OK' there is no sense in rushing anyone.

[Hot Rod 71]

I think the differences in this thread are just basic misunderstandings.

 

For example, if group A tees off on a 400 yard par 4 and hits their drives 280, they are now waiting to hit a 120 yard shot while the group on the green is putting.

 

If group B (waiting on the tee) can hit it 250-275, then perhaps waiting is wise. You never know what type of forward bounce you may get, or when you may just crush one longer than normal so why take the chance. This represents the thinking of one group in this thread.

 

If group C is on the tee and they only hit it 220-230, then perhaps they could hit and still maintain a reasonable buffer. If they get a good bounce or really hit a good one and it rolls out to 250, then the group in the fairway is really in no danger. This represents the thinking of the other group in this thread.

 

Sure group C can hit without the danger of hitting the group in the fairway, but will doing so really speed up play?