A match on the course.

FixdePitchmark

Just so I know the right thing to do in future.

I was on the course the other day (casual alone) not much on the course. Wanted to count my score fully. I was on the first and seen a 4 ball on first green (par 5). I said to myself - haven't started at 1 and finished at 18 in ages , so will play and see if they let me through. I noticed they were very slow - of course a 4 ball would be V. a single player , but they we very serious, so imagined it was a match. When I got to my 2nd on the 2nd par 4 - they were still on green. I hit onto green as they were clear. I hit a good one and 2 putts - the 4th man of their group was hitting on tee. One bloke was asking do I want to play on- but another said it was a match so would I go to 4th tee

I was thinking this must be the right thing, was a match, I was just casual - cool, headed to 4th - but the hole they were playing , I can play in less than 5 minutes and they would have been walking too, I would have delayed them by 3 to 4. I sort of run in that case.

Sorry a bit long winded - does a match have priority ?

Rikand

Generally a match has priority, but since you were on your own, they should have just let you play through. It was a bit ignorant of them to ask you to skip a hole to accomodate them.

The only exception would have been it being an inter-club match but then I think you would have been told to leave the course altogether, lol

FixdePitchmark

Rickylovesuall wrote: »

Generally a match has priority, but since you were on your own, they should have just let you play through. It was a bit ignorant of them to ask you to skip a hole to accomodate them.

The only exception would have been it being an inter-club match but then I think you would have been told to leave the course altogether, lol

It was a last minute thing, free time came up. Could have been interclub. I was playing so well they should have asked me to take over :P
I'd say it was.

D3PO

a match has priority. but equally a fourball has priority over a single golfer anyway so they would have been perfectly within their rights to keep you behind them.

now in fairness common courtesy would have been for them to let you through.

FixdePitchmark

D3PO wrote: »

a match has priority. but equally a fourball has priority over a single golfer anyway so they would have been perfectly within their rights to keep you behind them.

now in fairness common courtesy would have been for them to let you through.

But is a match that slow - I don't think I could handle that - when I was on the 8th they were on the 5th tee.

FixdePitchmark

D3PO wrote: »

a match has priority. but equally a fourball has priority over a single golfer anyway so they would have been perfectly within their rights to keep you behind them.

now in fairness common courtesy would have been for them to let you through.

BTW - I don't think your right on fourball there.

Uncle Ben

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

BTW - I don't think your right on fourball there.

Read this, quite clear and concise.

http://golf.about.com/od/golfetiquette/f/singlespriority.htm

Benny Cake

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

But is a match that slow - I don't think I could handle that - when I was on the 8th they were on the 5th tee.

Yeah, but your alone. They've 4 lads playing a match. Exactly where should they have been when you were on the 8th?

link_2007

Uncle Ben wrote: »

Read this, quite clear and concise.

http://golf.about.com/od/golfetiquette/f/singlespriority.htm

I thought I read on here before that rule has changed in the last year or two.

DuckSlice

Priority on the Course

Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, priority on the course is determined by a group’s pace of play. Any group playing a whole round is entitled to pass a group playing a shorter round. The term “group” includes a single player.

That is taken from the official R and A app! So a single player has just as much rights as any other group!

FixdePitchmark

Benny Cake wrote: »

Yeah, but your alone. They've 4 lads playing a match. Exactly where should they have been when you were on the 8th?

I made that point, I know they would be slow.

But they were heading for a 5hr round - I was just asking is that normal.

I don't think a 1 ball should be double the speed of a 4 ball. But, each to their own - I just couldn't believe a match Is that slow. But it was match , yes.

Wilbert13

If you consider that it was a match I would think that they would have priority. However, if they applied a bit of common courtesy they could have just let you play through.

Had a similar experience last week in club matchplay, two of us playing a match were behind a fourball of seniors playing a casual round and they were completely oblivious to us, caught them on a number of occasions but no offer came to let us play through. It didn't bother me as much as it should have though because it was clearly annoying my opponent.

FixdePitchmark

This may seem daft. How do you know the group ahead is a match?

Without asking.

Im saying that, because there is no point in ever starting a round on the first if a match is ahead. even a 2 ball.

It is all a bit strange to me. But that is my ignorance.

DuckSlice

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

This may seem daft. How do you know the group ahead is a match?

Without asking.

Im saying that, because there is no point in ever starting a round on the first if a match is ahead. even a 2 ball.

It is all a bit strange to me. But that is my ignorance.

thats a good point, i think a group in competition has priority on the course!

slave1

I think this is an example of rules being pretty much secondary to common sense and decency, personally I'd let the single player through without a second though, makes sense the single player will be quicker and off the course and home sooner.

Rikand

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

This may seem daft. How do you know the group ahead is a match?

Check the timesheet before you go out. If they are playing a match, they will likely have marked "match" beside it

SnowDrifts

Bumping this thread to try find a definite answer. So had the unfortunate experience of catching up and playing behind 3 painfully slow women the other day. I was on my own. After a few holes of waiting on every tee box/fairway, I finally lost it when they literally decided to have a nice chat in the middle of the green after they put the flag back in.

So I said "Excuse me, can I please play through" to which the response was "We are playing in a competition". So I had a little "count to 10" and "happy thoughts" moment. Slightly irrelevant but they were down as casual golf as the competition slots finished an hour before their tee time.

As highlighted above, the new etiquette priority section states

Priority on the Course
Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, priority on the course is
determined by a group’s pace of play. Any group playing a whole round is
entitled to pass a group playing a shorter round. The term “group” includes
a single player.

So my question is, does this include a single player playing through a competition?

GreeBo

SnowDrifts wrote: »

Bumping this thread to try find a definite answer. So had the unfortunate experience of catching up and playing behind 3 painfully slow women the other day. I was on my own. After a few holes of waiting on every tee box/fairway, I finally lost it when they literally decided to have a nice chat in the middle of the green after they put the flag back in.

So I said "Excuse me, can I please play through" to which the response was "We are playing in a competition". So I had a little "count to 10" and "happy thoughts" moment. Slightly irrelevant but they were down as casual golf as the competition slots finished an hour before their tee time.

As highlighted above, the new etiquette priority section states



So my question is, does this include a single player playing through a competition?

you answered your own question, only if the committee rules that a competition or match has priority.
For us a match has priority, no casual golf in a competition so it doesnt come up.

actually now that I think about it, it used to be that during casual time, a match had priority on the first tee. (this was before booking came in)

SnowDrifts

Cheers Greebo - just had a browse through my club's website and the only reference is this - "If your group loses a clear hole, it is expected to invite the group behind to play through, irrespective of the number of players in either group." Will ask some committee members at the weekend for a definitive answer.

For Paws

It seems that is solely custom that dictates that a 'match' has priority on the course over 'casual' play. In my experience significant matches, ie; inter club competitions, are booked onto the course by the home Secretary, and no other golfers are allowed to play during that period. Most, if not all, inter club matches are comprised of several matches, so I doubt whether the group in the OP were playing inter club.

Imo it is unreasonable to even ask that any group, even a single, miss out on a hole in order to accommodate any group, match or otherwise. The OP should have been politely invited to play through and every normal courtesy offered.

I have noticed that the quickest method of allowing any group play through is for all tee shots to be played, followed by the tee shots of the group playing through.
The group playing through then plays it's second shots & so on.

This method reduces the chances of the group playing through feeling rushed & not hitting their usual tee shots, and subsequently spending more time locating a ball, all the while being gazed upon by the group who 'let' you through.