Biggest Golf Pet Peeve

[Weir]

the way i see it, that is the foursome's fault.....they should let both of you guys through, the single first and then you guys. that is a crappy situation though.

also as far as starters go, i have never seen a starter actually fix problems like this, but i have seen them do things like the part i quoted. i guess i should add that i have only encountered starters at resort courses in california (where almost everyone was a dbag from the proshop down to the bagboys) and at a country club here that can be at times a little full of itself.

[djj6835]

[ QUOTE ]
the way i see it, that is the foursome's fault.....they should let both of you guys through, the single first and then you guys. that is a crappy situation though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Correct, it was just the log jam created right at the beginning that was the result of not having a starter. The course I normally play at wont allow anybody to tee off until the group in front is on the green. This basically ensures that as long as everyone is playing at a reasonable rate you will never see the group in front of you or behind you again.

[sandycove]

In defence of starters (having been one) and rangers, their purpose is simply to eliminate conflict, establish order, illuminate local rules and move things along in the most expeditious manner possible. Clearly, some do this better than others and some are notoriously imperious -- Colin Montgomerie’s father at Troon was a prime example.

On singles (although admittedly a grand way to enjoy the day), they, by rule, have no standing on the golf course and are almost always impractical -- a steady flow of foursomes is always preferable and two-somes, unless engaged in a formal match, are discouraged as well.

One perceptual difficulty with precedence and speed of play is the cultural disconnect between the folks in the U.K. who originated the rules and the Americans who attempt to make them their own. Outside the U.S., golf is customarily a matter of affinity, not class, and local competitions are a club-wide weekly, even bi-weekly affair, where players walk, in groups of four. The rules of golf were designed to accommodate this custom; players generally have read and understand the rules and abide by them. Many, if not most players, were taught basic golf etiquette via a junior golf program.

In the U.S., local competitions are not widespread, club membership is almost always a function of class and wealth, course design and operations economics discourage walking, the population on a course is less likely to be acquainted, and very few players actually bother to read and attempt to understand the rules. And, because playing privileges are based on wealth, committee and staff have insufficient authority to insist that high standards are enforced.

It is a difficult chore for the USGA, which is run by upper-class country clubbers, to modify European rules and customs to fit American clubs, publinks and resorts, with their varying needs. And the PGA struggles as well, since modern economics has reduced course professionals in the States to little more than shopkeepers, with almost no authority to influence behaviour without putting their livelihoods in jeopardy.

[BadBoyBenny]

[ QUOTE ]
I recently played a course without a starter for the first time this year and it was miserable. The course wasn't busy but I was in a twosome, there was a sloooooooow foursome in front of us and a fast singleton behind us. One teeing off immediately following another created an immediate backup in which we had to wait and then feel rushed by the guy behind us.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why didn't you just invite the single to play in your group?

[Evan]

sandy, you could have saved a lot of typing by just saying "I don't like Americans" there.

[niss]

Let me preface this by saying that, like everyone else here, I am very anti-slow play. I play fast and make sure my group does the same. So the thing that drives me nuts is when rangers tell my group that we need to pick it up when we've waiting on the group ahead of us the whole time. Since I am so conscious of slow play, when a ranger wrongly accuses my group of playing slow it makes me so mad that I fall to pieces. Go yell at the group ahead of me. Make them skip a hole or throw them off the course altogether. But make sure you are talking to the right group.

There's one course here in NJ where everyone is on the clock. They tell you that you are X behind and that you need to pick it up, irrespective of the fact that the reason you are behind is that you have been trying to avoid killing the group ahead of you by hitting into them on every hole. And I get that privilege for a mere $135.

[KotOD]

[ QUOTE ]
adding to this.........i am pretty sure the biggest annoyance for me is starters in general. Are they all douchebags? I don't know if I have ever met a starter that isn't a mildly retarded and cocky.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is truly a wondrous combination.

[KotOD]

[ QUOTE ]
Let me preface this by saying that, like everyone else here, I am very anti-slow play. I play fast and make sure my group does the same. So the thing that drives me nuts is when rangers tell my group that we need to pick it up when we've waiting on the group ahead of us the whole time. Since I am so conscious of slow play, when a ranger wrongly accuses my group of playing slow it makes me so mad that I fall to pieces. Go yell at the group ahead of me. Make them skip a hole or throw them off the course altogether. But make sure you are talking to the right group.

There's one course here in NJ where everyone is on the clock. They tell you that you are X behind and that you need to pick it up, irrespective of the fact that the reason you are behind is that you have been trying to avoid killing the group ahead of you by hitting into them on every hole. And I get that privilege for a mere $135.

[/ QUOTE ]

Argh. I feel your pain. I played a club last month with that skytrack GPS useless piece of crap monitor in the cart. We were 28 minutes behind by hole 8. The [censored]-faced ranger shows up on the teebox and says "You boys (He was 40ish, the youngest player in our group was 32) know how slow you're going?" My dad, a guy that is about as laid back and carefree as you can get (he was chewing on a piece of tall grass, sitting on the ridge behind the tee box at this time), laughed out loud at him and pointed down the fairway where the group in front of us was waiting for the group in front of them to get their fourth up onto the green. The [censored]-face said "They are none of your concern, I'll go deal with them, just pick up the pace of your play."

This caused my dad to do his best John McEnroe "You CANNOT be serious. Do you want us to shoot into them?" The ranger sneered and drove away.

Attention dickhole rangers -- I know that you now have tracking software and [censored], but how about you look at the ENTIRE screen before you start barking?

[KotOD]

Though I do have to say that neither of my two most-played courses have starters, but both have top-notch rangers. If there is a hold-up, they pull the offending foursome to the side and clear the jam. Because one of the courses I play has so many blind drives and approaches, there are bells and flags set up to ring or move to let the oncoming group know that it's clear. When a group doesn't ring the bell, the ranger is right on top of them about it.

[Hey_Porter]

[ QUOTE ]
sandy, you could have saved a lot of typing by just saying "I don't like Americans" there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Except, for the most part, he's right.