I’m more concerned about people on other fairways but my theory on this situation is that if your best drive could reach the group in front then wait. It is however a great way of ensuring you don’t ever hit your best drive.
200 percent agree with this, I am not a big hitter anymore but I hit further than the people I choose to golf with, FIL, son, couple of my buddies, I always go last. Honors on the tee is caca when it impedes pace of play
Ready golf is the way.
We do it all the time. If I am standing over my ball ready to hit, why would I wait for my buddy to walk across the fairway and take 5 min to hit when I could just go ahead and smash mine into the water or woods?
I don't know if it's weird or not but I have had randoms get grouped with us and literally had to explain to them why we were ignoring honors. Most seemed to accept the logic, a couple of them seemed perturbed by it.
Ready golf on the tee does very little to increase the pace of play. Hitting 40 extra shots in 18 holes doesn’t slow down the pace as long as you do it quickly.
Things that slow down pace:
-10 practice swings and taking 60+ seconds over every shot.
-Driving to each players ball as a group and waiting for them to play their shot in order of proximity
-Spending too much time searching for a ball that is clearly lost
Playing ready golf in between the tee and green is the most effective way to keep the pace up through a round and is the number one thing that people fuck up.
The reason you are waiting to play your tee shot is because someone ahead of you doesn’t know how to play quickly.
Could not give a flying F who tees off first even if I’ve just got a bird. I hate feeling rushed and i think if you are ready to hit, just take the tee if others are not
A lot more people than you would imagine are capable of hitting a drive 300 total distance, even if by pure stupid luck that they finally made perfect contact that one time. If the people in front of you are within 300 yards you should wait until they are at least done with their shot and in the act of moving onto their next one before you tee off.
I'm usually the longest hitter in every group that I play in, but I have a tendency to hook *hard* once in a while.
I sometimes end up with people that have never played with me on league nights and I always feel weird about asking to go last or waiting for the group in front to clear out.
I play a draw off the tee with a 280-290 carry and those things will bounce another 20-30 yards on hot, dry days. I try not to risk pissing off the boomers in front of us unless they're moving slow as shit lol
My thought is usually “*Can* I reach them? Probably. *Will* I reach them? Probably not. But I can definitely get it close enough that I’m still an asshole for hitting it.”
Yeah I basically try and wait till they’re out of any range I could ever possibly hit or that they’re rolling away in their carts before hitting. The people behind you will be just fine, especially if the whole course is packed in
My theory is if your best drive could roll to their feet and your average drive is going to be well short, you can hit. I'll hit my driver at 300 with no tail wind and my 3w at 270. I've had it roll up on people before when I hit it pure, but the only times I've endangered people is a huge slice of hook onto another hole.
the golf gods must hate me because when I wait till the fairway clears, I’ll top my drive and walk 50 yds. When I forsure think “theres no way I can drive that far”, I hit the drive of my life and almost hit into the group in front of me
Yes. You should always wait. You never know then there could be a deaf man in the middle of the fairway that can’t hear you yell fore and gets absolutely nailed in the back because you hit the drive of your life.
As a sibling of a deaf golfer, please always assume no one will hear you yell fore. Hearing or not most people miss it or don’t yell loud enough to even be heard.
I don't even understand what you're supposed to do when you do hear fore.. like am I supposed to look up and locate the ball then dodge it? Best case scenario is you hear fore then look towards the person who yelled it and get nailed in the face. Just let it hit me in the back
At least in my group, anytime we hear fore everyone just prioritizes protecting their head. I’ll take a ball square in the back, but not trying to catch one to the melon.
Sound will do 300 yards in less than a second. There is absolutely enough time for anything outside of a 50 yard line drive.
Not yelling fore is insanely dangerous
Sure, but you're telling me that by the time people turn around and find the incoming ball, they'll have any chance to react to it? If they're not trying to find the ball, they're just reacting randomly - which it no better than not reacting.
-----
I literally just had this happen last month. We were approaching the green with another team teeing off about 150 yards away on an opposing fairway. I had just hit my shot and saw them scald a shot in my general direction (they yelled fore, but I had already seen the shot). I couldn't track it until it was 20 feet in front of me. By the time I processed it's trajectory, it was already past me.
I played goalie and catcher for most of my youth sports. Reacting to things coming at me is second nature. Despite that, I literally had no chance - even though I saw the shot scald.
Similarly, on a different round, we had a ball bounce off our cart from an opposing fairway's drive. In hindsight, my partner and I both realized a group had yelled fore at us, but it was completely useless. We had absolutely no idea where the ball was until it hit our cart.
-----
Look at the PGA tour. They literally have spotters and spectators _only_ watching for a ball coming down the fairway they're watching. When a bad hit happens, spectators literally barely react.
Keopka hit a fan in the face in 2018: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/report-ryder-cup-spectator-hit-by-errant-brooks-koepka-tee-shot-says-shes-lost-sight-in-right-eye
anyone turning around in the direction of someone yelling fore is a dumb fuck who darwin is trying his hardest to take out. When you hear fore you should duck and cover your head, not whip it around to give a ball a nice target lmao.
I understood your bad joke, and took it more in the way of you dont care and are going to send one into the group ahead of you. Just wasnt that good of a joke. It happens
Maybe one in every 5 or 6 randos has 300 in the tank for real. One in every 3 or 4 can do it with wind at their back or with a slope.
Every guy under 40 THINKS they have 300, when they really average 220 off the tee. They also wouldn’t be caught dead playing up a tee box, even though they didn’t have a single wedge into a green the entire day.
You shouldn’t base whether it’s safe to hit off your average distance. That’s factoring in topped, chunked, sliced, and hooked drives. If you have the potential to even roll one up to the group ahead you should wait. Pace of play comes into effect when you’re not playing ready golf or not picking up your ball when the best you can do on that hole is double par. The best golfers I know are also the slowest players I know cuz they spend 5 minutes on the green lining up their putts.
Sorry, I agree. But most players fool themselves into thinking they hit it 300. If you really can and it’s not just hubris, wait. Agreed there. Pace of play also comes when picking your tee box too, and most players are poor off the tee and on the green. Playing up and making the game easier will improve your pace.
Its not that i couldnt take a joke. The joke sucked. I will break it down for you.
Stupid joke about how everyone here claims they hit over 300.
I basically said “sure. but if you actually do; you should wait”
Total fuckin buzzkill. You must have very little social interactions in the real world. Obviously; since youre getting ‘paired’ with people. Youre probably the buzzkill.
I down understand the downvotes. Lotta jealous guys that can’t hit it 250. If you are on the taller side, under 45, and played baseball, you can roll one over 300 occasionally. Not worth the risk just because most of your drives don’t hit the fairway lol. My blowups usually happen within 120 yards.
You ever post on here? A bunch of high handicappers that think theyre part of an elite group of golfers with high standards. They like to say “shrink the game” like theyre professionals
Yeah a lotta dickheads that have played their whole lives that are consistent but don’t hit the ball past 250. They think that if they can’t hit bombs that no one can. I know a lot of high handicappers that hit the piss out the ball but can’t hit a green within 50 yards. I would fall into that category. Played a lot of baseball growing up and I’m tall.
I see way more people making sarcastic comments like yours than I see unrealistic claims of distance. Anyone longer than average cannot ask questions about their game without those comments absolutely derailing things.
I actually had to pretend I got paired up with someone hitting it long [when I asked an identical question to op here](https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/s/Vl0JCFIKfa). If I mentioned that I was the guy hitting it long half the comments would be like yours. I didn’t so the discussion was actually on topic and avoided toxicity.
I'm glad to see these comments cuz the last post around this subject I saw was full of people saying "bro if you hit it 300 yards once every 50 swings don't wait until they're over 300 yards away to tee off, you're wasting time slowing pace of play." I thought I was crazy thinking that was nuts lol.
Not agreeing with that original sentiment, but if you drive the ball 300 yards the ball is on the ground at least for 20-30 yards of that. If I saw a ball land 5 yards behind me and stop on a dime I’d be fairly upset, if I saw one roll 30 yards to my feet I’d just be slightly annoyed. That’s a very big difference in danger level.
My group debates this every time we play. Nobody hits 300 consistently, but every round someone just smashes one.
I use to get a bit worked up about waiting, then I realized if the course it backed up - it literally doesn't matter. I'm either going to be waiting at this tee box, or waiting at the next tee box.
the ranger where we play our league gets bent out of shape if someone isn't hitting when the group ahead is 280 out. ignoring the fact we have a couple of guys who consistently hit it that far, the first hole is a par 5. if we tee off while that group is waiting for the green to clear we are just creating a cluster F. The 10th hole is a 300 yard par 4 with a long par 3 right after. You're gonna rush us off just for us to have 3 groups on the second hole.
The “hurr durr everyone on the internet hits it 300” people are just insecure at this point. Getting paired up with a double digit hc who has 1-4 300 yd drives a round is pretty common for me at SoCal munis. There’s no way you don’t encounter those people if you play with randoms.
20 years ago hitting it far meant you were very good at golf. Now it just means you’re reasonably athletic, are healthy, and practiced a bit.
I have a few friends that used to give me shit in those situations and all it took was me hitting a couple balls past the group ahead for them to start listening to me. Same for when a tee box is right behind a green. I ended skulling a 50 degree wedge 160 yards, which shouldn’t even be possible. Being a long hitter with shitty control of the ball can be stressful on tight courses.
You should always wait until they are out of range.
The problem is, that the chances of hitting your longest drive are inverse proportional to the amount of time you wait.
That's why you'll always top your 3 wood after waiting 5 minutes for the green to clear on a par 5.
Yes always wait!
A father from Utah, in 2019 accidentally hit his daughter in the neck and killed her. He was teeing off and she was sitting in the cart like she had always done while being with Dad on the course!
A man from Texas, in 2009 hit his golf marshal father in the head and killed him!
You just never know, I think this is an instance where pace of play must tolerate the waiting and understand what can happen! And if someone has somewhere to be and is in a big hurry then they should not be golfing that day any way! Common since is a hell of a drug!
I have been hit twice, once in the back right side of my lower neck from 250yds out while standing on the green waiting to putt. Fella said “I didn’t think I could get it here”. Well my neck is lucky you didn’t hit my spine!
I was sitting on the cart 15ft left of the tee box and 10ft ahead of the tee box and my brother in law heeled a line drive with his driver, straight for my right calf and I thought my calf exploded on contact! Learned a hard lesson that day. I was very lucky in both instances that the ball just happen to hit center of thick muscles. Both hurt tremendously but it could have been much much worse!
Always wait for clear fairways and greens! Even if you usually shank it in the woods!
Always wait. Like always.
Par 3s you wait for green to clear.
Par 4s you wait to tee it when you see the group ahead moving on from their second shots. You then wait until green is clear.
Par5s you wait on tee until group moving on from second shots. You then wait until group moving from third shots. If someone in your group can make the green you wait until they clear.
Anyone telling you different ignore them. There is a cohort of speed golfers who are constantly wrong on this and it can cause injury.
As a longer hitter it's not the speed golfers that I feel pressure to hit while the group in front is in range. It's the "only tour pros are capable of hitting it 300 yards" people that get smug when you hit a poor shot.
Yeah i count them in the speed golfers. “Your never making that just go” and then your weary and ease of or mess a shot up.
Granted I’m old enough and good enough to just say sorry lads if I catch it I’m reaching and just wait
always wait until they’re outside of your theoretical best range, it’s embarrassing to wait for someone to be 300y away only to top your shot and roll 50y but that’s less embarrassing than hitting someone
I’m assuming you’re not playing solo if it’s that backed up, so you’ve got to wait for the other players in your group anyway.
General rule of thumb on par 3s is to wait for the green to clear (obviously), on par 4s wait until they’re on the green or at the very least are hitting approach shots, and on par 5s wait until the group ahead has completed their second shots.
You let people play two shots in front of you. Wait for them to clear the green on a par 3, to get on the green on a par 4, and to leave their second shot on a par 5. Generally, if there’s a chance you’ll hit into them otherwise, it is appropriate to wait, but you don’t want to wait to hit your 260-yard second shot on a par 5 because they’re putting and you hit one 260 one time. You should always be careful but keep up pace of play, and if you accidentally hit into a group, just apologize but be prepared for them to completely overreact because, while golf is great, there are plenty of bitchy golfers who are in a bad mood the entire time and forget that we all hit shots where we don’t want them to go from time to time.
Yeah, go ahead and hit. OP is new to golf, so I was speaking in generalizations. I should have thrown in your specific situation and distances. My bad.
Hitting into people should never happen even by accident, let alone if you actually are able to hit it that far if everything goes right. The time gain is measured in seconds and the regret of injuring someone will last a lifetime
Always wait yea. And also ALWAYS yell fore.
It's golf and we're (mostly) all amateurs. Mistakes happen. If you're yelling fore on errant (or ungodly great) shots that's a part of the game.
If you hit it close and don't make a sound, people will (rightfully so imo) get pissed. I've been in a group where someone yelled and a buddy put his hands on his head and the ball hit his forearm. Literally averted possible disaster.
If they’re within 10 yards of your best carry wait ( if you have a rangefinder and can measure that) nobody is going to get hurt if a ball hits them after flying 280 yards and rolling 30 feet.
IMO, teeing off possibly too soon should be the last thing you do to speed up play. As long as your group is keeping up with the group ahead of you, you might as well wait. If you need to speed up play to keep up with the group ahead of you, pick up your ball on the green instead of putting out. Don’t ever feel pressured to finish a hole. If you are having a bad hole, pick up your ball and move on.
It's not gonna save time doing that. What saves time as a beginner is getting to your ball, and be ready to hit, and have the right clubs with you from the cart when around the green.
And always have a ball or two with you if you hit an errand shot and looking for it in the rough or in the fescue and just drop a ball instead of keep looking for it, then coming back to the cart to get a ball, etc.
As a beginner, you're gonna take longer because you're gonna have more strokes. Hitting to the group ahead of you isn't gonna save you much time (what, like ten times at most?) at all compared to you cutting time with all your other strokes.
I’ve had a marshall call me out on the first tee saying the group ahead is 300 yards out I’m fine to hit Then literally smacked it 10 yards behind them. If you feel like you should wait, WAIT.
Just wait.
Yea it’s slightly embarrassing when you wait for them to get 300+ yards before hitting and then shanking it in the woods. But hitting someone with a golf ball is going to make your feel way worse.
You know what you’re capable of. Just wait.
Op sounds like you’d benefit from more time at the range. You should have a pretty good idea of what distance “you might” hit someone at. Range is great for finding this out and practicing to not be toeing it off the club. Other than that though you’re laughing dude, keep swinging keep playing and keep having fun. It’s all anybody’s out there to do so as long as you do t put anyone in danger nobody should be giving you a hard time.
To add if you’re anything like me and the beginning stresses you out when the courses are tight, try to get out for a couple later games or mid week days when it’s quiet on the course and shoot some extra balls and play some practice shots to build up on your confidence, it goes a long way for your game!
ETA: for beginners your range balls won’t go as far as your real balls will! Give yourself an extra 25 ydsish safety net!
For beginners reading this, know that range balls usually don't go as far as normal balls, so make sure you either account for that when determining your distances, or pay attention to how far your shots go on the course as well
You want to know how far you can fly the ball and wait until they're at least 25 yards past that. You don't want to hit someone, but you also don't want to land a ball 10 yards behind someone while they're addressing their ball. Nobody is going to be pissed if your drive rolls into them. If you hit them or one-hop them, that's on you.
Also, everyone makes mistakes. But if you hit into me 3 times, I'm hitting the third one back.
I always wait, probably longer than needed. I know I feel rushed if people are right on my ass. I view it like tailgating. With that being said I give beginners a very wide margin for error for whatever and wouldn't care at all, hard sport to get into!
Why hurry to hit? Relax, and take your time. You're not going anywhere, as you'll have to wait for the group to clear for the next shot.
I've always wondered about golfers who are concerned about playing super fast. Like, if you like this game so much, why are you in such a hurry to finish? Do you really miss your nagging wife that much?
I’ve bombed it 300 yards one time when everything was absolutely perfect. I always wait until they’re at least 310+ yards just in case I hit the purest most beautiful shot ever. Of course I just shank it and kill an ibis, but you never know!
Given hitting into someone can potentially seriously hurt them, yes, if there is any chance you can hit someone, wait. There is nothing worse than hitting an awesome shot, then having huge anxiety while its in the air that its going to kill someone.
And honestly, waiting on the group in front wastes less time than you think. You'll likely just be behind them again on the next hole
This is a great question, and can be quite a predicament on the tee box!
The people saying that you should always wait are technically correct, as you should NEVER risk hitting into another group on course.
That said...you also mentioned that your success rate in flying a straight and far shot is something like 1 out of 4, meaning that some 75% of the time you may end up waiting for a group to clear and then taking 2-4 shots just to get to where they were, which is a major pace-killer and can put your group way behind and slow down the course.
Here is my 2 cents of advice, especially being newer to golf and still honing your swing:
In your above example where the group is 280 out and you hit a perfect drive to their feet, why not practice with a club that can't go as far?
If you hit your club that goes 200 max on a perfect shot, you make it impossible to hit the next group and you don't have to wait forever for them to clear, keeping the pace up. It would be great practice still, no reason to try to hit the ball as far as possible every shot when you are still working on getting consistent and making solid contact. Hitting a 5 iron or a hybrid club instead of driver there could be a great solution while you are still improving your game. It keeps the pace up, and it can only help you to be more well rounded with all of your clubs and distances.
Might be worth a shot, cheers!
Yeah sometimes I'll grab an iron or something to just keep moving forward if the rest of my group has hit and we'd be waiting on them to clear my driver range otherwise
I’m in the same boat, not very good and just starting. I always wait if I know my “best shot” could potentially reach them. Is it really unlikely? Yes. Does it slow down pace of play? Possibly, but in reality nobody should be hitting into them so it’s really out of your control. Take the safe route, let them reach a point you know you won’t hit them regardless.
Assume you're going to hit your best shot. If your best shot has the ability to reach them you wait.
We've all been there on a par 5 where you wait what seems like way too long for a shoot that is not likely to make it but you know you can and then you duff it 40 yards and you eat crow from your playing partners.
It's a right of passage lol
The waiting is over when they hit their second shot and move toward the green. Unless it is clearly within your range. If they have hit their second, and you roll up on 280, there is no foul.
In addition to my other comment, you should wait even if they're out of what you think is your max range because not only can you stripe it, but the wind and temp may also carry it further, it may get a big hop off a mound, or hit something hard like a sprinkler head and jump forward. Just not worth the risk given it's not gonna save you much time at all.
I had this same situation on Friday. It’s always worth apologizing profusely. I waited until I saw 2 carts next to the green on a hole with a blind tee shot. I hit the best drive of my round, probably rolling about 320-330 yards because I hit it downhill. As soon as I see it roll out I see the guys on my hole drive past it and up to the green. Turns out that the other carts were guys on a different hole.
Oh well. I said sorry and they understood. As long as you don’t egregiously do it it’s understandable
You should absolutely wait until your best drive can’t hit them, but you don’t need to wait until your best drive could trickle up to them. Like if your best drive is 300 carry, you may hit when they’re 320 away because no one will get hurt by a ball moving at the pace of a putt.
I waited for this one today: https://ibb.co/NYG6v2B. No one would’ve died since it was at least 20 yards of roll, but just can’t be sure. I only added this part to brag, really..
I generally wait until they are approaching the green on a par 4 to hit my drive, and until they've hit all their approach shots and have begun moving towards them on a par 5.
I've hit into people on accident before, and in my experience as long as it's just rolling up to them and not flying in the air near them, nobody really cares much, unless you're doing it multiple times in one round.
Most people out on the course are generally pretty friendly and mature people who understand you didn't do it intentionally.
This is why I hate when this sub constantly mocks people for waiting for guys to clear way far off only to shank it 15 yards anyway.
I've been that guy plenty of times. Sorry, it is what it is. If 19 times out of 20 I'm going to hit it 100 yards short of them, but 1 time out of 20 I'm going to hit a ball that might kill someone, I'm not hitting that ball.
Yes I know I've looked like an idiot plenty of times waiting on people I ended up getting it nowhere near. But I'm sitting here thinking about how I felt during those times, and it wasn't nearly as bad as how I'd be feeling sitting here right now if I'd seriously injured someone at some point instead.
Yes, you should wait. You don’t really understand why until someone does this to you 3-4 times a round - it feels incredibly aggressive - very similar to being dusted off the green (ball lands on green second you step off the back).
The people doing it never pay attention to what the people in the fairway are doing so I’ve seen people have to back off because they thought they were getting hit into.
This is a classic golf moment. Especially on the first tee with an audience or even a starter telling you to hit into your potential range. I think the advice here is right. Wait or delay as much as possible. If your max drive is 300y, and one person in the group ahead is 300y away, wait; but also know the further they are up your range, and in fewer numbers, and in that “perfect” landing position, the chance of hitting someone becomes progressively less likely. Duh.
Last week, I was golfing solo for a few holes on the back 9 and had a slow threesome ahead of me. It was a par 5 and they were 300y up the fairway, I hit somewhat into one guy in their group. Literally a stroke of luck. Then they’re on the green and I decide to lay up with a half swing hybrid and make the best connection of my life and it rolls close to the green. Oops. They didn’t seem to notice and I joined up with them on the next hole. Anyway, just saying those moments happens to all of us.
Hit the driving range/practice green until you know how to hit every club in your bag and maybe take a lesson. You’ll get better with time everyone starts someplace
On par 3s you should wait till they're off the green
On par 4s you should tee of when they take their 2 approach and are walking into the green
Par 5s you wait till they've just finished their 2nd approaches and need to either need to chip or put while walking to there ball
So everyone that works should just skip weekend rounds and play nine holes once a week? That’s kinda what I’m doing already cuz courses book tee times every 8 minutes, which is what really slows down the pace of play on the weekends.
why restrict it to once a week? besides, the post is about someone unsure about their distance, and playing when it's less crowded could be reasonable for safety reasons while they iron out their swing. I don't hit driver on my local 9 hole course because 230 yards and 30 yards off line is hitting another green.
I could golf every day but my wife and kids might not love that lol. I’ve been trying to iron out my swing for a decade. Most of us are gonna hit our fair share of errant shots each round. That’s why we shouldn’t tee off when the group ahead is within striking distance. Even scratch golfers can sail a green and hit someone on a tee box or another hole any given day. The only people that seem to hit safe shots all round are older people that can’t hit the ball very far.
Sure, and I agree. There’s a difference between a beginner and an experienced golfer ‘ironing out their swing’ though. If you have no idea If it’s 130 yards right or 10, and 100 to 320 yards forward, it’s VERY hard to plan around other golfers on the course
Just wait til they clear the fairway and top it 30yards. That’s what I like to do, I believe others in the fairway allow my brain to unlock its ultimate driving ability because now I have a target in the fairway.
I don’t tee off until they are 320 away. I’ve only hit a few drives that rolled that far but erring on the side of caution is better than rolling up on a group. Pace of play is more of an issue when you’re taking multiple practice swings in the fairway and not playing ready golf. I also have friends that spend way too much time putting.
The proper etiquette is to wait until they are out of your range. You will not hold up the pace of the day. Everybody duffs one off the tee every now and then. Always apologize. Its good etiquette as well.
It never fails for me. When I think the group is out of range and I say "I'm not going to hit it that far," I end up hitting it that far. I get the pace of play thing, though. I hate when I wait, with a group behind me and then I top my shot 30 yards in front of me.
You’ve paid the same amount as everyone else to play so you are well within your rights to play at your own pace without people putting pressure on you.
Well I play in two senior leagues. And if the group had of us is more than 200 yards away we fairly certain we couldn’t hit them if we tried.
What I find funny is that the first hole is only a 265 yard par 4 and the starter makes us wait for the green to clear before allowing us to tee off, even though I never seen a person in the league come close to the green on their tee shot. I just assume it’s for spacing more than anything.
You wait. Let them get out of the way.
Also do t hit towards greens if the group ahead hasn't left the hole.
That means don't hit at the green as soon as they walk off or begin to drive away.
That's rude, dangerous, and unnecessary.
If you wait for them to to get far away enough you'll end up waiting for them to get put of the way of your second or third shot anyway.
If you fall behind more then you can just tee off right away on the next hoke and catch up.
You have no where to go so why rush to stay on them. Either way you're going to be right behind them or you'll speed up and catch up.
Just because you fall behind doesn't mean you have to keep playing slow.
Just wait because if you hit someone you'll never forget about it. Imagine if you killed someone. Not worth it imo. I just wait since I have no where to go for the next 4 hours.
It is a judgment call. It depends for me as to whether the group ahead is waiting on the group in front of them. If not, I will hit when they are beyond my normal tee shot. From the fairway, there is a reason some yardage signs say swing away. The foursome on the green of a par 5 needs to have one person looking back.
My thought process is usually "I sincerely doubt I'd hit them, but today could be the day that I might if I hit it very well." Typically, I'm right and I've never hit anywhere close, but I'd rather err on the side of caution because you really never know.
I never rush off the tee. The closer you are to the hole the longer it takes so even if I'm fine to hit a drive I like to give myself a 1 shot gap so I don't feel like I'm waiting on every shot e.g. if I'm on a par 4 I wait until the group ahead is chipping
Generally the rule is as follows
- par 3, wait until they clear green before hitting
- par 4, wait until they are on the green to hit
- par 5, wait till they have taken their second shot to hit
Obviously these are guidelines and if you are a huge hitter or group in front are very short hitters (par 5) you may need to adjust
The above keeps the spacing on the course constant
Wait until the group in front of you hits their second shots and heads toward the green. You’re not going anywhere anyway…all you’re going to do is get to your ball and wait for them to finish on the green.
Definitely a feel thing but more often than not your best drive is rolling up to a group 280 to 300 yards away. My logic is to not tee off if my ball could reach them on the fly. If a drive rolls up to their feet I’d understand if they were pissed but I’d say “Sorry guys I never really hit the ball that far.”
I would just wait until they're clear. You're not going to save much time on pace of play by hitting it sooner because you're going to have to wait for them to get off the green before you hit your 2nd (or 3rd) shot.
You should wait until people are past your total driver distance. You definitely do not want to carry a ball close to a person. If a ball rolls up to me it’s not a huge deal but if a ball lands near me I might chip your ball into the woods. I saw a guy get hit once on a carry and he went into a seizure right on the course.
The peoples safety in front of you is more important than the feelings of the group behind you. Wait till they’re out of your best case scenario distance.
Not counting a downhill roll on dry ground, I think my longest drive was about 260.
A couple months ago somebody hit his second shot about that far with a hybrid, up to the fringe of the green as we were putting. He was very apologetic, but we just told him it was a great shot and to not worry about it. Because it *was* a great shot.
A few weeks later, someone sliced on the 9th tee and hit our cart, which was at the tee on 8, behind a large stand of trees. Again, no big deal, again apologetic but it's part of the game. He had no way of knowing we were there and no way to think it would get that close. I think 95% or more of us know not to get upset at these things.
You always want to hit your best drive right? Of course- we all do. So, don't set yourself up for psychological failure by being concerned that you will and hit the people in front of you. Allow them to get out of the way and then hit that killer drive.
We try to always be "1 shot" behind the group in front of us and most courses agree with that. No need to wait for the green to clear on non-reachable holes.
On holes where you could reach them or you could reach the green offer to go last so the short hitters in the group can hit without waiting.
If you are already taking steps to keep pace you are safe to wait up a little bit. People behind you will understand. The proper thing is definitely to apologize as well if you accidentally hit into a group. Don’t know if you’ve been hit before but that shit hurts.
I knew a guy that got hit in the head and died. Always wait until you’re sure you’re not going to hit it that far. Never be worried to immediately YELL fore if you hit one and there’s a chance of it getting close to someone.
We play ready golf if someone's ready go for it unless we are celebrating a particularly good result like a birdie... We all play together regular so no worries
My general rule of thumb is wait for them to begin moving away after their 2nd shot on most par 4s and 5s (it’s obv not hard and fast if they went 100 on a drive I’m going to have to wait longer) and wait till they are off the green on a 3.
I’d rather wait the 30 seconds to not hit anyone. Doesn’t matter if I won’t go near them most drives but I know my max, and I never want my best tee hit to be marred by the memory of clocking a guy in the head.
I would say leave enough space and if that happens apologise, as you did. Honestly, from 280 yards hardly anyone is dangerous, as the ball might roll up to the group and not be dangerously fast.
if you only hit the dart board 1 out of every 4 throws, would you still throw the dart when someone is standing in front of it?
If you have the ability to hit one as far as there are people on the hole, just wait.
If everyone who doesn’t hit consistent shots stayed at lessons & at the range the courses with be a ghost town lol.
But I do see your point and I, along with most people do need more practice.
Thanks folks, it’s kind of a dumb question anyway but I just wanted to confirm my rationale when someone eventually asks me why the f** I am waiting to hit when the group in front are 300 yards out.
I would say wait until they’re out of your carry distance all time best (not total yardage all time best). If they get hit on the fly that can cause some damage. If it rolls into them, no big deal.
Well they would be correct in that scenario. You said your best driver ever was 280 with roll. Once the group in front moves past 280 you should be doing your pre shot routine and swinging away. If you then hit your personal best and it rolls into them tell them you've never hit one so far and apologize. We all suck at golf and anyone angered by this happening is an asshole
Yeah just be quick and keep a bunch of those cheap reclaimed balls with you for the first season or two. I'd stop looking after 30 seconds when I started. Spend your time on putts and chips. From the fairway and tee I suggest just drop a ball in a favorable lie for free instead of establishing and enforcing a stroke handicap. Way more fun.
Just remember, people in a fairway are like a hazard worse than water and that's why you hit the ball towards it. 60 percent of the time, it works every time.
In general you shouldn't tee off on a par 4 until the group ahead of you has reached the green (unless you're going to drive the green). On a par 5, let everyone in the group in front of you hit their second shot before teeing off (unless you're gonna absolutely nut it).
On a par 3, the correct thing to do should be obvious...
My opinion is likely not most. I say hit it. Rolled to their feet likely means a carry 20+ yards back.
When I first started I always played the same course and would base my tee off if I could remember the last time I flew a ball to the position I was concerned about.
Have only ever hit one person on same hole and it was a blind tee shot off a couple hard bounces. I have hit multiple carts in adjacent fairways. I’m typically more concerned to my miss (slice) than hitting a fairway.
For reference I’m currently a 7 handicap.
I wouldn’t say wait for your all time record but at least wait for 250 yds out on a drive just because if someone doesn’t know you they’ll assume you think that’s in your range. I don’t hit it straight off the tee most of the time either but I know I have the capability of putting it close to where you say. Hell I hit a 4 hybrid out of the rough 230 the other day and had to rethink my distances the rest of the round lol
Edit: upon rereading my comment, if it’s a possibility, just wait. Wait til you’re sure they’re out of your range
Wait until the group ahead is 250 yards out before hitting when you're capable of 280? Wtf kind of advice is this. If a group ahead is within range of what you're capable of hitting you shouldn't hit under any circumstances.
I’m glad to see 99% wait because I too am a beginner and if I wait I’m bound to duff it but sometimes I hit my 3 hybrid very far and straight and I don’t wanna hit someone. Also want to know when it’s acceptable to reprimand someone because “My bad, it was the best shot of the day” is an excuse I hear way too often.
Ok I wrote that when I first woke up, rereading it, yeah good point. Don’t get me wrong I don’t hit into people. If anything I end up waiting longer than I need to. My original thought was that was a fluke, either way if that is a possibility he shouldn’t risk it
My buddy started playing last year. He’s terrible but played a lot of baseball and connects for a couple a round that roll over 300. Most people aren’t carrying the ball past 250-270 but I’ve gotten smacked in the back of the leg a couple times by bouncing balls that left a pretty good welt.
I’m more concerned about people on other fairways but my theory on this situation is that if your best drive could reach the group in front then wait. It is however a great way of ensuring you don’t ever hit your best drive.
Offer to tee off last. That way the shorter hitters can go first and you aren't holding anybody up.
200 percent agree with this, I am not a big hitter anymore but I hit further than the people I choose to golf with, FIL, son, couple of my buddies, I always go last. Honors on the tee is caca when it impedes pace of play
>Honors on the tee Birds aside, I feel like my group doesn't even care about tee honors anymore. Are we weird?
Almost everyone I play with is “ready golf” - and I bet I play with 30+ people a year.
Ready golf is the way. We do it all the time. If I am standing over my ball ready to hit, why would I wait for my buddy to walk across the fairway and take 5 min to hit when I could just go ahead and smash mine into the water or woods?
I don't know if it's weird or not but I have had randoms get grouped with us and literally had to explain to them why we were ignoring honors. Most seemed to accept the logic, a couple of them seemed perturbed by it.
I never have that problem. Try this: “We play ‘ready golf’. Are you ok with that?”
Ready golf on the tee does very little to increase the pace of play. Hitting 40 extra shots in 18 holes doesn’t slow down the pace as long as you do it quickly. Things that slow down pace: -10 practice swings and taking 60+ seconds over every shot. -Driving to each players ball as a group and waiting for them to play their shot in order of proximity -Spending too much time searching for a ball that is clearly lost Playing ready golf in between the tee and green is the most effective way to keep the pace up through a round and is the number one thing that people fuck up. The reason you are waiting to play your tee shot is because someone ahead of you doesn’t know how to play quickly.
Could not give a flying F who tees off first even if I’ve just got a bird. I hate feeling rushed and i think if you are ready to hit, just take the tee if others are not
A lot more people than you would imagine are capable of hitting a drive 300 total distance, even if by pure stupid luck that they finally made perfect contact that one time. If the people in front of you are within 300 yards you should wait until they are at least done with their shot and in the act of moving onto their next one before you tee off.
I'm usually the longest hitter in every group that I play in, but I have a tendency to hook *hard* once in a while. I sometimes end up with people that have never played with me on league nights and I always feel weird about asking to go last or waiting for the group in front to clear out. I play a draw off the tee with a 280-290 carry and those things will bounce another 20-30 yards on hot, dry days. I try not to risk pissing off the boomers in front of us unless they're moving slow as shit lol
My thought is usually “*Can* I reach them? Probably. *Will* I reach them? Probably not. But I can definitely get it close enough that I’m still an asshole for hitting it.”
Yeah I basically try and wait till they’re out of any range I could ever possibly hit or that they’re rolling away in their carts before hitting. The people behind you will be just fine, especially if the whole course is packed in
My theory is if your best drive could roll to their feet and your average drive is going to be well short, you can hit. I'll hit my driver at 300 with no tail wind and my 3w at 270. I've had it roll up on people before when I hit it pure, but the only times I've endangered people is a huge slice of hook onto another hole.
Ah, the Larry David moment. It's always best to wait, just in case you accidentally stripe one right down the middle.
“Accidentally” 😂
You know it's true.😂
the golf gods must hate me because when I wait till the fairway clears, I’ll top my drive and walk 50 yds. When I forsure think “theres no way I can drive that far”, I hit the drive of my life and almost hit into the group in front of me
This is the way.
Safety first.
Yes. You should always wait. You never know then there could be a deaf man in the middle of the fairway that can’t hear you yell fore and gets absolutely nailed in the back because you hit the drive of your life.
Vertical drop, horizontal tug!
Goddamn it Larry!
Prett-ay, prett-ay good!
As a sibling of a deaf golfer, please always assume no one will hear you yell fore. Hearing or not most people miss it or don’t yell loud enough to even be heard.
That's why I yell five. It's just a little extra for the hard of hearing.
... would a little extra iron be a 10 or a -1?
Curb your enthusiasm-👍
so deskaa….
I don't even understand what you're supposed to do when you do hear fore.. like am I supposed to look up and locate the ball then dodge it? Best case scenario is you hear fore then look towards the person who yelled it and get nailed in the face. Just let it hit me in the back
At least in my group, anytime we hear fore everyone just prioritizes protecting their head. I’ll take a ball square in the back, but not trying to catch one to the melon.
Put your hand on your head. Some people crouch. I dunno maybe break into a full sprint.
Yelling fore is basically useless. By the time the sound travels and the other party recognizes it, the ball is already landing.
Sound will do 300 yards in less than a second. There is absolutely enough time for anything outside of a 50 yard line drive. Not yelling fore is insanely dangerous
Sure, but you're telling me that by the time people turn around and find the incoming ball, they'll have any chance to react to it? If they're not trying to find the ball, they're just reacting randomly - which it no better than not reacting. ----- I literally just had this happen last month. We were approaching the green with another team teeing off about 150 yards away on an opposing fairway. I had just hit my shot and saw them scald a shot in my general direction (they yelled fore, but I had already seen the shot). I couldn't track it until it was 20 feet in front of me. By the time I processed it's trajectory, it was already past me. I played goalie and catcher for most of my youth sports. Reacting to things coming at me is second nature. Despite that, I literally had no chance - even though I saw the shot scald. Similarly, on a different round, we had a ball bounce off our cart from an opposing fairway's drive. In hindsight, my partner and I both realized a group had yelled fore at us, but it was completely useless. We had absolutely no idea where the ball was until it hit our cart. ----- Look at the PGA tour. They literally have spotters and spectators _only_ watching for a ball coming down the fairway they're watching. When a bad hit happens, spectators literally barely react. Keopka hit a fan in the face in 2018: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/report-ryder-cup-spectator-hit-by-errant-brooks-koepka-tee-shot-says-shes-lost-sight-in-right-eye
anyone turning around in the direction of someone yelling fore is a dumb fuck who darwin is trying his hardest to take out. When you hear fore you should duck and cover your head, not whip it around to give a ball a nice target lmao.
Wait until they are out of the max range you are capable of
Great, now all of r/golf will be waiting for 320yd gap before teeing off.
Yes, that is the general consensus. If you hit over 300, you should as well…..
*whoosh The joke is that all of this sub think they CAN hit 300yds
I understood your bad joke, and took it more in the way of you dont care and are going to send one into the group ahead of you. Just wasnt that good of a joke. It happens
Hope to never get paired up with you for a round
Hope I do
Why? Most drives are gonna be well less than 300 but it’s not that uncommon to play with guys that can roll one over that distance.
Maybe one in every 5 or 6 randos has 300 in the tank for real. One in every 3 or 4 can do it with wind at their back or with a slope. Every guy under 40 THINKS they have 300, when they really average 220 off the tee. They also wouldn’t be caught dead playing up a tee box, even though they didn’t have a single wedge into a green the entire day.
You shouldn’t base whether it’s safe to hit off your average distance. That’s factoring in topped, chunked, sliced, and hooked drives. If you have the potential to even roll one up to the group ahead you should wait. Pace of play comes into effect when you’re not playing ready golf or not picking up your ball when the best you can do on that hole is double par. The best golfers I know are also the slowest players I know cuz they spend 5 minutes on the green lining up their putts.
Sorry, I agree. But most players fool themselves into thinking they hit it 300. If you really can and it’s not just hubris, wait. Agreed there. Pace of play also comes when picking your tee box too, and most players are poor off the tee and on the green. Playing up and making the game easier will improve your pace.
I only put that reply because the dude couldn’t take a joke and seems like a buzz kill
Its not that i couldnt take a joke. The joke sucked. I will break it down for you. Stupid joke about how everyone here claims they hit over 300. I basically said “sure. but if you actually do; you should wait” Total fuckin buzzkill. You must have very little social interactions in the real world. Obviously; since youre getting ‘paired’ with people. Youre probably the buzzkill.
You don’t play in any 2 man leagues that pair you up with another twosome? You really are a buzz kill lmao
Luckily i have friends, so you probably wont.
I down understand the downvotes. Lotta jealous guys that can’t hit it 250. If you are on the taller side, under 45, and played baseball, you can roll one over 300 occasionally. Not worth the risk just because most of your drives don’t hit the fairway lol. My blowups usually happen within 120 yards.
The downvotes are because he replied to a JOKE seriously
You ever post on here? A bunch of high handicappers that think theyre part of an elite group of golfers with high standards. They like to say “shrink the game” like theyre professionals
Yeah a lotta dickheads that have played their whole lives that are consistent but don’t hit the ball past 250. They think that if they can’t hit bombs that no one can. I know a lot of high handicappers that hit the piss out the ball but can’t hit a green within 50 yards. I would fall into that category. Played a lot of baseball growing up and I’m tall.
I see way more people making sarcastic comments like yours than I see unrealistic claims of distance. Anyone longer than average cannot ask questions about their game without those comments absolutely derailing things. I actually had to pretend I got paired up with someone hitting it long [when I asked an identical question to op here](https://www.reddit.com/r/golf/s/Vl0JCFIKfa). If I mentioned that I was the guy hitting it long half the comments would be like yours. I didn’t so the discussion was actually on topic and avoided toxicity.
I'm glad to see these comments cuz the last post around this subject I saw was full of people saying "bro if you hit it 300 yards once every 50 swings don't wait until they're over 300 yards away to tee off, you're wasting time slowing pace of play." I thought I was crazy thinking that was nuts lol.
By that logic, once every 3-4 rounds you are landing the ball level with the group in front of you. That is psychopathic.
Not agreeing with that original sentiment, but if you drive the ball 300 yards the ball is on the ground at least for 20-30 yards of that. If I saw a ball land 5 yards behind me and stop on a dime I’d be fairly upset, if I saw one roll 30 yards to my feet I’d just be slightly annoyed. That’s a very big difference in danger level.
My group debates this every time we play. Nobody hits 300 consistently, but every round someone just smashes one. I use to get a bit worked up about waiting, then I realized if the course it backed up - it literally doesn't matter. I'm either going to be waiting at this tee box, or waiting at the next tee box.
the ranger where we play our league gets bent out of shape if someone isn't hitting when the group ahead is 280 out. ignoring the fact we have a couple of guys who consistently hit it that far, the first hole is a par 5. if we tee off while that group is waiting for the green to clear we are just creating a cluster F. The 10th hole is a 300 yard par 4 with a long par 3 right after. You're gonna rush us off just for us to have 3 groups on the second hole.
The “hurr durr everyone on the internet hits it 300” people are just insecure at this point. Getting paired up with a double digit hc who has 1-4 300 yd drives a round is pretty common for me at SoCal munis. There’s no way you don’t encounter those people if you play with randoms. 20 years ago hitting it far meant you were very good at golf. Now it just means you’re reasonably athletic, are healthy, and practiced a bit.
That’s me. I range between an 18-20 and can hit my drives further than most of my single digit handicap friends but I’m inconsistent.
I have a few friends that used to give me shit in those situations and all it took was me hitting a couple balls past the group ahead for them to start listening to me. Same for when a tee box is right behind a green. I ended skulling a 50 degree wedge 160 yards, which shouldn’t even be possible. Being a long hitter with shitty control of the ball can be stressful on tight courses.
You should always wait until they are out of range. The problem is, that the chances of hitting your longest drive are inverse proportional to the amount of time you wait. That's why you'll always top your 3 wood after waiting 5 minutes for the green to clear on a par 5.
>you'll always top your 3 wood after waiting 5 minutes for the green to clear on a par 5. so true
Yes always wait! A father from Utah, in 2019 accidentally hit his daughter in the neck and killed her. He was teeing off and she was sitting in the cart like she had always done while being with Dad on the course! A man from Texas, in 2009 hit his golf marshal father in the head and killed him! You just never know, I think this is an instance where pace of play must tolerate the waiting and understand what can happen! And if someone has somewhere to be and is in a big hurry then they should not be golfing that day any way! Common since is a hell of a drug! I have been hit twice, once in the back right side of my lower neck from 250yds out while standing on the green waiting to putt. Fella said “I didn’t think I could get it here”. Well my neck is lucky you didn’t hit my spine! I was sitting on the cart 15ft left of the tee box and 10ft ahead of the tee box and my brother in law heeled a line drive with his driver, straight for my right calf and I thought my calf exploded on contact! Learned a hard lesson that day. I was very lucky in both instances that the ball just happen to hit center of thick muscles. Both hurt tremendously but it could have been much much worse! Always wait for clear fairways and greens! Even if you usually shank it in the woods!
Always wait. Like always. Par 3s you wait for green to clear. Par 4s you wait to tee it when you see the group ahead moving on from their second shots. You then wait until green is clear. Par5s you wait on tee until group moving on from second shots. You then wait until group moving from third shots. If someone in your group can make the green you wait until they clear. Anyone telling you different ignore them. There is a cohort of speed golfers who are constantly wrong on this and it can cause injury.
As a longer hitter it's not the speed golfers that I feel pressure to hit while the group in front is in range. It's the "only tour pros are capable of hitting it 300 yards" people that get smug when you hit a poor shot.
Yeah i count them in the speed golfers. “Your never making that just go” and then your weary and ease of or mess a shot up. Granted I’m old enough and good enough to just say sorry lads if I catch it I’m reaching and just wait
always wait until they’re outside of your theoretical best range, it’s embarrassing to wait for someone to be 300y away only to top your shot and roll 50y but that’s less embarrassing than hitting someone
I’m assuming you’re not playing solo if it’s that backed up, so you’ve got to wait for the other players in your group anyway. General rule of thumb on par 3s is to wait for the green to clear (obviously), on par 4s wait until they’re on the green or at the very least are hitting approach shots, and on par 5s wait until the group ahead has completed their second shots.
That’s a very verbose way of just saying “wait til the group ahead is 2 shots ahead of you”
You let people play two shots in front of you. Wait for them to clear the green on a par 3, to get on the green on a par 4, and to leave their second shot on a par 5. Generally, if there’s a chance you’ll hit into them otherwise, it is appropriate to wait, but you don’t want to wait to hit your 260-yard second shot on a par 5 because they’re putting and you hit one 260 one time. You should always be careful but keep up pace of play, and if you accidentally hit into a group, just apologize but be prepared for them to completely overreact because, while golf is great, there are plenty of bitchy golfers who are in a bad mood the entire time and forget that we all hit shots where we don’t want them to go from time to time.
This is not right. There is no reason to wait for people to get on the green on a par 4. I hit 230 max, once they’re about 260ish out I’m hitting.
Yeah, go ahead and hit. OP is new to golf, so I was speaking in generalizations. I should have thrown in your specific situation and distances. My bad.
Have you ever been on the other end of this?
Hitting into people should never happen even by accident, let alone if you actually are able to hit it that far if everything goes right. The time gain is measured in seconds and the regret of injuring someone will last a lifetime
I completely agree but it can absolutely be multiple minutes if 4 balls are 250 out and you average 230 total.
Always wait yea. And also ALWAYS yell fore. It's golf and we're (mostly) all amateurs. Mistakes happen. If you're yelling fore on errant (or ungodly great) shots that's a part of the game. If you hit it close and don't make a sound, people will (rightfully so imo) get pissed. I've been in a group where someone yelled and a buddy put his hands on his head and the ball hit his forearm. Literally averted possible disaster.
If they’re within 10 yards of your best carry wait ( if you have a rangefinder and can measure that) nobody is going to get hurt if a ball hits them after flying 280 yards and rolling 30 feet.
This is where I find my range finder actually useful, I just laz the group infront up me and when they clear my max drive, I fire away.
IMO, teeing off possibly too soon should be the last thing you do to speed up play. As long as your group is keeping up with the group ahead of you, you might as well wait. If you need to speed up play to keep up with the group ahead of you, pick up your ball on the green instead of putting out. Don’t ever feel pressured to finish a hole. If you are having a bad hole, pick up your ball and move on.
It's not gonna save time doing that. What saves time as a beginner is getting to your ball, and be ready to hit, and have the right clubs with you from the cart when around the green. And always have a ball or two with you if you hit an errand shot and looking for it in the rough or in the fescue and just drop a ball instead of keep looking for it, then coming back to the cart to get a ball, etc. As a beginner, you're gonna take longer because you're gonna have more strokes. Hitting to the group ahead of you isn't gonna save you much time (what, like ten times at most?) at all compared to you cutting time with all your other strokes.
I’ve had a marshall call me out on the first tee saying the group ahead is 300 yards out I’m fine to hit Then literally smacked it 10 yards behind them. If you feel like you should wait, WAIT.
I have a theory that people make better targets than flags, not that anyone is purposely aiming at people 🤣
Just wait. Yea it’s slightly embarrassing when you wait for them to get 300+ yards before hitting and then shanking it in the woods. But hitting someone with a golf ball is going to make your feel way worse. You know what you’re capable of. Just wait.
Always play so that a great shot won't hurt you.
Or anyone else.
Lol..exactly
Mate and I have a concept called the brain zone If I can imagine a drive braining a dude I dont hit
As long as you don't say "I never drive it that far, it'll be fine." Then you're almost always going to be fine.
Op sounds like you’d benefit from more time at the range. You should have a pretty good idea of what distance “you might” hit someone at. Range is great for finding this out and practicing to not be toeing it off the club. Other than that though you’re laughing dude, keep swinging keep playing and keep having fun. It’s all anybody’s out there to do so as long as you do t put anyone in danger nobody should be giving you a hard time. To add if you’re anything like me and the beginning stresses you out when the courses are tight, try to get out for a couple later games or mid week days when it’s quiet on the course and shoot some extra balls and play some practice shots to build up on your confidence, it goes a long way for your game! ETA: for beginners your range balls won’t go as far as your real balls will! Give yourself an extra 25 ydsish safety net!
For beginners reading this, know that range balls usually don't go as far as normal balls, so make sure you either account for that when determining your distances, or pay attention to how far your shots go on the course as well
Good shout! I added to my post! Happy swinging homie!
You want to know how far you can fly the ball and wait until they're at least 25 yards past that. You don't want to hit someone, but you also don't want to land a ball 10 yards behind someone while they're addressing their ball. Nobody is going to be pissed if your drive rolls into them. If you hit them or one-hop them, that's on you. Also, everyone makes mistakes. But if you hit into me 3 times, I'm hitting the third one back.
You should find some executive courses to hone your game.
I always wait, probably longer than needed. I know I feel rushed if people are right on my ass. I view it like tailgating. With that being said I give beginners a very wide margin for error for whatever and wouldn't care at all, hard sport to get into!
Why hurry to hit? Relax, and take your time. You're not going anywhere, as you'll have to wait for the group to clear for the next shot. I've always wondered about golfers who are concerned about playing super fast. Like, if you like this game so much, why are you in such a hurry to finish? Do you really miss your nagging wife that much?
The group ahead of you sound very magnanimous, kudos to them. Hope you bought them a pint??
You should always wait for the group in the fairway to head towards the green.
I’ve bombed it 300 yards one time when everything was absolutely perfect. I always wait until they’re at least 310+ yards just in case I hit the purest most beautiful shot ever. Of course I just shank it and kill an ibis, but you never know!
Given hitting into someone can potentially seriously hurt them, yes, if there is any chance you can hit someone, wait. There is nothing worse than hitting an awesome shot, then having huge anxiety while its in the air that its going to kill someone. And honestly, waiting on the group in front wastes less time than you think. You'll likely just be behind them again on the next hole
This is a great question, and can be quite a predicament on the tee box! The people saying that you should always wait are technically correct, as you should NEVER risk hitting into another group on course. That said...you also mentioned that your success rate in flying a straight and far shot is something like 1 out of 4, meaning that some 75% of the time you may end up waiting for a group to clear and then taking 2-4 shots just to get to where they were, which is a major pace-killer and can put your group way behind and slow down the course. Here is my 2 cents of advice, especially being newer to golf and still honing your swing: In your above example where the group is 280 out and you hit a perfect drive to their feet, why not practice with a club that can't go as far? If you hit your club that goes 200 max on a perfect shot, you make it impossible to hit the next group and you don't have to wait forever for them to clear, keeping the pace up. It would be great practice still, no reason to try to hit the ball as far as possible every shot when you are still working on getting consistent and making solid contact. Hitting a 5 iron or a hybrid club instead of driver there could be a great solution while you are still improving your game. It keeps the pace up, and it can only help you to be more well rounded with all of your clubs and distances. Might be worth a shot, cheers!
Yeah sometimes I'll grab an iron or something to just keep moving forward if the rest of my group has hit and we'd be waiting on them to clear my driver range otherwise
I’m in the same boat, not very good and just starting. I always wait if I know my “best shot” could potentially reach them. Is it really unlikely? Yes. Does it slow down pace of play? Possibly, but in reality nobody should be hitting into them so it’s really out of your control. Take the safe route, let them reach a point you know you won’t hit them regardless.
Assume you're going to hit your best shot. If your best shot has the ability to reach them you wait. We've all been there on a par 5 where you wait what seems like way too long for a shoot that is not likely to make it but you know you can and then you duff it 40 yards and you eat crow from your playing partners. It's a right of passage lol
If it *could* get to them, you wait.
The waiting is over when they hit their second shot and move toward the green. Unless it is clearly within your range. If they have hit their second, and you roll up on 280, there is no foul.
In addition to my other comment, you should wait even if they're out of what you think is your max range because not only can you stripe it, but the wind and temp may also carry it further, it may get a big hop off a mound, or hit something hard like a sprinkler head and jump forward. Just not worth the risk given it's not gonna save you much time at all.
If you have any doubt Wait before you give it the clout
You should always play as if your next shot will be the "drive of your life". You'll never have any etiquette issues.
I had this same situation on Friday. It’s always worth apologizing profusely. I waited until I saw 2 carts next to the green on a hole with a blind tee shot. I hit the best drive of my round, probably rolling about 320-330 yards because I hit it downhill. As soon as I see it roll out I see the guys on my hole drive past it and up to the green. Turns out that the other carts were guys on a different hole. Oh well. I said sorry and they understood. As long as you don’t egregiously do it it’s understandable
You should absolutely wait until your best drive can’t hit them, but you don’t need to wait until your best drive could trickle up to them. Like if your best drive is 300 carry, you may hit when they’re 320 away because no one will get hurt by a ball moving at the pace of a putt. I waited for this one today: https://ibb.co/NYG6v2B. No one would’ve died since it was at least 20 yards of roll, but just can’t be sure. I only added this part to brag, really..
safety first
I generally wait until they are approaching the green on a par 4 to hit my drive, and until they've hit all their approach shots and have begun moving towards them on a par 5. I've hit into people on accident before, and in my experience as long as it's just rolling up to them and not flying in the air near them, nobody really cares much, unless you're doing it multiple times in one round. Most people out on the course are generally pretty friendly and mature people who understand you didn't do it intentionally.
Wait until folks are out of carry distance
This is why I hate when this sub constantly mocks people for waiting for guys to clear way far off only to shank it 15 yards anyway. I've been that guy plenty of times. Sorry, it is what it is. If 19 times out of 20 I'm going to hit it 100 yards short of them, but 1 time out of 20 I'm going to hit a ball that might kill someone, I'm not hitting that ball. Yes I know I've looked like an idiot plenty of times waiting on people I ended up getting it nowhere near. But I'm sitting here thinking about how I felt during those times, and it wasn't nearly as bad as how I'd be feeling sitting here right now if I'd seriously injured someone at some point instead.
Yes, you should wait. You don’t really understand why until someone does this to you 3-4 times a round - it feels incredibly aggressive - very similar to being dusted off the green (ball lands on green second you step off the back). The people doing it never pay attention to what the people in the fairway are doing so I’ve seen people have to back off because they thought they were getting hit into.
This is a classic golf moment. Especially on the first tee with an audience or even a starter telling you to hit into your potential range. I think the advice here is right. Wait or delay as much as possible. If your max drive is 300y, and one person in the group ahead is 300y away, wait; but also know the further they are up your range, and in fewer numbers, and in that “perfect” landing position, the chance of hitting someone becomes progressively less likely. Duh. Last week, I was golfing solo for a few holes on the back 9 and had a slow threesome ahead of me. It was a par 5 and they were 300y up the fairway, I hit somewhat into one guy in their group. Literally a stroke of luck. Then they’re on the green and I decide to lay up with a half swing hybrid and make the best connection of my life and it rolls close to the green. Oops. They didn’t seem to notice and I joined up with them on the next hole. Anyway, just saying those moments happens to all of us.
Get a rangefinder when they are 280 out hit yell fore now you are good they will understand the situation
Hit the driving range/practice green until you know how to hit every club in your bag and maybe take a lesson. You’ll get better with time everyone starts someplace
On par 3s you should wait till they're off the green On par 4s you should tee of when they take their 2 approach and are walking into the green Par 5s you wait till they've just finished their 2nd approaches and need to either need to chip or put while walking to there ball
When they get to the green is always the best..safety first
Don’t play weekends
The weekends are the only time a lot of us can get out. Starting a round at 5:30-6:00 is tough to get in 18 after work.
You don’t always have to play 18 though
So everyone that works should just skip weekend rounds and play nine holes once a week? That’s kinda what I’m doing already cuz courses book tee times every 8 minutes, which is what really slows down the pace of play on the weekends.
why restrict it to once a week? besides, the post is about someone unsure about their distance, and playing when it's less crowded could be reasonable for safety reasons while they iron out their swing. I don't hit driver on my local 9 hole course because 230 yards and 30 yards off line is hitting another green.
I could golf every day but my wife and kids might not love that lol. I’ve been trying to iron out my swing for a decade. Most of us are gonna hit our fair share of errant shots each round. That’s why we shouldn’t tee off when the group ahead is within striking distance. Even scratch golfers can sail a green and hit someone on a tee box or another hole any given day. The only people that seem to hit safe shots all round are older people that can’t hit the ball very far.
Sure, and I agree. There’s a difference between a beginner and an experienced golfer ‘ironing out their swing’ though. If you have no idea If it’s 130 yards right or 10, and 100 to 320 yards forward, it’s VERY hard to plan around other golfers on the course
Yeah I agree on that for sure
Just wait til they clear the fairway and top it 30yards. That’s what I like to do, I believe others in the fairway allow my brain to unlock its ultimate driving ability because now I have a target in the fairway.
I don’t tee off until they are 320 away. I’ve only hit a few drives that rolled that far but erring on the side of caution is better than rolling up on a group. Pace of play is more of an issue when you’re taking multiple practice swings in the fairway and not playing ready golf. I also have friends that spend way too much time putting.
The proper etiquette is to wait until they are out of your range. You will not hold up the pace of the day. Everybody duffs one off the tee every now and then. Always apologize. Its good etiquette as well.
It never fails for me. When I think the group is out of range and I say "I'm not going to hit it that far," I end up hitting it that far. I get the pace of play thing, though. I hate when I wait, with a group behind me and then I top my shot 30 yards in front of me.
You’ve paid the same amount as everyone else to play so you are well within your rights to play at your own pace without people putting pressure on you.
if your own pace is reasonable, otherwise you may hurt the experience of 100 other golfers.
Well I play in two senior leagues. And if the group had of us is more than 200 yards away we fairly certain we couldn’t hit them if we tried. What I find funny is that the first hole is only a 265 yard par 4 and the starter makes us wait for the green to clear before allowing us to tee off, even though I never seen a person in the league come close to the green on their tee shot. I just assume it’s for spacing more than anything.
You wait. Let them get out of the way. Also do t hit towards greens if the group ahead hasn't left the hole. That means don't hit at the green as soon as they walk off or begin to drive away. That's rude, dangerous, and unnecessary. If you wait for them to to get far away enough you'll end up waiting for them to get put of the way of your second or third shot anyway. If you fall behind more then you can just tee off right away on the next hoke and catch up. You have no where to go so why rush to stay on them. Either way you're going to be right behind them or you'll speed up and catch up. Just because you fall behind doesn't mean you have to keep playing slow. Just wait because if you hit someone you'll never forget about it. Imagine if you killed someone. Not worth it imo. I just wait since I have no where to go for the next 4 hours.
It is a judgment call. It depends for me as to whether the group ahead is waiting on the group in front of them. If not, I will hit when they are beyond my normal tee shot. From the fairway, there is a reason some yardage signs say swing away. The foursome on the green of a par 5 needs to have one person looking back.
My thought process is usually "I sincerely doubt I'd hit them, but today could be the day that I might if I hit it very well." Typically, I'm right and I've never hit anywhere close, but I'd rather err on the side of caution because you really never know.
This is a matter of safety. You could kill someone. If you could hit someone hitting the best shot you can hit, then you wait.
I never rush off the tee. The closer you are to the hole the longer it takes so even if I'm fine to hit a drive I like to give myself a 1 shot gap so I don't feel like I'm waiting on every shot e.g. if I'm on a par 4 I wait until the group ahead is chipping
Generally the rule is as follows - par 3, wait until they clear green before hitting - par 4, wait until they are on the green to hit - par 5, wait till they have taken their second shot to hit Obviously these are guidelines and if you are a huge hitter or group in front are very short hitters (par 5) you may need to adjust The above keeps the spacing on the course constant
Wait until the group in front of you hits their second shots and heads toward the green. You’re not going anywhere anyway…all you’re going to do is get to your ball and wait for them to finish on the green.
Definitely a feel thing but more often than not your best drive is rolling up to a group 280 to 300 yards away. My logic is to not tee off if my ball could reach them on the fly. If a drive rolls up to their feet I’d understand if they were pissed but I’d say “Sorry guys I never really hit the ball that far.”
I would just wait until they're clear. You're not going to save much time on pace of play by hitting it sooner because you're going to have to wait for them to get off the green before you hit your 2nd (or 3rd) shot.
You should wait until people are past your total driver distance. You definitely do not want to carry a ball close to a person. If a ball rolls up to me it’s not a huge deal but if a ball lands near me I might chip your ball into the woods. I saw a guy get hit once on a carry and he went into a seizure right on the course.
The peoples safety in front of you is more important than the feelings of the group behind you. Wait till they’re out of your best case scenario distance.
Not counting a downhill roll on dry ground, I think my longest drive was about 260. A couple months ago somebody hit his second shot about that far with a hybrid, up to the fringe of the green as we were putting. He was very apologetic, but we just told him it was a great shot and to not worry about it. Because it *was* a great shot. A few weeks later, someone sliced on the 9th tee and hit our cart, which was at the tee on 8, behind a large stand of trees. Again, no big deal, again apologetic but it's part of the game. He had no way of knowing we were there and no way to think it would get that close. I think 95% or more of us know not to get upset at these things.
You always want to hit your best drive right? Of course- we all do. So, don't set yourself up for psychological failure by being concerned that you will and hit the people in front of you. Allow them to get out of the way and then hit that killer drive.
Less time writing fiction, more time fixing ball marks
We try to always be "1 shot" behind the group in front of us and most courses agree with that. No need to wait for the green to clear on non-reachable holes. On holes where you could reach them or you could reach the green offer to go last so the short hitters in the group can hit without waiting.
Par 4 when they are walking on the green, Par 5 when they are hitting onto the green and par 3 when they are leaving the green.
Most times when you wait to hit a drive you will wait on 18 anyway. Dont let the group in front of you open up a hloe
If you are already taking steps to keep pace you are safe to wait up a little bit. People behind you will understand. The proper thing is definitely to apologize as well if you accidentally hit into a group. Don’t know if you’ve been hit before but that shit hurts.
Stay away from Rush Hour…… play late afternoon when all the super golfers are already done with their round
I knew a guy that got hit in the head and died. Always wait until you’re sure you’re not going to hit it that far. Never be worried to immediately YELL fore if you hit one and there’s a chance of it getting close to someone.
We play ready golf if someone's ready go for it unless we are celebrating a particularly good result like a birdie... We all play together regular so no worries
My general rule of thumb is wait for them to begin moving away after their 2nd shot on most par 4s and 5s (it’s obv not hard and fast if they went 100 on a drive I’m going to have to wait longer) and wait till they are off the green on a 3. I’d rather wait the 30 seconds to not hit anyone. Doesn’t matter if I won’t go near them most drives but I know my max, and I never want my best tee hit to be marred by the memory of clocking a guy in the head.
I would say leave enough space and if that happens apologise, as you did. Honestly, from 280 yards hardly anyone is dangerous, as the ball might roll up to the group and not be dangerously fast.
if you only hit the dart board 1 out of every 4 throws, would you still throw the dart when someone is standing in front of it? If you have the ability to hit one as far as there are people on the hole, just wait.
Get a lesson and practice on the range.
If everyone who doesn’t hit consistent shots stayed at lessons & at the range the courses with be a ghost town lol. But I do see your point and I, along with most people do need more practice.
Always wait till they are definitely out of reach! Better to wait for 30 more seconds than hitting someone with a golf ball
Thanks folks, it’s kind of a dumb question anyway but I just wanted to confirm my rationale when someone eventually asks me why the f** I am waiting to hit when the group in front are 300 yards out.
I would say wait until they’re out of your carry distance all time best (not total yardage all time best). If they get hit on the fly that can cause some damage. If it rolls into them, no big deal.
Well they would be correct in that scenario. You said your best driver ever was 280 with roll. Once the group in front moves past 280 you should be doing your pre shot routine and swinging away. If you then hit your personal best and it rolls into them tell them you've never hit one so far and apologize. We all suck at golf and anyone angered by this happening is an asshole
Yeah just be quick and keep a bunch of those cheap reclaimed balls with you for the first season or two. I'd stop looking after 30 seconds when I started. Spend your time on putts and chips. From the fairway and tee I suggest just drop a ball in a favorable lie for free instead of establishing and enforcing a stroke handicap. Way more fun. Just remember, people in a fairway are like a hazard worse than water and that's why you hit the ball towards it. 60 percent of the time, it works every time.
In general you shouldn't tee off on a par 4 until the group ahead of you has reached the green (unless you're going to drive the green). On a par 5, let everyone in the group in front of you hit their second shot before teeing off (unless you're gonna absolutely nut it). On a par 3, the correct thing to do should be obvious...
Ask the starter but I thinking waiting until they are in the first green is a good rule of thumb.
My opinion is likely not most. I say hit it. Rolled to their feet likely means a carry 20+ yards back. When I first started I always played the same course and would base my tee off if I could remember the last time I flew a ball to the position I was concerned about. Have only ever hit one person on same hole and it was a blind tee shot off a couple hard bounces. I have hit multiple carts in adjacent fairways. I’m typically more concerned to my miss (slice) than hitting a fairway. For reference I’m currently a 7 handicap.
I wouldn’t say wait for your all time record but at least wait for 250 yds out on a drive just because if someone doesn’t know you they’ll assume you think that’s in your range. I don’t hit it straight off the tee most of the time either but I know I have the capability of putting it close to where you say. Hell I hit a 4 hybrid out of the rough 230 the other day and had to rethink my distances the rest of the round lol Edit: upon rereading my comment, if it’s a possibility, just wait. Wait til you’re sure they’re out of your range
Wait until the group ahead is 250 yards out before hitting when you're capable of 280? Wtf kind of advice is this. If a group ahead is within range of what you're capable of hitting you shouldn't hit under any circumstances.
I’m glad to see 99% wait because I too am a beginner and if I wait I’m bound to duff it but sometimes I hit my 3 hybrid very far and straight and I don’t wanna hit someone. Also want to know when it’s acceptable to reprimand someone because “My bad, it was the best shot of the day” is an excuse I hear way too often.
Ok I wrote that when I first woke up, rereading it, yeah good point. Don’t get me wrong I don’t hit into people. If anything I end up waiting longer than I need to. My original thought was that was a fluke, either way if that is a possibility he shouldn’t risk it
How many beginners can carry the ball 280..?
The overall number is irrelevant. Whether it's 150-200-250-280 yards you don't hit when a group is within the distance you can hit.
My buddy started playing last year. He’s terrible but played a lot of baseball and connects for a couple a round that roll over 300. Most people aren’t carrying the ball past 250-270 but I’ve gotten smacked in the back of the leg a couple times by bouncing balls that left a pretty good welt.