How and When Is It Time to Play Through?
Dear Molly: My foursome was keeping the golf course’s recommended pace (6 holes in 90 minutes), but after we teed off on the par-3 seventh the group behind us asked us if they could play through. We just moved aside while they played the hole, but wasn’t this rather rude of them? What should we do next time?
Wow, playing through – what an antiquated term. But, like the driver’s thank-you merge wave and the RTD rider’s offer of a seat to someone on crutches, it deserves a place in our world. There’s a reason why the word “good” often precedes “old-fashioned,” and a little bit of good old-fashioned playing through can work wonders for golfers young, old, new and savvy.
“It’s a lost art,” says CommonGround Director of Golf Ben Pennymon with obvious regret. “I think playing through doesn’t happen as much as it probably should. I think it’s gotten a stigma, that players think when they let somebody play through, that means they’re not as good as the people now in front. And that’s just not the case.”
The opportunity arises when one group is playing at such a fast pace, it is often waiting for the group in front. It could be that the group behind doesn’t have as many players, take as many shots or lose as many balls as the group in front. Or it could be that the group in front hasn’t learned pace of play strategies like these.
“Everybody kind of plays at their own speed, hopefully trying to adhere to the pace of play policy that the golf course has,” says Ben. “But sometimes you get players that are just a little bit slower. And I think people will take offense to someone coming up to them and asking them if they can play through. It’s a simple courtesy to allow playing through, but we’ve got a lot of newer people in the game that may not be aware that that’s a way to go about allowing that group to move forward.”
At CommonGround and many other busy Colorado courses, opportunities for playing through rarely come up during the height of the golf season, because the course is full and the marshals are ensuring that players keep up with the groups in front of them. But with the offseason approaching, it’s more common to see the course opening up in front of a slower group, creating a bottleneck behind it.
As someone who plays fairly quickly – maybe not compared to the Scots – I always thought that in this scenario the group in front ought to invite my group to play through when it came to a tee where we were nearby on the green behind and they could easily holler over, “Would you like to play through?” Ben Pennymon points out, though, that golf is hard and we’re not always noticing the players behind us, even when they’re waiting behind us.
And as you point out, your group was keeping the 4½ hour 18-hole pace your course requires. But maybe the group in front of you had moved a hole or more out and the group behind you coveted that space. Did they ask politely to play through? Or did they tell you to move your butts aside and let the real golfers go by?
“The invitation is always easier,” Ben says. “But I think it’s appropriate to ask the question – not, ‘You guys are playing really slow, let us play through,’ but, ‘Hey, would you mind if we play through?’ ”
From there, it was on you to give a friendly wave or a “sure, no problem.” Aside from that, you did everything right! You hit your shots off the tee, hopefully onto the green or into the fairway, ensuring that you would be able to quickly resume your round once the group behind you moved on. “That’s a crucial piece of this,” says Ben. “I’ve seen it happen where the group ahead will just wait on the tee box, and that’s wasting more time.”
You also moved aside, ensuring golf’s No. 1 rule: safety.
And you did not object by saying you were keeping up with the golf course pace. Good for you! Playing through is about courtesy, letting a smaller or faster or, yes, sometimes we just have to admit, better group of players move past you when the course is open in front of you.
As Ben Pennymon says, “Understand that playing through is just a part of golf. So don’t turn something that’s supposed to be a positive interaction into something that’s negative.”
And in the spirit of graciousness, one more thing: No pouting! The group playing through should say their thank-yous and everyone in both groups should be exchanging well wishes for a good rest of the round.
Do you have a question about golf etiquette, golf relationships or the culture of golf in Colorado? Email it to Molly McMulligan, the CGA’s on-the-course advisor on how to have more fun on the golf course, and follow @MollyMcMulligan on Instagram. Her creator, researcher and writer is golf journalist and CGA member Susan Fornoff.
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