How far in advance of my first appointment should I show up to the tee?
On a busy course, it’s important to get into the store before your game time. But there is more wiggle room on the opening tee.
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Paul from Skokie, Ill., writes: A few days ago, my team came off the first tee at 9:47 for a 9:49 tee time. As we stood up, the starter shook his head and yelled at us that “it’s late.” At that time, he let the group behind us go ahead since they were already there waiting. I was angry. We had already paid in the pro shop and had been warming up at the range ahead of our time. Was I crazy good?
Dear Paul:
Punctuality is not a winning trait, but from all appearances, this seemed like an encounter with an overzealous starter who overstepped his bounds.
That’s a quick summary. But it needs some context.
In golf, as in life, we owe it to ourselves and others to show up on time. Failure to do so is disrespectful all around. It can affect relationships. It can also throw a wrench in business performance.
For that reason, most golf courses would prefer that you not weigh it close. Some have policies that require you to enter the pro shop a certain number of minutes before your tee time (20 to 30 minutes before is usually the range), although most clubs handle matters on a case-by-case basis. If it’s a quiet day with an empty tee sheet, naturally, it’s easy to give some wiggle room. On a crowded course, however, where the managers need to run a tight ship, you should plan to get in early. If you leave a few minutes before your time, you shouldn’t be surprised if the pro shop replaces the group behind you. Courses owe it to their customers to keep things moving. They cannot allow one bunch of outcasts to cause a backlog.
It is up to you to make an appointment at the professional shop.
Slightly different rules apply to the first tee. Once you’ve checked in and paid, that tee time is yours. No one has the right to give it before it expires. Whether you arrive 10 minutes or one minute early, it shouldn’t matter. An Etiquetteist would argue that even if you arrive at the opening tee box a minute or two late, no one should be placed in front of you. You should be allowed to maintain your position, with the expectation that you will move quickly and maintain a reasonable pace throughout the cycle.
Why the originator chose to take it back is hard to say. Maybe he was having a bad day. Or remembering his past life as a Marine drill sergeant. Even if you are annoyed that you deprived him of the opportunity to give you a long speech about the lesson. You might also think that any team that will arrive at the last minute of the first game is the type of team that tends to dilly-dally in everything they do, fishing for golf balls in their bags, looking at rangefinders or taking forever. reading their putts, and he was trying to get ahead of things.
Are you and your group moving slowly? Regardless, you didn’t deserve to be treated the way you got. But the Etiquetteist still hopes that he will never follow behind you.
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