Rant: Playing Solo

[northern33]

I'll try to keep this as short as I can but thought it needed to be shared.

I arrived at a local course (to remain nameless) around 2:40pm this afternoon. I chipped and putted (on practice green which is right by the first tee) for about 50 minutes. I mention this detail because it allowed me to see how few people had been teeing off. I then went into the clubhouse and paid for my green fee and tee'd off solo around 3:50pm. From the time I arrived at the course until I tee'd off there were only 3 groups that tee'd off: 1 twosome in a cart, followed by a walking single, followed by another twosome in a cart. The last twosome probably tee'd off around 3:10pm.

I finished the first hole and the marshall pulls up to me in his cart as I'm walking to the 2nd tee and states that "there is another single about to tee-off and you will be joining up...wait for him at the 2nd tee". I was taken aback by his order and said "I would prefer not to join up as I would like to take my time and I was in no rush to get in all 18". I even offered to wait for him to play through so that I wouldn't hold him up if he was trying to play fast in order to get in 18 before dark. Well the marshal was having none of this and got VERY hostile stating that I MUST join up with the other single and that the course had a policy of "no singles"...which is a bold face lie as I witnessed a woman tee off solo 45 minutes prior. We continued with some back and forth and he remained on his power-trip...cutting me off and basically telling me if I had a problem with his demand then I could walk back to the clubhouse and complain. The conversation...errr....argument....ended with him driving back to the clubhouse and me essentially not agreeing to his demand.

Am I in the wrong for basically telling him to go pound salt for his ridiculous command?

Let's be clear....I have played 100+ rounds of golf by myself before and NEVER had an issue like this. I also understand that there are times (weekend mornings especially) when playing solo is impossible and I totally respect that...I have joined up with other singles/twosomes many times IF the circumstances made sense (i.e. course is packed and you are waiting on every tee, holding up groups behind by having a single followed by a twosome/single..when they could just join up etc.).

Here were the reasons I articulated to the marshall as to why I did not think joining up at that time was necessary (mind you they were not all heard since he interrupted me 3-4 times) :
- In my 1 hr+ practicing I had seen first hand how empty the course was
- I would have to wait 10 minutes for him to start and finish the first hole to catch up to me...while at least 3-4 holes ahead of me were empty. Is this not counter-productive?
- I would gladly join up later if things slowed down and he caught up to me
- After stating all of the above...what the heck would be the point in joining up at this stage of the round?

We ended up joining up on the 9th hole as it had finally started to slow down a bit by then...which I had absolutely no problem with.

All this to say - I will be phoning the course tomorrow and voicing my displeasure to management about how unprofessionally the marshall acted. I will probably try to avoid golfing this course ever again because of this incident...and also because the course was not in great shape anyways.

Interested to hear fellow golfers views on this issue.

Rant over

[jvincent]

I agree, the marshal was out of line. I've played as a single many times and never been ordered to wait.

[jeffc]

played many times as a single and it sounds ridiculous, especially if the pro shop told you you could play by yourself.

[Txxxxxxx]

I play as a single for probably 50% of my rounds and it's never an issue.

I don't understand what the issue would be.

As a single, you do not hold up a group behind you. In fact, your pace of play would be quicker than a foursome.

If you are taking your time, the group in front of you does not feel as though someone is rushing them.

This marshall was completely out of line in my opinion. His job is to keep the pace of play basically.

[jmwhite]

Sounds like he was bored and decided to pick on you. Maybe fixing ball barks and raking sand traps would be a better use of his time.

[imozzie]

You were well within reason to challenge him wrt his demands. I play 100+ rounds/yr on, on average, 40+ different courses. A third of those rounds are solo which I use for practice purposes. I've been doing so for years. I have NEVER been accosted by a Marshall who DEMANDED that I join up with someone. It has been suggested, once or twice, should I have WISHED to have company when another single was coming up from behind. But never demanded... When solo play is managed properly (i.e. off-peak, observant of pace of play, willing to allow others to play through without delay etc.), it should pose no problem - and thus no concern - to anyone.

I believe that the Marshal in question was either simply ill-knowledgeable or out-of-line. Either way, I believe that the correct course of action is as you have suggested - contact the club and advise them of the occurrence. The Marshall may then be either properly informed or his behaviour corrected.

[sliceleft]

You are right that he seemed unreasonable. I wonder if the club had recently received complaints about lots of singles trying to play through groups as they caught up to them -- which I find irritating when a string of singles catches up to my group. Not suggesting you were doing that, but sometimes rules that seem irrational stem from a rational base.

[Kiwi]

Rarely see a marshal but when I do it's been very cordial from a wave and a smile to some chit-chat to a joke. NEVER experienced this and it would be my first reaction to say never again. I have noticed a few of my golf partners over the years to have the club house # programmed into their phone and when an "incident" occurs they are not shy about calling it in. I'll be doing this from now on and if a Marshal ever approaches me as in your experience I'll be on the phone right away for some clarification.

[golfisforfun]

Ok... Here goes...
I agree with you that it was likely not necessary for the marshall to speak with you and ask you to wait for the single...
HOWEVER I have a few questions and comments...

I know that a lot of courses do not like to have singles all over the course, and they prefer to get them to join groups whenever possible. I am sure courses shy away from having one single after another on the course, especially if that results in groups always having to allow singles to play through. I am sure this is even more of an issue at a course with members.

My next question has a bit more to do with the way society is these days...
What gives you the right to completely ignore the instructions of an employee of the golf course? If they tell you their policy is to not have singles and to get them to join others, then you should be following those rules. You have no clue if they had the other single join a group or not. If you disagree with the rules of a business, or what an employee tells you the rules are at a business, then your right is to follow those rules or to leave and complain.

Why does everyone these days think they can just ignore rules and laws and just do what they want?

Why couldn't you simply go back to the clubhouse and ask to speak with the manager? And if they had told you that the marshall was right, then would you have ignored the manager and still gone out alone? Golf courses have the right to pair you up with anyone they want, and if you want to play alone, then pay for a 4some and away you go!



How do you know the single ahead of you was not asked to join a group also? Maybe he had the same discussion and told that single to either catch and join the 2some ahead or wait and join the 2some behind because they don'y like to have singles on the course.

[jvincent]

Ok... Here goes...

My next question has a bit more to do with the way society is these days...
What gives you the right to completely ignore the instructions of an employee of the golf course? If they tell you their policy is to not have singles and to get them to join others, then you should be following those rules. You have no clue if they had the other single join a group or not. If you disagree with the rules of a business, or what an employee tells you the rules are at a business, then your right is to follow those rules or to leave and complain.

Why does everyone these days think they can just ignore rules and laws and just do what they want?

Why couldn't you simply go back to the clubhouse and ask to speak with the manager? And if they had told you that the marshall was right, then would you have ignored the manager and still gone out alone? Golf courses have the right to pair you up with anyone you want, and if you want to play alone, then pay for a 4some and away you go!



How do you know the single ahead of you was not asked to join a group also? Maybe he had the same discussion and told that single to either catch and join the 2some ahead or wait and join the 2some behind because they don'y like to have singles on the course.

Really?

It's late afternoon, very few golfers are on the course, they let him tee off as a single. Once that happens the pace of play should dictate whether the singles join together or not. If the single in front of him ends up waiting behind the group in front then he would have caught up to him and they could have joined. Similarly for the single behind him.

Why should he have to go back to the clubhouse? I would have told the marshal to bring the manager/person who told me to tee off out to the course to explain it to me. Telling a person already on the course to wait for another player is beyond stupid.

Remember, we're not talking about early in the day where singles would have likely been grouped before they even teed off.

[imozzie]

" Golf courses have the right to pair you up with anyone you want..." Correct - and once they provide me with approval to proceed as a solo following any conditions at that time that they wish to impose (i.e. '...if others come upon you let them through' or '...if it gets jammed up, we may further pair you') my money is paid, the 'business' deal concluded and off I go. You don't change the 'rules of the business' or make them up as you go along with an indication that they've always been in place (i.e. "...that the course had a policy of "no singles"") which was obviously not the case as this individual and others were obviously playing solo with the permission of the club to do so.

By the description provided of this incident, the Marshall was out of line in approach and attitude. Without any further information from the Marshall, he appears to have been attempting to 'fix' something that wasn't broken...just because he felt he could. Not an approach nor attitude that I'd want to have working as a Marshall at my course - as a member or a public player.

[HoganWoods]

I think you should name the course in question. These type of marshalls need to be eliminated and naming the course could add a bit more pressure if someone that works in management there were to read this thread. You were 100% right imo.

[Kilroy]

Nope. Please do not name the course.

[nokids]

Marshals love to give young golfers a hard time. It's a right of passage, like freshman hazing.

[adam]

Marshals love to give young golfers a hard time. It's a right of passage, like freshman hazing.

That is a fact . . I get a lot more 'advice' than is necessary, and that same advice never seems to be doled out to more veteran golfers under similar circumstances.

[Golfer100]

Who are marshals, are they volunteers, do they play for free? Friends of the owners? We played UC on Thursday and the 3some in front was clearly slow, provisional balls one after another and the Marshall just breezed by while we leaned on our clubs.....

[Chieflongtee]

Ok... Here goes...
I agree with you that it was likely not necessary for the marshall to speak with you and ask you to wait for the single...
HOWEVER I have a few questions and comments...

I know that a lot of courses do not like to have singles all over the course, and they prefer to get them to join groups whenever possible. I am sure courses shy away from having one single after another on the course, especially if that results in groups always having to allow singles to play through. I am sure this is even more of an issue at a course with members.

My next question has a bit more to do with the way society is these days...
What gives you the right to completely ignore the instructions of an employee of the golf course? If they tell you their policy is to not have singles and to get them to join others, then you should be following those rules. You have no clue if they had the other single join a group or not. If you disagree with the rules of a business, or what an employee tells you the rules are at a business, then your right is to follow those rules or to leave and complain.

Why does everyone these days think they can just ignore rules and laws and just do what they want?

Why couldn't you simply go back to the clubhouse and ask to speak with the manager? And if they had told you that the marshall was right, then would you have ignored the manager and still gone out alone? Golf courses have the right to pair you up with anyone they want, and if you want to play alone, then pay for a 4some and away you go!



How do you know the single ahead of you was not asked to join a group also? Maybe he had the same discussion and told that single to either catch and join the 2some ahead or wait and join the 2some behind because they don'y like to have singles on the course.

Rules are rules on a busy day but logic tells us that the people in the clubhouse should have told him first that he was going to be paired up( which still doesn't make any sense) In this particular case I would blame it entirely on the marshal's poor judgment. He is not holding anybody up and the course is about empty.

[cleek]

My answer would have been, I'd be happy to pair up as soon as the player a hole behind catches up to me.

[jeffc]

Really?

It's late afternoon, very few golfers are on the course, they let him tee off as a single. Once that happens the pace of play should dictate whether the singles join together or not. If the single in front of him ends up waiting behind the group in front then he would have caught up to him and they could have joined. Similarly for the single behind him.

Why should he have to go back to the clubhouse? I would have told the marshal to bring the manager/person who told me to tee off out to the course to explain it to me. Telling a person already on the course to wait for another player is beyond stupid.

Remember, we're not talking about early in the day where singles would have likely been grouped before they even teed off.

^This.

[northern33]

Really?

It's late afternoon, very few golfers are on the course, they let him tee off as a single. Once that happens the pace of play should dictate whether the singles join together or not. If the single in front of him ends up waiting behind the group in front then he would have caught up to him and they could have joined. Similarly for the single behind him.

Why should he have to go back to the clubhouse? I would have told the marshal to bring the manager/person who told me to tee off out to the course to explain it to me. Telling a person already on the course to wait for another player is beyond stupid.

Remember, we're not talking about early in the day where singles would have likely been grouped before they even teed off.

Exactly. Why should I walk all the way back to the clubhouse and complain...especially at 4pm in the afternoon when I'm already running out of sunlight? Both the pro shop and starter were completely fine with sending me out on my own...where does the marshal get off going on his power trip about pairing up.

And to golfisforfun's other argument about people not following the rules these days. When someone blatantly makes up a rule...should I still have to follow it? I understand it's private property and I am bound by their rules....the problem is the course did NOT have a "no singles" policy.

I just spoke with the general manager of the course and voiced my concerns. He assured me that indeed they do NOT have a "no singles" policy and just re-iterated what I and most of you already know...that they try to pair/group people up when it makes sense. He totally agreed that the marshal was out of line and would speaking with this individual. Let's hope that actually happens.

[Txxxxxxx]

Ok... Here goes...
I agree with you that it was likely not necessary for the marshall to speak with you and ask you to wait for the single...
HOWEVER I have a few questions and comments...

I know that a lot of courses do not like to have singles all over the course, and they prefer to get them to join groups whenever possible. I am sure courses shy away from having one single after another on the course, especially if that results in groups always having to allow singles to play through. I am sure this is even more of an issue at a course with members.

My next question has a bit more to do with the way society is these days...
What gives you the right to completely ignore the instructions of an employee of the golf course? If they tell you their policy is to not have singles and to get them to join others, then you should be following those rules. You have no clue if they had the other single join a group or not. If you disagree with the rules of a business, or what an employee tells you the rules are at a business, then your right is to follow those rules or to leave and complain.

Why does everyone these days think they can just ignore rules and laws and just do what they want?

Why couldn't you simply go back to the clubhouse and ask to speak with the manager? And if they had told you that the marshall was right, then would you have ignored the manager and still gone out alone? Golf courses have the right to pair you up with anyone they want, and if you want to play alone, then pay for a 4some and away you go!



How do you know the single ahead of you was not asked to join a group also? Maybe he had the same discussion and told that single to either catch and join the 2some ahead or wait and join the 2some behind because they don'y like to have singles on the course.

Pretty much the most ridiculous suggestion...

Yes...Let's have him walk back to the clubhouse after being sent off the first tee as a single. That makes so much sense...

If the course does not have a policy stating no singles, then he is not breaking rules, or laws as you put it.

Why would he have to pay for three more green fees on top of his own?!! He did not reserve a time as a foursome and prevent other green fee players from taking those spots.

From a business standpoint, the course wants to fill all tee times with four paying players. If people aren't there to play, should my threesome split a fourth green fee because we don't have four players?

HAHA!

[Sunny D]

Wow the marshall was totally out of line in my view. Like many others I often golf as a single. I only play half a dozen courses in the area and they don't have an issue with singles when it makes sense. In fact I had one starter at one course tell me that there were 4 groups of 4 in front of me and a clear space of 3 time slots behind me. So he suggested I go ahead and play multiple balls. Then he actually got on the walkie talkie and explained the situation to the marshall so there would be no issues there.... contrast that customer service to what was described here....

[Gobble_It]

Pretty much the most ridiculous suggestion...

Yes...Let's have him walk back to the clubhouse after being sent off the first tee as a single. That makes so much sense...

If the course does not have a policy stating no singles, then he is not breaking rules, or laws as you put it.

Why would he have to pay for three more green fees on top of his own?!! He did not reserve a time as a foursome and prevent other green fee players from taking those spots.

From a business standpoint, the course wants to fill all tee times with four paying players. If people aren't there to play, should my threesome split a fourth green fee because we don't have four players?

HAHA!

He is a marshal perhaps ?