Starting on Time 

When it comes to starting an event, you have one main responsibility: be there and be ready to play on time!

Typically, there will be a formal starter who will have some announcements and information for you. We recommend arriving at your starting tee about 10 minutes prior to your scheduled starting time. Make sure to listen to the starter’s announcements and get a Local Rules sheet if one is being provided.

To be considered ready to play on time, you need to be at your starting tee with a club and a ball. Your caddie can be somewhere else with the rest of your clubs, but you need to be there ready to play before the clock ticks over to your start time.

If you are late, you get a 5-minute buffer before you’re in real trouble. In stroke play, you can start late within 5 minutes with a two-stroke penalty. In match play, you lose the first hole to your opponent and go straight to the next hole.

If you are more than 5 minutes late, you are disqualified. The Committee has no choice under the Rules of Golf. There are exceptional situations where the Committee could permit you to play, but those would generally involve you either receiving or applying medical aid in an emergency situation. Car accidents, traffic or road closures are not reasons the Committee should accept.

The same Rules apply to starting early. If you start early but within 5 minutes of your starting time, you incur the general penalty for your first hole. If you start more than 5 minutes early, you are disqualified.

Prompt Pace of Play

Pace of play is one of the most important player responsibilities. It is not the Committee’s responsibility to keep you posted on how you’re doing.

So, there are two important things you need to do as a player to make sure you do not get a penalty for slow play:

• Know and understand the pace of play policy for an event. The USGA explains the pace of play policy to players at its championships.
• Keep an eye on it throughout the round. In all USGA events, the maximum time (meaning the absolute latest you should be finished with a hole) is printed on your score card. Check yourself throughout the round.

The Rules of Golf specifically address how long it should take to make a stroke by recommending that players take no more than 40 seconds once they are able to play without distractions, but more importantly that players should be able to play even more quickly than that.

In stroke play, you should also play “ready golf” with other players. This means to play out of order in a safe and responsible manner allowing another player who is ready to play before you go ahead while you finish getting ready for the stroke. So long as you are not deliberately playing out of order to give someone an advantage, “ready golf” is recommended for stroke play.

If you believe there is a player in your group that is slowing the whole group down, get a hold of an official and ask to be monitored. Then the official can monitor your group and confirm that one player is indeed slowing the group down and will have that information if the group happens to miss their checkpoint or be out of position.