A tee time remains one of the essential advance appointments to make with golf courses before you play.
Tee times work by allowing you to hit your first shot on time, allowing other golfers visiting the course to play their round in a brisk and timely manner.
What is a Tee Time in Golf & Why is it Important?
Tee times are vital to a course’s schedule of keeping players on time during their visit.
Most clubs hope that players can make their tee times work to finish their visit to the course in around four hours.
Are Tee Times Required?
Yes, at most golf courses, a golf tee time is required if you want to play.
To reserve tee times, all you need to do is call the pro shop or make an appointment online through an app or website.
All courses typically have their tee time policy, so check with the golf course to make sure you are hitting their requirements before you make a tee time in advance.
Beginners that want to play the game for the first time should call the course’s clubhouse to reserve their tee times or visit the club’s online sites.
If they have any questions, the course can provide an overview of the tee times generally available and give time to arrive to warm up at the course’s hitting range.
Tee Time Limits
Before you book a tee time, especially if you are visiting a golf course with the hope of playing with several groups, the chances are high that the club will have tee time limits preventing you from having more than four golfers in a golfing party.
If you have any questions about tee time limits, make sure to consult the club’s sites online or call their phone number to speak to an employee about making sure your party is accommodated.
Tee Time in Tournaments
For amateurs, tee times in tournaments are structured to help run the event in a timely manner.
At any given golf course, the rules for tee times may be different or more relaxed, so it typically depends on the type of tournament and the golf course rules.
A “shotgun start” for a tournament means that golfers start at every hole simultaneously. This type of start helps pull off the event as quickly as possible, especially with advanced players.
In professional golf, tee times are essential for the golfers to make in order to run the tournament smoothly.
Occasionally, professional golfers who miss their tee times are penalized two strokes if they arrive at the tee box for their first hole after their posted tee time.
Showing Up without a Tee Time
If you do not have a tee time, most golf courses, especially public golf courses, accept walk-ins.
If you are a single participant, the chances are high that you can get on at any time, joining a duo or trio of players to round out their playing group.
If you have a group with multiple participants, the chances of you jumping on the golf course without a tee time might be difficult if the club is busy that day.
After you load up your golf clubs, standard practice dictates that you call ahead to the golf course if you hope to play without a scheduled tee time.
Showing Up Late with a Tee Time
If you have one group running late for a tee time at a local golf course, you’ll need to call ahead to the pro shop and have the club reschedule your tee time.
Sometimes if you give the employees a warning, they can try to make the rescheduled tee time close to your original time to minimize extra hours of delay.
Another example of a routine problem is having one playing partner running late, causing them to miss their tee time.
In this situation, most golf courses will encourage those that happen to be there at the golf course to begin your round to keep other golfers on time.
Then, once your tardy partner arrives at the course for their round of golf, they can grab a cart and meet you at your current hole to play golf.