Written by: Darin Green, Senior Director of Rules & Competitions
Punctuality is a very important at the golf course. We all know you cannot be “late to the tee,” but what does it all mean and what are the penalties associated with being late to the tee?
First, your starting time is determined by the Committee (normally the professional staff at a club) and should be published or communicated to the players. The starting time set by the Committee is treated as an exact time (for example, 9am means 9:00:00 AM, not any time until 9:01. So, if your tee time is 9am and you arrive to the tee at 9:00 AM and 30 seconds, you are late to the tee. Exception – If the starting time is delayed for any reason such as weather or slow play of other groups ahead, the tee time is adjusted to when the group may begin play.
The Committee should announce where the official time is kept. In FSGA competitions, the official time is kept at the starting tees by the official.
At the Florida Senior Amateur Championship this past April a player pulled up to the starting tee just ten seconds late. The fairway was clear and there were no reasons to delay the group. The starting official informed the player that he incurred a two-stroke penalty, which must be included in his score on the first hole.
Additionally, players must be “ready to play” to be consider to be at the starting tee on time. Ready to play means the player must have a ball and club (even if that club is a putter).
At the U.S. Open Final Qualifier at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter last Monday the starting official on the first tee was missing a player with less than 60 seconds until the assigned starting time. The starting official then saw the player walking to the first tee, the official shouted, “you have less than 20 seconds, you better run.” The player jogged to the tee and barely made the tee time. The official then said, “Where are your clubs?” The player then realized his caddie was not there either. The player was not ready to play and was penalized two strokes for being late to the tee.
The time limit to arriving late to the tee, but still being allowed to play, is five minutes. If a player arrives more than five minutes late to the tee, the player is disqualified.
The penalty for being late to the tee while playing match play is a loss of hole penalty. If a player in a match arrives late to the tee, but within five minutes, the player loses the hole, and the match must proceed to the second hole. If both players in a match arrive late to the tee, but within five minutes, the first hole is considered tied and the match must continue to the second hole.
Please make sure you are at the tee on time!
