Rules Guy: Is it permissible to play holes out of order to avoid a slow group?

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

During our club championship, a group fell three holes behind the group ahead of them — and we were stuck behind the slowpokes. We discussed jumping in front of them and later circling back to pick up the hole we skipped. Would this have been legal in stroke play? —Brady Peery, Marietta, Ohio

Brady, taking an alternate route around a traffic jam is a common fantasy, but please keep it at that.

When you skip holes, you’re playing from outside the teeing area by playing an incorrect hole.

In stroke play, if you don’t correct this mistake before playing from the next teeing area, you’re disqualified under Rule 6.1(b).

In match play, if you and your opponent knowingly play the holes in incorrect order, you both are disqualified under Rule 1.3b(1) — the exception being if you and your opponent were unaware of the relevant rule and forged ahead (and circled back), in which case the match result would stand.

That said, Rules Guy readers now all know the rule and would be disqualified. As the original twosome, Adam and Eve, would tell you, knowledge can be a double-edged sword.

For more guidance from our guru, read on …

When teeing off and other players are standing directly behind you, is it okay to wait until they move? Is there a time limit to tee off? And is it bad etiquette for them to stand there?
—David Mooney, via email

David, as parents are wont to tell their frustrated toddlers, “Use your words.”

It’s fine to let playing partners know you don’t want them positioned where they could be in your line of sight — just do it politely. This way, you won’t have to wait and hope that they somehow intuit your feelings. (It’s only bad etiquette if they stand behind you knowing that you find it distracting, IMHO.)

Under Rule 1.2a, which covers expected conduct, players must show consideration for their fellow golfers, so ask and they shall move. As for time limits to play your shot, Rule 5.6a discusses unreasonable delays but, really, this situation should never, ever reach that threshold. Just please talk it through.

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