[tomwed]

One of the downsides of planning a large outing is that everyone finishes at a different time. This makes going out for food or drinks less convenient.

What if the executive courses on a rotating basis had a shotgun start at 6:30pm [or earlier 5pm?]. Golfers would all finish at 8 pm [or 6:30 pm]. That's a nice time of the day to play in hot weather and the courses are thinning out.

A group of 20 could sign up for 5 tees.

I don't think it would be much of a software change. Maybe a programmer could chime in.

[DonH57]

Originally Posted by tomwed

One of the downsides of planning a large outing is that everyone finishes at a different time. This makes going out for food or drinks less convenient.

What if the executive courses on a rotating basis had a shotgun start at 6:30pm [or earlier 5pm?]. Golfers would all finish at 8 pm [or 6:30 pm]. That's a nice time of the day to play in hot weather and the courses are thinning out.

A group of 20 could sign up for 5 tees.

I don't think it would be much of a software change. Maybe a programmer could chime in.

Won't bird shot obliterate a golf ball?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I worked at a club in Sarasota that went to early morning shotguns in the summer time. Most people loved it but they found out that some people don't like getting up early and were quite miffed when they couldn't get onto their private country club golf course until almost noon time.

Of course it was 18 holes and they went to a 6:30 shotgun so players would start coming in around 11:00.

It might be different here though with people only playing nine holes.

The other issue is that the superintendent usually prepares the golf course, cut greens, rake bunkers, cut holes, place tee markers and clean up before the first starting time. If they can get thought the first two or three holes, they can generally stay ahead of the golfers. The problem is that most of the time, the greens are not cut in order. If the first green and eighth green are close to one another it makes sense to mow them one after the other to minimize transport of equipment.

[tomwed]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I worked at a club in Sarasota that went to early morning shotguns in the summer time. Most people loved it but they found out that some people don't like getting up early and were quite miffed when they couldn't get onto their private country club golf course until almost noon time.

Of course it was 18 holes and they went to a 6:30 shotgun so players would start coming in around 11:00.

It might be different here though with people only playing nine holes.

The other issue is that the superintendent usually prepares the golf course, cut greens, rake bunkers, cut holes, place tee markers and clean up before the first starting time. If they can get thought the first two or three holes, they can generally stay ahead of the golfers. The problem is that most of the time, the greens are not cut in order. If the first green and eighth green are close to one another it makes sense to mow them one after the other to minimize transport of equipment.

I'm sorry. I was talking about 5pm and 6:30 pm. I'll fix my post.

[Polar Bear]

Not sure how popular that would be for golfers not in the event. It would effectively close the course to them for late-day play.

[lafoto]

The course would have to shut down between 3:30 - 5:00 for a 5pm shootgun in order to clear the course. Not sure how management would feel about that.

[mulligan]

The district makes the rules on the execs. I doubt they would do anything that would exclude any golfers or restrict available t-times. There is already too much pressure on the courses just from the summer maintenance schedule. That being said, with the inexpensive twilight golf on the championship courses, consider a shotgun at 5:30 on one 9 at a country club. Only $6-$8 bucks a head.

[bagboy]

In order to have a shotgun start, up to 90 minutes of tee times would have to be eliminated in order to clear the course for the shotgun start. I don't think that is something that would work for the golf courses or the afternoon golfers who aren't part of a particular group.

[tomwed]

Originally Posted by lafoto

The course would have to shut down between 3:30 - 5:00 for a 5pm shootgun in order to clear the course. Not sure how management would feel about that.

I didn't think of the players on the course before the event. It did feel like it was a bit too easy. Maybe 6:30pm is doable and just on a couple of courses. Maybe the courses are the execs that are closed for the day and under repair. I'll assume the workers go home by 6:30pm.

[tomwed]

Originally Posted by mulligan

The district makes the rules on the execs. I doubt they would do anything that would exclude any golfers or restrict available t-times. There is already too much pressure on the courses just from the summer maintenance schedule. That being said, with the inexpensive twilight golf on the championship courses, consider a shotgun at 5:30 on one 9 at a country club. Only $6-$8 bucks a head.

A twilight shotgun on the championships courses sounds even better to me. The idea is to accommodate village groups who play together and want to start at the same time and finish at the same time. That could be 3 groups of 3 tee off times or a group of 4 and another of 5. If there is one hole left over it could be filled by anyone.

I'm just brainstorming here, playing what-if. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I play in the exec tourny every tuesday morning. I met a lot of guys who also enjoy that event and would love to play twice a week. It's the closest you could have to a bowling league for golf. Everyone starting and finishing at the same time.