I’m going to say it… four-balls do not work in the current climate of the amateur game. I would go as far as describing them as a nuisance which, in my opinion, are one of the biggest factors detrimentally impacting the pace of play at many golf courses around the world.
And before I get the cliche response of… ‘perhaps you should get some more friends’ – this is not about social status or popularity, it’s about the fact that four people playing golf together is much slower than two or three.
Getting stuck behind a series of four-balls in a club competition is painful, especially when playing in a medal where everyone is having to play every shot. There is no room in front to allow two- or three-balls to play through, and suddenly we find ourselves waiting what feels like an eternity between every shot.
With so much attention being focused on how to improve the slow play issue in golf, I would say if we aren’t prepared to make a significant change… then four-balls need to go.
Four-Balls Should Be Outlawed In Golf
Four-balls are an inadvertent victim of golf club greed, as the reluctance to give four-balls enough time to play before the next group tees off only leads to further frustration and bottlenecking on the course. Instead, packing the tee sheet with as many groups as possible appears to be the agenda, which sadly makes four-balls the sacrificial lamb.
There are few things more frustrating than waiting for ages on the tee due to slow play ahead
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate four-balls as a concept. I totally understand the social benefits of playing in a larger group – especially if you are playing some of the more fun team golf formats. There is certainly a place for that in the sport, but it requires some compromises to make it viable.
With many golf clubs sticking to around 8-minute gaps between tee times, there is a requirement on each player in the four-ball to play very quickly in order to not hold up the ground behind – especially if that’s a two- or three-ball. With so many different ability levels of golfer wanting to access the game, this becomes an unrealistic expectation and ultimately leads to the condemnation of ‘weaker golfers’, labelling them as ‘the problem’.
Extending tee time slots to 10-minutes would give groups a…
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