New Era Golf

Playing Policy

  • Pace of Play Practices. To ensure that all Members have will have the most enjoyable round of golf possible, all golfers should consider the following: Have patience; Play basic ready golf, play the correct tees for your ability, play through or allow others to play through when it is appropriate, and pair up and make new friends on busy days.
  • Playing with Patience. Everyone was a beginner at one point, even the Touring Pros, so we should have patience for people who may be playing slow because they are new to the game and still learning how to play. Or perhaps they are not very good. Green fee players and beginners bring money in to keep the greens nice for you. We want them to have an enjoyable experience and come back.
  • Playing Ready Golf. There is an official group of golfers that make up the Ready Golf Association, but when we refer to ready golf we are referring to a more simplified version. You should just be ready when it is your turn. In some circumstances, playing ready golf means ignoring some of the traditional rules, like tee honors. Some basic rules to follow are (a) Be at your ball with your club while the other person is hitting (b) Line up your shot while the other person is hitting (c) Hit your shot as soon as it is your turn (d) First one to their ball on the green putts (e) Putt out instead of marking your ball.
  • Playing the Correct Tees. There are really no such things as ladies tees. The front tees have been commonly called ladies tees, but the shorter tees are simply for people who for one reason or another just don’t hit the ball as far as golfers that hit from the back tees. You should always tee off from a distance that matches your ability.
  • Playing Through. Knowing how and when to let someone play through or how to play through another group can be difficult for a new and sometimes even experienced golfers. First of all, if you keep pace with the group in front of you, you will never have to worry about playing through.
  • Keeping Pace. Keeping up with the group in front of you means that you are coming up to a green to putt and the group in front of you will be hitting their tee shots on the next hole. As you reach the tee box, the group in front of you should be clearing out to enable you to hit your tee shot. They may be hitting their second shots on a par 4 or par 5. As long as the next hole is occupied by another group while you are on the putting green you are keeping pace.
  • When to Let Another Group Play Through. Let the group behind you play through if any of the following circumstances occur: (a) you fall behind the group in front of you (b) the entire hole in front of you is empty (c) the group behind you is waiting on you to finish.
  • How to Let a Group Play Through. Many golfers, experienced and beginners, think that the best way to let players play through is on the tee box, but when you find that you need to let a group play through, the best thing to do is stop wherever you are, and pull off to a safe place on the side of a fairway or green and wave the group behind you through. In the fairway, just leave the ball where it is. On the green, pick up and mark your ball.
  • They played through; now what? After you let a group play through, you should once again try to keep pace with the group in front of you, but if you should fall behind again and have an empty hole between you and the group in front of you, let the group behind you play through once again if they are waiting for you to hit your shots.
  • It is just as important for you to play through! Sometimes a situation will develop where a group says that’s okay, we are not in a hurry; you don’t need to let us play through. When this happens, it slows down entire course and makes the round miserable for almost everyone. It is your duty as a Member to play through the group in front of you whenever you are asked. (Even if the course is not busy, if someone asks you to play through they are probably nervous about having someone behind them)
  • Pairing up and Making New Friends. We understand that some people like to play by themselves or just with their regular partner, and we like to accommodate our Members and their guests whenever possible. However, when the course is busy, we may ask you to pair up with another group to make room for other golfers. When the course is not busy we welcome you to play alone or with another friend.
  • NO Sixsomes!!!!! While you should pair up and make room, five in a group is the limit (with permission from the Professional Staff). You may not play with six or more golfers in your group. While there are some very fast golfers who can play with six golfers in a group and keep moving, there are several reasons why we do not allow the practice
    • It looks slow, and other customers think large groups are slow.
    • The Pro Shop gets complaints about large groups
    • Players that don’t complain leave the course (and some never come back) if they see large groups are allowed to dominate the course.