We’ve all been there.

Your round gets bogged down by traffic ahead of you.

Or maybe you are part of the traffic holding up someone behind you.

It’s a natural part of golf, especially on days when not every group teeing off is a foursome.

That is why there is the concept of playing through—so the faster groups can move through the course without pressuring slower groups.

It doesn’t always play out this cleanly, however. Sometimes a group will refuse to let anyone play through, even though they should. And sometimes a group will demand to play through, even though they shouldn’t.

It’s a nuanced decision about when it’s OK to play through a group (and when a group should allow others to play through).

In this story, I’ll use the terminology of “leading” and “trailing” to describe the group ahead and the group behind. Both have different responsibilities with the playing-through process.

Here are seven scenarios where playing through a group ahead of you is likely the right option.

1. The trailing group has fewer players

This is the most obvious one.

If you are a single and come up on a foursome, it’s typically a no-brainer that you should get to play through.

The onus is on the leading group to recognize the situation and wave the player through.

This even applies to one player walking the course versus four players in a cart. Sure, it might take a couple of extra minutes for the walker to get out of the way but that golfer should easily outpace the foursome for the remainder of the round.

If your group is a twosome coming up on a foursome, it’s still likely that you should play through.

Once we reach a threesome coming up on a foursome, it’s possible but less likely they should be waved through.

2. The leading group is slower (and/or made up of beginners)

The second most obvious situation is when the leading group is requiring a lot more time to play the course than the trailing group.

In this scenario, the number of players involved is a factor but not the prevailing one.

You can, for instance, have a foursome play through another foursome if it’s clear that one is not used to being on the course and needs more time. This is rare but it’s reasonable in certain situations.

Of course, all golfers should maintain proper pace. Beginners should move up a tee box and pick up their balls after a certain number of swings.

Not everyone understands this, however. And beginners might not get the concept of letting someone play through.

You can always drive up and ask. Or you can drive past them to another hole and resume your round there.

3. The leading group is walking and the trailing group is riding

This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule but it’s something to keep in mind. It’s especially true if you are playing a course with long walks between greens and tees.

A group of golf cart users won’t necessarily be faster than a group of walkers but there is a good chance they are.

If you have a foursome of walkers ahead of a twosome of cart drivers, for example, it’s likely the cart users should get to play through.

There are conditions to this, of course. One of them being the next scenario on the list.

4. The course is not particularly busy

A key point in the playing-through discussion is whether the course is busy.

If a course is packed, there is little reason to play through. Faster golfers will just end up behind other groups, and you can’t play through everyone.

That has been part of the package with golf in the post-pandemic era where most courses are full.

But if a course clearly has openings on the tee sheet, playing through makes far more sense.

My judge for this is whether there is at least one hole of open space ahead of the leading group. You won’t be able to know this at every course but some places have more open layouts where this is clear.

Getting to play through can cut significant time off of a faster group’s round—and slower groups don’t have to feel pressured when they are enjoying a more leisurely round with little traffic around them.

5. The leading group takes an extended break

We usually see this scenario play itself out at the turn.

I want to be careful with this one.

Groups are fully entitled to stop into the clubhouse for a few minutes and not lose their spot in line. Sure, grab your hot dog and beer.

Trailing groups—even if they don’t stop—should not automatically jump those ahead of them without asking. And they shouldn’t ask unless some combination of Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 on this list are in play.

However, trailing groups can absolutely skip ahead if the leading group is taking an extended break, such as sitting down for lunch.

If the group behind the trailing group is finishing up with the 9th hole and the leading group is nowhere to be found, the trailing group has every right to jump ahead.

This would probably be a solid 10-15 minutes. You can’t expect to stop for that long and keep your place in line.

It’s also worth noting that if you are the leading group, using the turn as a time to let a trailing group pass you is an effective way to let them play through with little disturbance to the rhythm of the round.

6. You’ve caught up with another group on the tee box (and it’s clear nobody is ahead of them)

This overlaps with earlier points but it should be noted: if you catch another group and it’s clear nobody is ahead of them, it’s time to ask if you can play through.

I also wanted to make an important point here in this section.

If you can ever play through a group on a par-3, I highly recommend it. And as the leading group, you might want to pick a par-3 as the hole you let someone play through your group. This won’t always be possible but it’s something to keep in mind.

Those are the fastest holes to play and the easiest ones to get through another group.

Nobody in the leading group needs to tee off, so there won’t be multiple golf balls in play (something that should be avoided if possible).

7. You are relatively early in the round

It follows common sense that playing through a group late in a round is unnecessary.

After all, the round is almost over. At that point, you can just wait. Playing through will probably only save you a few minutes.

Earlier in the round, playing through can be impactful for both groups. The trailing group can save a lot of time and patience; the leading group doesn’t need to be pressured.

Where is the cut-off? I would say around the 11th or 12th hole.

There are exceptions, but I wouldn’t play through someone any later than that unless it’s 100 percent necessary.

So those are seven scenarios where playing through makes sense.

Any others to add to the list? Let me know below in the comments.

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