Ever showed up to the golf course, checked in for your tee time, and had the starter wave you over to the 10th tee to begin your round? If it’s your first time experiencing this, it can feel a bit disorienting. This article will break down exactly why some golfers start on the back nine, explaining everything from daily course operations to professional tournament formats so you're never left wondering again.
The most common and straightforward reason you're starting on the 10th hole is simple logistics. It's a method golf courses use to increase the number of players they can accommodate, especially during the busiest parts of the day, like a Saturday morning. This practice is officially known as a "split tee" or "crossover" start.
Think of the golf course like a two-lane highway. If all the traffic starts at the beginning (the 1st tee), you'll eventually get a traffic jam. But if you can open up a second on-ramp at the halfway point (the 10th tee), you can get twice as many cars on the road moving smoothly. That's precisely what a crossover start does for golfers. A group tees off on hole #1, and at the very same time, another group tees off on hole #10.
Courses typically use this system during a specific window, for example, from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM. After the last group in this window tees off, no more golfers will start on those tees until one of the nines clears up. The beautiful part of this system is the "crossover." The group that started on #1 will finish the 9th hole and move directly over to the 10th tee, right around the time the group that started on #10 is finishing the 18th hole. It’s a seamless flow that nearly doubles a course's capacity during peak hours, which keeps rounds moving and wait times short.
If you’re not just playing a casual round but are part of an event, starting on the 10th hole (or any hole other than the 1st) is even more common. This is dictated by the specific tournament format.
You’ll frequently encounter this format in corporate outings, charity events, and club championships. In a "shotgun start," every group in the tournament starts playing at the exact same time, but from different holes. For example, Team A might start on hole 1, Team B on hole 2, Team C on hole 3, and so on, all the way around the course. Your group might be assigned to start on the 10th, the 14th, or the 5th hole.
The name comes from the old practice of firing a shotgun to signal everyone to begin simultaneously. While a literal shotgun is rarely used today, the name has stuck. This format is incredibly efficient for organized events. Its primary benefit is that all groups start and finish their 18 holes at roughly the same time. This is perfect for events that include a post-round lunch, dinner, or awards ceremony, as it ensures nobody is left waiting for hours while the final groups finish up.
If you watch a PGA Tour event on a Thursday or Friday, you'll see a split tee start in action. accommodating a large field of players - often 144 or 156 - is a huge logistical challenge, especially with limited daylight. To solve this, tournament officials split the field in two. Half of the players will tee off on the 1st hole, while the other half tees off on the 10th hole.
The players are further divided into morning and afternoon "waves." For instance, a player might start his Thursday round at 8:15 AM on the 10th tee. On Friday, he will then have an afternoon tee time starting at 1:15 PM on the 1st tee. This system ensures every player gets to experience both nines on different days and under different conditions (morning vs. afternoon), making it fair for the entire field. Without this crossover approach, it would be impossible to get a full-field tournament completed over the first two days.
It's not just the course that decides, sometimes, starting on the back nine can be a strategic choice for the everyday golfer. On a less-busy day, you might be able to request a 10th-tee start from the pro shop. Here are a few things to consider before you do.
Have you ever shown up to the 1st tee and seen two or three groups already stacked up and waiting? When the course is backed up, the 10th tee box is often wide open. By starting on the back nine, you might get to play your first few holes at a much faster pace, feeling like you have the course all to yourself before you eventually catch up to the "crossover" traffic on the front nine.
Every golf course has its own personality, and typically, one nine is tougher than the other. If a course's front nine is notoriously difficult, with tight fairways and forced carries, starting on a more forgiving back nine can be a great way to ease into your round and find your rhythm. Conversely, if you want to tackle the most demanding holes while you're still fresh and focused, starting on the tougher nine might be the right play for you.
Part of the classic golf experience is hitting the halfway house after nine holes for a quick snack and a drink - the classic "turn dog." When you start on hole 10, your "turn" happens after you hole out on 18. This brings you right back to the clubhouse, which is often more convenient than stopping between holes 9 and 10, especially on courses where those two holes are far apart.
The biggest potential downside is getting back into the flow of play after you finish your first nine (at hole 18). You walk from the 18th green over to the 1st tee, but you don't automatically have the right-of-way. You have to be "slotted in" by the starter, and you might have to wait for groups who have just arrived for their traditional start times. This can break your momentum and disrupt the rhythm you’ve just built.
Golfers are creatures of habit. For many, the mental flow of playing a course from hole 1 to 18 is part of the game. The first hole is often designed as a gentle "handshake" - a welcoming start to the round. The tenth hole, however, might be a quirky par-3 or a monstrous par-5 that feels jarring as an opening hole. Starting your day there can feel out of sync.
The ability to have multiple starting holes is not an accident, it's often a deliberate feature of modern golf course architecture. Many courses are designed with "returning nines," which means that both the 9th and 18th greens are located near the clubhouse. This layout is what makes a split tee system so effective. The 1st and 10th tees are often positioned a short walk from each other and the starter's shack, allowing a golf professional to manage two starting points with ease.
This design philosophy is relatively modern. Many older, traditional links courses in Scotland and Ireland were built in an "out-and-back" fashion. A course like The Old Course at St Andrews has you play nine holes "out" away from the town, and then an entirely different nine holes "back" to the clubhouse. On a layout like that, a 10th tee start is physically impossible because the 10th tee is located at the furthest point on the property. This is why you typically only see crossover starts at parkland or more modern courses.
So, starting a round of golf on the 10th hole isn't a random inconvenience or a mistake. It is almost always an intentional and well-planned practice used by courses to improve pace of play, maximize tee times, or execute a tournament format. It’s a smart solution that helps more people enjoy the game more efficiently.
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