What is a shotgun start in golf? Could this type of format make golf more fun to watch?
Greg Norman’s LIV Invitational Series got underway on Thursday with London’s Centurion Club staging the inaugural edition of a tournament which has created ruptures in the golf world with 17 golfers being suspended by the PGA Tour.
The 54-hole tournament features fewer rounds on smaller course as well as a shotgun start format, an alternative to the more traditional tee time method of starting the round.
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Shotguns starts differ to tee time starts in that all groups of players tee off simultaneously from different holes on the course. With a tee time start, each player is assigned a time to tee off from the first hole. These tee-off times are staggered with a 10-15 minute delay between players to make sure that players have time to continue their way down the course before the next player tees off.
Shotgun starts were first introduced in May 1956 when Jim Russell, the head pro at Walla Walla Country Club in Walla Walla, Washington, fired a shotgun into the air to signal the start of the round. A few clubs still blast a shotgun to get a tournament underway but in most cases, a loud horn or siren is used as it’s obviously far safer.
How will the shotgun start work at the LIV Invitational Series?
The LIV Invitational Series features 48 golfers split into 12 four-man teams. So each of those 12 groups will be assigned a different hole on the golf course. They all tee off simultaneously and make their way around the course until all 18 holes have been completed.
As with everything, there are pros and cons to the shotgun start format. On the one hand, every team should, in theory, complete the 18-hole course more or less at the same time. It is also a more efficient way of competing as in general, tournaments run smoother and can be wrapped up quicker.
There are drawbacks however, there will always be someone who is unhappy about being assigned a hole which involves a long walk and while the idea is for everyone to finish at the same time, there will always be groups who complete the course later than the rest. Whether the shotgun start format is more fun to watch is subjective and depends very much on the viewer but it certainly makes more use of expansive courses and at least ensure everybody finishes at more or less the same time which means everyone can take part in the post-game activities together.