How to Run a Smooth Outing When You've Got 20+ Players

24 players is a great problem to have. Until you realize that means 6 groups, 18 holes, one very frustrated ranger, and a payout math problem that somehow doesn't add up to an even number.

Big groups require a different kind of planning than a standard foursome or even a group of 12. The logistics multiply: more pairings to balance, more variables to communicate, more opportunities for one slow group to turn a 4.5-hour round into a 6-hour grudge march. None of this is hard to manage — but it does require thinking through a few things in advance that a smaller group gets away with ignoring.

Shotgun Starts Are Your Friend

A shotgun start means every group begins simultaneously on a different hole. Group 1 starts on hole 1, group 2 on hole 2, and so on around the course. All 6 groups tee off at the same time, rotate through their 18 holes, and finish within a narrow window of each other. Nobody is waiting for the group ahead. Nobody is racing to finish before dark. The whole field completes the round together, which means the 19th hole conversation actually involves everyone.

For groups of 16 or more, a shotgun start is almost always the right call. It compresses your total outing time, eliminates the accordion effect of staggered tee times, and makes the payout gathering natural — everyone's done at the same time.

Staggered Tee Times as an Alternative

If the course won't do a shotgun — or if you're at a busy daily-fee course that can't block off the whole tee sheet — staggered tee times are your fallback. Book groups 8 to 10 minutes apart starting from the first tee.

A few ways to make staggered times work better for big groups:

• Put your faster players in the first groups and slower players in later slots. The course naturally spaces them out, and you won't have a pile-up at the 5th hole.
• If the course allows split tees, start groups 1–3 from hole 1 and groups 4–6 from hole 10. This essentially gives you a modified shotgun and cuts your bunching problem in half.
• Consider having groups meet at the course 30 minutes before the first tee time to handle buy-in collection and distribute pairings while everyone's together. Trying to collect $40 from 24 people at staggered intervals across a parking lot is its own special form of chaos.

Balancing Groups

For 24 players, you have 6 groups of 4. The temptation is to let friends group themselves. Resist this — or at least shape it. Self-selected groups in a competitive format almost always produce lopsided results, because your four best players know each other and will naturally end up in the same group.

The approach that works: pair one high-handicapper with one low-handicapper in each group, then fill the remaining two spots with mid-range players. This keeps net scoring competitive across all groups and prevents one team from running away with the payout while everyone else plays for pride.

A secondary consideration: avoid pairing known slow players together. Two deliberate players in the same group multiply each other's pace issues. Spread them out. The round will move faster, and nobody will be standing on a tee box for seven minutes watching the group ahead finish a hole.

Managing Pace of Play

Pace of play is the biggest risk with big groups, and it compounds. One slow group at hole 3 is an inconvenience. One slow group at hole 3 in a 6-group shotgun is a 6-group traffic jam by hole 7.

Set expectations explicitly before anyone tees off:

• Announce ready golf at the first tee. Ready golf means: you play when you're ready, not when it's your turn by strict rotation. It shaves 20–30 minutes off a round.
• Brief each group captain before the round. Tell them which hole number you want all groups through by the turn (halfway point). Give them a specific time target. "We need to be making the turn by 10:45" is more actionable than "please play quickly."
• Set a maximum score rule for casual outings. "Pick up after double bogey" or "max score is double bogey" eliminates the eight-stroke holes that drag everyone down and demotivate the player involved anyway. In a scramble, this is almost irrelevant — but in individual or best ball formats, it matters.

If you have a particularly slow group in spite of all this, the ranger will usually manage it. But if you have a relationship with the pro shop, a word before the round — "we have one group that tends to play slowly, can you keep an eye on hole 4 or 5?" — goes a long way.

The Payout Math for Big Groups

More players means a bigger pool, which means you can run more prizes without shrinking individual payouts. This is one of the genuine upsides of a large field. Use it.

A suggested structure for 20–24 players at a $40 buy-in (pool of $800–$960):

• 1st place team: 35% of pool
• 2nd place team: 20% of pool
• 3rd place team: 10% of pool
• Closest to pin (x3 holes): ~5% each
• Longest drive (x2, men/women or just open): ~5% each
• Back nine low net: Remaining ~10%

More winners means more people go home with something, which means more people want to come back next time. The buy-in for your next outing is easier to collect from a group that remembers winning something last time.

What to Tell the Pro Shop

A single call, made at least a week out, covers everything you need. Here's the checklist:

• Confirm your group size and the tee time or shotgun time
• Confirm whether you need scorecards or whether your group is going digital
• Ask if the range is open early for warmup (20+ players warming up takes longer than you think)
• Ask about their pace-of-play policy and who to contact on the day if there's a problem
• If you have a split tee arrangement, confirm which holes groups start on and how scoring wraps around

Courses appreciate organized groups that communicate in advance. A pro shop that knows you're bringing 24 players, have done the logistics, and have one point of contact on the day will go out of their way to make the round run well. A surprise group of 24 that shows up with questions is a different experience entirely.

24 players is genuinely a great problem to have. With the right format and a bit of advance work, it's also one of the most satisfying rounds you'll run — everyone on the course at the same time, a real field, real competition, and enough winners that the post-round celebration actually feels like one.