How to Book Tee Times for Large Groups and Golf Outings

Online booking is built for groups of one to four. The moment your group is five or more, you are doing something the booking engine was not designed for — and how you handle it determines whether your buddies trip tees off together or gets scattered across the afternoon.

How do you book for 5 to 8 players?

You need two consecutive tee times, and you should get them in one of two ways:

• Book both slots online, immediately, in one sitting. Consecutive slots disappear independently — if you book the 8:30 and come back ten minutes later for the 8:40, it may be gone. Have both confirmed before you tell the group. You will need a second booker (or a second booking) since most engines cap a reservation at 4 players.
• Call the pro shop instead. One call books both times under one name, and the shop knows the group is linked — which matters if the sheet shifts or weather intervenes. For 6+ players this is usually the better path even when online booking technically works.

Two practical notes: keep the pairings flexible until the day of (the course cares about filling seats, not who sits where), and confirm the cancellation policy for both slots — a foursome no-show fee doubled is real money. Our guide on no-show and cancellation policies covers the fee structures.

When does a group become an "outing"?

Around 12 to 16 players, you cross from "multiple tee times" into event territory, and courses handle it differently:

• 3-4 consecutive slots (12-16 players): still bookable as linked tee times through the pro shop, but expect to be asked for a deposit or a credit card guarantee. Book 2 to 4 weeks ahead for a weekend, further in peak season.
• 20+ players: you want the course's outing or events coordinator, not the tee sheet. Courses sell blocks of consecutive times — or a full shotgun start — with contracts, per-player pricing that often bundles cart and range, food-and-beverage minimums, and deposit schedules. Start 2 to 6 months out for a weekend date.
• Shotgun starts (typically 72-144 players): every hole starts a group simultaneously, which means the course is closing to the public for the duration. That is effectively a course buyout, priced accordingly, and usually limited to mornings or Mondays.

If you are organizing a recurring group — a league night or a monthly crew — ask about standing tee times. Many courses will hold a recurring block for a committed group, especially at off-peak hours.

What should the organizer lock down first?

The failure mode of group golf is not the booking; it is the organizer assuming things the course did not promise. Get explicit answers to five questions:

1. Are the tee times linked? If one slot moves (frost delay, maintenance), do they all move together?
2. What is the cancellation window, per slot? And what happens if your group shrinks from 8 to 6 — can you release seats without a fee?
3. Is payment individual or single-bill? Some courses require one card for grouped bookings; collect from your group ahead of time if so.
4. What is the pace-of-play expectation? Large groups attract starter attention. Agree on ready golf before the round, not during it.
5. Carts and walking: cart fleets are finite, and an 8-player group on a busy morning may not get four carts without notice.

How do you find courses with large-group availability?

Look for depth, not just a single open slot. A course showing one open foursome at your target hour cannot host eight of you; a course showing three or four open slots in the same hour can. Browse the courses TeeTimeGo monitors to compare options in your area, and weight weekday afternoons and shoulder-season dates, where consecutive open slots are far more common.

Cancellation alerts work for groups too, with one adjustment: set the alert for a 4-player opening at your target time, because a full-slot cancellation is the unit consecutive availability is built from. When one fires, call the pro shop and ask what is adjacent — a freshly cancelled foursome often sits next to a slot the shop can shuffle. You can set up a free alert per course and time window.

The bottom line

Five to eight players: two consecutive slots, booked simultaneously or by phone. Twelve or more: pro shop, deposit, and a few weeks of lead time. Twenty or more: events coordinator, contract, and months. In every case, the pro shop is more useful than the booking engine — group golf is a relationship business, and the organizer who calls gets options the website never shows.