shotgun start

English

Etymology

From the first reported use of this format in 1956, wherein a shotgun was fired to alert all players from each of the 18 holes that the tournament had started.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɒtɡʌn stɑːt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɑtɡʌn stɑɹt/

Noun

shotgun start (plural shotgun starts)

1. (golf) A tournament format in which all groups of contestants tee off simultaneously from different holes.
   • 2011 October, Mike Nettleton, Shotgun Start, Krill Press, →ISBN:

     Also, since the players teed off simultaneously, the infamous "shotgun start," with several foursomes at each tee box, the tournaments ran notoriously slow.

   • 2011 January 21, Bill Mallon, Randon Jerris, Historical Dictionary of Golf, Scarecrow Press, →ISBN, page 267:

     In a classic shotgun start, 18 groups play, with one group starting on each hole, but, more often, there will be two groups starting on the par-fours and par-fives.

   • 2011 August 8, Linda E. Swayne, Mark Dodds, Encyclopedia of Sports Management and Marketing, SAGE Publications, →ISBN:

     A shotgun start begins at the clubhouse and has all participants leaving at the same time to travel to a designated starting hole to await the starting gun/noise.

   • 2009 January, “The Russ Wiles Memorial Golf Tournament”, in Cincinnati Magazine, page 155:

     After the Dom Perignon toast and shotgun start, approximately 30 foursomes will head out to play two best balls on one of the most prestigious courses in the Cincinnati area.

   • 2013 March, Frank MacGrath, The Complete Handbook for Planning, Implementing and Sustaining A Successful Fundraising Golf Tournament, Civil Sector Press, →ISBN, page 48:

     A shotgun start format is usually employed for a golf tournament of 120-144 golfers on 18 holes. Each foursome is assigned a starting hole and begins the tournament at that hole.