Definition: A way to start a tournament in which all groups of players tee off simultaneously from different holes. If there are 18 groups of foursomes in a tournament, then each hole on the course will serve as the starting hole for a different group. Group A would start from No. 1, Group B from No. 2, and so on, and each group would begin play at the same time. A shotgun start allows for a tournament to be completed in the time it normally takes one group to finish 18 holes.
The term "shotgun start" comes from the first known use of such a starting format. As reported in the December 2004 issue of Golf Digest, Walla Walla (Wash.) Country Club head pro Jim Russell fired off a shotgun to sound the start of play to golfers waiting on tees around the course at a tournament in May 1956.
