While We're Young?

[David in FL]

Please explain this to me:  Why do you guys who PREFER to play a round of golf in 2:15 think the rest of the course should STOP playing and allow you to play through?  Do I want to stop and wait 10-15 minutes for you to play though?  No, I don't.  Wait your turn.  Get there earlier.  Schedule the FIRST tee-time of the day.  And don't think the majority of players are going to 'move aside' just for you.  We'd like to finish our round before dark, too.

dave

If you let my group through, you likely won't have to wait more than a minute or two......especially if you do it on the tee box of a par-5, and won't have to bear with being pushed for 4+ hours.

And if there's no where to go ahead of you, I don't expect to play through at all.  Though you still might consider offering, just to avoid the discomfort of having a fast group behind you and feeling pushed, rather than able to play at what you consider to be a comfortable pace.  Personally, I hate feeling pushed more than waiting......

BTW, if you think 4:10 is slow and 3.5 with your wife is a comfortable pace, put yourself in the category of players that a LOT of others consider uncomfortably fast.....

[Dave2512]

Problem is unless the course is open at some point you will run out of space, can't play through everyone just because you are a speed demon. If everyone else on the course is on pace to finish in 4 hours and you are behind them trying to play in 2:15 it is what it is, not going to happen.

[Cool Breeze]

Please explain this to me:  Why do you guys who PREFER to play a round of golf in 2:15 think the rest of the course should STOP playing and allow you to play through?  Do I want to stop and wait 10-15 minutes for you to play though?  No, I don't.  Wait your turn.  Get there earlier.  Schedule the FIRST tee-time of the day.  And don't think the majority of players are going to 'move aside' just for you.  We'd like to finish our round before dark, too.

dave

At my club it is a club rule and posted on each cart to allow faster players to play through.  So yes, I do think you should stop and allow me to play through.  It's the rules.  Follow them.

We're not expecting to play a 2:15 round.  Hell, I don't even think I want it to end that fast.  I don't even mind waiting a reasonable amount of time between shots.  But if I'm playing by myself, which I do a lot, I shouldn't have to wait 15 minutes between each shot because 4 people in front of me want to hit 3 balls each.

[David in FL]

Problem is unless the course is open at some point you will run out of space, can't play through everyone just because you are a speed demon. If everyone else on the course is on pace to finish in 4 hours and you are behind them trying to play in 2:15 it is what it is, not going to happen.

Absolutely true.

[Cool Breeze]

And if there's no where to go ahead of you, I don't expect to play through at all.

Agree with this 100%.

I don't expect the Red Sea to part in front of me.  I just want people to be considerate when it's feasible.

I am considerate of faster groups.  I frequently play in 4-somes that average 4 hour rounds.  If a single or a pair of players come up behind us and are obviously having to wait, I will wait at the next tee box and let them play through.

I'm not expecting miracles.  On busy days, sometimes it wouldn't make sense to play through because you'd just be waiting on someone different at the next tee.

[Dave2512]

I've pretty much come full circle regarding POP. I don't like getting stuck behind very slow golfers, mostly because of why they are slow, but I don't want to go out and blaze through the round just to end up home or in a bar wishing I was still golfing. If I could get around in 2 hours I'd probably play another round. That would get expensive.

[Slk1981]

Am I right in thinking it used to say lone players must make way to a match of any kind but was removed a few years ago?

Maybe some people still think that's the case

[Cool Breeze]

Forgive my ignorance but what do you mean by lone players must make way to a match of any kind?

I feel stupid asking this but have no clue.  lol

[Jeremie Boop]

Am I right in thinking it used to say lone players must make way to a match of any kind but was removed a few years ago?

Maybe some people still think that's the case

It's more along the lines of "a single has no standing on the course" and I don't believe it was a rule but more of a generally accepted premise. I don't know exactly where it came from but I think it had something to do with people playing in a group where usually playing for money or something so they had precedence?

[GangGreen]

Sadly, I've given up on worrying about pace of play (others that is, not my own). As much as I would love to be able to get in a 3 or 3.5 hour round, it's the exception and I don't see that changing anytime soon for a multitude of reasons already mentioned in this and similar threads. It's a shame really since I think I would play a lot more if I could go and get in 9 in under 2 hours but more often then not when I have a limited amount of time I'll just hit the range instead.

[NJpatbee]

Most golfers are reasonable about allowing faster golfers to play through and also play at a decent speed themselves.  Unfortunately, it only take a couple of groups to bring an entire golf course to a crawl and is usually based on ignorance regarding how to play at a good pace.   Another culprit is mandatory golf carts with cart path only rules, and of course there are a few golfers that have no idea what they are doing but paid their green fee and if they want to shoot a 14 on a par 4 that is their business.

Many of us talk about golf etiquette and those that ignore it or are ignorant.  I believe that we can work on the ignorant.   How about a formal program from the USGA (say 2-4 hours) that teaches all aspects of golf etiquette and how to play at a good speed regardless of your ability?  And what if you needed this "certification" to maintain a recognized handicap or play certain courses?  I think it would help, especially for the novices and several times a year golfers.

[Cool Breeze]

Most golfers are reasonable about allowing faster golfers to play through and also play at a decent speed themselves.  Unfortunately, it only take a couple of groups to bring an entire golf course to a crawl and is usually based on ignorance regarding how to play at a good pace.   Another culprit is mandatory golf carts with cart path only rules, and of course there are a few golfers that have no idea what they are doing but paid their green fee and if they want to shoot a 14 on a par 4 that is their business.

Many of us talk about golf etiquette and those that ignore it or are ignorant.  I believe that we can work on the ignorant.   How about a formal program from the USGA (say 2-4 hours) that teaches all aspects of golf etiquette and how to play at a good speed regardless of your ability?  And what if you needed this "certification" to maintain a recognized handicap or play certain courses?  I think it would help, especially for the novices and several times a year golfers.

Very true, most folks are nice and thoughtful and it is rarely an issue.

Also agree that ignorance is easily remedied through education.  I think a lot of people really do love the game of golf, its just that when they're starting out they don't know the rules and don't know proper etiquette.  Those people will learn and will gladly embrace the proper way to do things.

I didn't always know the rules and etiquette.  I love the game, so I embraced it as I learned.

[jmsage]

My advice to you.  If you are wanting to play short rounds play at slow times in the day.  I work at a busy course that does anywhere from 210-275 players per day.  From 530-12 its 4 somes all the way through.  A good pace of play for a busy course is 4-4.5 hours.

[TJBam]

Sadly, I've given up on worrying about pace of play (others that is, not my own). As much as I would love to be able to get in a 3 or 3.5 hour round, it's the exception and I don't see that changing anytime soon for a multitude of reasons already mentioned in this and similar threads. It's a shame really since I think I would play a lot more if I could go and get in 9 in under 2 hours but more often then not when I have a limited amount of time I'll just hit the range instead.

Golf is a game of patience and discipline after all.

[isukgolf]

(the following is said in jest ... just my warped sense of humor)

Golden rule of golf = Play the ball as it lies, and course has you found it ... even if it is backup ...

[David in FL]

My advice to you.  If you are wanting to play short rounds play at slow times in the day.  I work at a busy course that does anywhere from 210-275 players per day.  From 530-12 its 4 somes all the way through.  A good pace of play for a busy course is 4-4.5 hours.

How long does it take the first group out to complete their round? What interval are your tee times? How do you track pace of play? How many rangers are on the course, and what authority do they have to move players along? In my experience, when courses start to expect/accept 4:30 rounds, they tend to get them......and worse.

[Aflighter]

I understand not wanting to wait on shots and being behind larger groups.that is a reason im kinda hesitant to play alone unless its a time or course I know wont be busy but seems like even with economy theres still plenty of people on the courses.im fortunate to have friend I play once a week with plus tournaments I play in too.even so as a single or a twosome,u cant expect to get done in less than 3 to 3 1/2 hours with groups in front of you.now if theres only 1 or 2 groups ahead of you then yes they should let you thru but weve had experiences where we let twosome play thru then were waiting on them plus the time for them going thru another group pops right up behind them now they are waiting on us too.honestly if you want less waits and backups then the course needs to get as many groups into 4sums as they can but sometimes youll have a 2some between 4 somes.courses need to do some research on how to get like number of player groups together.

[Patch]

I gave up grieving over slow play years ago. It just wasn't worth the effort, once I found out it had an adverse effect on my game.  Came up with a good pre-shot routine, and let the pace of play be that as it may. It's became just another part of the game to me.

As it turned out after doing my own little study of slow play, I found I was only involved in what I might consider slow play only about 1 out every 28 rounds. I always figured 4 to 4.5 hours was pretty normal. Very seldom did I ever exceed the 4.5 hour mark.

Just throwing out a few numbers here for fun. Lets say it takes (on average) a golfer 3 minutes for each shot. This 3 minutes would include waiting for  your partners to tee off at each hole, then walking/riding  to the ball on each subsequent shot and hitting it again. 3 minutes is not that long. If the golfer shoots an 80, that's 240 minutes, or 4 hours. 80 is a great score. Heck, the pros even shoot an 80 every so often. Using this scenario, a 6 hour round is still under 5 minutes per shot.

Yeah, I have a lot of extra time on my hands right now.