I play fast, but never expected this...

I spent 2 days in Palm Desert this week, and played 2 rounds.  Desert Willow-Firecliff... 2:20, PGA West-Stadium... 2:05.   WOW!

I play fast, sometimes I skip any sort of practice swing and just walk up and hit.   On the putting green, I will usually always putt out (I won't re-mark my ball that's 3 ft from the hole, I'll just ask you if you don't mind if I finish up, and hit it).  Its not like I play an aggressively fast game, but I don't like dicking around.  And I HATE when people take forever to putt.. yes, I know its the money shot, but geeze, hit the ball already!!

Ok, I'm rambling a bit, but basically, I'm used to 4 hours being a quick round.  That's usually in a foursome, and occasionally having to wait for the group in front.   Last month I was out in Palm Desert and played with my wife in 3:15 (including a 10 min break at the turn).  She remarked how quick that was (she always plans for me to be gone 5 hours when I leave to golf).  I told her that's how quick golf should be when you aren't waiting for people.

But I never expected, by myself, hitting every shot straight (or at least good enough to be found immediately), to finish in just over 2 hours.  And that includes some holes where the wheels fall off and I'm either looking hard for a badly hit ball, or playing a 2nd shot after a hit into the water.

I'm shocked how quickly this game can really be played!

.. and a side note... my Desert Willow round that was 2:20, I was being followed by a 3-some.  Each person had their own cart, and they were nearly keeping the same pace as me.  Impressive!

Does any of this surprise you?  I've read before on this forum about people who claim to never play more then a 3 hour round, and walking even.  I just have never seen it before.  I like it!!

Palm Desert in the summer is great, especially when you're hitting it well.  In the mid '90s I played two rounds at PGA West in about 4:30.  I was the ONLY one on the course as far as I know.  When you're hitting it right there's no reason to hurry.  It just doesn't take long to play when no one is pushing you and you're not pushing anyone else.

I've long said that 4 hours should be the average time to for a 4-ball playing 18. Max about 4:25, quickest 3:45 or so. But most should get in in 4hours.

To me the most time consuming part of golf is the walking/waiting that occurs within a group. Some people just don't seem to get it. I see a group of 4 walk off the tee. They'll walk towards their own ball, but when they get level with the first ball they all stop. Wait for the dude to hit, then they all walk up to the next ball and repeat.

Getting to your ball quickly without waiting for each shot in your group can save so much time. I'm not saying you don't stop for them while they have their shot! But don't stand next to them waiting!

Funny how people seem to move slower in bad, or really HOT weather... Sometimes I think people LIKE to be out there in 42C lol

I usually play when the course is pretty empty. Without having to wait too many times, most of my rounds are 2 hours and 40 minutes. And that is walking.

I often find it extremely frustrating when I'm stuck between a slow group ahead of me and a fast group behind me, as it throws my game off a bit.  Cherish the days where you, alone, or with a group, are not being pushed and prodded.  It really is a great feeling, that nobody is out there watching you, it's just you and the course, the way it "should" be.  A lot of people preach that you should have that mindset, that it should just be you and the course out there, no matter how many people are behind or in front of you, but I know this is much easier said than done.  Sometimes you get people out there, like Lofty Lefty said, walking and stopping at each ball, and sometimes you have people behind you hitting into you.  Without this, I feel the golf game prospers, because sure, your mind may wander, but it's more of a "happy" place than being frustrated with things you cannot control.  So then things work together: no pressure, better game, and vice versa: if your game is going well, you're going to feel less pressure.

Sorry, not sure how much this really applies to what was supposed to be answered in the discussion, just went for a rant I guess.

There has been a decline in golf participation and interest here in Australia for a number of years now. The #1 cause, it appears to be, is that golf takes too long. Some places average around 4.5 hours to play a round. Cricket hurts too in the upper teen bracket, as a day's play lasts around 6 hours.

There has been some talk circling the golf world lately of cutting down on the size (number of holes) of golf courses in order to make the game faster. Greg Norman has even said that golf courses may soon start building 12 hole layouts, or 3x 6 hole layouts.

This can only shorten the length of a round, not speed it up. The fact is slow golf is slow golf. I hope we don't end up going down the 12 hole, or muni route too much. I certainly think there is a place for shorter courses, what with the aging population, but we need to speed up play across the board.

It's amazing how offended some players can get when you tell them to get a move on, or start taking the lead yourself in trying to speed up the group. Sometimes I think people really do play (or think) that it is just them and the course...

I can probably do 9 holes in under an hour if i am walking by myself. Lets say you play a 3200 yard 9 holes, Average waking speed is about 3 mph,  Thats about about 1.45 yard per second. Your looking at 35-40 minutes, if you just walk it.

1 person walking should play a round in 2 hours, perhaps a bit more if it's a long course. That's on the condition that there's nobody in front of you though.

I play my course (Seyssins, Grenoble, France), a compact 9 hole course (no par 5), around 1 h if I don't get stuck behind other people.

i think i have done 45 minutes once, there was no one on the course and i walked it. I don't some wait, i can deal. I don't get pissed off, its just part of the game.

As stated the increased number of people in the group slows down the pace of play.  Here in LA there are a few courses that send groups out in 5's instead of groups of 4.  You can count on 5 hour rounds and likely encounter 6 hrs when sent out in groups of 5.  I was looking at a trip to the UK and found that some clubs send groups of 2 off the tee in the am and the groups of 4 can play in the afternoon.  I think 2 people is the ideal number.

I usually play 18 in 2hrs-2:15 as a single in a cart with nobody in head of me...... and that's just messing round playing a normal pace. (not trying to hurry)  years ago, I played in a regular 4'some that walked and we always played in 3hrs-3:15 if we had a clear course ahead of us.

It's definitely possible to play a heck of a lot faster than your typical slow round on a crowded course.....fer'sure!!