Slow Play: Causes and Cures

What do you all think about this? What would you add to the list below regarding slow play?

Causes
Too many practice swings.
Talking when you should be swinging.

Cures
Talk when you walk.
Play within yourself.

A couple of causes, but no solutions:
* Some players never seem to be ready to play when it's their turn.
* Ball hawking. Some players seem to enjoy ball hawking more than they enjoy playing golf.
* Exceeding five minutes looking for a lost ball. Nobody ever seems to "start the clock" when a ball is being looked for and the "five minutes" can be interminable since nobody knows when the five mintues is up.

I think the talking when you should be swinging thing is big. I also hate the 4 person march to one ball, hit, then on to the next ball. Unless you are in direct line, then you should head to your ball and be prepared to hit.

Cause: All 4 players in a group going to help look for a ball.....before hitting their own shots.

Cure: Hit your ball first, then help a playing partner look for his/her ball if they still haven't found it. The rules say 5 minutes, but I say 3 minutes....if 3 or 4 people can't find it within 3 minutes then you'll probably never find it.

I think the 2 biggest problems are
#1-People have no idea how far they really hit a golf ball.If you drive the ball 240 yards with a tee and driver then do not expect to hit your 3 wood 240 yards from the deck.
#2-putt out!!!.Do not mark less than a 2 footer,just putt the damn thing out and get the stick while the rest of your group putts out.

Last but not least {i know I said 2 but Iam on a roll}Write the scores on the next tee box not on the side of the last green.

1. If you're riding in a golf cart, after you hit your shot, get back into the cart with your club/s in your paws, clean your dirty club/s on the way to the next stop, then put the club/s back into your bag when you get to the next stop whether it's for your next shot or someone else's. That way, the group behind you won't be waiting to hit while you're cleaning your club and putting it back into your bag.

2. If you're riding in a golf car, have a provisional ball in your pocket so you don't have to walk back to the golf cart if you need to hit a provisional.

Amen to whoever mentioned people thinking they are gonna get to that 550+ par 5 in two when they only hit their driver 275!
And I'm sorry, if you have to use iron covers... Put them on when you get to your next shot. I shouldn't have to wait while you stare at the shot you just shanked, offer excuses to your partner, walk to the cart, clean the club and put the cover back on.

Guys that do a major site survey of the green before putting... look at their 20' putt from 16 different directions... plumb bob the putt for at least a minute... finally stand over their put, take six practice strokes then hammer it 10' past the hole (or leave it 10' short).

Repeat most of the process for putt #2.

This happens at a lot of the courses around here and drives me crazy.

Cure: Read the overall layout of the green as you walk up to mark your ball. Read your putt and hit it. Simple enough.

i think the biggest reason by far is lost balls/not hitting a provisional. the cure for that is hitting a provisional if there is ANY doubt you lost your ball. if anything it gives u a practice drive after a bad one. also not sucking at golf speeds up play alot too.

Watch Glen "All" Day. Then do the opposite of what he would do.

On that note, how long does it take you to play a round by yourself with no delays from other golfers? How long does it take you to play a round with a foursome with no delays from other golfers?

*Play from the appropriate tee box. I'm sorry but you have no reason to be playing from the Blues or the Tips when you can't break 100.

*Courses where you can't take the cart off the cart path. I would have ended up walking less had you let me just walk the course in the first place rather than requiring I take a cart. *Know the basic rules of golf regarding loss balls, provisionals and hazards.

My last round by myself was three hours and that was playing two balls for six or seven holes and trying a club for an upcoming review. As for a foursome, its a crap shoot depending on your playing partners.

The last foursome I was in, about four days ago, took five hours. We spent a lot of time waiting on tee boxes for the guys in front of us to get moving. The guys behind us were riding our asses, as well.

I figure I could get in a round of golf in 2:30, if I were by myself, in the cart, and the cart can be taken off the path.

From my own observation over some 30 odd years....the biggest time waster is just not getting ready to hit your shot when it's your turn, whatever the reason. Standing around watching all your buddies hit, THEN you start thinking about what you are going to do. Even standing around watching just one of your buddies hit will cost 30 seconds or more each time you do it. Multiply that by 90-100 strokes... ok so maybe it doesn't happen on putts... subtract 36... so we have 50-60 delays of at least 30 seconds each time.... That's 30 minutes right there....

I played on Wednesday in a fivesome. We had nobody in front of us until we got to #15. Three guys walking, carrying their bags. They were 7 holes ahead when we started, yet playing as a fivesome we made up 7 holes on a threesome in 14 holes. We played the front 9 in 1:40 as a fivesome. We played the back 9 in 1:55, and the difference was having to wait on them for the last 3 holes. They were playing as fast as the course requires, but we were still faster, and we weren't even trying to rush. We were just playing our normal game, with wagers on the line as well. The difference is that we know how to prep for the next shot before we get to the ball. And unless 2 of us are in line with the hole, we go to our own balls and get ready to hit, we don't sit on our thumbs watching the next guy.

We were in carts that day, but carts are fast if just 2 rules are observed. One is for the course.... DON'T MAKE PEOPLE KEEP THE CARTS ON THE PATHS IF YOU EXPECT THEM TO PLAY AT A REASONABLE PACE. Courses with a cart path only rule will never see me. Even if I'm walking, I have to wait behind the riders shuttling back and forth to their carts, and that is by far the quickest way I know of to create a 5 hour round. The 2nd rule is when the rider who's away gets to his ball, the other guy gets out, grabs a club or 2 and walks on to his ball if he is capable of doing so. When you get near the green the guy who is away takes his wedge and putter and walks up to play his shot while his cart mate parks. Just some very simple, and to me obvious procedures, and if followed, playing in carts is the fastest way to play.

18 holes with cart-1:40 by myself with no one in front of me.

18 holes with cart -3:15 morning foursome with no one in front of us . We tee off at 7am and they need to clean their clubs and get to a restraunt befor 11am specials are over. Oh, their all in their late 70's and you should hear them yell when we do get a slow group in front of us.

Here's a few that drive me nuts!

Practice swings:
You do not need five practice swings before every shot. And if you just flubbed your shot 20 yards YOU DON'T NEED ANY for your next shot! Nothing is worse than watching some moron take a bunch of practice swings only to hit it ten feet and then go through the same ritual again!

Reading putts:
You should be lining up your putt while everyone else is putting. Also, it is not neccessary to read every putt from both sides. Its not the US Open, its your local muni, and chances are you won't start your putt on the right line anyway!

Speed up your mannerisms:
Some people just move slow, hit slow, putt slow, etc. Remember, someone is playing behind you. Move your butt along. Golf should be enjoyed but not for 5 1/2 hours. Walk friggin faster!

Play the correct tees:
Be realistic. If you are a 10 handicap take your butt up to the regular mens tees. I see it all the time, guys who can't break 90 but they are back at the championship tees.

Its ironic this thread popped up again. I played Friday and quit after 5 holes cause it had taken 2 hours to play them! The group in front of us had some young guy who, even though he sucked, played the blue tees. He took a mulligan on every tee box. One hole he hit his first ball 50 yards right of the fairway. So of course out came the mulligan, then another, then another. Yes 4 balls! All of which went 50 yards right of the target all within 10 feet of the first ball. And the crazy thing was he was teeing up a fifth when we I asked him if he was going to be finished soon. The worst part was they weren't even behind after that nightmare.

I have virtually no paitence for slow play. I bend some leeway for four and fivesomes, but I have no sympathy for someone who is taking all week to play a round of golf...or old, retired people who frankly...don't belong out there anymore.

I'm not trying to deliberately bait anyone into a flame-war, but I seriously believe that people over 70 or so shouldn't be allowed on the course during peak hours. I'm sick and tired of the times I get behind a foursome (or worse, an outing) of retirees, and I burn up four hours trying to play 9 holes. From my experience, when I ask to play through, I get a snappy or some other smart-ass remark, as if they're somehow better than I am because they're...well, whatever.

Today, I was hitting a round of golf with my father. Now, he and I aren't the fastest players around (definitely by looking at people's posts, if they aren't bullshitted), but we got stuck behind this father and son who between them - I swear - must have taken two or three minutes for each stroke to walk to the yardage meter, get a club, walk to the ball, feel the wind - shit, wrong club, walk back to the cart, get correct club, walk back to ball, take five practice swings, re-align, take another swing...and then flub the shot 20 feet. Rinse and repeat. They also acted like each chip and putt was for a million dollars. They'd check it from 16 different angles, take a few practice swings, and then blast the ball 20 feet away from the hole. Rinse and repeat, again. And, they acted like they had the whole course to themselves, and that nobody was behind them.

I deliberately hit my long drives in their direction more than once (from long range the guy seemed kinda pissed at me) - after we made the turn, either they got the idea and quit, or decided to spend more time in the club house so we went on. It took almost four hours to play 9 holes, but we played the back 9 in about an hour and twenty minutes.

Hence, my new sig. Man, we have got to do something about slow play .

Edit: Here's an afterthought. Yesterday, my buddy and I were behind this girl who was walking, she played for some local high school team and was probably just getting in a practice round. Anyway, she wasn't really good (plenty of mishits), but she moved at a decent enough pace that I didn't bother playing through, even though I was riding and she was walking (and she was nice to me even though my tee shot on the 3rd was a hosel job that landed within 5 feet of where she was standing). I guess my point is, I don't mind if you're bad at golf (I am a total hack, too), but a bad shot doesn't mean you have to take all day. Get up, hit it again, no biggie. Just keep moving.