What's the rush? Golfs obsession with slow play - Page 7

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Originally Posted by AmazingWhacker 

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Originally Posted by Fourputt 

 

I wholeheartedly disagree.  Just because Joe Speedy and the Hot to Trots want to play race golf doesn't make that a requirement for the rest of the field, nor should we have to disrupt our game letting them play through just so they can stack up against the next fourball.  He can play on off times or days, or he can adjust his pace to ours.  Unless I'm being held up in front, I will play fast, and the guys I play with most often will play fast, and we (fourball) will finish in around 4 hours, give or take a few minutes.   As mentioned earlier, if the course sets a pace policy, and I'm well ahead of that pace, then sorry Joe.  IF he's nice, and IF the course is open for 2 or 3 holes in front of me, then I'll consider it.  If there is no more than a hole open ahead, and my group is about to close that gap, then even if there is still another opening 2 groups farther on, he is just going to have to adjust to the rest of us.  I see no reason why 3 or 4 groups have to adjust to his abnormally fast pace. 

 

Your philosophy applies only to a wide open course with very few players, a condition I almost never see.

 

Was that you in front of me on the way home this evening?  I guess we can agree to disagree.  :)

Trust me, if you are pushing me on the road, then you are driving crazy.    Is it your contention that on a 2 lane road with no passing possible that anyone in your way is supposed to pull over and stop to let you by (or speed up and risk a citation), regardless of whether he is already doing or exceeding the speed limit?  If so then you are the one with issues, not him.  

That's essentially what you are asking others to do on the golf course, and it's equally discourteous.  The point is that you need to use your head and some common sense when considering whether it makes sense to let another group play through.   A twosome coming up on a fourball with and open course ahead, then absolutely yes, I'd let them through.  Same scenario but with 4 groups in front of me before there is any gap in the flow, then no, I'm not going to let them slow things down any further than they already are.  

Courtesy doesn't only apply to the fastest group.  Proper courtesy may be more appropriately applied to the greater number, sometimes at the expense of the few.  Lincoln still had it right "You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time."

i wouldn't want to play with your impatient, OCD friend, but absolutely wish he could be in the group in front of me every time i play.

hands down unless there is someone in front of you limiting your pace of play, every group should finish under 4 hours.  if they can't keep that pace, they need to let everyone behind them that catches up play through.  and that is the problem with slow play, that most golfers just don't understand the etiquette of letting others play past them.

I played 9 holes this morning in a cart. A twosome in a cart started about 30 minutes ahead of me. My putting has been bad, so I putted multiple balls on each hole. When I was in the fairway on 13 they were on the 14th tee. After putting out on 13, I putted 2 balls from 4 different positions. When I got to the 14th tee, they were standing in the middle of the fairway talking. There was nobody in front of them. They were well in front of the 150 marker, and I can't reach the 150 from the blue tees. I went ahead and hit, and my ball was about 20 yards behind them. They had already hit and were just standing there. Well, I got up there, and they were hot because they said I hit into them. They asked if I saw them, and I said yes,and I asked if they saw me. They said they did, and I needed to be more patient, and they would have been through talking in about 30 more seconds. I explained that I had spent time putting on the previous green in order to give them plenty of time to stay ahead of me. After playing through them, I was in the pro shop for about 20 minutes before these 2 reached the 17th tee. Sometimes slow play is unavoidable,but these guys were playing 9 holes, without anyone in front of them, in about 2.5 hours.

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Originally Posted by tuffluck 

i wouldn't want to play with your impatient, OCD friend, but absolutely wish he could be in the group in front of me every time i play.

 

hands down unless there is someone in front of you limiting your pace of play, every group should finish under 4 hours.  if they can't keep that pace, they need to let everyone behind them that catches up play through.  and that is the problem with slow play, that most golfers just don't understand the etiquette of letting others play past them.

I wish I could play some of the courses you guys regularly talk about.  I have been playing golf in Myrtle Beach for 15 years now, and don't think I have ever finished a round in under 4 hours.  Its just not going to happen.

Most of the courses around here have a recommended time of 2 hour 15 minutes per nine.  They are hoping you finish somewhere between 4 hours 15 minues and 4  1/2 hours.  Some places have a hole by hole estimate on the scorecard of how long your round should be taking, and the courses with GPS on the carts have a running total of how long your round is taking, and if you are ahead or behind of schedule on the screen for you to keep up with. 

I have yet to see a course in this area that suggests you finish under 4 hours.  Its just not going to happen.  I would love to know where you guys are playing and what kind of course this is that you can finish in under 4 hours. 

Even if you are the first group off in the morning, and are playing as a quick group of 3, you still can't fly through the round and finish in under 4 hours....because the courses all double-tee in order to maximize the prime morning tee-times.  If you play the front 9 in under 2 hours 15 mintues....you will be waiting 30 minutes on hole #10 for the last 3 morning groups to start thier round off the 10th hole.  It is literally impossible to finish your round in under 4 hours 15 mintues....unless its the dead of winter and you find a course that is completely empty.

I realize this is a resort town, and is specifically targeted at golf.  And the courses here are busy, most of the playable year.  A lot of the courses have more water hazards and sand bunkers than most players are used to at thier home muni.  I'm sure that slows things down.  Also, a majority of the courses have lengthy distances to travel in between the green and the next tee box.  Some are built through a community of condos, and some are built out in the middle of the carolina pines or marshlands.  There is not walking allowed, and I'm actually on the fence about whether that slows things down or speeds it up.  My guess is that it does a little of both, depeding on the circumstance. 

Either way, I am jealous that some of you find a way to finish a round in under 4 hours.  Its just not going to happen here in Myrtle Beach....unless the course is COMPLETELY empty....which it never is.

I've always thought it would be cool to live at MB, but I thought the courses might be too crowded or too expensive for playing often. Do the locals get deals, and are there reasonably priced private clubs in MB?

Here is an example:

This is Aberdeen Country Club.  I played here yesterday.  The suggested pace of play would have you finish in 4 hours 25 mintues.

We played as a foursome, and were waiting most of the day behind a two-some, who were waiting behind an older couple (two-some) who were waiting behind another foursome.

The round actually took us 4 hours and 20 minutes to finish.  We teed off at 10:20 am and were finished by 2:40pm.  We were spot on with the courses suggested pace of play, but clearly quite a bit slower than the golfers on here who seem to figure out how to finish a round in under 4 hours.

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Originally Posted by caniac6 

I've always thought it would be cool to live at MB, but I thought the courses might be too crowded or too expensive for playing often. Do the locals get deals, and are there reasonably priced private clubs in MB?

The locals get great deals.  You can usually save $20-50 off the cost of a round, just by showing your local ID.  The other option is to purchase a card (locals loyalty card type thing) where you pay $39.99 for the card for a year membership, and then you get a decent discount off the rates of all the participating courses.  You have to wait 48 hours out to book the tee-time with that discount card, but you can play most of the courses around here in the off-season for $30-$60....which is less than half what they charge tourists. 

Short story.

We were playing in Myrtle Beach at Legends Heathland and the group in front of us was ridiculously slow from the beginning. They were loud and drinking (it was early AM) and just taking their good ol' time. I didn't see a Ranger the whole front nine and this was before cell phones, so we were stuck. We waited forever on the 8th hole, which was a par 3 and, when the group went to the 9th tee we noticed the group in front of them were still there and hadn't hit yet. It turns out they were buddies and they waited for the second group and all eight players teed off together on 9. We were livid. While putting out on 8, we found a wedge lying there. Of course, by the time we got to the 9th tee, they were all out in the middle of the fairway just screwing around and not caring that we were there. One of our guys ( a very large man) whistled as loud as he could to get their attention and they all turned around. He yelled that we were playlng through and he fired a tee shot over their heads. They all started screaming back at us and at that point a ranger came rushing out to see what was going on. It was getting ugly and the ranger calmed things down, told the other groups to split up, and told us to proceed to 10 in front of them. While we were leaving, one of them meekly asked us if we had found a wedge. My partner, to my surprise, answered quickly that, no, we hadn't found a wedge.

Later, while driving by a water hazard, my partner asked me to stop the cart, he reached back into his bag, grabbed a club and threw it in the hazard. I laughed. BTW, we finished at least 3 holes in front of them.

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Originally Posted by phan52 

Short story.

We were playing in Myrtle Beach at Legends Heathland and the group in front of us was ridiculously slow from the beginning. They were loud and drinking (it was early AM) and just taking their good ol' time. I didn't see a Ranger the whole front nine and this was before cell phones, so we were stuck. We waited forever on the 8th hole, which was a par 3 and, when the group went to the 9th tee we noticed the group in front of them were still there and hadn't hit yet. It turns out they were buddies and they waited for the second group and all eight players teed off together on 9. We were livid. While putting out on 8, we found a wedge lying there. Of course, by the time we got to the 9th tee, they were all out in the middle of the fairway just screwing around and not caring that we were there. One of our guys ( a very large man) whistled as loud as he could to get their attention and they all turned around. He yelled that we were playlng through and he fired a tee shot over their heads. They all started screaming back at us and at that point a ranger came rushing out to see what was going on. It was getting ugly and the ranger calmed things down, told the other groups to split up, and told us to proceed to 10 in front of them. While we were leaving, one of them meekly asked us if we had found a wedge. My partner, to my surprise, answered quickly that, no, we hadn't found a wedge.

 

Later, while driving by a water hazard, my partner asked me to stop the cart, he reached back into his bag, grabbed a club and threw it in the hazard. I laughed. BTW, we finished at least 3 holes in front of them.

Funny story.  Unfortunately, that type of group is not uncommon at Legends.  The courses are nice there, and very reasonably priced for locals....but they are infamous for being overcrowded.  There is usually no point in afternoon tee-times there this time of year, becasue you will NEVER finish the round before dark.  Its quite dissapointing because the Legends Golf Complex is actually quite nice, and about 10 mintues from my house.

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Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf 

 

Funny story.  Unfortunately, that type of group is not uncommon at Legends.  The courses are nice there, and very reasonably priced for locals....but they are infamous for being overcrowded.  There is usually no point in afternoon tee-times there this time of year, becasue you will NEVER finish the round before dark.  Its quite dissapointing because the Legends Golf Complex is actually quite nice, and about 10 mintues from my house.

We liked to have a good time when we went to Myrtle, but when we were on the golf course we were there to play golf. I couldn't understand the idea of drinking from dawn to dusk while trying to play golf. What's the point?

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Originally Posted by phan52 

We liked to have a good time when we went to Myrtle, but when we were on the golf course we were there to play golf. I couldn't understand the idea of drinking from dawn to dusk while trying to play golf. What's the point?

A group like that is terrible to get stuck behind BUT, what I don't understand, is stealing somebody's property, throwing it in the lake and then laughing about it. But hey, that's just me.

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Originally Posted by jetsknicks1 

A group like that is terrible to get stuck behind BUT, what I don't understand, is stealing somebody's property, throwing it in the lake and then laughing about it. But hey, that's just me.

You had to be there. I personally wouldn't have done it, but I had no problem with it when my buddy did it. Those guys were total jerks

Some guys act like little boys when they get away from home. I know that when I go on a golf trip, it is to play good courses, eat at good restaurants, and relax. I don't drink at home, so I'm not going to pay a lot of money to go somewhere else and get plastered.

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Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf 

The round actually took us 4 hours and 20 minutes to finish.  We teed off at 10:20 am and were finished by 2:40pm.  We were spot on with the courses suggested pace of play, but clearly quite a bit slower than the golfers on here who seem to figure out how to finish a round in under 4 hours.

I think it's similar to how we nitpick people who insist they are 300 yard drivers consistently, when in actuality they are selectively remembering the downhill, downwind, hardpan drives only.

I think the people who suggest under 4 hours (and a lot say under 3, and we've even had some suggest 2!) are either nuts, or they are playing short, easy and EMPTY courses, speed golf style.

For me, an ideal, relaxing round on an empty course for a foursome, not lolligagging, but not running around like bats out of hell, should take about 4 hours on the nose.  Maybe 3:45 if we're all decent golfers.

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Originally Posted by MyrtleBeachGolf 
We played as a foursome, and were waiting most of the day behind a two-some, who were waiting behind an older couple (two-some) who were waiting behind another foursome.

 

The only thing wrong here is that those 2 two-somes should have at least joined up together

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Originally Posted by Golfingdad 

I think it's similar to how we nitpick people who insist they are 300 yard drivers consistently, when in actuality they are selectively remembering the downhill, downwind, hardpan drives only.

 

I think the people who suggest under 4 hours (and a lot say under 3, and we've even had some suggest 2!) are either nuts, or they are playing short, easy and EMPTY courses, speed golf style.

 

For me, an ideal, relaxing round on an empty course for a foursome, not lolligagging, but not running around like bats out of hell, should take about 4 hours on the nose.  Maybe 3:45 if we're all decent golfers.

Are you talking about walking or riding? I played in a threesome last summer that played in less than 3 hours. We were the first group, riding, two guy shooting in mid 70's, the other guy shot an 81. We played through two groups that started on the back, and the only time I felt like we were rushing,was when we were trying to get out of their way. We never had to look for a ball, we had a nice time playing together. We hit when we were ready, and didn't waste any time. We weren't trying to play fast, there wasn't anyone holding us up, and we were efficient.

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Originally Posted by caniac6 

Are you talking about walking or riding? I played in a threesome last summer that played in less than 3 hours. We were the first group, riding, two guy shooting in mid 70's, the other guy shot an 81. We played through two groups that started on the back, and the only time I felt like we were rushing,was when we were trying to get out of their way. We never had to look for a ball, we had a nice time playing together. We hit when we were ready, and didn't waste any time. We weren't trying to play fast, there wasn't anyone holding us up, and we were efficient.

That's all fine and good if you are one of the first groups out. But if there are multiple foursomes in front of you playing at a decent 4 hour clip, nothing slows the rest of a golf course down more than a group playing through everybody.

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Originally Posted by rehmwa 

The only thing wrong here is that those 2 two-somes should have at least joined up together

Yeah, I was thining about that while waiting on the tee-box behind them....but then I realized it wasn't going to make anything move along any faster.  Both those two-somes were waiting behind another foursome all afternoon anyway.  If they weren't, there is no way that a two-some would be holding us up.  We had a full group of 4.  Three of us are between 10-13 index, and the other guy has never broken 100.  Either way, the twosome wasn't going to be slowing us down.