The tool USGA officials hope will help solve the problem of slow play

Hmm. I play alone a lot and probably only pull the flag 30% of the time.

Then again, I play pretty fast too...and always pull the flag when playing with others.

Was thinking the same thing. I rarely pull the pin when I play by myself.

If that "solves" the slow play problem you can count me as shocked.

I already know who is slow, and how slow, without any technology.

yeah, yeah, penalty, blah,blah.... But that's if it actually goes in, and the rest are usually gimme's and the flagstick isn't touched anyway. Granted, those shouldn't count to a hdcp, but....

Sometimes. If I'm close enough to just step over and grab it I'll take it out, or if my mid-point read gets me close enough I'll grab it, but if it's a hassle I'll just leave it in and no, I don't penalize myself if I hit the stick on the way in. I also don't maintain a real handicap or compete. I do take the stick out when playing with others though.

Doesn't matter if it goes in, as long as it doesn't touch the stick when it goes in. I'm aware of the rule, but I don't care when playing alone.

I like that technology.

I play at a municiple course, Balboa Park golf course, and rarely see a marshall.  I think the course management doesn't really care about speed of play.  It's run by the city, the prices are low, the course is pretty much booked up through phone reservations.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure the technology would help on this course.

All the time. When I'm playing by myself, I'm playing for fun/practice. Not necessary to follow rules that waste my time.

Playing against other people, I always pull it. I also don't keep a handicap, so there's that...

More info is always a good thing in any endeavor. That said, I don't think slow play will ever go away completely, no matter how much info is obtained. To my way of thinking the best way to control slow play is to get everyone playing at the same pace, and that is something that would be impossible obtain. All golfers play at different speeds. Heck, even in the professional ranks they can't get all their tournament players playing at the same speed.

I know I am in the minority here, but slow play is what it is, and folks just need to deal with it when it happens to them. I don't like it, but it happens to me from time to time. Perhaps I am not playing the right (slower play) courses, but I only have to deal with slow play a hand full of times (5%-10%)  in a 12 month period. I average 2.5 rounds per week. To me it's not that big of deal. Of course my schedule allows me to play during the slower times of the week. I suspect those golfers who have to work Monday through Friday, and only have time on the busier weekends are the ones who have to deal with it more often. Golfers who live in more populated cities also have more slow play issues to deal with I suppose.

On another note, if I were a course manager, I would not want to alienate slow players, who If I pressed them to play faster, might take their wallet to another course. Yes, that would be the wrong thought process for a course manager, but revenue keeps that course open, in better shape, and that manager still with a job. If the manager has 2 groups complaining about slow play, and 5 groups causing the slow play, it becomes a numbers vs revenue game.

Singles make up such a tiny percentage of play that I imagine any difference is statistically irrelevant. Interesting idea, but I'd be surprised if there are many courses that don't already know where their bottlenecks are. Most delays are still caused by individual slow play, and unless they're addressed as such, speed of play isn't likely to change.

Right.  Plus - at least around here - you're not going out as a single at any time that would have enough players out on the course where they'd care to be paying attention to slow play.

I rarely ever take the flagstick out when I'm playing alone. If I'm playing alone, it's because I'm trying to squeeze a few extra twilight holes in before dark, in which case I'm not bothering with the flag because it's just a time suck.

Eh. I wouldn't lose sleep at night over that rule. Leaving the flag in is more likely to kick a putt out than keep it in. I'm usually sprinting to get as many holes in as possible. If the course is open and I'm alone, I'll get 9 holes in in under 60 minutes. It adds up. I'm at the point in golf where I just need as much course time as I can get. I'm not counting it for handicap; I'll have already played my full 18 at that point. It's usually dark enough at that point in the day that green reading is basically "does it go left, right, or straight" and lagging it to tap in range.

For what it's worth (and it's not worth anything), I swear I remember reading an article last year about someone who played some casual rounds with Tiger and remarking that Tiger rarely pulls the pin when he plays under those circumstances. More of an aside than justification, haha.