Slow Play Dilemma

I know I probably am in the minority here but wanted others insight. My only consistent playing parter during the week is killing me by playing slow. I am talking 2-3 minutes from pulling club from bag to contact. I know I play really fast; get yardage, assess the lie and ball path, maybe one practice swing and hit. My favorite part of playing during the week is 2:15 rounds but whenever I play with my parter we rarely finish in less than 4 hours. I also find I speed up to compensate for his slow play. How would any of you speak to a friend without flat out saying speed up or find someone else to play with?

I would tell a friend , "listen, you need to speed up a bit because you're killing me with this 2 minutes per shot bullshit."

I would tell a casual acquaintance, "listen, you need to speed up a bit because two people shouldn't need 4 hours for a round of golf."

I would tell someone I just met, "listen, I'm trying to get around the course in a reasonable amount of time.  It was nice to meet you but I'm going to play ahead."

It also depends on why they are slow.  If the person is finishing a story before hitting the ball, I will interrupt them and say, "you can finish this story after you take your shot."  If we're walking and they stop to tell me something (this has happened...) I just keep walking and make a "move it along" motion.   In other words, when I play with people who are farting around, I try to cut it off and encourage them to move along and play.

If they're just taking 8 practice swings and checking the wind 10 times, etc., then I go back to the comments above.

That's a tough spot. A twosome playing at a 4 hour pace is incredibly slow. That said, it's likely that what feels normal to you would seem rushed to him. I agree that you should discuss the matter politely, and would do so before the next round you play with him. But honestly with that big of a spread between your playing times, it's likely that you will have to find a new golf buddy.

If he is a friend, I don't see why you wouldn't just point blank tell him, "Dude, you're killing me, pick it up!" I have a buddy like this and I've done this but I also told him it would improve his game to play faster. He over-analyzes everything and thinks far too long over every shot (and he's not very good). He has sped up but still pretty slow. I keep workin on him.

Wow that is a tough one. about the only thing you can do is tell him. The problem is now he is going to be rushing and it will affect his game. Perhaps you could tell him you need to finish in around three hours because of an appointment. Then see how it goes. Playing faster might even help him.