Pace of Play – The Courses Reply

Golf course operators have to put up with this slow play nonsense as well.

Throwing Darts We have spent the last week addressing what may be the number one issue in golf today – the insane amount of time required to play a round of golf. It is all too common to spend five or six hours on a course. That’s just way too long. Is it feasible however to have a four-hour round (or even less)? Do pace-of-play policies work and if so, how are they enforced? To answer these questions we thought we would ask the people who have to deal with this on a daily basis.

Today’s quick interview features two guests: Robert Clark, Director of Golf Operations for The Architects Golf Club located in Lopatcong, NJ and Tim Kuebelbeck, Director of Golf for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board who oversees seven courses located throughout the city of Minneapolis, MN.

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Slow Play Cures

What would it take for American brand golf to speed up just a little. Four hour rounds are more a fantasy than reality. Here are some suggestions.

Trap Five LogoWe were waiting on a group ahead of us last weekend and I apologized to the group behind us that we weren’t making more progress. They said it was OK, they didn’t have to be anywhere.

American golfers spend far too long waiting around to hit shots these days. While there are a few die-hards who don’t have to be anywhere soon, slow play is an inconvenience for just about everyone.

What are we going to do about it? I believe that if we as individuals start to do what we can we’ll find that others pick up what we’re doing. Don’t be afraid to gently (or not so gently if necessary) teach your foursome how to play an efficient round of golf. So, what will make a difference?

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Slow Play Causes

Ever thought how you could speed up the time it took to play a round? Avoid the following and see the length of your round go down while the enjoyment goes up.

Trap Five LogoSlow play is at an all-time high. It’s pretty tough for a guy who has a family, work, a lawn to mow, kids to raise, and a host of other responsibilities to get away for a round of golf. When you do play it’s no fun to wait on every tee and fairway to hit the next shot. Five- and six- hour rounds are a bummer and all too common.

Take a peek at some of the causes of slow play and see if you can’t turn your next slow round into a faster one by eliminating a few.

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Slow Play

If John Wayne were alive, and had a job as a course ranger, you can bet your behind that course wouldn’t have a slow play problem.

Thrash TalkI’ve played nine holes, walking, in as little time as 50 minutes. I’ve played 18 in under two hours playing two balls most of the time. With a full set of clubs, no less. I’ve played in foursomes and fivesomes in well under four hours. I’ve also played nine holes that took just north of three hours. And then there was the 30-minute wait at the turn while everyone grabbed a five-course lunch.

Slow play is disgusting, and we’ve chosen to discuss it this week because we’re fed up. We’re tired of trying to find six or seven hours to play a round of golf. Sporting events are supposed to take three hours – baseball, football, hockey, and basketball generally meet the criteria – but golf is too important for that.

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Golf Talk [Episode 056]

Phil Mickelson gets away with, well, not murder, but… then again, just who did kill the greens at Byron’s tournament?

PodcastScott Verplank bests Luke Donald at the Byron Nelson Classic, Phil Mickelson finds himself at the center of a disqualification flap, Michelle Wie plans her return, and Jeff, Jack, and Erik rant a bit about slow play. All this and more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 056 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

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Slow Play Calculations

How much time can you save just by walking 15% faster? The answer may surprise you.

The Numbers GameThis week, The Sand Trap is throwing hard light on slow play on America’s golf courses. We’re fed up, tired, and sick of spending five hours traversing four miles of course, especially when there are so many incentives to play more quickly: more time with family, more time at the 19th hole, more time to play another 18 holes, and the increased likelihood that our spouse will let us play to begin with!

In this week’s The Numbers Game, we’re going to look at how much time one can save doing simple, efficient things on the golf course, ranging from walking more quickly to being ready to play when it’s your turn.

Read on, because I think the amount of time you can save may be impressive.

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Equipment Tricks for Faster Play

We kick off a weeklong chorus at The Sand Trap to speed up the game with some equipment, gadgets, and tricks that’ll help you break the four-hour barrier.

Bag DropSlow play is slowly killing the game I love and I’ve had just about enough. Five-hour rounds are becoming the norm and six-hour rounds are all too frequent. As a result, even avid golfers are playing less often and enjoying it less when they do.

I’m sure my fellow contributors on the site will weigh in this week with more on the reasons why we’re crawling around the course at a snail’s pace and what we can do about it. But for now, it’s my mission to pass along some observations on equipment that can save time wasted on things other than thinking about the shot and hitting it.

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Volume Ninety-Six

Global warming will not end civilization as we know it, the six hour round will first.

Scott Verplank won the Byron Nelson, Silvia Cavalleri held off Lorena Ochoa at the Corona Morelia Championship, and a few guys are miffed about Phil Mickelson skipping the pro-am last week.

All important, but we have bigger fish to fry: curbing the proliferation of slow play at a golf course near you. So quit pacing off your yardages, pick up that fourth putt, and remember that your pre-shot routine does not have to last longer than any of The Lord of the Rings movies.

This week we have some causes and cures and an etiquette refresher to speed up your round and make it more enjoyable.

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Another Driver Recall: This Time it’s Callaway

It appears the self-policing whistle blowers in the equipment industry are on the case as a competitor has turned in Callaway just as a one did to trip up Nike.

Callaway Big Bertha 460 HeroAs of today, April 30, a specific version of Callaway’s Big Bertha 460 driver will be placed on the USGA list of non-conforming clubs. Just like the recalled Nike Sumo², the problem is the spring-like effect, which went over the characteristic time limit correlating to the USGA’s coefficient of restitution limit of 0.830.

The guilty party is the right-handed version of the Big Bertha 460 13° HT model. It’s distinguished by a raised dash in the letter “B” in the word “Big” on the sole of the driver.

Callaway has asked its retailers for information on anyone purchasing this specific model as a prelude to replacing them. It is not thought a substantial number had already been purchased. There’s no word yet on the Callaway web site as to the replacement procedure. Callaway said the issue involved a manufacturing problem with only one its suppliers and resulted in a small percentage of the shipments already made.

E. Michael Johnson and Mike Stachura – a.k.a. “Bomb and Gouge” – broke the story in GolfWorld on Friday.