What Constitutes Slow Play?

[dennyjones]

11 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

4:15 is a "grinding slow pace of play?" 🙄

It doesn't have to be but when three groups are one hole, it's slow!

[StuM]

1 hour ago, dennyjones said:

When we made the turn we were the third group on the hole! 

Odd that front went so smooth than get backed up on #10?  Maybe someone took too long at the turn? 

[darthweasel]

1 hour ago, TRUCKER said:

4:15 is a "grinding slow pace of play?" 🙄

I have played "grinding slow" 3:30 rounds and enjoyable 5:15 rounds...a lot of it has to do with how much time you are waiting for a shot. For me, any time if you hit, walk to your ball, wait, wait, wait, hit, rinse and repeat...it is grinding slow. If I am able to walk to my ball, hit, rinse, repeat, I don't mind even the rounds that otherwise are torturous (5 hours? ugh...but it has, on occasion, felt fast. 

 

All about why it is 3:30 or 5:15...

 

and a live action example. This past Saturday, played a tournament. Going in, I know from past experience these tournament rounds will be 5:30.  I was the single guy playing a high enough cap to be playing the tan boxes, the other 3 guys were lower handicap than I and playing the black tees. One of them was having a really rough round...his first tee shot was wide right of our fairway, the rough, the 9th hole rough, and well over to the right side of their fairway. His fourth shot reached our second. The rest of his round did not improve..

 

and he spent many of the holes complaining about pace of play and checking to see if there was someone ahead of the group ahead of us or where the holdup was...

 

Meanwhile, the other three of us were chatting, getting to know one another, having some good shots, some terrible shots...and at the turn I commented it had been 3 hours. One of the guys did a double take. "Really? that is the most enjoyable 3 hour 9 I have ever had".

It was a long round...but the mental approach can make it feel like a grind or you can find a way to enjoy it. Would I enjoy it more at 2 hours? Absolutely...but working to keep it from being a grind is part of the challenge at times. I actually take pride that I have played in a lot of tournaments and that is a comment made often. I like to think I help make the round more fun for them.

[Beastie]

2 hours ago, TRUCKER said:

4:15 is a "grinding slow pace of play?" 🙄

Anything over 4 hours is slow slow slow, unless you are playing a monster course or a course with long walks between tees. 

[David in FL]

3 hours ago, TRUCKER said:

4:15 is a "grinding slow pace of play?" 🙄

No.

It’s at least 30 minutes slower than a “grinding slow pace of play”...  

Our 3-some got around in 2:50 today, but we watched every shot the 4-some ahead of us made once we caught them on 12.  Damn slow players, I bet they took at least 3:20...  

[ncates00]

4 hours ago, TRUCKER said:

4:15 is a "grinding slow pace of play?" 🙄

Who the hell wants to be on a golf course for that long? 4:15 is over a “grinding slow pace of play.” That’s misery. Respect one another’s time and hit the damn ball. 

[David in FL]

4 minutes ago, ncates00 said:

Who the hell wants to be on a golf course for that long? 4:15 is over a “grinding slow pace of play.” That’s misery. Respect one another’s time and hit the damn ball. 

I don’t mind being on the golf course for that long, but I had better be close to 27 holes into the 36 that I’m playing!  

[TRUCKER]

14 minutes ago, ncates00 said:

Who the hell wants to be on a golf course for that long? 4:15 is over a “grinding slow pace of play.” That’s misery. Respect one another’s time and hit the damn ball. 

I do. I actually enjoy golf. Apparently you don't. 

[ncates00]

18 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

I do. I actually enjoy golf. Apparently you don't. 

You don’t know me. And that’s a terrible logical inference to make. One can enjoy golf immensely but also want to be efficient with one’s time as well. You can do both. 

I enjoy golf very much. I can go around the course and post a good score and enjoy my time doing it with friends. But it shouldn’t take that long. People have lives and shit to do besides golf. Apparently you don’t care about respecting others’ time. Hopefully you’re not like the retirees that were oblivious to everyone around that just stood on a tee box on a slightly busy Sunday on a par 4 when the group in front of them were going to the next tee. That didn’t last long as I “discussed” the matter with them pretty quickly. Play resumed at a better pace thereafter. 
 

You can enjoy golf and others’ company while still moving it along. Hell, you can even take pictures and stuff too. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by ncates00

[Sandy Lie]

So let’s look at this from a “Business Perspective”.  Courses usually have tee times either 8 or 10 minutes apart.  One can assume that the course has to produce rounds of golf. They set the cost of the round based on costs, overhead, etc. Rounds can have walkers and riders, so a walking fee and a cart fee can be presumed here.  So let’s say an average round is $35 for arguments sake.   Let’s also assume a typical “Summer” day has tee times starting at 7:30 an a last tee time of 4:30.  So 9 hours of play at 8 minute intervals would allow for 67 tee time approximately.  So the course has a capacity of 270 golfers a day.  Four players at 15min a hole would be 4hrs 15 min.

So after reading all this horse pucky, a golf course could care less about rounds under that amount of time and only be concerned with players taking longer.

Golf courses are golf factories that really are only concerned about throughput.  A typical Marshall will tell those that complain that the “what feels like a slow group in front of you” is playing at the pace the Club expects.  

[TRUCKER]

I just smh at these people who say 4:15 is grindingly slow. If were talking 5:15, ok I get that. But 4:15. If That's what you consider "grindingly slow," then the conversation is over. Your not going to get anyone who is looking at the p.o.p. problem, with an objective point of view, to even listen. So just stop it already with the drama queen stuff. 4-4 1/2 hrs. is what 90% of golfers would consider an acceptable MAX. time to finish. If your part of that 10%, complaining about 4:15 rounds isn't going to change anything.

[StuM]

18 minutes ago, Sandy Lie said:

So let’s look at this from a “Business Perspective”.  Courses usually have tee times either 8 or 10 minutes apart.  One can assume that the course has to produce rounds of golf. They set the cost of the round based on costs, overhead, etc. Rounds can have walkers and riders, so a walking fee and a cart fee can be presumed here.  So let’s say an average round is $35 for arguments sake.   Let’s also assume a typical “Summer” day has tee times starting at 7:30 an a last tee time of 4:30.  So 9 hours of play at 8 minute intervals would allow for 67 tee time approximately.  So the course has a capacity of 270 golfers a day.  Four players at 15min a hole would be 4hrs 15 min.

So after reading all this horse pucky, a golf course could care less about rounds under that amount of time and only be concerned with players taking longer.

Golf courses are golf factories that really are only concerned about throughput.  A typical Marshall will tell those that complain that the “what feels like a slow group in front of you” is playing at the pace the Club expects.  

That is a very logical view of how courses view pace of play and makes perfect sense for them.  Some golfers would prefer a quicker pace.  Myself, I hate it when I feel like I am in rush hour on a freeway, I do not mind a 4 hour round as long as it is not 60 minutes of waiting.  

[TRUCKER]

Oh, and no I'm not "part of the problem." I'm a member of a private CC. My rounds are usually 3-3 1/2 hrs. MAX...🙂

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

I just smh at these people who say 4:15 is grindingly slow. If were talking 5:15, ok I get that. But 4:15. If That's what you consider "grindingly slow," then the conversation is over. Your not going to get anyone who is looking at the p.o.p. problem, with an objective point of view, to even listen. So just stop it already with the drama queen stuff. 4-4 1/2 hrs. is what 90% of golfers would consider an acceptable MAX. time to finish. If your part of that 10%, complaining about 4:15 rounds isn't going to change anything.

4:15 is slow.

I've played 18 holes three times in the last few days. Walked 18 with a push cart and another player in just under 3:00. Played 18 in under 3:10 in a threesome today. Played 18 last week in a foursome in under 3:20. Cart path only day there.

And I can get in the same amount of "golf" as someone taking twice as long to play.

[TRUCKER]

Yes it's on the high side of the scale to finishing, 4 1/2 would tip the scale. It's not "grindingly slow." I still don't think you're going to get a public golf course to accept 4:15 is slow. To them, and 90% of golfers it's an acceptable, MAXIMUM time to finish.

[TRUCKER]

BTW...What day, and time of day were you playing? A guy told me the other day, that he plays a public course in 2 1/2 hrs. He's there at the crack of dawn. There are options for those that need to play fast, or normal to them. When I do, which is probably less than 10 times a year, play a public course, between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. I don't expect the course management, or the average golfer to play to MY MORMAL.

[Billy Z]

55 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

I just smh at these people who say 4:15 is grindingly slow. If were talking 5:15, ok I get that. But 4:15. If That's what you consider "grindingly slow," then the conversation is over. Your not going to get anyone who is looking at the p.o.p. problem, with an objective point of view, to even listen. So just stop it already with the drama queen stuff. 4-4 1/2 hrs. is what 90% of golfers would consider an acceptable MAX. time to finish. If your part of that 10%, complaining about 4:15 rounds isn't going to change anything.

I think a lot of those who complain at a 4:15 round are one's that usually tee off early and are the first ones. Personally, if our group of retirees were first off the tee we would be done with 18 in about 3:30. If we teed off when we usually do, at noon or later on busy days, we would take 4:15 rounds gladly. All the complaining in the world will never get a round done much quicker then 4:15 in busy times, period. 2:15 + 2:15 = 4:30 round, which is about average. If golfers don't like spending that amount of time they should get the first tee times or play on the weekdays.

[iacas]

39 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

BTW...What day, and time of day were you playing? A guy told me the other day, that he plays a public course in 2 1/2 hrs. He's there at the crack of dawn. There are options for those that need to play fast, or normal to them. When I do, which is probably less than 10 times a year, play a public course, between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. I don't expect the course management, or the average golfer to play to MY MORMAL.

I played at 3:30 yesterday, and 2:00 today.