I admit it: I am a fan of slow play...

[joshtpa]

You want to know whats disrespectful? Having people yell "hit the effin ball" 20 seconds after the group ahead cleared the green. Ready golf to me is having your club chosen and being ready to start your routine when its your turn, not addressing the ball and the instant the putting surface is clear starting your swing.

20 seconds is a long time to wait. It may seem quick, but if you are waiting 20 full seconds to hit the ball after the green has been cleared is pretty long to me.

You seem to have the thoughts, that since you paid for your day of golf, you can play it any way you want to. That is no different than someone yelling at you to speed up because they paid their fees. You have kind of changed your stance throughout this thread a little bit. It started with you WANT TO TAKE YOUR TIME AND PLAY FOR 5 HOURS. To if its busy I cant go anywhere. At a 12 index, I agree you should wait for people to clear. But when they are getting in their carts, what is wrong with starting your routine, which appears to be rather lengthy?

[traviswise]

I play so much better when I stop worrying about how fast/slow I am playing and just play my way. I am a slow walker and I hate hurrying. I normally will let faster people through just so I don't have to think about holding anyone up.

[$2 Nassau]

I understand what you are saying about feeling rushed, but as others have mentioned, I don't think they are expecting a 3 hour round. Up to 4 hours is reasonable, anything over 4 hours is not in my opinion.

But taking extra time to practice putts on a green while people are waiting behind you? I'm guessing that it is a joke, at least I hope it is.

[powerfade]

Honestly, i cannot figure out the obsession with playing a round of golf in 3 hours. I absolutely hate being rushed, and I play so much better when there is no time crunch pressure on me. Why the rush? You paid to play, now relax and enjoy yourself... I'm playing to play, not to add up the score at the end...

If you're practicing putting after holing out and a group is waiting behind you, then you are a very inconsiderate golfer. You're basically asking for trouble. You're also bringing your playing partners into it. Shame on you.

[yeis20]

Slow / fast are both relative terms.

We are not asking for 3 hr rounds, we sure as hell are not asking to be stuck out there for 6 hrs.

The point is on any course today, there are 3-4 people in a group per hole... YOU are the small minority.

When playing, I keep pace to the groups both in front and behind me. Most of the time, that forces me to slow down the pace I highly prefer to play, and I am fine with that. I am always aware of this and make it a point to anyone I get grouped up with to show this consideration for others as well.

You might be a fan of slow play... you need to play to the pace of the course or move out of the way for groups behind you.

I am a fan of faster play but I am not hitting into or even worse, PAST you. I do expect the course pace to be considered.

Your damn right I am calling the club house and complaining when you start acting like you are the only 1 on the course.

[pjsnyc]

3 hrs is pretty damn fast...6 hrs is pretty damn ridiculous. Its all about finding the happy medium of pace for the day in question. My problem with 5+ hr rounds is that I tend to get stiff when waiting on the tee box for 15 minutes (I try to stay loose taking some practice swings and some light stretching)...but its not just getting stiff that bothers me - its how out of whack my tempo and rhythm gets when I suddenly hit the bottleneck at a par 3.

That said - its imperative to be considerate to those in front AND in back of you. If its a bottleneck you have no power over, then so be it - there's nothing you can do except call a ranger over to give the slow group a lil' nudge. Remember - a golf course's pace is only as fast as its weakest link (which may be you!)

[Fourputt]

Slow / fast are both relative terms.

In regard to your statement that I highlighted.... if you are keeping up with the group in front of you, then you should never even have to look at the group behind. It's only when you fall off the pace (due to lost ball or some such) that the group behind you should become an issue. This is of course assuming that we are talking about a full course.

On a slow day, if a really fast group comes up behind you and there are open holes ahead, then of course you should be aware that they may want to play through. To the original poster, on a day when the course is full you can't just assume that you will be able to play at your own lethargic pace. Letting others play through on an already full course just bogs play down for everyone behind you because there isn't any gap for you to drop back in to. There is always another group directly behind the first one, and another behind them, etc. You need to either rethink your play style, join a club that never has a crowded course, or find another game to play.

[Billiam]

Yes, because that is exactly what I said.

I'm not? WTF? You definitely filled me in on something new today

[Dub]

This is a great topic....one that should be "required reading material" for all golfers.

If golfers want to take practice swings, take double reads on putts, walk off distances, etc.....then they should learn how to do so in an efficient manner.

I'm all for everyone being comfortable and having time to smell the roses. It is just when you see people dragging around and not thinking is when it gets on my nerves.

Planning:
Leave your extra clubs, towel, cart, etc all in your exit path. Don't force us to wait while you hole out and then trod all around the green or fringe while you collect your items.

Take a rake into the bunker with you and begin raking immediately after your shot.

Bracket the anticipated distance and carry the right club as well as one up and one down when walking up to the tee box on par threes.....don't make people wait while you return to your bag for a club.

Keep up with your gear.....don't halt everyone elses play backtracking looking for your junk.

Take a practice swing...heck take two if the first felt funky....especially if it will get you better results on your real shot. Just take the swings when others are a safe distance away and hitting or prepping their shots. Don't let the spotlight be on you when you are in "practice mode".

Develop an efficient preshot routine and stick with it.

Be aware of the wind and have it calculated into your shot prior to the spotlight (stopwatch) being on you....don't get caught holding up the group while you toss blades of grass in the air.

Get things moving!!!!


I played in a foursome today with much better golfers than I. I took some big numbers on a few holes as I made some goofball blunders. I also had several pars some of them even tap ins. The other guys all shot 7-11 over par. The point being that I maintained the pace of play. I picked up and pocketed my ball on a couple of holes to keep from hindering them.

I know what I need to work on.....trying to finally wedge up to the green after hitting an o.b. tee shot and poor approach into the drink wasn't gonna help me....and it surely would have messed with their rythm and pace.

It should be noted that we had a twosome playing behind us the second nine and they never even came close to waiting on us.

[Harry Longshanks]

I'm not? WTF? You definitely filled me in on something new today

And yet you still seem unable to grasp the concept of participating in a conversation with useful dialogue and without being a sarcastic troll.

Good luck with that.

[bogeyhitter25]

I hate being rushed. I play much better when there isn't people waiting impatiently after every shot.

[iacas]

I hate being rushed. I play much better when there isn't people waiting impatiently after every shot.

Way to demonstrate that you've not really read anything in the previous three or four or however many pages.

[Harry Longshanks]

Way to demonstrate that you've not really read anything in the previous three or four or however many pages.

4.

That reminds me, where is that "Pet Peeve" thread . . .

[iWALK18]

Seeing how many people replied, i should have worded my original points better. Let me break it down better/more simply this time:

1) In my opinion, people are generally in too much of a rush on the golf course.

2) If its slow, its slow, and at that point I feel justified in taking my time (the way I WISH I could all the time, but DON'T).

Honestly I think many of the replies really reflect experiences people have had on munis or during other dreadfully slow days we've all experienced, rather than the ideas or opinions I tried to expresse. My origional post contained the following quotes:

"You paid to play now relax and enjoy yourself"

" I'm not saying I want to slow the groups behind me down . I understand if there is a hole open in front of me that i need to keep up or let some groups play through..."

"...but if I'm caught up to the group ahead, I don't like to be rushed to hit, or rushed off the green."

I don't really see how these ideals can irk people...

I understand the reality of golf today does not line up with some of the things I've said I think are correct in this thread (taking your time to enjoy yourself, not rushing off a green to wait on a tee box, waiting on the second shot on a par 5... etc.), but I guess what i had hoped to have happen was not a discussion where people took my ideals and said "well you are just inconsiderate and venomous", but considered whether or not golf would be better if some of these things were considered more acceptable.

I wish i had time to respond to all the holier than thou arguments leveled against me, the "shame on you"s, and the assertions that I'm an inconsiderate "venomous" person... but I don't.

And for the last time let me say, I always let faster groups play though.

[Harry Longshanks]

iWalk-

It seems to me that you started this thread in the hopes that people would agree with you, not because you were open to discussion.

You weren't getting agreement with your pace of play on the course, and you refused to accept that you might be in the wrong there. Now the same thing is happening here, and your response is the same. People who disagree with you "don't understand what you are trying to say" or they are "holier than thou".

I don't know you, and I suspect that you are probably a nice person, but it seems to me that you need to open your mind to the thoughts, opinions, needs, and beliefs of others. When we are young, we tend to think that we are always right - particularly on matters of opinion (vs. fact). I know that I was one of the worst offenders in that area. It's youthful arrogance and, more often than not, it's wrong.

Right now your posts show a very egocentric viewpoint to the detriment of others. You ignore or dismiss valid points that differ from yours, and you try to adjust your statements in an (apparent) attempt to take one more shot at getting people to agree with you. But it's just not going to happen. Pace of play on the golf course is a universal and growing concern. There are many causes for it, including tee times crammed too close together, people not playing by the rules, and yes, decent players just flat out taking too long with their routines (See my earlier reference to J.B. Holmes and Ben Crane.)

Instead of continuing to fight everyone, and in light of the overwhelming opposition to your position, why not consider the possibility that you may simply be wrong, and that you need to adjust your perspective instead of expecting everyone else around you to adjust theirs?

[Craig Mac]

I got the vibe reading his posts(iWalk), that he prefers a slower pace, not necessarily playing slow(all though his header says "I am a fan of slow play"), but enjoying his time on the course. Also, I did read that he said(several times) he doesn't hold anyone up. One of my playing partners the other day missed a putt from 15 feet and and tapped in and went back and waited for everyone to finish and hit his putt again, and he was the first one off the green. I would love to live where some of you live because 4-5 hour rounds are the norm here during the peak season(April-October).

[Stacey_E]

The people who play really slow are usually hacks and don't realize they would score better w/o taking 10 practice swings and standing for 30 seconds over a 3 foooter. By playing faster the'll have less time to think about how they are going to F up their next shot and thus play better.

That's the problem right there!

[Harry Longshanks]

I got the vibe reading his posts(iWalk), that he prefers a slower pace, not necessarily playing slow(all though his header says "I am a fan of slow play"), but enjoying his time on the course. Also, I did read that he said(several times) he doesn't hold anyone up. One of my playing partners the other day missed a putt from 15 feet and and tapped in and went back and waited for everyone to finish and hit his putt again, and he was the first one off the green. I would love to live where some of you live because 4-5 hour rounds are the norm here during the peak season(April-October).

Craig Mac-

I agree that iWalk says those things, and if that was all there was to it, I don't think there would be a problem. But it's the other things he says that lead me to believe (and I fully admit that I'm not following iWalk around peeping his golf rounds ) that maybe what he believes is just a slower pace, is actually slow play. And I suspect he know this. His title, for example. His statements that people around him get annoyed with his pace of play, his defensiveness, his revisions to his earlier statements, his description of his routine, and other things. Again, I don't mean to suggest that iWalk is an intentional arse; just that he appears to be suffering from a mild-to-moderate case of youthful arrogance and that he needs to explore the possiblilty that his opinion may not be the right one.