IM SICK OF THIS *$#! whats ruining golf...

[gt6974a]

Just to give the OP some hope, my broher-in-law runs a course and he fired a Marshall after he didn't get onto people for slow play.

He asked the Marshall why he wasn't pressing people and he replied, "..well I don't want to start trouble..." He told the guy to go home and not come back to Marshall or to play for free.

[DJYoshi]

I live in Manhattan and play mainly NYC-Long Island and northern NJ Courses. Slow play is the norm and it drives me crazy. Seriously making me consider a move down south or somewhere less populated. On average I will play a 6 hour round, and 6 hour is a good short round. Mostly 6.5 hours. It's impossible to play well like that.

dude...we should get out to play. i live in livingston... so i'm within driving range of you wherever you guys get out. i still have to get up with a few other New Jersians and NY'ers that I promised last year... so far the beset courses that I've never experienced any kind of slow play:

crystal springs courses.... patriot hills... ocean county at atlantis...(but that's a hike)... farmstead... sky lands... and my favorite county course - berkshire valley (rangers there are SERIOUS)

[gt6974a]

dude...we should get out to play. i live in livingston... so i'm within driving range of you wherever you guys get out. i still have to get up with a few other New Jersians and NY'ers that I promised last year... so far the beset courses that I've never experienced any kind of slow play:

most course here in GA consider 200+ rounds a good day. Our avg. is 4 - 4.5 hours. If you took that long down here I think people might start playing through on their own.

[cougar978]

I've found obnoxiously squealing your cart tires on the path along with a nice staredown (I'm a pretty big guy - 6'2, 280+) when the slow idiots are putting usually gets you waved through on the next tee. If that doesn't work, a little 'encouragement' usually will do the trick - i.e. rolling one up 10 yards short of them on a par 4.

[Finnstang]

Steve,

I assume you already sent this, but if you haven't, I would remove the bolded paragraph. It doesn't really apply to the rest of the letter and I think by having it in there it weakens your original case a bit.

[TheNatural]

He was in the shop "off duty" when our group went to complain.

It didnt dawn on me until our ride home...he did this last year. At the time it annoyed the #$#@@ out of me,,the drive was a monster and I had to take a drop for a lost ball. I mean stolen....you could even see the balls trail across the dew laden fairway straight don the middle of the fairway...and his footprints to the ball and back to his cart.....JUST LIKE ALL OF MY DRIVES!!!LOL



They will just ignore this anyway.

[MSDOGS1976]

I played 27 holes today in 3.5 hours. First 18 in a 3some and the last nine with just one of the other guys. That's the great thing about being retired and playing on a private course during the week. No hold ups. I let the working class have it on the weekends.

[sacm3bill]

... I had to take a drop for a lost ball. I mean stolen....you could even see the balls trail across the dew laden fairway straight don the middle of the fairway...and his footprints to the ball and back to his cart.....

Rules of Golf, 18-1: "If a ball at rest is moved by an outside agency, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced... In order to apply this Rule, it must be known or virtually certain that an outside agency has moved the ball."

Given the trail and the footprints, I think you could have applied the above rule and not taken a penalty.

[HarrowGolfer]

Just to give the OP some hope, my broher-in-law runs a course and he fired a Marshall after he didn't get onto people for slow play.

Good for him! Time to start giving the marshalls more power. Better to have 1 slow group be angry and not return rather than multiple groups that play behind the turtles be angry and not return.

Last time I alerted a marshall about slow play, I was told there was no one behind me and why not drop 2 balls and get in a little practice????/

[TomDonS]

I know this is terrible and HORRIBLE etiquette but I have hit over the group in front of us to make a point then just zipped by them and played on. They get the picture.

[nike_golf]

I'm a pretty relaxed, calm individual 97% of the time.... but the not so nice 3% of me just seems to show up on the golf course from time to time.....

I'm not proud of some of my actions and/or words, but at the time I felt whoever I was upset at deserved everything I may have done.....

One instance:

A buddy and I got behind this threesome who seemed dead set on finishing their round without letting us go through. This threesome had 1 guy w/ 2 women. On hole 8, he proceeds to give one of the girls hands on instructions w/ her swing, while in the middle of the fairway 200 yards out, w/ my buddy and I sitting on the tee box watching. (Who the hell does that?)

By this time, the 3% of me had seen enough. I proceeded to get out of the cart, pull out a tee, take my head cover off my driver, inserted tee and ball into the grass, and popped a shot out there right over their heads.

The guy stops his little "instruction" giving, looks at me, puts his hands to his sides, gesturing like "what the hell are you doing"?????

I do the same thing back to him and yell down at him, "hey Gary McCord, this isn't the fu*#in driving range, get your as*es moving!" (thats a direct quote)

To which he threw his hands up again, and then they all picked up their balls and went to the next hole.

[flanagan]

They didn't deserve a profanity laced tirade, and typing it here is just as unnecessary. Try cleaning it up.

[nike_golf]

They didn't deserve a profanity laced tirade, and typing it here is just as unnecessary. Try cleaning it up.

oh they deserved it......

I think were men around here and can handle a few bad words...... ease up......

[flanagan]

No, there are also plenty of young people on here and no excuse for the transparently "coded" obscenity, period.

Proving you are as ignorant as the people you were upset with doesn't really advance the ball much. Hey, I've lost it and said things I regret, but I'm not going to print them out on a forum, and certainly not claim someone "deserved it", but obviously you think they did and are proud in relating your reaction. You have the right to feel that way, no argument there.

[nike_golf]

No, there are also plenty of young people on here and no excuse for the transparently "coded" obscenity, period.

oh boy.....

I'll say it again.......... ease up........... and I'll say again that they did deserve it, and no, I'm not proud of what transpired, but I was pushed to my brink and I reacted. I'm not proud but I don't really regret anything. They weren't doing a very basic and common sense thing by not letting us play through (we were on them for a good four holes), and, to top it off, the guy is giving hands on instructions on the fairway while my partner and I are literally sitting on the tee box waiting to shoot. That's not only slow, thats blatant disrespect for anyone behind you. Yeah, what I did was a little harsh, but, when put in a situation like this, that's how I react. And like I said, I don't regret it.

[TheNatural]

I can actually hit a fairway iron long once in a while...

when i was struggling with my drives last year i topped a 150 yd drive on a 400 par 4 so i pull a 5 iron and hammer the crap out of it directly into a 4some who were holding my pop and I up for 9 holes with no groups ahead of them....i didnt think i would get it there from where i was but thought Hey if i do ,,,to hel with them....they took my ball...i actually made the green....LOL

[flopdarock]

slow play just absolutely kills my score... its worse than icing a kicker during a big football game... hit... wait... hit... wait... you can never get in a groove...
i may not be the fastest player and ill admit that... but i can get a round in on an empty course in less than 3 1/2 hrs... if someone is behind me and noone is in front of me... i get nervous on my shot... so i let them play thru...
ive been on courses that literally have 4 groups on every single hole...
1 on the green putting...
1 on the fairway waiting on their approach shots...
1 on the teebox waiting to hit...
and 1 that just got finished putting waiting for the teebox to clear...
that round needless to say took over 5 hrs... every group was a 4some...
ridiculous... but you expect play to be slow...
its the group that has nobody in front of them and everyone behind them that gets the blood boiling...
ive played with old dudes that dink an dunk their way around the course... but play fast...
ive played with 20+ hcps that play (relatively)fast or have the courtesy to let ppl thru...
so besides poor ettiquette or just plane ignorance... i dont see any reason for slow play at all... let me thru or keep up to the ppl in front of you... simple and easy

[laxbballgolf]

I have just given up on the issue. It seems like the only options we have are to join private clubs, pay more to play less crowded premium public courses, search around for some hidden gems that aren't as crowded, or try to time our rounds for when we know it won't be as crowded. I play a ton of twilight golf. I don't always get to finish my round, but it's cheaper and less crowded.