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

[tm22721]

I play every day and work too so I need to get on and off the course as soon as possible. After all it is mostly exercise to me. If it's not your day job why take it seriously ?

There is nothing I can do about slow groups except walk around them which some people clearly have an attitude about. But it's their own fault for taking so much time on the greens. Why doesn't everybody swing or putt at the same time instead of in sequence ? I can see waiting if you might hit somebody but otherwise I don't understand the necessity of sequential golf shots AND IT HAS GOT TO CHANGE. Both for the financial health of the industry and the sanity of the golfers.

I think the problem is not poor golfing ability. Some people are in their own little world wherever they are - on the road or on the course they just don't care. CHANGE BEFORE YOU HAVE TO.

[iacas]

Unless of course B=74...

No, because even then pi isn't 74.

so you think you play your best golf when you're rushing through things.

[sarcasm]Yeah, because that's exactly what I said.[/sarcasm] Cripes.

I hope your attitude isn't indicative of the way this country's youth feels about golf, courtesy, or life in general, because if it is then I'm going to be saying "back in my day" far sooner than I had hoped.

[abris33]

[sarcasm]Yeah, because that's exactly what I said.[/sarcasm] Cripes.

yeah because that is exactly what you said. you said you would rather not have to slow down during a round plus everyone wants to play their best golf every round so put those two together and you are saying that you play your best golf while rushing.

[iacas]

yeah because that is exactly what you said.

No, it's not. The only time I used the word "rush" I said "Nobody was rushing."

you said you would rather not have to slow down during a round plus everyone wants to play their best golf every round so put those two together and you are saying that you play your best golf while rushing.

Your attempts at logic continue astound me with their failure.

[golf_junkie27]

For those of you that are okay with slow play and ask what appropriate is, let me ask this? Do you think it's unreasonable to think that four people can play one hole in 10 minutes or less? If so, then that round is three hours. Do you think that those same four people can play in 15 minutes or less? Well, that's four and one-half hours.

Anything above 15 minutes per hole is not golf. That's a picnic. Instead of bringing fourteen clubs, maybe you should be bringing fourteen sandwiches?

Seriously, though, in speaking to some of my golfing buddies about this subject, they all agreed. Anything more than 15 minutes per hole is brutal. Yet, some people are okay with 5 and 6 hour rounds.

[Prairie Golfer]

My preferred pace to enjoy a round of golf is "Lanny Wadkins on a double espresso." Playing 18 holes at my home course as a single walking should take me 1 hour 45 minutes.

Those that can't play a round in four hours are bad enough, those that don't even want to are far worse. If you are behind me, you should expect me to play without delay and that I will do everything I can to make your round enjoyable. I expect....no I DEMAND... those ahead of me do the same.

[WilsonWill]

My preferred pace to enjoy a round of golf is "Lanny Wadkins on a double espresso." Playing 18 holes at my home course as a single walking should take me 1 hour 45 minutes.

Lets not go that far. I dont particularly care how long it takes me to play a round, but Im not going to inconvenience anyone else in the process.

[zeg]

Let's see... assuming you can walk 3 mph, you can walk a 7000 yard course in about an hour and 20 minutes. Let's say you take 105 strokes. If you take one minute for each of those, you're now at three hours and five minutes. You can now lose a ball on every hole and spend 3 minutes looking for it and STILL finish in four hours... If you figure that ~ 1/3 of those strokes are putts, it doesn't seem like much of a rush to average one minute per swing, so I don't really see that a four hour round is much of a rush.

[mad max]

There is nothing I can do about slow groups except walk around them which some people clearly have an attitude about. But it's their own fault for taking so much time on the greens. Why doesn't everybody swing or putt at the same time instead of in sequence ? I can see waiting if you might hit somebody but otherwise I don't understand the necessity of sequential golf shots AND IT HAS GOT TO CHANGE. Both for the financial health of the industry and the sanity of the golfers.

Let's be reasonable. This reminds me of a story my father told me about when him and his brother went to Georgia to visit relatives in the late 60's. My father was about 18 and his brother was about 13 they weren't serious golfers at the time. They went out to play golf and decided to play that whoever got the ball in the hole first would win the hole. So they each got a cart and would both tee off at the same time and race to their respective carts jump out of the cart as soon as they got to the ball and hit the ball as fast as they could and jump back in the cart. When they got back to the clubhouse the starter said to them "Y'all play a different game out there in California then we do here." This sounds like this is how you would like to play golf. Needless to say I don't think they did a good job replacing divots and fixing ball marks.

Part of golf's charm for me is that you are playing against the course even if you are in a competing against another player. In a casual round I want to see the people I am playing with do well and even when I am competing against them I want them to do well, I just want to do a little better. I think it is a sign of respect and how golf is intended to be played when you watch other people's shots. You can also gain some knowledge by watching the break on puts or how the wind affects the ball and countless other things. What I am saying is that golf has a proper pace, if you are playing with 3 other golfers the proper pace is around +-4 hours. I don't condone slow play but for me on the course I play the most the reason it takes 5+ hours to play on weekends is the fact that the course has a foursome tee off every 7 minutes, so you wait to tee off on most holes and you wait to hit into the green on most holes. I rarely see a 1 hole gap between groups. Before a big tournament the course reduces play by having tee times every 12 minutes the round moves much faster, 4 hours becomes the norm.

[flopdarock]

ive played some pretty long courses... and have finished in way less than 4 hrs...
10 mins per hole is more than enough time... like someone said... thats 3 hrs...
even with bathroom breaks... drink refills... snacks at the turn... you can add a whole hour to that... making it a 4 hr round

[HarrowGolfer]

This is golf! and pace of play should not be an issue at all.

100% incorrect!!

[walk18]

This thread is entertaining!

[tm22721]

Let's see... assuming you can walk 3 mph, you can walk a 7000 yard course in about an hour and 20 minutes. Let's say you take 105 strokes. If you take one minute for each of those, you're now at three hours and five minutes. You can now lose a ball on every hole and spend 3 minutes looking for it and STILL finish in four hours... If you figure that ~ 1/3 of those strokes are putts, it doesn't seem like much of a rush to average one minute per swing, so I don't really see that a four hour round is much of a rush.

The problem is that golfers in a group play sequentially one at a time while the others wait. THAT HAS GOT TO STOP unless there is danger of hitting another golfer.

[TheNatural]

(Mooohahhahaha keep stirring the pot) Many miles away. Theres a shadow on the door. Of a cottage on the shore. Of a dark scottish lake. Many miles away

Like a bad rash I come back and the meds just wont help.

I'm actually fun to play with, but I imagine all of you guys are cool on the course. With the exception of the slow players here. (sorry, had to jab)

The letter has given no response, it was to the pro (3rd pro in 3 years. is that normal? I do not know) No big deal. I was asked to play there as of yesterday, and steered the 4some elsewhere per my experience. The number of people I know and play with will make an impact especially during these days of "stimulus" golf.

Last year I dumped $1120 at their course. I estimate the other groups that were not clients dumped $1,000 as well. This year it would have been a greater sum in a tighter market.

Regarding the ranger who stole my ball, he may have done it; not knowing that it was my drive. It was a massive drive, he could have thought it was a 2nd shot from another group, left on the course. I had to get it off my chest, it is rude to touch a ball thats in play, doesnt matter to me that it affects my message. They know my name and will see the number of tee times set. My bud a 30yr golfer said rangers do steal balls so guilty until proven innocent. Nuff said.

I have had some exceptional drives that were picked up by a group ahead, I dont like playing slow, so if I have honors, I will allow other players to drive if a group is reachable with my driver usually 275. I dont consistently reach a group at 300yds, but should I wait until the group is completely out of range to eliminate the chance? just curious,,(the ranger issue got me on this) sorry if its off topic.

[TheNatural]

On the note of slow play.

The 5 persons I play golf with tend to think that the betting aspect tends to slow golf even amongst the best of players.

[iacas]

The problem is that golfers in a group play sequentially one at a time while the others wait. THAT HAS GOT TO STOP unless there is danger of hitting another golfer.

I'm not a fan at all of hitting your shot when your partner's ball is still moving - and I believe you should help by watching their ball if it's heading towards any trouble at all - but "waiting" doesn't necessarily mean "standing still" either.

In my foursomes of people who understand how to play at an efficient pace (efficient being a key word), people are moving to their ball, taking free (or penalty) drops, getting yardages, choosing/cleaning clubs, walking to their next shot - all manner of things while another person in the group is going through their pre-shot routine. When he's over the ball, they stop if they're in earshot or peripheral vision. The problem, particularly with cart golf, is that a lot of people don't do those things. They literally "wait" for each player to hit their shot and do nothing to prepare themselves for their next shot.

[Hitman]

That brings up another argument,but any way, You should walk when playing golf, it will most definatly speed up a round even with a push or pull cart.

[lumpuckeroo]

I played this weekend, took 3 hours to play on Saturday and 3:20 to play on Sunday. At no point did I feel like I was in a rush or playing fast. My friend and I have played a lot of rounds together and we just seem to know how to move through the course, we played as a twosome and rode in a cart.

I think there is a bit of a knack for knowing how to move effectively around the course, unless our balls are right next to one another, we drop off whom ever is furtherest from the hole and move to the next ball. We tend to play ready golf and never worry about who's away when playing.

I do take a bit of exception when golfers complain about people moving, if you are concentrating on the ball, how can you "see" some one move 20 yards behind you????