Slow Play

[TXjammer]

My dad and I can shoot in the low 80s playing the championship tees (in a cart) in 2 1/2 hrs. But when a certain friend of mine goes with us who shoots over 100 and looses 10-12 balls per round, it takes every bit of 4 hrs. I agree with that said before...amount of strokes and out of bounds balls is a HUGE factor, and the courses around us are full of those types of golfers. BUT! I don't get too wriled because I know they are just out to have fun, and they paid the same money I did.

[The Recreational Golfer]

If there's a group ahead of you giving the entire golf course a case of constipation, can't you report them to the pro shop at the turn? There's a schedule to meet, a number of tee times to satisfy, and golfers to get on the course. I'm sure a marshall would go out and find a way to have them get a move on or excuse them from the course if it was as bad as I have read on this thread, because players THAT slow are hurting business.

[Camo]

Seems to me that much of the problem can be solved by the course managers. 1 course we play has the gps screen in the carts and one feature it has has is a display of pace, it clearly indicates if you are ahead or behind pace. In addition this course starts the next group only when the group in front has cleared the first green. We never run into the group ahead of us. The other course we play occasionally has no gps screens on the carts and the starter starts each group as soon as you play your second shot. I think they do this to get the maximum number of rounds in per day. But we are almost waiting on the group ahead of us and the group behind is always on our donkey..... I prefer not to play there much and oddly enuff both of my examples are higher end country club $75 a round courses. Luckily I live on a private course and , well today I played 9 with my son and we did not see a single other golfer all day. B-)

[Camo]

Question, what would youndo if somebody intentionally hit into your group ? It has only happened to me once. We were waiting on the group ahead of us every shot for several holes. The guy behind us had a smart mouth and complained at each tee. I just told him it was a beautiful day and to enjoy being out golfing. He bitched and moaned about it ruining his rhythm...bla bla bla. Waiting for our second shot, he was standing on the tee box all teed up and ready to go, practice swings and pacing around. One of our group flubbed their shot and it wend about 10 feet. Well that was more then he could take and he hit right into us. I went over and picked up his ball and was headed for my cart to go have a word with him. But luckily the ranger saw the whole thing and beat me to it.... He was asked to leave the course. The ranger later caught up to us and apologized. Apparently he was a member there and it was not he first violation of the nature. Not sure what I was goingbto do other then get in his face , but it was certainly uncool.

[ghalfaire]

I played at a local muni yesterday.  Teed off at 10:39 AM and walked off 18 at 3 PM.   About 4 hr 45 minutes is too slow for me.  Our foursome usually is somewhere around 4 hours +/- 15 minutes and it is the same if we walk or ride.  Not sure why it was so slow as it was ahead of us a ways.  The foursomes I could see were all waiting.  But it was a nice day, I didn't have to be anywhere after the round and one of the guys was an old buddy I had not played with in several months, so I enjoyed the extra time.  But I still have to say it is annoying in some  ways as it sure makes it difficult to get into a decent rhythm when you're waiting for every shot.

[Rexx]

Originally Posted by ghalfaire

I played at a local muni yesterday.  Teed off at 10:39 AM and walked off 18 at 3 PM.   About 4 hr 45 minutes is too slow for me.  Our foursome usually is somewhere around 4 hours +/- 15 minutes and it is the same if we walk or ride.  Not sure why it was so slow as it was ahead of us a ways.  The foursomes I could see were all waiting.  But it was a nice day, I didn't have to be anywhere after the round and one of the guys was an old buddy I had not played with in several months, so I enjoyed the extra time.  But I still have to say it is annoying in some  ways as it sure makes it difficult to get into a decent rhythm when you're waiting for every shot.

4:21?  Maybe 4:20?

[ohiolefty]

What if I said the following:

"Well, I was driving on the interstate yesterday and the guy in front of me was going too slow. I couldn't go around because of wall-to-wall traffic so instead I just tried to hit the person in front of me."

?!??!??!?!?!

How in the hell can you justify intentionally hitting a ball into a group of people? I don't care how slow or ignorant some folks may be - there's no reason for it. Ever.

[ghalfaire]

Originally Posted by Rexx

4:21?  Maybe 4:20?

We engineers are good at math, not arithmetic.  Still too slow however as we waited a lot.

[selfinflicted]

Originally Posted by design

I walk 18 with my father and another older gentlemen 3 times a week and it rarely takes us more than 2.5 hours to complete a round of 18. This is usually with a heat index over 100 and relative humidity in the 80-90% range.

I can only once recall ever spending 4 hours to complete a round and it was playing with 3 guys who were new to the game and each took well over 100 strokes.

Heat index over 100 and hubidity in the 80-90% range?  I lookin for the 18th hole pretty quick myself....lol

[selfinflicted]

This is a good thread and I wanted to share some of my thoughts.

As to the original question about the pros and supers being aware?  Yes they are.  Four hours for a 4-some to comfortably complete 18 holes is the norm.  The problem is closely related to the etiquette and courtesy normally associated with this sport.

I started playing at 9 yrs old.  My dad and uncle taught me etiquette and courtesy.  The other members of their generation, at our club, also mentored each following generation.  That is what is missing to day when many start playing at 29 years of age.  We have to educate the populace on how to play more efficiently.

The USGA instituted a Double Bogey Rule for equitable stroke control.  If you can't improve on that, put it in your pocket.

When your ball leaves the Fairway, mark it so you have a more narrow area to search.  And, play a provisional ball!

Be thinking about your shot, so when it is your turn, you will be better prepared to play.

If you are not ready when it is your turn, ask another player to go ahead.

When you take more than one club up to the green when evaluating your next shot, leave them on a convenient path back to the cart.

Park the cart so that it is convenient to travel to next shot or hole.

Pick up clubs for another member in the group, if you are closer.

Be ready to tend or take the flag out if it is not your turn.

Be ready to put the flag back in if you have already finished the hole.

Throwing clubs....Not productive, and slows play.  You have to go pick it up idiot!!!!

My personal pet peeve... No Cell Phones!!!  Turn them off!!  If the call is that important, maybe you should still be at the office!!!

Your golf club is limited as to what they can do.  Understand maintaining a course is expensive, so they have every incentive for the rounds to flow through the course.  However, here are a few things they can do.

Allow no group bigger than a four-some.

GPS's in the carts, so players are not looking for yardages.

The roughs should not be so high so as to hide the golf ball.

Starters should be instructed on how to educate and encourage efficient play.

Mulligans and "Do-Overs" are a "NO NO!!"

Golf is meant to be challenging to say the least.  It is to be a time spent with friends, family and fellow competitors.  Above all... Golf is everything that life should be.  Everyone plays by the same rules.  The corner-stones are: Honor, integrity, ethics and courtesy.

[zeg]

Originally Posted by selfinflicted My personal pet peeve... No Cell Phones!!!  Turn them off!!  If the call is that important, maybe you should still be at the office!!!

I very slightly disagree with this one, only very slightly.  Taking or making a very short call during a few hour round shouldn't be a problem, and in some cases might be enough to make it possible to play.  In that case I don't mind, as long as you don't hold things up in the middle of a hole.  It's not so different from stopping to relieve yourself.

However, I've seen some people who are continuously making and receiving calls all round long---in this case, I agree with you fully.

[Camo]

Originally Posted by self-inflicted

Mulligans and "Do-Overs" are a "NO NO!!"

If i am playing in front of you would you prefer if when i hit a huge slice I go ahead and get in my cart and travel 225 yards down the fairway and then spend my allotted 5 minutes looking for my ball before I turn around and head back to the tee box to play a second ball ?

or knowing that first slice is most likely a goner should I play my provisional ball immediately ?

mulligans are no more then a provisional ball that i "forget" to mark on my score card . LMAO

if everybody played strictly by the rules and spent 5 minutes looking for their ball before heading back to the place it was hit from it would add a huge amount of time....

I contend that the mulligan  is a time saver when used sparingly.  just my opinion

[Camo]

on the whole mulligan issue.  i want to add,  when we have a rank beginner in our group we make them play best ball off the tee.

we always give them their turn of course, but in an effort to not cause slow play rather then let them hit their second shot from 75 yards off the tee we have them pick up and play off the best ball... just keeps things moving along for everybody.  it is how my dad taught me 30 years ago and it is how i play today when we have a newb in the group.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by selfinflicted

I started playing at 9 yrs old.  My dad and uncle taught me etiquette and courtesy.  The other members of their generation, at our club, also mentored each following generation.  That is what is missing to day when many start playing at 29 years of age.  We have to educate the populace on how to play more efficiently.

The USGA instituted a Double Bogey Rule for equitable stroke control.  If you can't improve on that, put it in your pocket.

Most of your points I agree with wholeheartedly.  This one is in error however - double bogey only applies to a single digit handicapper.  The limit for strokes taken in a handicap round is graduated.  For a 10 - 19 cap it's a max of 7 strokes;  20 - 29 is 8 strokes, and 30-39 is 9 strokes.   Even on a par 3 hole.

[Blades4me]

I'ver resigned myself to slow play. A good round here in Portland Or is 4.0-4.5 hrs, but most of the time more like 5 hrs or more during regular season; its better in shoulder and off season.

Unfortunetly it takes a lot for the golf course management to forcefully speed ppl up b/c they are viewed as revenue and gee they don't want to offend anyone, even if they are being total A holes.

I'd like to see it like it was in the old days. One way used to be if you weren't a 12 hc or less there were some courses that you weren't allowed to play on; (I saw this where there were 2 courses, 36 hole facility. So 1 course was open to the general public). The other way was the slow group would get a verbal warning the first 2 times. If they continued to be slow then they had to tee off from the 150 yd marker. However I don't think anything will happen in this age of political correctness.

[jmanbooyaa]

The one tip I guess for slow play that makes good sense to me is doubling up. When you have a par 3 if you hit 6 pick it up, par 4, 8 and you are done. No shame in putting it in your pocket on a hole if it just isn't happening on that hole.

[sean_miller]

Absolute beginners:  if you've taken four strokes over par and you've not putting yet, why not do everyone a favour and pick up. The "we have a right to play out since we paid to play all 18 holes" argument doesn't hold water with me. Did I pay for 150 strokes too? Awesome, I guess a second 18 is free today - woot!

Equitable stroke control in Canada is bogey for scratch players, double bogey for 1-18, triple bogey for 19-32, and quadruple bogey for 33 and over.

See bold text for my comments - mostly in agreement with this post.

Originally Posted by selfinflicted

The USGA instituted a Double Bogey Rule for equitable stroke control.  If you can't improve on that, put it in your pocket. (The RCGA uses the double bogey rule for scratch to 18)

When your ball leaves the Fairway, mark it so you have a more narrow area to search.  And, play a provisional ball! (Easier to do when not sharing a powercart with a shorter hitter who peeled into the opposite rough)

Be thinking about your shot, so when it is your turn, you will be better prepared to play.

If you are not ready when it is your turn, ask another player to go ahead. (Don't go to the well too often)

When you take more than one club up to the green when evaluating your next shot, leave them on a convenient path back to the cart.

Park the cart so that it is convenient to travel to next shot or hole.

Pick up clubs for another member in the group, if you are closer. (Please don't pick up my clubs, unless I've completely forgotten them, because my clubs are in line with my bag which is in line with where I need to exit the green)

Be ready to tend or take the flag out if it is not your turn. (i.e If your ball is closest to the hole).

Be ready to put the flag back in if you have already finished the hole. (i.e. If you were first to hole out).

Throwing clubs....Not productive, and slows play.  You have to go pick it up idiot!!!!

My personal pet peeve... No Cell Phones!!!  Turn them off!!  If the call is that important, maybe you should still be at the office!!! (If someone in the group is on call, I'll give this one a pass. Just put it on vibrate, because if it rings while I'm in the middle of my downswing, we might not get along very well for a couple holes).

Your golf club is limited as to what they can do.  Understand maintaining a course is expensive, so they have every incentive for the rounds to flow through the course.  However, here are a few things they can do.

Allow no group bigger than a four-some. (Not sure why early groups can't go out as twosomes - it would be even faster).

GPS's in the carts, so players are not looking for yardages. (Cart GPS yardage is better than playing with your eyes closed. Just barely though.)

The roughs should not be so high so as to hide the golf ball. 100% agreement here

Starters should be instructed on how to educate and encourage efficient play. (Please don't bother me with this BS on the first tee. Until you have evidence that I'm a slow player, don't insult me. Seriously).

Mulligans and "Do-Overs" are a "NO NO!!" (A first tee mulligan followed by a drive by pickup of that duffed first ball, might be the biggest hacker timesaver ever. Ever.)

Golf is meant to be challenging to say the least.  It is to be a time spent with friends, family and fellow competitors.  Above all... Golf is everything that life should be.  Everyone plays by the same rules (Except the people who have to pick up their ball because they're awful?!?).  The corner-stones are: Honor, integrity, ethics and courtesy.

[MSchott]

I haven't read this entire thread but if you are playing the normal muni and want to play quickly you need to make your tee time for very early in the AM. It's as simple as that. Experienced golfers know how to play efficiently but many golfers now are new to the game and don't know the etiquette or don't want to be rushed. There's nothing you can do about it so plan accordingly. My normal foursome tees off before 8am on Saturday mornings and it still takes us 4.5 hours to play.