4 Hour Round and Harassed by the Marshal

[j_moo]

Originally Posted by SouthernILGolfer

I think marshalls should be more concerned about conduct on the course such as driving carts where they're not supposed to go etc foul language and overall unprofessional, dangerous and offensive behavior and littering.   Better golfers will generally play better than bad golfers but some expect everyone to play fast.  I guess its fortunate I play in southern Illinois, i have never been berated by a marshall for any reason, one even tried to give me a quick lesson once after he watched me play a few holes as he saw i was struggling a bit.   Around here, as long as you dont tear up the course or get into an argument with another group, nobody bothers you.   I personally hate having to be right behind the group in front of me, i hate waiting when i play and i hate when someone is right behind me waiting on me.  You never know if the group behind you even if they appear to be good players can judge when not to hit into you or sometimes if the course is hilly they may not see you and not know how close you are. I think a marshall should be friendly and helpful, there are a lot of courses even in my area and being treated poorly by any staff will certainly insure no future business from me.   I can always go somewhere else.   Most are very happy that you came and spent your money there.

Agree about waiting and the group behind.  So if the group ahead don't waive up on a par 3, usually don't try to rush to make up the shot.  If we play at the same pace, won't have to wait again on the next par 3 or on par 5s trying to get on in 2.

Unfortunately here in southern CA, the courses are way overbooked on the weekends everywhere.  Possible to play year round, but 5+ hrs is the norm.  Generally, the marshals are laid-back, but there are always exceptions I guess.

[billk86]

Last week I played a round that took 5.5 hours.  It was a Thursday afternoon with a 2:39p tee time.  We didn't have to wait at all on the front, but they let a few groups tee off on the back and it clogged everything up.  At one point there were three groups waiting on the tee at a par 5.

Not a Marshal to be had anywhere.

[AmazingWhacker]

I used to play at Mile Square often from 2009-2010.  Rarely had a round under 5 hours and never once saw a marshal.  I love the idea of marshals enforcing pace of play as long as they are reasonable and informed about it.

Once (not at mile square) I showed up to play with my girlfriend.  We were both new to golf and very bad.  The course was packed and we were paired up with another couple on their first time out (well . . her first and his 4th or 5th).  So now we are a foursome of absolutely terrible golfers.  Amazingly enough we do manage to keep up with the ridiculously slow group ahead of us but, sure enough, just as we get to tee on a par 3 the ranger comes up and tells us to play faster.  The group ahead of us had *just* hit off the tee on the next hole so we were, at most, a fraction of a hole behind.

I tell the ranger we'll try to play faster but we are keeping up.  He says something like "ok, just do your best" and drives off.  Then I see a 2 some from behind us skip the hole we're playing and jump to the next tee!  Sure enough, they are standing in the fairway, stuck behind the group in front of us, when we get to the next tee.  For the next several holes they were waiting at the tee box each time we got there until they decided to skip some more holes.  This was, btw, in los angeles, (land of jerks) lol.

[j_moo]

Played Redhawk in Temecula from the tips with some near scratch players.  We were the 2nd group out behind a 3some and waited a little on a few holes.  We could have finished maybe 5 minutes faster but played the round in 4 hours riding.  We gave short putts and no one played slow.  Not sure how you 4somes play any faster than that without rushing.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by ilikefishes

Although it is important to play fast, it is also important to stay up with the group ahead of you. If you were a shot or two behind on the back, it is a problem. It is all about revenue for the courses. The best thing you could do is talk to the course management and explain your displeasure with the way the Marshall handled it. A Marshall does not have to be jerk to get his/her point across.

Agree with this.  If you were 2 shots behind, then you should be making every attempt to catch up .  You may not succeed, but you should look like you are trying to do so.  Having two 100 shooters is no excuse.  If they can't keep up then maybe they chose the wrong course to play.  I play occasionally with a couple of 100+ player, and they know their responsibilities and take them seriously.  They will pointedly play faster after a couple of poor shots, and will usually just pick up after the 3rd putt.  They notice when we have lost some position and will point it out.  Not surprisingly, they usually play better when they do speed up.... they don't have time to over-think themselves into a lock-up, which is the biggest problem for most high handicappers.

All that said, if you actually did finish in 4 hours, you should be commended, not harassed.

[Elvisliveson]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

I play occasionally with a couple of 100+ player, and they know their responsibilities and take them seriously.  They will pointedly play faster after a couple of poor shots, and will usually just pick up after the 3rd putt.  They notice when we have lost some position and will point it out.  Not surprisingly, they usually play better when they do speed up.... they don't have time to over-think themselves into a lock-up, which is the biggest problem for most high handicappers.

When I first started many moons ago, my dad drilled this type of behavior into me and I believe it made me a better golfer.  Nothing worse than being paired with the guy who takes 4 or 5 practice swings only to flub the shot and then go thru the same routine 15 yards further up.

[j_moo]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Agree with this.  If you were 2 shots behind, then you should be making every attempt to catch up.  You may not succeed, but you should look like you are trying to do so.  Having two 100 shooters is no excuse.  If they can't keep up then maybe they chose the wrong course to play.  I play occasionally with a couple of 100+ player, and they know their responsibilities and take them seriously.  They will pointedly play faster after a couple of poor shots, and will usually just pick up after the 3rd putt.  They notice when we have lost some position and will point it out.  Not surprisingly, they usually play better when they do speed up.... they don't have time to over-think themselves into a lock-up, which is the biggest problem for most high handicappers.

All that said, if you actually did finish in 4 hours, you should be commended, not harassed.

We played the round in 4 hours.  Any faster we'd be skipping shots.  Why, especially when the group behind was not waiting?  When the group ahead gets to par 5s in two and you have 100 players struggling to get there on par4s, it's difficult to catch up.

Again, the 1-2 shot gap is not because we were slow.  It's because how the course was setup, par5 after a par3.  We played the same pace as the group ahead.