If every golfer were an 18 or better handicap, would slow play be a thing of the past?

[nevets88]

Yeah or nay? What say you?

[MiniBlueDragon]

No because courses would simply re-calculate how long it takes each group to play a hole and increase the number of tee times available for the day to get more money in.

[Gresh24]

No.  Skill level is just one part of pace.  There are many more.

It would certainly help, but not make slow play a thing of the past.  There are a lot of good players out there that play very slow.

[Stewie007]

Slow play is subjective. On a Sunday morning, any golfer that expects less than 4 hours pace is just nuts.

>5 hours may be slow, but heck I'd just kick back and relax. Sometimes I think that people need to remove the post and deal with it. Folks need to step back and think about why they are getting so angry about a game. I think the real reason everybody gets pissed off is because they're self conscious while being watched.

[awmgolfer]

Not at all. My wife who just plays for fun can easily keep pace with myself and the club pro. We are both single digit handicaps and she doesn't have a handicap but she shoots in the 120's. The club pro and I are quick paced players, we can play an 18 hole round in about 2 1/2 hours and she doesn't cause any undue slowness. I have played with other single digit handicaps that is like watching grass grow which still could be faster. Handicap has no bearing on pace of play in my experience.

[RPMPIRE]

Even tour players are criticized for being slow players. I think one of the reasons is the long routines that some players develop for preshot, putting (including reading the green), etc.

[ejimsmith]

nope.  i've played with slow players that were good, and fast players that were horrible.  its not the handicap, but the *intelligence* of the player, imho.   take your putter w/ you when you go chip... take the clubs you need and let me drive off to my ball.  give up on finding your ball, just drop and hit.. etc...

[NuclearMike]

Nope.  It has everything to do with the individuals involved, not their handicaps.

[Shorty]

No. In my experience, the slowest players are the young very low markers.

[saevel25]

No, i have been in groups with high handicaps that play faster than slow handicaps. It just means highhandicaps can get more swings in a shorter amount of time. It does help a bit, but usually slow play has to do with people not knowing how to play ready golf, and taking to much time on the greens.

[Stewie007]

I don't think its not knowing how to play, its that they know how to play and stick to the honors system. I'll admit, that does get me to do an eye roll.

[tristanhilton85]

Originally Posted by MiniBlueDragon

No because courses would simply re-calculate how long it takes each group to play a hole and increase the number of tee times available for the day to get more money in.

I'll agree with no but I don't think that this is the reason... I've seen 25+ handicappers play quickly and I've seen single digits play extremely slow... While skill level does play a part in overall pace of play, there are many other factors as well.

[Spyder]

All handicap levels have players that play at every speed imaginable. If all drivers on the road were also part of NASCAR, would that eliminate traffic jams or gridlocks? Probably not.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by nevets88

Yeah or nay? What say you?

No.  There is far more to playing at a good pace than just skill level.  I've played with a lot of poor golfers in my life, and they were rarely slow.  Most of the time they know that they are going to take a lot of strokes, so they don't take much time with each one.  They get to the ball and they make the swing.

In fact it's the mid handicaper who has visions of being a low handicap who is likely to be the slowest golfer out there because he is overthinking every shot.  He is the one who seems to be most affected by watching and by trying to emulate the pros, and that is pure death on the course.  Tossing 2 or 3 pinches of grass in the air, taking 5 or 6 practice swings, pacing off a 40 yard pitch, stalking a putt to death - these are the more common symptoms of the slow player.

Add in not parking your bag or cart where you walk off the green, not being ready to start your routine when it's your turn, and all the other little things which just waste time and you have the makings of an interminable round of golf.

[jetsknicks1]

No. Slow play doesn't have anything to do with skill level. It has eveything to do with courtesy, not looking for a lost ball for an hour and not standing over a shot like it's your approach at the last hole of the US Open.

[rustyredcab]

Looking for balls is the killer where I play. Lots of places with tall grass and lots of chances to loose a ball and begin a search. When I played a tight course with OB (houses) and grass cut to every water's edge on almost every hole, you could see your ball in someone's yard OB (played lots of provisionals) and you knew if your ball was near the water but not up, it was in the water. Almost no time spent looking for balls. Grow some tall grass near the OB and the water and you've got a searching-for-balls mess.

If you really want to improve pace of play, make playing out of a water or lateral hazard illegal and people would not spend time looking for their balls. Find it in play or drop.

You can do all the right things in terms of playing fast, but if someone is looking for a ball at least once per hole, it is going to be a slow round. Does an 18 hdcp look for less balls than a 25? Not as a blanket rule -- in my experience.

[Kieran123]

Depends on the person, not the handicap.

[golftoday]

As I'm sure others have experienced, both poor golfers and premier players can have equally slow playing habits. I've played with poor golfers who take hours hitting ball after ball 50 - 100 yards, but I've also spent massive amount of time waiting for premier golfers to calculate yardage, etc. It goes both ways.