Slow Play: Causes and Cures

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

I admit I didn't read each post so I'm sure these have been covered. It's a topic I cannot ignore though

Causes (and cures)
Too much TV - Most of us aren't playing for significal amount of dollars. Just because Tiger reads his putt from all angles doesn't mean we should. This applies not only to putting but all aspects of golf.
Too many practice swings I understand the first hole or two but after that speed it up. Of course slow play causes more practice strokes.
Play within yourself If you haven't hit a fairway wood more than 200 yards in your life then you're not going to when your 250 out on a par five. Don't wait for the green to clear. This also applies when the group ahead of you is 320 yards out and your normal tee ball goes 220. Go ahead.
Pre shot routine Having a solid pre shot routine is a good thing but make it reasonable.
Public courses This is almost unavoidable. They pack them and pack them until nobody can move. Just when you think you're moving OK they throw groups off the back nine if there is a small opening. Unfortunately I play a couple of courses like this around here.
Lost ball Don't spend forever looking for a lost ball. A couple minutes and if you haven't found it take a stroke.
Conversation I love having a nice friendly conversation while out on the golf course but don't spark up a lengthy conversation once you have reached your ball and are standing over it. Hit it then talk.
After hole is complete After you finish a hole don't stand by the green and clean your clubs and reorder them one by one. I can't believe how many people do this. Go to the next tee and if there is time (a wait) do it there.
Mulligans I cannot believe how many people hit ball after ball off the tee when a group is waiting behind them.
Gimmies Alright let me first say I'm not big on "gimmies" I can't stand the guys who swipe away 4 footers all day long that I'm sure we've all played with. But if you miss your putt by a foot then finish it or pick it up. If your foursome all miss their putts by a foot and mark you'll end up with 4 coins within a foot of the hole. Pick em up.

Man, those were just the one's on the top of my head. I'm sure I could go on but as I said before I'm sure these have already been addressed. Needless to say I hate slow golf. Hate it!

[golfchief]

a) is there a site or article that I can point people to teach them how to play more quickly? Unfortunately two of the people I can think of who play slowly are the sort who will push back *hard* if they are told they are the course of slow play, and will likely ignore what is said

Yes get a rules of golf book and look in the front under etiquette.

[BigAl5150]

Two questions:

Some ideas are

here and here .

[muskegman]

As some of you've said, here's a biggie... just hit the ball. Don't try to be careful, don't try to "feel it," just hit the darned ball. You'll play better as a result.

Cure: Education at the cash register. It is the responsibility of the course to instruct players. An easy thing to do would be to point to a board, hand out a card, and educate in some way before people head out to the course.

[The Golfing Polack]

I play all of my golf at public/municiple courses, basically because that's what I'm willing to pay for golf. I'm a fast player. I can ride 18 if I don't have to stay on the path in under 2 hours if I'm playing well. My most agrivating experience lately came at the course I play most often. It was cold so the 4-some in front of me had those stupid cart heaters and enclosures. I was playing in short sleeves. The refused to let me play through the whole front 9, and as a result I started playing 2 balls on a few holes. What made me the maddest was that there was no-one in front of them. I was the second off the tee that morning. They wouldn't let me play through, and then at the turn, they told the starter that I couldn't play in front of them because I was playing 2 balls and would hold them up. I just about lost it. I demanded on got my 9 hole rain check, but haven't been back to that course yet.

I know we all have tons of stories about the horrible slow play, but I think that the biggest problem with it is pride. I'm 22, and most people middle aged (40-50) resent the fact that some punk "kid" is pushing them down the course, so instead of letting me play through, they'll slow down. I've seen it happen dozens of times, and have had by drives stepped on, kicked into the rough, and even just picked up on several occasions. I would think that by the 5th time I'm rolling it up next your cart after your second shot, you'd let me play though and get rid of me.

That mentioned, I'm not at all adverse to joining up with people. I recently moved to my area, and don't have a group that I play with, so I usually start by myself. If it's a slow day and I catch up to a 2 or 3-some I'll join up, but I play my best golf when I play fast and by myself.

[ABPositive]

My prediction: all these tips to improve the pace of play are useless... until players realize how slow they actually are.

Like any problem, it starts with recognizing there is one. I am talking about your own pace. It is easy to point out at other's, because you can see their slow routine. How about yours? You think you're fast? Chances are you're slower than you think, and you are becoming even slower when you expect a round to be slow.

So my prediction is that the overall pace of play will improve once players become conscious of their own pace.

There is a way to make players aware of their own pace. This is called the zero-tolerance marshall. I have seen this in action at Poipu Bay in Hawaii. Every cart is fitted with a transponder that transmits the GPS location of the cart to the club house. The club house has a map with a dot for each cart. And if a cart is slow, and not letting groups pass them, you can be sure the marshall is on the way.

Granted, not every club can afford GPS-equipped golf carts. But there must be a cheap way of doing this.

[lamebums]

I'm 22, and most people middle aged (40-50) resent the fact that some punk "kid" is pushing them down the course, so instead of letting me play through, they'll slow down. I've seen it happen dozens of times, and have had by drives stepped on, kicked into the rough, and even just picked up on several occasions. I would think that by the 5th time I'm rolling it up next your cart after your second shot, you'd let me play though and get rid of me.

Heh...someone who basically repeats my golf stories, except in a much better way. Welcome to the club, I suppose...

In other stuff, though, we've decided the first problem is that people don't recognize they're too slow. So, I suggest we tie doggie collars to every golfer suspected of slow play, fitted with a 15 minute timer. Every time they enter a new hole (hitting into the wrong fairway doesn't count), the timer resets, but if it reaches zero, it'll give them a little shock. A friendly reminder from the speed service, or something...

[iacas]

I hate spending a lot of time looking for a ball. If I hit mine wild, I go to where I think it landed, look for 30 seconds and then take my penalty and drop another and hit.

To be accurate, there's no such thing as a penalty drop (like that) for a lost ball. I sometimes do as you do in a practice round, but it's not really covered under the rules of golf.

When you play as a single on a public course, you really have to take what the course dishes out.

True. Singles have no standing, technically, on the golf course.

On those very rare occasions when I do play alone, I completely change my approach. First, I slow everything down. I spend a lot of time practicing my chipping, either on the green I just finished, or on the next tee box. I will often play several holes with 2 balls.

I do similar things. I'll drop four balls and hit a few knockdowns. Sometimes I won't putt out. I treat the course as one big practice range. Sometimes I'll jump holes if I won't get too close to anyone.

Two biggest causes of backups are

I agree with both. I think rangers today, though, are told not to piss people off or engage in confrontations. And that's sad.

2) Not thinking ahead - about where to put your bag / cart, drop off a partner or fellow competitor from a cart, etc.

I always look for the best location to park the cart. It's better to front-load the walking time (i.e. park the cart at the back, walk to the front of the green where your approach came up short) because the group behind you is probably still not yet at their drives. If you do it in reverse, they're standing in the fairway waiting for you and you're walking backwards.

i) Age doesn't seem to be a huge predicter of pace in my experience

Nor is ability in my experience. If anything, some of the better players are slower.

b) no one in my regular golf trip group shoots in the 70's. How do I convince them to play from the whites, instead of from the blues or tips?

Tell them they'll have more fun, that it will give them a chance to test their short game, that it'll give them a new perspective... etc.

My prediction: all these tips to improve the pace of play are useless... until players realize how slow they actually are.

Very much agreed. But if all of us can speed ourselves up, and the members of our regular foursome, we can make a difference, I feel.

Granted, not every club can afford GPS-equipped golf carts. But there must be a cheap way of doing this.

Actual marshalls can do the same thing. They're just told, at most places these days, not to be confrontational. And that's sad. Golf has become PC and sissified.

I say you rent the course, to play the holes in order, for four hours. When your time is up, I don't care if you're in the middle of 18 fairway or on 13 tee - you're done.

[golfchief]

What really makes slow play? A single or twosome that come to the course plays through a foursome then stands in the middle of the fairway 240 yards from the green waiting for the green to clear to hit their next shot, the foursome behind cannot hit yet and the players that let him play through are standing on the tee with the next group coming from the green to the tee and have to wait for them to clear, the guy in the fairway after holding up the people behind him does not hit the 240yd shot he’s 40yds short and in the rough more waiting from the groups behind with yet another group coming from the green to the tee only to find a backup. The groups behind only see the four older people in front not the single they let through and complain of slow play. The single complains foursomes won’t let him play through when really he can’t go anywhere because of groups ahead of them and the scene repeats itself as singles and twosomes show up wanting to get a (quick nine or eighteen in) passing foursomes. For you singles and twosomes that come for a quick round don’t show up between 9-1 you will only slow the rounds down , pace of play is set by the group ahead not the single trying to pass every foursome.

[iacas]

What really makes slow play? A single or twosome that come to the course plays through a foursome then stands in the middle of the fairway 240 yards from the green waiting for the green to clear to hit their next shot, the foursome behind cannot hit yet and the players that let him play through are standing on the tee with the next group coming from the green to the tee and have to wait for them to clear, the guy in the fairway after holding up the people behind him does not hit the 240yd shot he’s 40yds short and in the rough more waiting from the groups behind with yet another group coming from the green to the tee only to find a backup. The groups behind only see the four older people in front not the single they let through and complain of slow play. The single complains foursomes won’t let him play through when really he can’t go anywhere because of groups ahead of them and the scene repeats itself as singles and twosomes show up wanting to get a (quick nine or eighteen in) passing foursomes. For you singles and twosomes that come for a quick round don’t show up between 9-1 you will only slow the rounds down , pace of play is set by the group ahead not the single trying to pass every foursome.

Again, two things:

Singles technically have no standing on a golf course. And it never makes sense to let anyone through when the course is backed up more than four or five groups or three holes, because a single or double won't be able to play through by the time they get to 18. They COULD, but the odds against people noticing and waving them through in an appropriate way are slim. That being said, I'll wave singles or doubles through if I'm in a foursome and there's only one or two groups ahead of me (and then open space) unless we're on 16 or so. Then the guy can just wait a few minutes - we should be done reasonably soon anyway. In the situation you describe, btw, the foursome seeing the other foursome probably already knows there "used to be" a single between them, so I bet they'd assume they played through.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

Very good posts everyone. A couple of good points that I agree with but didn't initially think of.

Blue Tees - Should really only be played by "good" players. I've seen many a guy chop around the course to a smooth 102 from the Blues. There isn't a thing wrong with being a high handicapper, but they should stick to the whites.

Rangers/Marshalls - unfortunately at some of the courses I play they are more concerned with hawking golf balls than pace of play. Some take naps in the woods, some hang out in the pro shop all day, unfortunately the marshall who actually does his job is too few and far between these days.

But, in the end everyone really does have to look at themselves first. If we all do what we can to speed ourself up then golf will be that much enjoyable.

[golfchief]

As a ranger most of my backups are caused by a single or twosome trying to pass foursomes, they show up wanting to get squeezed in, we get groups of three or four foursomes and they say let the single or twosome go ahead then they try to pass everyone and cause my back ups.
Yes we do have some foursomes that are really slow or they're not very good (usually young and hit the ball a mile but have no idea where it's going or have someone or two in their group that never played before.)I hold them on the tee and let a group or two go through. Yes , we have older slow players and I also hold them on the tee, I like the course to flow when I'm on duty.
sometimes when rangers show up before going into bitch mode find out when he started and if he knows why it's backup. We only work 5-6 hrs. at a time so we may have just started work. And yes we also have the rangers that just don't care, but they usually don't stay long.

[jrbechthold]

.

That was one point I was trying to bring up but didn't quite know how to put it...

I like the marshalls at my local courses... but they don't enforce pace of play as much as they should - even when I have mentioned that a certain group in front is killing us with slow play, they drive off, have a friendly conversation with them, but nothing gets resolved.

[$2 Nassau]

I agree with the thought that until people realize how slow they are, pace probably will not improve. That's why we need to suck it up and let people know...and also make sure people let you know when YOU are playing slow.

This is very timely because I got into it a bit with my brother-in-law and his friend after a round this past weekend (I posted the story on the "petition" thread).

They just don't realize how slow they really are. I just got tired of watching this guy fish for balls at every body of water we pass, it was ridiculous. I said something to both of them and I hope that they would do the same to me if I was holding up play.

Chances are, you play golf with grown men and women who can take criticism, if they couldn't they probably wouldn't be playing golf in the first place! So don't be afraid to tell people in your group that they need to pick it up, especially if the course is wide open in front of you.

[NJDuffer]

i think the biggest reason by far is lost balls/not hitting a provisional. the cure for that is hitting a provisional if there is ANY doubt you lost your ball. if anything it gives u a practice drive after a bad one. also not sucking at golf speeds up play alot too.

As one who sucks at golf I can say that most of "us" bad golfers are very conscious of our pace of play and try to keep it lively.

The rangers and starters at my local course say that the slowest players are generally the "better" players. I'm not sure if that is due to walking off yardage or looking at putts 15 times from 15 angles.

[Naruto]

i think that the main problem is too many people come to the golf course to socialize instead of playing golf .... no matter your skill level if all you do is hit the ball and go find it and hit it again you can still get done in 4 hours or less...

another thing is in tournaments you get 5 minutes to look for a ball... dont do it on a crowded course.

i play expensive balls.... if i cant find it in 1 minute or less I drop... if i am willing to piss away a 4 dollar ball then everyone else can afford to piss away one of what they are playing... a 28 handicap isnt playing pro v's and last time i checked top flites were only .20 cents a ball... its not worth 5 minutes to look for one of those.

just my .02 cents.... and yes i have always adhered to the 1 minute lost ball search rule......even if it is off the fairway and somewhere in the rough.