It was an uncomfortable round last weekend...........

[BuckeyeNut]

I paired-up at 7am on the toughest course in the area on Sunday.  Groups of 5 are not allowed and this rule is in BOLD for anyone making reservations, but they arrived with 5 players anyway, so the group was split into a group of 3 and 2..and I was paired with the latter 2-some.

One of the guys couldn't hit the ball in the air to save his life.  Virtually every shot was a duff.   My thoughts were, what in the hell is this guy doing on a big course like this during early prime time????  Aaargh.....!!!!   He did pick up a lot so I give him credit for that.

Their 3-some friends in front of us were no better.  We played around in 5 hours!!  Keep in mind we teed off at 7am!!   Slow play like this should never happen this early in the morning, but it only takes 1 group....People like this have no business on the golf course this early!!!  My group was OK, only because we kept up with their brutally slow friends in front of us.  I felt horrible for everybody on the course behind this clusterFK.   I wished I got out of bed 30 minutes sooner to get in front of this...

Shockingly...I played my best round of the year so far in spite of the slow play.  Those duffers witnessed a pretty fine round of golf...LOL    They were good company, but the slow play was painful.

[LuciusWooding]

Hey, don't make those guys tee off in the afternoon with me! They can let all the terrible golfers off at 10AM.

[BuckeyeNut]

After the 5hr round of golf, I took my son bowling and we bowled for 4hrs!   I may need to take Mondays off to recover!!

[mailman]

So what is the rush? It's golf, not the Olympic 100m final. Mailman

[tristanhilton85]

So what is the rush? It's golf, not the Olympic 100m final.

Mailman

Seriously... 5 hour rounds are absolutely ridiculous, and for it to happen that early in the morning is even worse. I understand that it is golf, but that doesn't mean that it has to be painfully slow. I'm not saying that people need to run to their balls or anything, but 5 hours is not right. Where the hell were the marshals?

[jmsage]

I think 4.5 to 5 hours is a pretty normal pace of play for busy courses like my home course who averages 220-250 players on weekends.

Also they paid their money as well.. They have just as much of a right to the course as you.

[BuckeyeNut]

So what is the rush? It's golf, not the Olympic 100m final.

Mailman

IMO...this is a stupid comment.  What is the rush?

There is no rush...here's the catch............golf should not take 4hrs when you tee off at 7am.   Golf isn't an ALL DAY event.....casual play is 4hrs or less...................... 5hr rounds are for late day hackers.   All kidding aside...good golfer or bad, how well you play is not relevant.    If you can't play in 4hrs, you don't deserve to be on the course before 10am.

The early groups usually play around in 3.5hrs or less...........1 slow early group backs up the course for the rest of the day.

[mailman]

Exactly...just enjoy the scenery, engage in some banter with your playing partner and enjoy the day out. Regards Mailman

[BuckeyeNut]

I guess if you enjoy snail-mail....that may be OK.   LOL

People that play early don't like to stand around waiting to hit a shot all the way around.......for 18 holes.

[mailman]

IMO...this is a stupid comment.  What is the rush? There is no rush...here's the catch............golf should not take 4hrs when you tee off at 7am.   Golf isn't an ALL DAY event.....casual play is 4hrs or less...................... 5hr rounds are for late day hackers.   All kidding aside...good golfer or bad, how well you play is not relevant.    If you can't play in 4hrs, you don't deserve to be on the course before 10am.

Oh get over yourself pal. If you are playing golf then you should be prepared for what ever the pace of play is! Getting your panties in a twist because the round has taken you half an hour longer? Really? If that's what's working you up stick to tiddlywinks. Mailman

[flopster]

Oh get over yourself pal. If you are playing golf then you should be prepared for what ever the pace of play is! Getting your panties in a twist because the round has taken you half an hour longer? Really? If that's what's working you up stick to tiddlywinks.

Mailman

That is wrong, people should not be allowed to cause a backup on the course just because they paid their money, all it does is ruin the day for others behind them but unfortunately most of these jerks really don't care.

[mailman]

I think you need to keep things in perspective Flopster. Golf is a long game to start with and while it can be frustrating to take a little longer than normal to complete a round it is what it is. If you aren't prepared for what ever the pace of play is on the course at the time then perhaps people should be thinking of playing other sports.

If the pace of play is truly that abysmal then call the pro shop and demand them to get someone out to marshall the course and get people to speed up...otherwise enjoy the fact you can afford to be playing golf and, more importantly, can afford the time required to play the sport.

Mailman

[David in FL]

Oh get over yourself pal. If you are playing golf then you should be prepared for what ever the pace of play is! Getting your panties in a twist because the round has taken you half an hour longer? Really? If that's what's working you up stick to tiddlywinks. Mailman

At 7am, that round took at least 1.5 hours longer than a leisurely round should have. Its inconsiderate and/or ignorant people that are driving people away from this game. And yes, the course is to blame if they don't aggressively manage pace of play. That's a little tougher with the first groups out, but they need to be told in no uncertain terms that they're setting the pace for the day and that they're expected to be quick, or they lose the privilege of the early time and can play later. Golf need not be a "long" game. If you want to commune with nature, and take 5+ hours doing so, go fish. At least you won't ruin the day for others.

[mailman]

That's merely the luck of the draw David. Sometimes you win some and sometimes you don't. Get over it because being a little sooky bubba about it isn't going to make any difference. Mailman

[GangGreen]

5+ hour rounds are far and away the most frustrating part of the game. I have good friends who don't play anymore simply because they just can't spend an entire day out on a golf course. Heck, I didn't play for 15 years when my children were younger simply because I felt guilty about being away from the house for that long. The most maddening thing is that pace of play is absolutely controllable but it only takes one inconsiderate (and/or clueless) group to back things up for everyone.

[mcanadiens]

I had my first 5-hour round of the year on Sunday. I got really used to playing on empty courses during the cold weather, so it was a bit of a shock to the system.

Of course, as a hack of the first order, my rounds are always in the afternoon. I was in pretty good company though. The funny thing is that I stand and wait. When my shot becomes available, I'd been standing there so long that I rush. It's pretty stupid. Just going to have to get used to it.

[David in FL]

That's merely the luck of the draw David. Sometimes you win some and sometimes you don't. Get over it because being a little sooky bubba about it isn't going to make any difference.

Mailman

I actually agree with you.  There are too many self-absorbed, inconsiderate people just like you out there.

Sadly, the rest of us can't do much about it, except to choose to play at courses that don't tolerate that type of behavior.  Fortunately, they exist.

[Jeremie Boop]

I don't like the attitude that "these types of players don't belong on the course at 7 am"... I definitely agree that slow golf is annoying, but the attitude in the post was somewhat arrogant. Should they have played faster, sure they should have, but not because it was "7 am". I would hazard to say that the attitude of "you don't belong here at this time" can be just as detrimental to the popularity of golf as slow play can be.