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

[Gipper]

I am a high handicap player and I will not play on a weekend morning. Last year I played a Saturday morning at my father in laws course. Any time I felt the group was waiting on me I picked up my ball and either placed on the green to putt or waited till the next whole. I also did not take the full amount of time to look for lost balls. If I could not find it right away I dropped on in the general area where my last ball was heading. I have no problem playing at off times until my game does not affect those around me. I see early weekend mornings as a rush hour in a very busy city. Yes, when my daughter is old enough to drive she will have every right to drive then but I wont teach her to drive then. Instead I will wait until she has practiced her skills enough to drive during this peak time.

[newtogolf]

I understand the frustration of the OP, but as others have said, this is a game / sport that's declining and these attitudes won't help.  They duffer is probably learning the sport, his buddies are likely better golfers and like to get out early so he joined them.

[imsys0042]

There's a misconception that you have to be good to be at a reasonable pace. You don't, but you need to play smart. At any time you should be keeping pace up, and generally early morning golfers are people who either got up early to finish early or are more experienced and move quicker. Don't rush, but at any time don't hold people up unnecessarily.

[mailman]

That's good that you agree with me that it's pointless being a sook about this. But the reality is that sometimes you do end up stuck behind a slow group. That is life. It's going to happen sooner or later. One of the problems we have is that it's pointless to let people through only because they have no where to go because the hold up is much further on up the field (especially so on competition days, senior days, ladies mornings, junior events etc). So we could all invest our energy in being a bitchy little bitch whinging about them 45 handicappers playing military golf OR we could just enjoy the fact we are fortunate to have an excess of cash and time available to play our beautiful game :) Regards Mailman

[GangGreen]

Maybe its just where I typically play, but I don't necessarily see the level of player being the underlying factor in the pace of play. Certainly its a factor (ie. higher handicappers like myself hit more errant shots, etc.) but I stink and can still get a round in at 3 hours if I'm playing with like minded people. More often then not, its the guys (and gals) who just don't care who hold everyone else up. I usually play as a single at my home course and I expect to have to wait behind other groups so it's usually not a big deal. This past weekend I came up on the group ahead of me, they were all pretty bad (which is fine, again, I stink too) but all 4 of them were just standing on the tee chatting it up. At first I figured they were waiting for the fairway to clear, but there was no one out there (turns out the next 3 holes were clear). I got tired of waiting so I skipped the hole. After I teed off, I looked back and they're still standing there yucking it up. I know golf is supposed to also be social, but come on, hit the dang ball already.

[colin007]

That's good that you agree with me that it's pointless being a sook about this.

But the reality is that sometimes you do end up stuck behind a slow group. That is life. It's going to happen sooner or later.

One of the problems we have is that it's pointless to let people through only because they have no where to go because the hold up is much further on up the field (especially so on competition days, senior days, ladies mornings, junior events etc).

So we could all invest our energy in being a bitchy little bitch whinging about them 45 handicappers playing military golf OR we could just enjoy the fact we are fortunate to have an excess of cash and time available to play our beautiful game :)

Regards

Mailman

heres the problem - they WERE the slow group.  if the course is empty, or in this situation, youre the first ones out, then 4 hours is the MAX that it should take.  and even that is a slow pace.

everyone knows that the early morning tee times are usually going to allow for a fast round.  if you take one of those tee time slots knowing that youre going to be slower than a quick round then be ready for the bitching flack that youll catch.

if i was the OP i would have told both groups that i was going to play on and leave them all behind.

[Jeremie Boop]

Maybe its just where I typically play, but I don't necessarily see the level of player being the underlying factor in the pace of play. Certainly its a factor (ie. higher handicappers like myself hit more errant shots, etc.) but I stink and can still get a round in at 3 hours if I'm playing with like minded people. More often then not, its the guys (and gals) who just don't care who hold everyone else up. I usually play as a single at my home course and I expect to have to wait behind other groups so it's usually not a big deal. This past weekend I came up on the group ahead of me, they were all pretty bad (which is fine, again, I stink too) but all 4 of them were just standing on the tee chatting it up. At first I figured they were waiting for the fairway to clear, but there was no one out there (turns out the next 3 holes were clear). I got tired of waiting so I skipped the hole. After I teed off, I looked back and they're still standing there yucking it up. I know golf is supposed to also be social, but come on, hit the dang ball already.

This, imo, is a totally different scenario than people who are just a bit slow due to being high hdcp players. These people are definitely not paying attention and trying to play and normally when I run into these types of players they tend to let you play through so that they can continue their socializing. There are several people in my league like this and it drives me crazy, but at the same time it's not like we can play through in league so it exacerbates the issue for me. People who are slow, but are actually playing golf are much more easy to deal with than people who play slow because they are doing other things besides playing golf. Those are the people I would consider rude.

heres the problem - they WERE the slow group.  if the course is empty, or in this situation, youre the first ones out, then 4 hours is the MAX that it should take.  and even that is a slow pace.

everyone knows that the early morning tee times are usually going to allow for a fast round.  if you take one of those tee time slots knowing that youre going to be slower than a quick round then be ready for the bitching flack that youll catch.

if i was the OP i would have told both groups that i was going to play on and leave them all behind.

Ideally the faster player would play through, but not all courses allow for a single to play. Morning tee times are normally for people who have things to do in the afternoon, so basically what I'm hearing from some people is if you can't golf in the afternoon and you happen to be a slower/poorer player then you don't have the right to play? Nice attitude there.

[Jeremie Boop]

[RayG]

If it took 5 hours for a two 3 spots to play at 7am, then could you imagine what it would have been like with the 5? I'm going to guess and say that, since both groups were "attached" the guys in front held back at every hole to watch what the other guys were doing. Then a bit of chit chat near the tee boxes, etc... In this case- give some credit to the course for enforcing their no 5'somes rule. But then pull some credit back for not keeping an eye on them after that. The starter HAD to realize what was going to happen out there.

[colin007]

Ideally the faster player would play through, but not all courses allow for a single to play. Morning tee times are normally for people who have things to do in the afternoon, so basically what I'm hearing from some people is if you can't golf in the afternoon and you happen to be a slower/poorer player then you don't have the right to play? Nice attitude there.

no.  what were trying to say is, if you are a slower player (as in a twosome and a threesome taking 5 hours with NOBODY in front of them - which by the way is INEXCUSABLE!) then play faster .  theres no reason why anyone should take 5 hours to play.  not saying you dont have the right to play, just SPEED UP!

edit- and i dont really care if they dont want singles.  i will go on without them (and then they can join each other if they want for a foursome) and let someone tell me i cant do that.  i will then tell them why i felt the need to continue on my own that their lack of pace of play enforcement forced me to go on as a single.

[Jeremie Boop]

no.  what were trying to say is, if you are a slower player (as in a twosome and a threesome taking 5 hours with NOBODY in front of them - which by the way is INEXCUSABLE!) then play faster.  theres no reason why anyone should take 5 hours to play.  not saying you dont have the right to play, just SPEED UP!

edit- and i dont really care if they dont want singles.  i will go on without them (and then they can join each other if they want for a foursome) and let someone tell me i cant do that.  i will then tell them why i felt the need to continue on my own that their lack of pace of play enforcement forced me to go on as a single.

" People like this have no business on the golf course this early!!!"

"If you can't play in 4hrs, you don't deserve to be on the course before 10am." *granted, this isn't saying afternoon, same principle though*

" they're expected to be quick, or they lose the privilege of the early time and can play later."

3 different people basically saying the same thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for people to play as slow as they want, but just saying if they are playing the game, not standing around yacking or whatnot I don't get too upset.

[colin007]

"People like this have no business on the golf course this early!!!

did i say that?

[Jeremie Boop]

did i say that?

Sorry, hit wrong key and it posted before I finished.

[hopefulhacker]

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.

Out of interest, how many groups did you let through during the round?

[whatwoodtigerdo]

Didn't read all the responses and I am sure it has been said but this is a big reason golf is going downhill and courses are going out of business. I have read post similar to this on this site and other forums and it's always the same.

To me 4.5 hour weekend round is standard. Sure it may not be for some of you that want to go super fast but most cards have a pace of play and every now and then look at it. 5 hours is a slower round but a bad hole or two can get you up to that number pretty easy. 5.5 hours is just painfully slow. However I am an okay golfer and play mainly morning weekend rounds and play with bogey golfers who all hit the ball consistent and I HATE the feeling of always being pressed. And it is almost always there. We can play a 4.15 foursome round of golf and feel like we are pressing the group in front of us and being pressed by the group behind us. So I get to pay $50-$60 to go play a sport I really like but have the most uneasy feeling of being rushed all day for no reason. It makes the game quite miserable sometimes and turns a bad round into a horrible one.

Anyway, join a private club or be prepared to pay $150 for rounds or play on goat track courses because everybody but a handful quit this game. Those are the choices if you want 3.5 hour rounds.

[dave s]

To the OP:  I don't get things like what you experienced.  Look at my hdcp.  I suck.  Played Sunday with my wife, a 5th year player.  We finished 18 holes in a total SWAMP of a golf course, (carts on path only; lots of casual water to negotiate) in 3.5 hours.  Teed off at 1pm, finished at 4:30.  I shot a dismal 93, wife had 107 and we STILL finished in 3.5 hours.

Sorry for your painfully slow round.  At least the guys you played with seemed like good company as you stated.  Tell me, were these guys playing from the back tees?  This is usually what I see.  One guy in the group is capable, the rest completely overmatched by the length but play back because one guy 'can.'

dave

[kleraudio]

Listen,

There are unspoken "rules" in golf.  One of them being you better play damn quick if you have a Sunday 7am tee time.  If you're a hack thats fine.  Play in the afternoon.

Mailman keeps saying be happy you have the cash and time to play golf.  Fine, you can be happy at noon if you're gonna shoot a 110 and read every putt for 2 minutes.

I like playing with guys that shoot 110, they're usually a damn cool bunch, BUT NOT AT 7AM.  I book the 7am tee times so I can be off the course before 11 and have the rest of the day.  I'd be pretty pissed at a 5 hour round at 7am.... seriously.

When I want to finish early, I ALWAYS book the first tee time so I never have to experience that.  Sure it's cold and kind of wet, but its worth it to be done in 3 hours.

Hell I've done 18 in 2.5 hours with a threesome in FL.   2.5 hours and I think i shot an 88, so I'm not a 'player' by any means!

[Strandly]

Yeah I'm not buying this early morning nonsense either.  Slow play is bad no matter when it happens.  If you think you deserve faster play in the morning because that's when you happen to play you come across like a douchebag and a clown.  My suggestion is to either get the marshal on the slow players or say something yourself.  And just because you're in the group doesn't mean you have to be a dick and make it awkward-- just say something like hey guys it looks like we're holding people up, let's pick it up some.