What is your definition of slow play?

[Lihu]

If people who've driven 200 yards are waiting for a green to clear from 250+ yards that is ridiculous. It's up to them, but it's still a little too conservative.

Very few people carry any club more than 250, and if you do then you know you do. You wait. For the vast majority of other golfers, 250 out, just hit the ball.

[Strandly]

If I'm waiting for you... you're slow.

[bubble]

your slow if you take more than 30 seconds to play once you are at distance with your ball. thats the rule.

most slow players are the unorganized then the second worst the youth scratch players reading tiger style a 3 yard putt 1 min to take 3 putts.

[Fourputt]

If people who've driven 200 yards are waiting for a green to clear from 250+ yards that is ridiculous. It's up to them, but it's still a little too conservative.

Very few people carry any club more than 250, and if you do then you know you do. You wait. For the vast majority of other golfers, 250 out, just hit the ball.

Yep.  If a good drive leaves you less than halfway to the hole, then quit standing around and hit the ball!

[DrvFrShow]

I don't know how long I take to be honest. When I'm playing by myself I think three hours. Sometimes 3.5 - it depends upon how hot it is outside. If it's hot I'm moving a little slower. I walk. My shot routine: I'm looking at my shot as I'm approaching my ball. When I get there. If it's a par 4 and my approach shot, I'll take out my rangefinder and shoot the green. Then take out the club. I know my club distances. Take a couple practice swings. Line up. Step in. Hit. Put the club in the bag and move on. Par 5 skip the rangefinder for the second shot. I putt with the flag in the hole. I don't know how I can cut down the time.

I've seen people on the course walking play through and just zip by. They're playing like they have a meeting to get to and they're squeezing in 9 holes or 18 holes. at a rate that if they walked any faster they'd be jogging.

In a foursome we finish in 3.5 hrs. walking. I don't think 3.5 hrs is slow.

4 hrs is average for a foursome.

> 4.5 hrs is slow.

The second shot window for me is > 210 yds. I'll hit. Theoretically I could put it on the green if I really caught it, but chances are under 5%. 95% of the time it will be short or near green on the right.

[jetsknicks1]

Slow play is sometimes relative. Went out as a twosome and played in 3 hours which is by no means slow, but we played behind a slower twosome and had to wait on 90% of our shots. Complaining about a 3 hour round is silly but it felt like we were playing slow.

[eich41]

Few comments on this... First on the time per stroke debate, it doesn't really work as the higher handicap players most likely have several penalty strokes on a hole, not to mention the fluffed chip shots and missed three footers Secondly anything over 4:15 minutes is a slow round. There are many things that can contribute to that including stacked tee times, slow players, etc. As for slow players, besides the obvious of standing over putts too long, taking too many practice swings, and not playing ready golf, the biggest culprit that really backs up a course is looking for lost balls faaaaar too long. You'll see guys digging around the water/swampy areas, 50 feet into the thick woods, etc. At that point you're not going to have a playable lie anyways. Take a drop and play your next shot. It's ridiculous the amount of time some guys spend looking for wayward shots that have no chance of being playable. Lastly, pace of play is relevant. Some guys think that it is their right to take every last minute of the 4:15-30 they are allowed and if they hold up a faster group they'll just have to wait. If there isn't a group right in front of you let the faster group play through. Everyone will be happier. The faster group doesn't have to wait and you won't have a group up your ass the whole round.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

Listening to you guys say that 4:30 is a slow round is quite comical to me. I would pay extra each week if I was guaranteed a round in 4:30. There's no chance of playing that fast here unless the course is (somehow) dead. Which they never seem to be.

[iacas]

I'll say this…

@mvmac and I played a course one time. A tough course. We replayed three holes (they're in a little loop) once, hit an extra ball now and then… and were driving away for a few minutes when we hit the 3-hour mark. :P

Today I was playing golf and waited on every shot on the front nine. We got a hot dog and a cold Snickers at the turn and went to the 10th tee. When we arrived we waited for a few minutes before I looked at my watch. It had been 2:05 or so.

Four hours is slow, yet so many people would be happy to play in four hours. So, anything over 4 hours is S-L-O-W.

[Strandly]

Just got back from a 5.5 hour round.  How about them apples.

[HawkNballs]

Just got back from a 5.5 hour round.  How about them apples.

We must have played the same course. Brutal!

[Strandly]

We must have played the same course. Brutal!

Yeah this was at least the fourth time in a row I was stuck behind a fivesome.  I got paired with a twosome on the front and they bailed at the turn because they couldn't stand the wait, I stuck around like an idiot...

[colin007]

I'll agree with Erik except that ima say that 4 hrs is slow.

[Mac62]

We played a round (twosome) today in just over 3:00 (as to the thought that faster play only applies to low scorers, I shot a 92 and my playing partner shot a 95).  Decided to start on the back 9 because the pro shop guy said a couple of very slow groups had just teed off on the front.  As we drove up 9 towards 10, there was a husband and wife twosome approaching the 9th green.  We teed off on 10, put a two-hole lead on them by 13 and never saw another group within two holes of us ahead or behind for the rest of the day.  We weren't rushing in the least - both of us struggled on a few holes and had to look for our balls in the waste areas, dig them out of the edges of water hazards, hit provisionals, etc.  But while we weren't rushing, we weren't dawdling either - got to our ball, hit and moved on without unnecessary dicking around.

(The fact that the course wasn't very busy may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that it was 102 degrees F, I'm not sure.)

[WatchOutLeft]

We played a round (twosome) today in just over 3:00 (as to the thought that faster play only applies to low scorers, I shot a 92 and my playing partner shot a 95).  Decided to start on the back 9 because the pro shop guy said a couple of very slow groups had just teed off on the front.  As we drove up 9 towards 10, there was a husband and wife twosome approaching the 9th green.  We teed off on 10, put a two-hole lead on them by 13 and never saw another group within two holes of us ahead or behind for the rest of the day.  We weren't rushing in the least - both of us struggled on a few holes and had to look for our balls in the waste areas, dig them out of the edges of water hazards, hit provisionals, etc.  But while we weren't rushing, we weren't dawdling either - got to our ball, hit and moved on without unnecessary dicking around.

(The fact that the course wasn't very busy may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that it was 102 degrees F, I'm not sure.)

No thank you. I'll remember this the next time I'm feeling sorry for myself because I'm hiking up the side of a mountain. High 80s is pretty hot here.

[Mac62]

No thank you. I'll remember this the next time I'm feeling sorry for myself because I'm hiking up the side of a mountain. High 80s is pretty hot here.

Heck, it's only just starting to get warm down here in the desert....we've actually gotten a late start, we're usually 100+ degrees from mid-May until late September!  In July and August, it'll already be 100 degrees if you tee off at 7:30 am - if you want to play anytime from late morning until the evening, you'll be looking at 110-120 degrees.  Wear a hat you can soak, take lots of water and go easy on the beer! The nice thing about it is, it sure cuts down on the crowds on the course.

[David in FL]

Just got back from a 5.5 hour round.  How about them apples.

Kill me now....

[saevel25]

Kill me now....

If it was a scramble that is a good time, and wouldn't feel slow on the course ;)

I played 18 yesterday by myself. I got stuck behind two foursomes and played the first 9 in about 2 hours and that felt like a snails pace. I was able to pass one of them on hole 7, then pass the other on hole 10 and just set a blistering pace on the back finishing in shy of 1.5 hours. It would be faster if I didn't catch another group on hole 14.

Yesterday, I played 18 in 3.5 hours and I thought it went slow. Of course I was a single, so it is all in perspective really. ;)

I think it would be something like,

Single, Good Handicap, Riding, Good Pace around 3 hours

Foursome, Bad Handicaps, Riding, Good Pace = 4 - 4.5 hours