The Definitive Pace of Play Thread

[mvmac]

I don't think carts or gambling cause slow play, I think slow golfers (uneducated players on ready golf) cause slow play

[Psyber]

I see the potential for a new service......anti-slow-play adviser.  For a moderate fee, I'll play with your group and train you to play faster without hurrying.  Yeah, you'll think I'm nagging for half the round, when I tell you "take 3 clubs and walk to your ball....NOW, kid!" or "drive now, write your scores down by the next tee" or whatever else I tell you, but after a couple of days with me you WILL know how to play faster.

Some of this advice like taking a few clubs you think you might want is solid but I am also out enjoying my day off. I want to play at a reasonable pace but I am not in a major hurry. In general we'll drive to the ball, pull out phone and look at the yardage, grab a club or two, driver goes to his ball, everyone hits when ready and then we move up. As players who aren't good generally greens are missed in one shape or another and require a pitch or chip to get to the green and we always grab our putters with the wedge when parking the cart on the path near the green. After putting we get to the cart and write down scores and move on. I don't think anyone needs to do much more than that. Even with all that we often wait to drive then wait for the green to clear on each hole. So even doing our best to play at a good pace without rushing it STILL has waiting.

[RGoosen]

Some of this advice like taking a few clubs you think you might want is solid but I am also out enjoying my day off. I want to play at a reasonable pace but I am not in a major hurry. In general we'll drive to the ball, pull out phone and look at the yardage, grab a club or two, driver goes to his ball, everyone hits when ready and then we move up. As players who aren't good generally greens are missed in one shape or another and require a pitch or chip to get to the green and we always grab our putters with the wedge when parking the cart on the path near the green. After putting we get to the cart and write down scores and move on. I don't think anyone needs to do much more than that. Even with all that we often wait to drive then wait for the green to clear on each hole. So even doing our best to play at a good pace without rushing it STILL has waiting.

You are correct. This is why I don't enjoy teeing off later than 8 am on the weekends. When I tee off I would at least like to have so hope of finishing in < 4 hours.

[pumaAttack]

You are correct. This is why I don't enjoy teeing off later than 8 am on the weekends. When I tee off I would at least like to have so hope of finishing in < 4 hours.

I guess to me the actual time doesn't matter.

It is the pace of play.  If I have to wait for two groups at a par 3, then I get annoyed.  If it is a steady but somewhat slow pace that is fine.

[Psyber]

You are correct. This is why I don't enjoy teeing off later than 8 am on the weekends. When I tee off I would at least like to have so hope of finishing in < 4 hours.

My problem is I don't like being up before 8am on the weekends. I'd seriously rather a slow ass round at 10 then have to drag my ass out of bed at 7 on a Saturday. So I just accept it. Some people are really morning people and they get the advantage of a wide open course.

[Missouri Swede]

After putting we get to the cart and write down scores and move on. ...  Even with all that we often wait to drive then wait for the green to clear on each hole.

Just a suggestion:  change the order a little by getting to the cart, then moving on, then writing down scores.  Sometimes "waiting for the green to clear" is waiting for those guys ahead to write down their scores before they get going.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psyber

After putting we get to the cart and write down scores and move on. ...  Even with all that we often wait to drive then wait for the green to clear on each hole.

Just a suggestion:  change the order a little by getting to the cart, then moving on, then writing down scores.  Sometimes "waiting for the green to clear" is waiting for those guys ahead to write down their scores before they get going.

Yeah.  This may be the one thing that makes me the most frustrated on a busy course - is the group so oblivious that they can't be bothered to move away from the green promptly?  Or do they just not give a damn?  Marking the scores before moving away from the green sets me off like nothing else - it's one of the few things I see on the course that I will even say something to them about.  This shows such a misplaced sense of entitlement that I simply can't even believe that any golfer who cares about the sport enough to hang out in this forum could possibly think that there is any way to justify it.  It's a bad habit when no one is waiting, and it's completely unacceptable when there is anyone visible behind you.

I don't even care if there is someone behind me or not, I leave the area of the green as soon as my group is finished .   If the guys ahead of us are still on the tee when we approach it then fine, we'll stop well away to give them some space and THEN, and only THEN will I mark scores from the last hole .

[Dave2512]

Not just scores but ball washing, putting away clubs and anything but moving on. After I hit a shot I sit down and hit the pedal. Everything else is done after I arrive at the next shot.

[Psyber]

Just a suggestion:  change the order a little by getting to the cart, then moving on, then writing down scores.  Sometimes "waiting for the green to clear" is waiting for those guys ahead to write down their scores before they get going.

Not sure why I need to move when the cart path is long away from the green that I'm not stopping anyone from playing.

[Missouri Swede]

Not sure why I need to move when the cart path is long away from the green that I'm not stopping anyone from playing.

Because sometimes I really hook the ball (and yes, I'm taking lessons to work on that).

My distance can be good (meaning I've chosen the right club) when I make decent contact, but it's not going to the green; it's coming right down the cart path at you.  So I wait.

[Dave2512]

Typical green is in the 28 yards wide range. My directional miss is bigger than that. Especially when you consider people play away from bunkers and stuff like that. Paths are usually close enough to the danger zone.

[RGoosen]

My problem is I don't like being up before 8am on the weekends. I'd seriously rather a slow ass round at 10 then have to drag my ass out of bed at 7 on a Saturday. So I just accept it. Some people are really morning people and they get the advantage of a wide open course.

Yes it can definitely be a tough choice for me sometimes. It is interesting that I will hit the snooze button several times when getting up for work at 6:45, but if I have to get at 5:30 to play golf I jump right up. :) It does suck getting up in the dark and feeling stiff on the 1st tee, but how awesome is it to have a nice comfortable round with a wide open course, be able to play as a twosome in < 3 hours. We can have lunch, I can take a nap, and then watch the college football games. If I tee off 8:30 or later on Saturday you can guarantee there will be a foursome that has the sense of entitlement that every group behind him can wait on him b/c his group is playing at the maximum pace of play allowed for the course. Why can't golfers aspire to do better? I actually repair partners ball marks, divots, and sometimes sand traps to speed up play or to be couteous. My friends do the same for me. I always carry 2-4 balls in my pocket b/c it's not right to make others wait. I look for a ball only briefly in a casual round b/c I didn't come to the golf course to get poison ivy on my ankle...I came to play golf. 4:15 is too much standing around and too much "not caring about others in your group and/or not caring about those behind you."

[Psyber]

Regardless I think it's nitpicking if the scorecard is clipped to the wheel and your partner says what did you get and writes it down we used a grand total of about 10-15 seconds of time writing it down. Really, I get the point but we're talking about three minutes a round writing dow the score. It's not even close to the cause of slow play. It's mostly ball searches, deciding on what shot to hit and just plain bad shots. When I have a bad hole and it takes me 4 shots to hit the green even If I am moving as fast as I can I am causing slow play simply by just not playing well. If you're a beginner and you throw up a few snowmen a round that is going to take a lot more time than someone who hits the green in two.

[Psyber]

Yes it can definitely be a tough choice for me sometimes. It is interesting that I will hit the snooze button several times when getting up for work at 6:45, but if I have to get at 5:30 to play golf I jump right up. :)

It does suck getting up in the dark and feeling stiff on the 1st tee, but how awesome is it to have a nice comfortable round with a wide open course, be able to play as a twosome in < 3 hours. We can have lunch, I can take a nap, and then watch the college football games.

If I tee off 8:30 or later on Saturday you can guarantee there will be a foursome that has the sense of entitlement that every group behind him can wait on him b/c his group is playing at the maximum pace of play allowed for the course. Why can't golfers aspire to do better? I actually repair partners ball marks, divots, and sometimes sand traps to speed up play or to be couteous. My friends do the same for me. I always carry 2-4 balls in my pocket b/c it's not right to make others wait. I look for a ball only briefly in a casual round b/c I didn't come to the golf course to get poison ivy on my ankle...I came to play golf. 4:15 is too much standing around and too much "not caring about others in your group and/or not caring about those behind you."

My goal this winter is to try and train myself to wake up early and try and squeeze in nine holes before work. I work from home and the course is only a few minutes up the road so I think I can pull it off a few times. If I got the first tee time on the local executive I know I can play it in two hours flat with a cart.

[RGoosen]

My goal this winter is to try and train myself to wake up early and try and squeeze in nine holes before work. I work from home and the course is only a few minutes up the road so I think I can pull it off a few times. If I got the first tee time on the local executive I know I can play it in two hours flat with a cart.

It is hard at first be you will be glad you did. I play around 50-60 rounds a year. I haven't played a single round of golf on a non-resort course that lasted over four hours b/c I make sure I tee off before 8am. After a couple of stress free rounds you will will want to play at sunrise forever. :)

[DeadMan]

Regardless I think it's nitpicking if the scorecard is clipped to the wheel and your partner says what did you get and writes it down we used a grand total of about 10-15 seconds of time writing it down. Really, I get the point but we're talking about three minutes a round writing dow the score. It's not even close to the cause of slow play. It's mostly ball searches, deciding on what shot to hit and just plain bad shots. When I have a bad hole and it takes me 4 shots to hit the green even If I am moving as fast as I can I am causing slow play simply by just not playing well. If you're a beginner and you throw up a few snowmen a round that is going to take a lot more time than someone who hits the green in two.

The problem is that all of the little things add up. 3 minutes here and there, a few lost balls, and all of the sudden you're at a 4.5 hour round. The problem is that people don't get how these little things make them slow. "Oh, ready golf doesn't save that much time, so why bother?" That might be true on its own, but when you park the cart in the wrong place, forget clubs, don't play ready golf, write down scores at the green instead of the tee box, then it really adds up.

That would require people to care...

And that is the point of my "idealistic" claims.

People do not care that they are slow and don't want to be bother to learn the ready golf rules.

For reference, I looked back at my rounds over the past year. My GPS keeps a log of how long a round takes. I've broken 4 hours at the following, public, courses in the Denver area in the past year: Willis Care (okay, it was 4 hours, 2 minutes, but still), Fox Hollow, Homestead, the Meadows, Applewood, Raccoon Creek, and Common Ground. The point being that's possible, and more people need to be shooting for it. Time is valuable, and golf taking up half a day with a drive, warm up, and 4.5+ hour round is not something to just shrug your shoulders at, in my opinion.

[mvmac]

The problem is that all of the little things add up. 3 minutes here and there, a few lost balls, and all of the sudden you're at a 4.5 hour round. The problem is that people don't get how these little things make them slow.

Right. Not taking your driver with you to the green when the tee is close by, leaving your clubs in the wrong place around the green, putting the headcover on your club when you can just hold it for the cart ride and put it in the bag when you hit your next shot, waiting until it's your turn to read your putt or get your yardage.

[Natural Patrick]

Yeah.  This may be the one thing that makes me the most frustrated on a busy course - is the group so oblivious that they can't be bothered to move away from the green promptly?  Or do they just not give a damn?  Marking the scores before moving away from the green sets me off like nothing else - it's one of the few things I see on the course that I will even say something to them about.  This shows such a misplaced sense of entitlement that I simply can't even believe that any golfer who cares about the sport enough to hang out in this forum could possibly think that there is any way to justify it.  It's a bad habit when no one is waiting, and it's completely unacceptable when there is anyone visible behind you.

I don't even care if there is someone behind me or not, I leave the area of the green as soon as my group is finished.   If the guys ahead of us are still on the tee when we approach it then fine, we'll stop well away to give them some space and THEN, and only THEN will I mark scores from the last hole.

X1000 !!