The Definitive Pace of Play Thread

[pumaAttack]

Since I've started playing I always see people talking about how long rounds take and complaining about 4.5-5 hour rounds. I just don't see what the big rush is. Sure if people are doing deliberately slow things but if I go out to play on a Sunday I know it will be crowded and it will take a while. It's a weekend, what else do I possibly have to do for 4-5 hours besides hanging out outside while enjoying a few beers and playing a round?

The rush is when you wait at a tee box for 20 minutes before you can hit your drive.  Then you wait 10 minutes in the fairway to hit your approach shot.  Then you start all over at the next hole.  That is not fun...

Sure if you are taking your time and leisurely playing, there is no rush.  What you described is not from people taking their time and enjoying the day, it is from people waiting on others.  How many people enjoy waiting in line???

[billchao]

Since I've started playing I always see people talking about how long rounds take and complaining about 4.5-5 hour rounds. I just don't see what the big rush is. Sure if people are doing deliberately slow things but if I go out to play on a Sunday I know it will be crowded and it will take a while. It's a weekend, what else do I possibly have to do for 4-5 hours besides hanging out outside while enjoying a few beers and playing a round?

Add in travel time and warming up on the range and practice greens, I'm out of the house for 6-7 hours. I have a family to be with, too, so it's important to balance out my time. If golf took less time I'd be able to play more of it.

That, and standing around waiting to play sucks.

[Psyber]

Some of these sound pretty excessive. I haven't had to wait 20 minutes to hit my tee shot yet but it's not uncommon to have to wait 5 or so. I suppose this will change once all the seniors get down here for the winter...

[pumaAttack]

Some of these sound pretty excessive. I haven't had to wait 20 minutes to hit my tee shot yet but it's not uncommon to have to wait 5 or so. I suppose this will change once all the seniors get down here for the winter...

Then consider yourself lucky and understand that you don't have the rush that people here complain about....

[RFKFREAK]

Add in travel time and warming up on the range and practice greens, I'm out of the house for 6-7 hours. I have a family to be with, too, so it's important to balance out my time. If golf took less time I'd be able to play more of it. That, and standing around waiting to play sucks.

Thankfully, my girlfriend wants nothing to do with me on the weekends so that's a non-issue for me. :-D Wait, that might not be a good sign. :-\

[Psyber]

Then consider yourself lucky and understand that you don't have the rush that people here complain about....

I have a feeling it will change when golf season starts.

[Sante TwoGloves]

i play when play is light usually Saturday and Monday afternoons. i havent had to wait all year. many times we have had the course all to ourselves. we got a ton of courses where i live so maybe that is why. i wont even attempt a sunday. too crowded.

[acetoolguy]

Maybe not everybody else on the course is in the same situation?

[Yukari]

It's not rushing through but having to wait that people don't like.

Especially if waiting takes you out of your rhythm and you have to "start all over again" for each shot.

[DrvFrShow]

Pace of play - we played a 5 hr round on Sunday and I'll blame the length of the course. There was no waiting on the tees, or to hit the second shots, or to hit onto the green until the last hole when I got stuck in a bunker. No one held up play. It was just a long walk on a links course. It was the same pace that would take about 3.5 hrs on my compact home course.

I'm not what I'd call a fast player. I think about the shot as I'm approaching the ball. Then I take distance. Grab club. Pick my target. Line up the shot. Step into the ball. Clear my head, and take my swing. I don't take a practice swing unless it's a lie I'm not familiar with.

I'm a rhythm player. I get into a rhythm and things throw me out of it. No one likes to stand around for 5 minutes for each shot. I hate it when courses send out fivesomes, and then a twosome and a single. That's bad time management.

[mcanadiens]

For me, a good pace of play makes a massive difference. As time passes while I stand around waiting to hit my next shot, my mind wanders, my sense of tempo erodes and the likelihood of a decent shot takes a big hit. Understanding this, I've tried different mental tricks to try to overcome it and nothing has really worked. If my game starts really coming off track, the frustration builds and usually concentrates on whoever I perceive to be the cause of the holdup. Then my temper really starts kicking in. I've done some things I'm not super proud of in this position. The old home course is a busy place most weekends and five-hour rounds do happen. While not really economical for me, I've had to go further afield just to remind myself that golf doesn't have to be like that. We have a pretty decent course that just happens to be in a rough part of town. I went out there a couple of weeks ago and had one of the most enjoyable rounds I've played in a while because nobody was out there. I'm thinking it might be do up for another visit this weekend.

[shanksalot]

Despite how long it takes hour wise, the main thing for me is, do I have to wait on every shot on ever hole all day long. If so it is far too slow. People need to play ready golf, not hurry to play, just play ready golf when it is your turn to hit the ball.

[Patch]

There is no rush. Pace of play is what it is, the day you show up to play. Been that way since they were knocking rocks around with sticks, and will stay that way, unless the games is changed from what we play now. Being in a rush is sole problem of the golfer who thinks things are going to slow. I think a lot of times it's a convenient excuse for poor play.

I understand the importance of one's tempo/rhythm when playing their own game. Tempo/rhythm is really important to me in my game, but only from the start of my swing, until impact. Too fast, or too slow, and I hit a poor shot. Just right, and I hit better shots.  Preshot routines, conversation, books, texting, etc... can sometimes be time well spent between shots to get a golfer into focus  on the shot at hand. Then again I can't focus for 3-5 hours straight. For those who can, I can understand why slow play is bothersome.  I start getting into focus just before my pre shot routine. I just don't see a realistic cure for slow play unless the player who is slowed down, figures out how to handle the issue. Slow play is just another golf hazard we all have to deal with. Some more than others, on certain days.

[Lihu]

Some of these sound pretty excessive. I haven't had to wait 20 minutes to hit my tee shot yet but it's not uncommon to have to wait 5 or so. I suppose this will change once all the seniors get down here for the winter...

Yes, the way some of the posts were worded, I agree they sound frustrated. However, here's why I don't like waiting. . .

No one is rushing. Yet, 4.5 hours of waiting on every tee box and every approach shot can be pretty taxing. Especially, if you are waiting on other fairways for partners, and such. If people just setup, shoot and go there would be no complaints. The issue is that a lot of people dawdle on the course. They go to their ball, walk out select a club look down the shot, then grab another club. It's like they can't estimate in 10 yard increments which club to pick. Then there are the situations where a person loses a ball, and looks around for 5 minutes and doesn't find it and then has to think about where to drop the ball.

If people are more proactive in figuring out what they need to do before they get to their balls, prepare the drop positions and whatever other situation they are going to encounter the game would play a lot more smoothly.

A few things that always makes me laugh are the people who wait for a 330 yard green to clear when they clearly can't drive that far, and of course, when they drive consistently 180 yards and wait hopefully for the green to clear from 220 yards away. The other thing that makes me kind of laugh are the people who setup their putts as if they were making the winning shot at the US Open, and miss, and do it again, and again. . .

So, it's not the time per se that bothers most people, it's waiting for someone who is doing something that is akin to waiting behind someone texting at a traffic light and pausing 10 seconds after the light changed before going (or alerted that the light has changed).

It's the oblivious behavior that bothers people from behind. People don't mind waiting for people who play with purpose , because they have a better idea when they can play.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pumaAttack

Then consider yourself lucky and understand that you don't have the rush that people here complain about....

I have a feeling it will change when golf season starts.

The senior golfers usually play pretty fast, as most of them have been playing for years and know how to move. They also know their games pretty well.

The slow people are the ones that think they have 4.5 hours to do whatever they want divided by 18 per hole. As I mentioned above, time is not why people get frustrated waiting. It's the oblivious nature of their movements that can make the wait frustrating. . .

[Natural Patrick]

Yes, the way some of the posts were worded, I agree they sound frustrated. However, here's why I don't like waiting. . .

No one is rushing. Yet, 4.5 hours of waiting on every tee box and every approach shot can be pretty taxing. Especially, if you are waiting on other fairways for partners, and such. If people just setup, shoot and go there would be no complaints. The issue is that a lot of people dawdle on the course. They go to their ball, walk out select a club look down the shot, then grab another club. It's like they can't estimate in 10 yard increments which club to pick. Then there are the situations where a person loses a ball, and looks around for 5 minutes and doesn't find it and then has to think about where to drop the ball.

If people are more proactive in figuring out what they need to do before they get to their balls, prepare the drop positions and whatever other situation they are going to encounter the game would play a lot more smoothly.

A few things that always makes me laugh are the people who wait for a 330 yard green to clear when they clearly can't drive that far, and of course, when they drive consistently 180 yards and wait hopefully for the green to clear from 220 yards away. The other thing that makes me kind of laugh are the people who setup their putts as if they were making the winning shot at the US Open, and miss, and do it again, and again. . .

So, it's not the time per se that bothers most people, it's waiting for someone who is doing something that is akin to waiting behind someone texting at a traffic light and pausing 10 seconds after the light changed before going (or alerted that the light has changed).

It's the oblivious behavior that bothers people from behind. People don't mind waiting for people who play with purpose, because they have a better idea when they can play.

The senior golfers usually play pretty fast, as most of them have been playing for years and know how to move. They also know their games pretty well.

The slow people are the ones that think they have 4.5 hours to do whatever they want divided by 18 per hole. As I mentioned above, time is not why people get frustrated waiting. It's the oblivious nature of their movements that can make the wait frustrating. . .

Pretty good post. When I'm waiting on a group, that I can clearly see knows how to play the game. I tend to just take is a bad timing  and take it for what it is. The frustrating thing for me is watching a group in front of me. Hole after hole, fu%ing around and not playing ready golf, Big difference.

[Fourputt]

Some of these sound pretty excessive. I haven't had to wait 20 minutes to hit my tee shot yet but it's not uncommon to have to wait 5 or so. I suppose this will change once all the seniors get down here for the winter...

Consider that if you are waiting only 5 minutes, then you may be part of the problem if you are taking your time because you don't see any reason to rush and just wait longer.  That attitude (if that applies to you, I'm not saying that it does, but your comment makes you suspect) is one of the major causes of logjams on the course.  Usually it's not the first group of the day that is slow, it's an accumulation - each successive group takes a little longer in order to not be on the heels of the group in front, and by the time 10 groups are on the course the delays have started.  This is the state of golf today on too many courses, especially on the weekends.  Too many golfers think like you do, and just accept 4½ hours and more as normal, but it wasn't normal 20 years ago. and there is no good reason for it to be normal today.

My brother and I played 8½ rounds (153 holes) last week, most of the time as a twosome, and when we weren't being held up, we averaged a leisurely 6 holes per hour.  Even when we played as a foursome we played on a relaxed 4 hour pace.  We play by the rules, we had a number of ball searches, and played through several groups when we were playing as two, and we still kept our round times to 3 hours or less.  We played 36 holes on Monday, including an hour for lunch to wait out a rainstorm.  The first round started at 11 AM and we were done with 36 holes and on the road before 6:30.  Our slowest round of the week was on Saturday and that was just 4.02, yet it seemed slow even playing as a foursome because we waited a lot.

[RFKFREAK]

Yes, the way some of the posts were worded, I agree they sound frustrated. However, here's why I don't like waiting. . . No one is rushing. Yet, 4.5 hours of waiting on every tee box and every approach shot can be pretty taxing. Especially, if you are waiting on other fairways for partners, and such. If people just setup, shoot and go there would be no complaints. The issue is that a lot of people dawdle on the course. They go to their ball, walk out select a club look down the shot, then grab another club. It's like they can't estimate in 10 yard increments which club to pick. Then there are the situations where a person loses a ball, and looks around for 5 minutes and doesn't find it and then has to think about where to drop the ball. If people are more proactive in figuring out what they need to do before they get to their balls, prepare the drop positions and whatever other situation they are going to encounter the game would play a lot more smoothly. A few things that always makes me laugh are the people who wait for a 330 yard green to clear when they clearly can't drive that far, and of course, when they drive consistently 180 yards and wait hopefully for the green to clear from 220 yards away. The other thing that makes me kind of laugh are the people who setup their putts as if they were making the winning shot at the US Open, and miss, and do it again, and again. . . So, it's not the time per se that bothers most people, it's waiting for someone who is doing something that is akin to waiting behind someone texting at a traffic light and pausing 10 seconds after the light changed before going (or alerted that the light has changed). It's the oblivious behavior that bothers people from behind. People don't mind waiting for people who play with purpose , because they have a better idea when they can play. The senior golfers usually play pretty fast, as most of them have been playing for years and know how to move. They also know their games pretty well. The slow people are the ones that think they have 4.5 hours to do whatever they want divided by 18 per hole. As I mentioned above, time is not why people get frustrated waiting. It's the oblivious nature of their movements that can make the wait frustrating. . .

Or the person that gets dropped off at his ball, only grabs one club and, after the other guy has already driven away, changes his mind and walks to the driver of the cart to get a different club rather than grabbing a few clubs when he got dropped off.

[RGoosen]

Despite how long it takes hour wise, the main thing for me is, do I have to wait on every shot on ever hole all day long. If so it is far too slow. People need to play ready golf, not hurry to play, just play ready golf when it is your turn to hit the ball.

I agree. The total time playing is a distant second to not being able to approach my ball and hit it when I'm ready. I'd be glad to spend 5-6 hours on the golf course if I was playing 27-36 holes.