First group out - responsibility to play quickly?

[ZappyAd]

I played my first (and probably last) round on a Saturday morning this week at the course where I'm a member.  In front of us were two fourballs made up of a group that always play together at that time every week (first group out at about 6:45 am).  They were slow.  Like really slow.  We gave up on the twelfth because it was so bad after repeated attempts to ask to play through.

But it got me thinking that this group of eight guys were impacting everybody else who was playing on that course that morning.  Slow play that day wasn't some complicated combination of factors that was really hard to even conceptualise.  It was basically that the two groups at the front of the line were playing like they wanted to spend their entire day on the golf course and apparently the club doesn't have anything in place to make sure it doesn't happen.

So it made me wonder if you are one of the first groups out do you have a responsibility to play quickly so that the course doesn't get clogged up early?  Do any golf courses actually have rules to address this so that if you set out before say 9am you are told you are on the clock?  I was thinking of suggesting something to the club because these guys are going to be there every Saturday all summer and it can't be good for the reputation of the club or for business.

[boogielicious]

57 minutes ago, ZappyAd said:

I played my first (and probably last) round on a Saturday morning this week at the course where I'm a member.  In front of us were two fourballs made up of a group that always play together at that time every week (first group out at about 6:45 am).  They were slow.  Like really slow.  We gave up on the twelfth because it was so bad after repeated attempts to ask to play through.

But it got me thinking that this group of eight guys were impacting everybody else who was playing on that course that morning.  Slow play that day wasn't some complicated combination of factors that was really hard to even conceptualise.  It was basically that the two groups at the front of the line were playing like they wanted to spend their entire day on the golf course and apparently the club doesn't have anything in place to make sure it doesn't happen.

So it made me wonder if you are one of the first groups out do you have a responsibility to play quickly so that the course doesn't get clogged up early?  Do any golf courses actually have rules to address this so that if you set out before say 9am you are told you are on the clock?  I was thinking of suggesting something to the club because these guys are going to be there every Saturday all summer and it can't be good for the reputation of the club or for business.

I would call them out with the Pro shop and the membership. There is no excuse for that. They are hurting the entire course and all that play there.

[Patch]

Voice your concerns about this particular group to the club house. See what they say. You might get their permission to "jump ahead"  of the slow group, since they won't allow you to play through.

I am part of a 6 player group, and we play every thurday morning. We go out as two groups of three,, and are happy to have a couple strangers join us, to "fill out" our groups. We are walkers. We don"t play any faster than we normally would, even though we are the first ones' out. Playing faster than we normally would be determental to our little group's competitive nature with each other. Playing faster would mess up our game's timing.  By the time the  6 of us walk off the 18th green, it's usually 4 to 4.5 hours. If anyone wants to play through, which rarely happens, or  the two strangers want to move a head on their own,  we have no problem with that.  

As for anyone having the responsibility to play faster, I'd say no, and I'd leave that up to them. I am in the minority when it comes to slow play. I just figure it's just another part of the game, and I deal with it, so as not to let it effect my game in a negetive way.  I don't like slow play, but I also think not much can be done about it, since not everyone plays at the same pace. Some folks are faster, while other folks are slower in just about everything we humans do. 

[pganapathy]

Every group has a responsibility to play fast and ensure you are not holding up a group behind you.  The first or the second last, there is no difference.  You basically need to bring this up in your club committee meetings or otherwise AGM's and ensure that there is a pace of play rule that allows people to pass slow groups and also pushes people to play faster.  Perhaps carts might help this group if they are walking slow

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, ZappyAd said:

So it made me wonder if you are one of the first groups out do you have a responsibility to play quickly so that the course doesn't get clogged up early?

Nope

Even if you play fast the 2nd group can hold up the course. It's up to every group to play ready golf at pace faster than a 4 hour round. 

1 hour ago, ZappyAd said:

Do any golf courses actually have rules to address this so that if you set out before say 9am you are told you are on the clock? 

That is unreasonable in my opinion. 

[DaveP043]

2 hours ago, ZappyAd said:

So it made me wonder if you are one of the first groups out do you have a responsibility to play quickly so that the course doesn't get clogged up early?  Do any golf courses actually have rules to address this so that if you set out before say 9am you are told you are on the clock?  

I'm pretty much with @saevel25 here, I think everyone has a responsibility to play at a reasonable pace.  I've read policies at some clubs that will penalize "slow" players by limiting their access to early tee times if they too play slow a certain number of times.  Some of these clubs run front and back tees on weekends, and one slow group throws a wrench into the whole system.

[Jeremie Boop]

You are responsible to play the pace of play dictated by the course, if there is one. If the course says an round should take you 4:15 and you make it around in that time or less you are fine. If you take 4:30 then you need to find a way to play faster next time. Failing an official pace of play by the course, the generally accepted 4-4:30 time frame should be the target. I don't think you have to speed around the course by any means, but if you aren't able to hold to the official pace of play then you probably shouldn't be one of the first groups out. While I agree that each person on the course is responsible for keeping pace, it is fairly important for the first groups to at least start everything off on the right foot.

[David in FL]

I know many courses that reserve the early times for those that have proven that they play quickly.  It's a matter of economics, as well as courtesy to the rest of the players.

As always though, it's ultimately the course's responsibility to enforce their own policy.

[krupa]

2 hours ago, Patch said:

I don't like slow play, but I also think not much can be done about it, since not everyone plays at the same pace. Some folks are faster, while other folks are slower in just about everything we humans do.

There's a difference between playing slowly and

3 hours ago, ZappyAd said:

playing like they wanted to spend their entire day on the golf course

Everyone is responsible for playing at a good pace, but the first groups have a bit more responsibility because they set the pace for the day.  And if they insist on playing slowly, they should at least be considerate enough to let faster groups play through.

[mcanadiens]

I think it's common sense that groups who know they'll be slow go out in the late afternoon. When I was a total beginner, my buddy would pick the late afternoon tee times, so that we wouldn't hold people up. 

The first group off on a given day is a pace-setter. They don't really need to be faster than standards, but they better not be slower.

[Missouri Swede]

4 hours ago, ZappyAd said:

So it made me wonder if you are one of the first groups out do you have a responsibility to play quickly so that the course doesn't get clogged up early?  Do any golf courses actually have rules to address this so that if you set out before say 9am you are told you are on the clock?  I was thinking of suggesting something to the club because these guys are going to be there every Saturday all summer and it can't be good for the reputation of the club or for business.

 

3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I would call them out with the Pro shop and the membership. There is no excuse for that. They are hurting the entire course and all that play there.

@ZappyAd, if/when you do bring it up with the course management, it might be helpful to point out what's in the Etiquette section of the Rules of Golf.  (It it were me, I'd bring my printed copy.):

Quote

Pace of Play 

Play at Good Pace and Keep Up 

Players should play at a good pace. The Committee may establish pace of play guidelines that all players should follow. 

It is a group's responsibility to keep up with the group in front. If it loses a clear hole and it is delaying the group behind, it should invite the group behind to play through, irrespective of the number of players in that group. Where a group has not lost a clear hole, but it is apparent that the group behind can play faster, it should invite the faster moving group to play through.

I figure if they're the first group out, then it falls into the "not lost a clear hole" category.

[Groucho Valentine]

3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I would call them out with the Pro shop and the membership. There is no excuse for that. They are hurting the entire course and all that play there.

This. 

[David in FL]

One of the local clubs here does it right.  On Sat and Sun they schedule an 8:30 shotgun that anyone can get into.  They shotgun off holes 14-7.  Anyone who wants to play earlier can do so, but must clear the 7th tee prior to 8:30.  That means that in order to get one of the coveted early times, you need to commit to a 3-hour pace.  Those who blow it, blow it for the entire course, and know that they'll lose that privilege.  No one blows it!

[rehmwa]

"responsibility"?  NO

Courtesy?  absolutely - these two groups have diminished the experience of every group and player for the entire rest of the day.

The 'responsibility' lies with the course management and employees to enforce pace of play.

Once the OP asked to play through, several times, then it's clear these groups were discourteous and not gentlemen in any way.  The next step is to call the clubhouse from the course and complain and try to get a ranger out immediately.

Then, I'd bring the grievance again to the club at the end of the round as well.

[jetsknicks1]

I don't think they have a responisiblity to play "quickly" but they do have a responsibility to not play slow.  I have a set group that plays every Saturday morning and we're dew sweepers, we always try to get one of the first 3 tee times of the day and it can get frustrating being the second group off and having to wait on most shots because the first group is slow. 

 

note** this doesn't happen often as most folks who go off bright and early do so because they like to play at a good pace and have the rest of the day still ahead of them.

[Golfingdad]

If I play on a weekend in the middle of the morning I am accepting the risk that it might be slow because many groups are on the course and the odds are pretty good that one of them is slow.  However, if I snag one of the first few times then I expect to be able to play at a reasonable pace.  So, yes, those first groups have a little more responsibility to play not be slow.

I played as part of a threesome a couple of weeks ago at 5:37am and we couldn't even keep up with the foursome in front of us.  We were walking and we finished in 3:45.

[bkuehn1952]

4 hours ago, ZappyAd said:

I played my first (and probably last) round on a Saturday morning this week at the course where I'm a member.  In front of us were two fourballs made up of a group that always play together at that time every week (first group out at about 6:45 am).  They were slow.  Like really slow.  We gave up on the twelfth because it was so bad after repeated attempts to ask to play through.

If possible, I would like a bit more information.

What do you mean by "really slow"?  4+ hours so they will finish after 11am?  Presumably you teed off at 7:05am so what time was it when you quit after 11 holes?

When you asked to play through several times did they just said "no" every time?  Usually a group that refuses a request to play through has some sort of explanation as to why.  What was their explanation?

[MrDC]

It's everybody’s responsibility to play at a good pace, not just the first group, I see no reason to point them out, you got stuck behind a slow group, end of story.

But that's why I avoid early tee times, that's when everyone wants to play, I bet you'll find that most complaints about slow pay are early morning players, I play late and never run into slow play, because the courses are usually pretty empty.

Edited July 21, 2016 by MrDC