Slow play etiquette

[BristolGolf]

I have only started playing this year but forked out for membership at a local course, I just did my first ever 18 holes there with two guests (all of us high handicaps), it is a fantastic course, but signage is poor and confusing and I didn't have a clue how to play each hole, so our scores were everywhere and we were stumbling between holes a little getting lost. The problem came around the 10th hole when a fella approached my group and told us in a very angry tone to speed up play, I said he was welcome to play through, but he wasn't interested (and was borderline aggressive!). The key issue we have is that as a group we often have to hit a provisional ball, so it is not uncommon for all three of us to need two off the tee, which granted can slow things down, but we are playing by the rules. I would hate to annoy other players, but do feel that having paid hundreds on membership and my guests paying steep green fees we have a right to pay by the rules without someone approaching us making us feel unwelcome and rather silly, that being said I would hate to think that I am breaking some sort of etiquette! We let a two ball through on 7, and watched then literally sprinting down the fairway because they were feeling under pressure, madness! 

What would be the advice?  Should  skip hitting two and take a drop further up to speed us up off the tee? That feels like we would be cheating - but is that the right thing to do? Or as high handicaps should we book later tee times?  In the end we skipped a hole to create room - leaving me feeling a little cheated and my guests feeling like they did not get their moneys worth... 

Edited October 9, 2016 by BristolGolf

[newtogolf]

Welcome to the site!  Starting out on the course can be a bit intimidating and confusing.  In terms of pace of play you just need to make sure your group is keeping pace with the group in front of you, assuming they have the same or more golfers than your group.  

If you find your group isn't keeping up with the group in front of them, then you either need to increase your pace of play or allow faster groups behind you to play through (as you offered).  

Some other tips to help you keep pace on the course.  

• Make sure you're playing ready golf, everyone should be at their ball ready to hit when it's there turn.  Get your distance, choose your club while your playing partners are hitting their shots, this way when it's your turn you just line up your shot and swing
• Use cheap balls so you don't spend a lot of time looking for lost balls.  Players who have located their balls should play them before helping others to look for theirs.  
• If you're all losing shots off the tee and hitting provisional balls it indicates you need more practice with your driver at the range, use a club you hit the ball better with off the tee (5 wood, hybrid, iron), even if it doesn't go as far.  You will play faster and probably score better.  
• Pick up after double par.  

[BristolGolf]

Picking up after double par sounds like good advice - we play under the general rule that we max out at 10, picking up at double par would speed us up, I have not considered that before as I want a true reflection of where my game is it in respect to score. The lost ball issue is simply an issue off the tee - and yes I need a lot more practice at my tee shots (that alone would transform my game) - to be fair it is mostly stress, I want to play well and have fun, and I want to enjoy the day and the course (knowing that playing well impacts that) so I tend to fluff a lot of tee shots, someone needs to tranquilize me that would help :) 

[Shooting29]

Here are things I would do if I  were you. 

Since you are new and you don't know the layout,  ask an employee or another club member to show you around so you can be aquainted with the track. On that same line I would go to Google and look at  satellite view of the course and better learn the layout. 

I would talk with the pro shop staff and find out what are the peak and off peak times for each day. Since you feel you are slow, try to play on off peak days and times that way you can learn the game and learn to be more efficient without holding up the group behind.

 

 

 

[newtogolf]

7 minutes ago, BristolGolf said:

Picking up after double par sounds like good advice - we play under the general rule that we max out at 10, picking up at double par would speed us up, I have not considered that before as I want a true reflection of where my game is it in respect to score. The lost ball issue is simply an issue off the tee - and yes I need a lot more practice at my tee shots (that alone would transform my game) - to be fair it is mostly stress, I want to play well and have fun, and I want to enjoy the day and the course (knowing that playing well impacts that) so I tend to fluff a lot of tee shots, someone needs to tranquilize me that would help :) 

Welcome to golf, I've been playing golf seriously for 4 years and I still get some yips on the tees, especially if the tee box placement is in an awkward position.  As you get more comfortable with the driver you will feel more comfortable on the tee box.  There is no rule you have to use a driver and even pro's like Henrik Stenson, will favor his 3 wood off the tee on tough holes.  Save your driver for holes with wide open fairways and minimal penalty for off line shots and use other clubs on the rest.  

If you're shooting over double par then you need to put some more practice time in and play from shorter tees.  I would encourage you to pick up after double par and also read about ESC when the course is really crowded.  

[BristolGolf]

2 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

Welcome to golf, I've been playing golf seriously for 4 years and I still get some yips on the tees, especially if the tee box placement is in an awkward position.  As you get more comfortable with the driver you will feel more comfortable on the tee box.  There is no rule you have to use a driver and even pro's like Henrik Stenson, will favor his 3 wood off the tee on tough holes.  Save your driver for holes with wide open fairways and minimal penalty for off line shots and use other clubs on the rest.  

If you're shooting over double par then you need to put some more practice time in and play from shorter tees.  I would encourage you to pick up after double par and also read about ESC when the course is really crowded.  

On my previous course I have an average of 7 per hole so just under double par, assuming we are on a par 4 hole :) lowest score was 115 on a par 69 - the bulk of my score is actually fluffed tee shots, so I have just picked up a TaylorMade mini driver (a super charged 3 Wood) and waiting on a custom fitted TaylorMade 5 wood to arrive, for now my big stick is in the bag. I am going to hit some par 3 courses over the next few weeks and go solo round my new course in off peak times so that I can get some practice in, and not piss people off! 

All of this being said, my new course has some evil holes, one hitting over a lake to land on an island, and some other nasty ones, all of which I landed my tee shots bang on the green today, it is just the darn driver that gives me the runs, and after chappy got a cob on with me I had a bit of a sad on so my game went to hell. 

[Papa Steve 55]

You offered to let him play through, he declined, end of discussion on that point. Chances are you both paid the same amount to be there. He was at your level at some time also, he just forgot. You did right.

Tips for pace of play though...

As newtogolf said,

Ready golf, no matter whos away, if your ready, hit.

Get off the green. write your score, replace head covers, discuss why you missed that 2 footer on the way to the next tee. Also make sure somebody is holding the flag, ready to replace it.  I always figure the first guy in the hole should grab it.

And as was said, find out when the serious golfers are out and stay away. At my course peak member time is 7:30 to 9:00 AM. The course is sparse after 3 PM and also offers an all you can play discount.

Edited October 9, 2016 by Papa Steve 55

[BristolGolf]

6 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

You offered to let him play through, he declined, end of discussion on that point. Chances are you both paid the same amount to be there. He was at your level at some time also, he just forgot. You did right.

Tips for pace of play though...

As newtogolf said,

Ready golf, no matter whos away, if your ready, hit.

Get off the green. write your score, replace head covers, discuss why you missed that 2 footer on the way to the next tee. Also make sure somebody is holding the flag, ready to replace it.  I always figure the first guy in the hole should grab it.

And as was said, find out when the serious golfers are out and stay away. At my course peak member time is 7:30 to 9:00 AM. The course is sparse after 3 PM and also offers an all you can play discount.

His argument was that the course was packed behind him so we would just hold up the next group as well. I really like the double par idea, and I just read up about ESC so now understand that holing out for ten on a par 4 is a waste of time anyway - that being said, one cannot improve if ones ball is in ones pocket :)

I joined a members club way to early, I knew it, they know it, but still, I will simply avoid 9.30am weekend tee times, it isn't fair on the other members and guests playing. Someone needs to remind me of this in a year or two from now, i will be much more understanding of the newbies. 

This game is driving me insane!

[Brad W]

In my area, and I get the sense this holds true elsewhere, mornings are very busy with experienced golfers. We have been booking early afternoon times all summer. Yes, it can be a little warmer, but it tends to be a little less crowded. 

You still should follow the suggestions by others, we do that as well too. I've not had to let anyone play through yet as we have managed to keep up with the group in front of us. 

Pace of play seems that be a very sensitive subject and some people are dicks by nature. Apparently if you can't play in two hours, you are in their way... And you are the problem. Don't let them ruin your game

[BaconNEggs]

When I play with two of my friends who are in their second year of golf and realistically still shoot > 120 consistently, I encourage them to bend the rules quite a bit for everyone's sake. I want them to understand the rules and abide by them when possible, but certain parts of the game, on a public course that's got a full tee sheet, are just not conducive to playing in a reasonable amount of time for the beginner hacker.

 

Lost tee shots (lost balls in general) are by far the biggest offender. Multiple tee shots (and often multiple lost balls on the same tee), and usually an unnecessarily high number of practice swings that tend to come with beginning hackers, add up very quickly. As far as lost balls, the best solution seems to be bringing a ton of cheap golf balls. Sure, hit a provisional (preferably quickly), but if you lose that one, let's get up there, take a quick peak, and if you can't find either, just drop in the rough and take a stroke. My guess is the vast majority of beginners have no idea what the differences are between various golf balls and would be best suited to whatever the cheapest things they can pick up are. I'm not into rushing people around the course, but it will happen if you don't take some short cuts here and there, and some are in my opinion absolutely worth it: not spending five minutes looking for a $0.50 golf ball is one of those times. Your choices are to save a few bucks (minimal, since a lot of the time those lost balls aren't found anyways) but piss everyone behind you off and spend six hours baking in the sun, or spend a few extra bucks, not waste a ton of time avoiding poison ivy in the woods, and keep a nice pace of play. 

 

I totally get wanting to understand where your game is at by playing by the official rules, but does it really matter to you at that level if you shot a 115 with some fudged rules or a 130 if you played by the book? 

[Liko81]

On 10/9/2016 at 9:13 AM, BristolGolf said:

I have only started playing this year but forked out for membership at a local course, I just did my first ever 18 holes there with two guests (all of us high handicaps), it is a fantastic course, but signage is poor and confusing and I didn't have a clue how to play each hole, so our scores were everywhere and we were stumbling between holes a little getting lost. The problem came around the 10th hole when a fella approached my group and told us in a very angry tone to speed up play, I said he was welcome to play through, but he wasn't interested (and was borderline aggressive!). The key issue we have is that as a group we often have to hit a provisional ball, so it is not uncommon for all three of us to need two off the tee, which granted can slow things down, but we are playing by the rules. I would hate to annoy other players, but do feel that having paid hundreds on membership and my guests paying steep green fees we have a right to pay by the rules without someone approaching us making us feel unwelcome and rather silly, that being said I would hate to think that I am breaking some sort of etiquette! We let a two ball through on 7, and watched then literally sprinting down the fairway because they were feeling under pressure, madness! 

What would be the advice?  Should  skip hitting two and take a drop further up to speed us up off the tee? That feels like we would be cheating - but is that the right thing to do? Or as high handicaps should we book later tee times?  In the end we skipped a hole to create room - leaving me feeling a little cheated and my guests feeling like they did not get their moneys worth... 

Even at private courses, there is usually an enforced pace of play, and in general, etiquette states that you should try to keep up with the group in front of you. If you can see the group ahead of you on the current hole (or teeing off at the next while you're approaching the green), then you're fine; if anyone is the problem it's them. If you can't, and there's groups stacking up behind you, then maybe you should start adding some time-saving measures (gimmes within 3 feet, dropping at the nearest known point to a lost ball instead of a provisional, "Ready Golf" where people still play in turn but others are at their lies ready to take their shots as soon as the previous player has hit, etc).

If you feel that you are being unfairly accosted by groups playing behind you, then take it up with the marshal. He'll know who teed off two groups behind you (since you let that other pair through on 7) and thus who was the aggressive player telling you to hurry up. However, if you come in at 4 hours 45 minutes, the marshal is likely to say the guy had a point.

In any case, my general recommendation when playing a course for the first time is to find a "sherpa" who's played the course before, and let him guide you through the fairway and from hole to hole. After that, your pace will naturally increase as your familiarity with the course layout does. Your pace will also increase as your misses off the tee decrease; the more fairways you find with your first tee shot, the faster your group will advance.

[VOX]

The St. Andrews Golf Club (UK) just implemented the following:

Ready Golf

Over the past year or so there has been quite some discussion on this subject by the golf authorities and club golfers in general. In the past, the etiquette of golf always gave the “honour” to the player with the lowest score at one hole in medal play to tee up first at each hole once the 1st hole has been played.
So now we, The St Andrews Golf Club, would like to slightly amend the way we play in stroke-play events by adopting Ready Golf. 
Studies have shown that an average additional time that 3 or 4 people take per hole under the etiquette system, is 100 seconds for a 3 ball and 125 seconds for a 4 ball. The problem arises from the order in which the group plays from the tee. 
If the “honour” is with a golfer who must wait for the group in front to clear to a safe distance before he can play, the delay is estimated to be 3 minutes at its longest. In an average round, therefore,  not counting par 3s, there is a potential saving of up to 42minutes per round. If we could see even a 30 minute saving per round that would be a great benefit to us all.
Some members of the Club are currently using this method, but it is not the norm. 
The Committee of Management is now asking members to start adopting the Ready Golf method in an effort to speed up play. If you are safely able to play when the group in front of you are out of range please do so regardless of the scoring at the previous hole.  Prior to teeing off in a stroke play competition please try to make sure that the Ready Golf method is promoted. Thank you all in advance.
This will not apply to Matchplay events.