Is pace of play (or slow play) a real problem?

[colin007]

6 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Yeah, this dude was like 8 feet away from his ball. I assumed he wasn't quote unquote "Ready to putt". I guess I shouldn't have assumed, but come on guys. Does somebody moving around while your reading the green affect your read? 

 If someone is getting mad because you are reading your putt while they are reading their putt, that's ridiculous. I wouldn't play with someone like that.

[Vinny Cap]

1 hour ago, HJJ003 said:

Yeah, I would love to see people (in casual rounds) play ready golf as the natural thing to do but I always make sure to ask on the first tee (or sometimes first green) "everyone ok with ready golf?". I have never had anyone say no. 

This 100% all the time ever round I play.

Our group is on board but when I play single or two of us get paired with others I bring up the ready golf for Driver and Irons on the T box and when we get to the green ready golf for putting unless you are right on someones line.

Everyone usually lines up their putt at the same time.  Makes the most sense to do and then we putt and off to the next T box.

[3jacker]

I get antsy if goes goes much beyond 4 hrs for a foursome. 

That said, if I were a single getting the "ready golf" speech on the 1st hole and was also entering into a wagering match... well, get ready for an interesting day!

[Vinny Cap]

1 hour ago, 3jacker said:

I get antsy if goes goes much beyond 4 hrs for a foursome. 

That said, if I were a single getting the "ready golf" speech on the 1st hole and was also entering into a wagering match... well, get ready for an interesting day!

4 or less is good for a foursome on a weekend on a packed muni... 4 1/2 is a bit long and anything longer is just ridiculous.

As a single you would wager with others you never played with before?

Hope you didn't think I gave a speech.  We just say we play ready golf... I think I only had to explain what it was once or twice.

[colin007]

2 hours ago, Vinny Cap said:

4 or less is good for a foursome on a weekend on a packed muni... 4 1/2 is a bit long and anything longer is just ridiculous.

As a single you would wager with others you never played with before?

Hope you didn't think I gave a speech.  We just say we play ready golf... I think I only had to explain what it was once or twice.

I might be in the minority here, but I think 4 hrs for a 4some is slow.

[3jacker]

2 hours ago, Vinny Cap said:

4 or less is good for a foursome on a weekend on a packed muni... 4 1/2 is a bit long and anything longer is just ridiculous.

As a single you would wager with others you never played with before?

Hope you didn't think I gave a speech.  We just say we play ready golf... I think I only had to explain what it was once or twice.

I might wager, depends on the circumstances.

Here in FL with all the tourists  and crowded courses the norm is more like 6 so I'll take 4 any day. 

When it's just me and another decent golfer it's easy to beat 3 hrs if no one holds us up. But I don't count on it.

[Vinny Cap]

34 minutes ago, colin007 said:

I might be in the minority here, but I think 4 hrs for a 4some is slow.

I will totally agree, I like to play faster but in reality, in Mass on a Sat or Sun, a 4 hr round at a Muni is not too bad.  I have played way faster on weekday morns ass a single.  45 min for 9 and other similar times.  Weekends are tough.

10 minutes ago, 3jacker said:

I might wager, depends on the circumstances.

Here in FL with all the tourists  and crowded courses the norm is more like 6 so I'll take 4 any day. 

When it's just me and another decent golfer it's easy to beat 3 hrs if no one holds us up. But I don't count on it.

Ahh, sweet!  Take the tourist $$$. Smart golfer!!

Yes 2 guys can always playfaster especially if you keep it between the trees and play ready golf.  Have played may 18 hole rounds as a 2 some in 2 - 2/1 hrs.  Those are my favorite!!

[iacas]

6 hours ago, colin007 said:

I might be in the minority here, but I think 4 hrs for a 4some is slow.

Four of us played in three hours today. Two of us were in separate carts, two were walking.

[Fourputt]

23 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Yeah, this dude was like 8 feet away from his ball. I assumed he wasn't quote unquote "Ready to putt". I guess I shouldn't have assumed, but come on guys. Does somebody moving around while your reading the green affect your read? 

I'm 100% on your side in this.  There is no reason in the world for you to have to stand and watch them screwing around before you can start your reading.  I don't know what I'd do... probably just leave and play another day when I didn't have to deal with them.  Being retired, I have that luxury.  If there is one thing about golf that I'm death on, it's slow play when the reason for it is because one group or one guy plays with that sort of attitude.  I usually tell strangers straight out on the first tee that I play ready golf.  That at least promotes any needed discussion right from the start.  Nobody is surprised when I play "out of turn" at some point. 

I'll qualify that with saying that I don't do anything that should distract or bother a player while he is addressing the ball and making his stroke, but I am usually ready to play almost as soon as I get to my ball.  On the green, I take very little time as well.  I don't mess with lines or marks on the ball.  I don't even always mark and lift my ball, depends on the conditions and whether my ball is in a position to interfere with or distract another player.  I'm courteous to other players and I try to follow reasonable etiquette, but I believe in using some common sense too.

I've played with guys who can't stand to have a ball lying on the green anywhere (even if it isn't in their range of vision) when they play a putt, and it drives me crazy to have to cater to such an anal nutcase.  They never seem to realize that their neurosis can be just as disconcerting to another player as that player's casual approach is to them.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Fourputt

[TRUCKER]

Is it anything like the neurosis of all you guys that think if it takes more than 4 hrs. its slow play? I don't get what the big freaking hurry is. Really 4hrs. slow? Just go do something else then and save the bitching for the 4 1/2 plus hour rounds. Anything below that if your not enjoying yourself quit the game.

[iacas]

46 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

Is it anything like the neurosis of all you guys that think if it takes more than 4 hrs. its slow play? I don't get what the big freaking hurry is. Really 4hrs. slow? Just go do something else then and save the bitching for the 4 1/2 plus hour rounds. Anything below that if your not enjoying yourself quit the game.

People draw the line at different points.

Where I live, over four hours is pretty slow.

If you're in line at a McDonald's, and you're used to getting your food in three minutes, five minutes can feel like an eternity, but it's still only five minutes.

So if you're used to getting to your ball and waiting only two minutes, and suddenly now it's five… and the round is 4:15 instead of 3:45… that is noticeable.

[TRUCKER]

With that logic someone could say that 2 1/2 hrs. is slow then.

[iacas]

11 minutes ago, TRUCKER said:

With that logic someone could say that 2 1/2 hrs. is slow then.

Not really, no.

If people can play without waiting (or waiting only a little) for outside play (play outside of their groups), that's pretty much the minimum threshold for what determines any person's idea of "slow play."

If McDonald's food could come out before you were able to finish paying… you could never say it was slow. If you never waited to hit a golf shot on the golf course (outside of waiting for the people in your group, per etiquette), you could never say it was slow.

For most people, that's in the 3-3.5 hour range. Most people will additionally allow for a little waiting, which pushes that to 3.5-4 hours.

[ChetlovesMer]

Somebody earlier mentioned the lost art of how to use a cart. I see this all the time. I'm a big proponent of dropping one person off at their ball with what ever they need and then going to yours. Obviously, this doesn't always work, but when possible it makes sense. 

The other one I see a lot of is people walk off the green. Go to their cart. Clean the four wedges they brought with them to the green. Put their iron covers on each of the wedges. Clean their putter. Possibly even clean their ball. Then finally climb in their cart and drive away from the green to the next tee box. When I was learning the game, I was taught to just hold onto all that stuff and then arrange it all on the next tee-box so the group behind can hit their approach shots. 

2 things for the record:

     Number 1:  Slow play doesn't bother my game, but I do like to move along so that I can get back to my wife and family. 

     Number 2:  I would never, and I mean ever use covers for my irons or wedges. Those irons and wedges need their freedom. Freedom to gently click with each other as you drive or walk down the fairway. 

[WUTiger]

Quick drop-in from hiatus -

Someone clarify the sport...

Do we want to play fast... or play golf?

In tournaments, you have to go through the ritual drops or you get DQd.

One factor in speed of play is course maintenance and cutting. If you have 25-yard fairways, and everything outside the 3-foot wide first cut is 6+ inches deep, play will be slow. And, everyday golfers don't have a hundred spectators along the trees to help them find a wayward ball.

See you all later!

[LeftyWhiff]

Once I was playing with a buddy and we got stuck behind a slow moving event, by the turn the event was finished but everything was backed up. 10th hole we joined the twosome behind us, since their foursome broke up for whatever reason. It took about 5 1/2-6 hour to finish.  What made it especially miserable was the damned twosome we joined. Everybody was backed up and everybody was waitng, but these two constantly were bitching and moaning about the slow foursome in front of us. Most miserable round I've every had. Slow pace + incessant bitching about it from strangers = I wanna be a bowler.

[iacas]

28 minutes ago, WUTiger said:

Do we want to play fast... or play golf?

Unless you’re talking about the grammar… both.

Playing quickly doesn’t mean rushing.

Straw man.

[AlDena]

44 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Somebody earlier mentioned the lost art of how to use a cart. I see this all the time. I'm a big proponent of dropping one person off at their ball with what ever they need and then going to yours. Obviously, this doesn't always work, but when possible it makes sense. 

The other one I see a lot of is people walk off the green. Go to their cart. Clean the four wedges they brought with them to the green. Put their iron covers on each of the wedges. Clean their putter. Possibly even clean their ball. Then finally climb in their cart and drive away from the green to the next tee box. When I was learning the game, I was taught to just hold onto all that stuff and then arrange it all on the next tee-box so the group behind can hit their approach shots. 

2 things for the record:

     Number 1:  Slow play doesn't bother my game, but I do like to move along so that I can get back to my wife and family. 

     Number 2:  I would never, and I mean ever use covers for my irons or wedges. Those irons and wedges need their freedom. Freedom to gently click with each other as you drive or walk down the fairway. 

Yes! That sound of the irons. I like to get off the green, into the cart, and get away quickly so I won't get hit by the guys anxious to hit their approach. I've had someone's ball hit the green only seconds after we walked off.