Tournament "slow" play

[Killa]

So I played my first tournament this past weekend (won the 36-54HCP category - bragging). 

I played in the second to last group of 3. I had a 49 hcp with me and a 10.6 , who ended up shooting +4, with me. 

On the front 9 we were keeping up with the 4 some in front of us, waiting for them several times in the round. After the 10th hole (where we still waited for them to move away from the green on our approach we decided to just take it a bit slower on the putting, since we had a big gap to the flight behind us anyway. 

So on the 13th hole the ranger drives up to us and tells us we are being too slow and that if we don't move faster we could get penalized (at that point the best guy in our group was +1 or maybe +2 for the course). And after that and until the 17th hole he was actually parked with his buggy 10 feet away from me at least 5 times watching every move I make. It naturally resulted in 4 shanks... 

 

Is this common? This club just came under a new owner and they are trying to be even more elite than they already were. His point was that we always need to keep up with the group in front of us even if there is no one behind us, and I just think that is stupid. I'm new to the game so it might be me though...

 

I mean it wasn't the part of him watching me that was bothering me, it was the pressured change of pace that got to all of us. Made the last 6 holes far less enjoyable than the first 12...

[Zekez]

I guess it depends on the rules of the tournament?  I would think that if everyone in the tourney has to keep up a certain pace of play, then it wouldn't matter if there was no group behind you.  You have to maintain the same pace as everyone else.

[bkuehn1952]

1 hour ago, Killa said:

Is this common? ... His point was that we always need to keep up with the group in front of us even if there is no one behind us...

... the pressured change of pace that got to all of us. Made the last 6 holes far less enjoyable than the first 12...

In the USA during a casual round it is not common for course rangers to push groups when no one is behind them.  It happens but not very often.

For a tournament, the pace of play rules apply to everyone, even if one is not holding anyone up.  If the pace of a round is expected to be 4 hours and 30 minutes or less, unless a group is holding you up AND you are right behind them, you had better finish under that time allotment. 

Finally, since you are new to the game, don't develop bad habits.  One bad habit is playing slower because no one is behind you.  One can get used to taking a bit too much time and then when one needs to pickup the pace, it can seemed rushed, exactly as you experienced.

[Golfingdad]

30 minutes ago, bkuehn1952 said:

For a tournament, the pace of play rules apply to everyone, even if one is not holding anyone up.  If the pace of a round is expected to be 4 hours and 30 minutes or less, unless a group is holding you up AND you are right behind them, you had better finish under that time allotment.

Yeah, all tournaments I've played in have this combination of pace of play rules.  Sometimes you are clocked at each 9 and sometimes only at 18, but in each case it was basically the same; either finish within X minutes of the group in front of you (it's usually been 13 or 14 minutes), OR finish within the total time allotted (4:15 or so for 18, typically).

[David in FL]

1 minute ago, Golfingdad said:

Yeah, all tournaments I've played in have this combination of pace of play rules.  Sometimes you are clocked at each 9 and sometimes only at 18, but in each case it was basically the same; either finish within X minutes of the group in front of you (it's usually been 13 or 14 minutes), OR finish within the total time allotted (4:15 or so for 18, typically).

This ^^^^

...and the same standards need to be applied to all groups, even those that aren't holding up any following groups, so as to be equitable to all.

[Fourputt]

2 hours ago, Killa said:

So I played my first tournament this past weekend (won the 36-54HCP category - bragging). 

I played in the second to last group of 3. I had a 49 hcp with me and a 10.6 , who ended up shooting +4, with me. 

On the front 9 we were keeping up with the 4 some in front of us, waiting for them several times in the round. After the 10th hole (where we still waited for them to move away from the green on our approach we decided to just take it a bit slower on the putting, since we had a big gap to the flight behind us anyway. 

So on the 13th hole the ranger drives up to us and tells us we are being too slow and that if we don't move faster we could get penalized (at that point the best guy in our group was +1 or maybe +2 for the course). And after that and until the 17th hole he was actually parked with his buggy 10 feet away from me at least 5 times watching every move I make. It naturally resulted in 4 shanks... 

 

Is this common? This club just came under a new owner and they are trying to be even more elite than they already were. His point was that we always need to keep up with the group in front of us even if there is no one behind us, and I just think that is stupid. I'm new to the game so it might be me though...

 

I mean it wasn't the part of him watching me that was bothering me, it was the pressured change of pace that got to all of us. Made the last 6 holes far less enjoyable than the first 12...

If it isn't a problem to keep up, then keep up.  If the group in front of you is playing exceptionally fast and you are playing at a good pace and within the course guidelines for pace of play, then it it may not be reasonable to expect you to keep right on the heels of the group in front.  However, you should always make every effort to play at the best pace possible.  Deliberately slowing down just so you don't have to wait is unacceptable.

You should never be worrying about anyone behind you unless they are waiting on you and there is room in front of you.  As long as you keep pace with the group in front, you have done all you can to maintain the course flow.

[Killa]

Ok I pretty much get what all of you are saying, but it reads like you are almost supposed to wait at every shot so the group in front of you clears out? 

[Fourputt]

6 minutes ago, Killa said:

Ok I pretty much get what all of you are saying, but it reads like you are almost supposed to wait at every shot so the group in front of you clears out? 

That's how most of my tournaments work.  My men's club has its own pace of play policy and it is strictly enforced.  As long as we are in touch with the group in front, we don't have to worry about penalties.

[Golfingdad]

17 minutes ago, Killa said:

Ok I pretty much get what all of you are saying, but it reads like you are almost supposed to wait at every shot so the group in front of you clears out? 

Not necessarily.  Keeping up with the group in front of you does not mean that you have to be on their behinds and waiting for each shot.  Ideally, you'd be pulling up to the tee while they are hitting their approaches, such that by the time you are prepared to hit, they are driving or walking to the green.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Golfingdad

[Fourputt]

10 minutes ago, Golfingdad said:

No.  Keeping up with the group in front of you does not mean that you have to be on their behinds and waiting for each shot.  Ideally, you'd be pulling up to the tee while they are hitting their approaches, such that by the time you are prepared to hit, they are driving or walking to the green.

While this is the ideal, it never works out so perfectly.  Far better to be waiting a few seconds on each shot than to be hanging 1/2 shot behind the group in front of you.  If every group was to play by that philosophy and the first group is playing at the course pace, the 6th group would already be 3 shots off the pace, and it just goes downhill from there.  

[David in FL]

17 minutes ago, Fourputt said:

That's how most of my tournaments work.  My men's club has its own pace of play policy and it is strictly enforced.  As long as we are in touch with the group in front, we don't have to worry about penalties.

Unfortunately, some people consider being "in touch" with the group in front of them as being able to occasionally catch a glimpse of them as they steadily pull away.  

[Golfingdad]

51 minutes ago, Fourputt said:

While this is the ideal, it never works out so perfectly.  Far better to be waiting a few seconds on each shot than to be hanging 1/2 shot behind the group in front of you.  If every group was to play by that philosophy and the first group is playing at the course pace, the 6th group would already be 3 shots off the pace, and it just goes downhill from there.  

Definitely.  Another reason is that you will be giving yourselves extra cushion when somebody has a blowup hole that involves a ball search or a ruling or something unforeseen that takes extra time.

48 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Unfortunately, some people consider being "in touch" with the group in front of them as being able to occasionally catch a glimpse of them as they steadily pull away.  

Haha, totally.

[Aflighter]

On 5/23/2017 at 3:23 PM, Killa said:

So I played my first tournament this past weekend (won the 36-54HCP category - bragging). 

I played in the second to last group of 3. I had a 49 hcp with me and a 10.6 , who ended up shooting +4, with me. 

On the front 9 we were keeping up with the 4 some in front of us, waiting for them several times in the round. After the 10th hole (where we still waited for them to move away from the green on our approach we decided to just take it a bit slower on the putting, since we had a big gap to the flight behind us anyway. 

So on the 13th hole the ranger drives up to us and tells us we are being too slow and that if we don't move faster we could get penalized (at that point the best guy in our group was +1 or maybe +2 for the course). And after that and until the 17th hole he was actually parked with his buggy 10 feet away from me at least 5 times watching every move I make. It naturally resulted in 4 shanks... 

 

Is this common? This club just came under a new owner and they are trying to be even more elite than they already were. His point was that we always need to keep up with the group in front of us even if there is no one behind us, and I just think that is stupid. I'm new to the game so it might be me though...

 

I mean it wasn't the part of him watching me that was bothering me, it was the pressured change of pace that got to all of us. Made the last 6 holes far less enjoyable than the first 12...

You should tell ranger that if your gonna penalize my group then you damn well better penalize the ones behind us that we cant even see. Dont ever slow down intentionally though because you can get behind pretty quick though. 

[MacDutch]

Should be a piece of cake as a three ball to keep up with the fourball in front of you....