Crowds and slow golf are making me quit the game

[ozzynator]

I love golf but here in LA,  it’s just too crowded.  Its just got worse and courses just get greedier and try to cram even more people in a shorter period.  The more people complain and give the courses terrible yelp reviews, the more they try to hurry everyone which since they send one group after another it does no good.  Why hurry if you just after to wait 20 minutes to tee off on the next hole?

Also in the golf courses have one person doing 2 jobs and you wait in line 10 minutes to by a 3$ bottle of water or to check in.  Forget about getting a beer at the bar,  the bartender is busy cooking or something.

There is usually 2 or 3 of us playing and we always get paired up with an another to make it 4 and usually they are weird or terrible.  Every round is 5 to 6.5 hours.  
Years ago,  we played some of these courses in less than 3 hours.  It doesn’t matter where we go,  it’s the same shit.  The marshall making sure everyone is in the next group's heels even though it does matter as you wait and wait anyway.  Today my son and I went out and by the 2nd hole, there were 2 groups in front of us waiting to tee off.  It was 30 minutes from finishing hole one to teeing off on hole 2.  It took an hour and a half to play 2 holes and we just quit.  
Since the courses are packed, you would think they would just double the rates and fewer people would play and at least it would be fun again. Everyone is miserable and complains about how long it takes to play.  Golf is getting as bad a the freeways.

It seems there are 2 choices,  bring a novel to read on the course and read it between shots and deal with horrible golf and never have a good game or just give up and do something else.  We use to play 40 times per year and lately, we just don’t want to deal with the crowds.

Should I just give and quit the game?

[gregsandiego]

20 minutes ago, ozzynator said:

 

I love golf but here in LA,  it’s just too crowded.  Its just got worse and courses just get greedier and try to cram even more people in a shorter period.  The more people complain and give the courses terrible yelp reviews, the more they try to hurry everyone which since they send one group after another it does no good.  Why hurry if you just after to wait 20 minutes to tee off on the next hole?

Also in the golf courses have one person doing 2 jobs and you wait in line 10 minutes to by a 3$ bottle of water or to check in.  Forget about getting a beer at the bar,  the bartender is busy cooking or something.

There is usually 2 or 3 of us playing and we always get paired up with an another to make it 4 and usually they are weird or terrible.  Every round is 5 to 6.5 hours.  
Years ago,  we played some of these courses in less than 3 hours.  It doesn’t matter where we go,  it’s the same shit.  The marshall making sure everyone is in the next group's heels even though it does matter as you wait and wait anyway.  Today my son and I went out and by the 2nd hole, there were 2 groups in front of us waiting to tee off.  It was 30 minutes from finishing hole one to teeing off on hole 2.  It took an hour and a half to play 2 holes and we just quit.  
Since the courses are packed, you would think they would just double the rates and fewer people would play and at least it would be fun again. Everyone is miserable and complains about how long it takes to play.  Golf is getting as bad a the freeways.

It seems there are 2 choices,  bring a novel to read on the course and read it between shots and deal with horrible golf and never have a good game or just give up and do something else.  We use to play 40 times per year and lately, we just don’t want to deal with the crowds.

Should I just give and quit the game?

I don't know about LA but here in San Diego there are so many choices that if quick play was my priority I could find it. Maybe I'd tee off super-early or super late. Or pick a course that wasn't  highly popular. 

Is this many courses you are talking about ?

 

[David in FL]

The solution is easy...

...get the HELL out of LA!  

[ozzynator]

Late doesn't help unless you play so late you can only get in 5 holes.  Its pretty impossible to get the first tee time of the day and you are playing in the dark the first two holes.  I tried driving 30 minutes away and a bunch of courses and it doesn't seem to matter.

 

[Patch]

I usually play courses located near Disneyland. There are 4, or 5 I play at.This when we take our Grandkids there for amusement park, and/or Newport Beach fun. 

I have never seen  play exceed 4.5 hours. Most of the time it's around 4 hours. 

I guess I am there during the slow times. 

[ozzynator]

I live in Simi,  north of LA.  OC is too far.

 

 

[Patch]

1 hour ago, ozzynator said:

I live in Simi,  north of LA.  OC is too far.

 

 

What about Valencia TPC? Is that close to you? That course never seemed to be crowded. 

Edited December 27, 2017 by Patch

[saevel25]

The only time I ever got caught in something like that was on a municipal course in Dayton. Only on the backnine were the 2nd hole is a 170+ yard par 3 up hill. Par 3's will kill pacing.

[mcanadiens]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

The only time I ever got caught in something like that was on a municipal course in Dayton. Only on the backnine were the 2nd hole is a 170+ yard par 3 up hill. Par 3's will kill pacing.

Pretty sure I know that one. I hate that hole. 

10 hours ago, ozzynator said:

I love golf but here in LA,  it’s just too crowded.

LA has always sounded like a cluster --ck to me.

Even with several recent closures, there are still a lot of courses near me. When the home courses get abrasively packed, I treat myself to a quick round at one of the other nearby courses. It's only a little more money, but can be very therapeutic. 

To me 5 hours would be torture. Is it really possible for a round to go 6.5?

Edited December 27, 2017 by mcanadiens

[Yukari]

I've played in many LA courses, and it seems 5.5 hour rounds is the norm.  Hate that pace of play.  You are waiting on every shot.  Since I visit my family there often and we always end up playing golf, I always prepare for the worst.  Unless I prepare mentally, my tolerance for a round of golf is around 4 - 4:30 hours.

They also have 5-somes going out on most muni courses, which I have not seen anywhere else.

[NJpatbee]

I could not tolerate 5-6.5 hour rounds.  I live in Northen NJ which is densly populated but we do have large choice of golf courses.  When my favorite courses became crowded I made the decision to play a semi-private course with somewhat higher green fees for non-members like myself.  I am an afternoon golfer and had (still have) 2.5-3.0 hour rounds that are solo or with 1 other golfer.  Weekend rounds are longer but I have Fridays off and play then. Downside: I can no longer post my solo rounds.  Upside: Great golf at my own quick pace.  By the way when I turned 62 my green fees were lowered significantly as a Senior.

Private clubs in Northern NJ require a significant investment which I am hesitant to take on as I near retirement.  I am not familiar with the courses in LA  but if you can swing it you might find some better and less crowded golf at well run semi-private or resort courses.  But it will come with a price.

[No Mulligans]

I wouldn't quit, I'd join a private club.

[Lihu]

14 hours ago, ozzynator said:

I live in Simi,  north of LA.  OC is too far.

Simi? It sucks that they shut down one of the better longer courses there. You can try Hansom Dam and of course Angeles is usually pretty open because it's really expensive.

I live in the Pasadena area, and like to play the public courses with typical in sequence round times of 6 to 7 hours. Usually, if you start play around 1:00 to 2:30 you can get in 4 to 5 holes in pretty quickly, then there are people bunched around 6 through 12. Many of us faster players tend to pass them over, then return to the holes we missed. It's tough to play in sequence because there are too many players who think their short game/putting is the key to their lower scores and spend more than half their time up near or on the greens.

The best advice I have for you and for everyone around us is to suggest that shorter players play from the front tees and worse players play the many executive courses we have until they get their game and confidence up. Do this with everyone you meet. The problem is that many people play courses that are too hard for them, otherwise, round times would be easily under 3 hours with golf carts.

[nevets88]

Generally, the more populated the area, the slower the rounds, especially when more mixed demographics, old, young, beginners. Mitigate by either playing during off-peak hours or driving a longer distance to a less crowded course - 6.5 hours vs 2 hour round trip drive and 4 hour round. But off-peak will get you into the brunt of traffic, either end of day or morning commute. Generally if you look hard enough, there is a sweet spot somewhere, may not be easy to find if it exists. Usually there is one underrated overlooked course.

[ozzynator]

I have been in Simi about 5 years.  They shut down one of the courses and the economy has got better and better.  You use to be able to go out late and do a quick round,  in the last year it's just been unbearable.   There is usually a waiting list on weekends so any open spot gets filled.  They push people out as quickly as they can.  Golf courses have one priority,  getting people to tee off as quickly as possible.  They make sure another group is ready to hit the second the group ahead of them finishes their second shot.  Now if you tee off 5 hours before sunset,  you won't finish.  

One solution is to go a couple hours before sunset and just do 9,  but my golf partner hates not finishing as he likes to track his scores.  
Any private club is going to cost 1500 per month.

 

[Marty2019]

I spend a lot of time in Franklin, NC, and some friends up there asked if I wanted to play, and I said sure, when do you want to play, and they said, Sunday.  Sunday!  Sunday would be jam-packed, or so I thought.   We teed off at 10:30 and had the whole course to ourselves.   So I asked them, what the heck is going on, and they said, no one in this town plays on Sunday morning.   It's the slackest time of the week.  Weird.  Maybe they're all in church. 

Back to the original post, I wouldn't play, either, in the situation ozzynator described.  I'd give it up.  I wouldn't play 5 hour rounds with long waits on tee boxes. 

 

[billchao]

I wouldn't play golf if a round took six hours. Pretty sure I walked off after a 3 hour front nine once. My limit is 2.5 hours for nine and that's pushing it.

I played a lot of 9-hole rounds one year and really got into that; it was something I was able to do after work.

I play out of county now because the courses are better and they have more of them which means less crowding. Plus, I play early in the mornings to avoid crowds. Where I used to play only had two municipal courses and they were always packed on the weekends.

[AlDena]

@ozzynator

That's Vista Valencia, right? #2 is a 203 yd par 3, with a narrow opening. Balls are sprayed left and right as everyone is swinging hard to reach it. It's hard to get a par, unless you can check your ego. I think the course design contributes to the bottleneck. That happens every time at the hole, but it does clear up soon after.