Dealing with slow play

[BaconNEggs]

Most of my friends-- when they're not the cause of slow play to begin with-- play around on their phones... fantasy sports, games, whatever. 

I don't like to do that, so I'll usually just hang out, take light swings, and try to relax. In the right crowd, I like to smoke some weed; guessing that is not many TST members' thing, but it helps my enjoyment immensely on a slow day. 

[billchao]

I play early in the morning to try to avoid slow play, though sometimes it's unavoidable. Usually I'll just chat with my playing partners. I have skipped holes on the rare occasion just to get around a slow group.

If it's my group that's slow, I try to facilitate play by helping people find balls, repairing their ball marks, or raking bunkers for others as long as I'm not slowing myself in the process.

I don't like slow play, but I try not to let it bother me anymore.

[NEhomer]

5 hours ago, BaconNEggs said:

Most of my friends-- when they're not the cause of slow play to begin with-- play around on their phones... fantasy sports, games, whatever. 

I don't like to do that, so I'll usually just hang out, take light swings, and try to relax. In the right crowd, I like to smoke some weed; guessing that is not many TST members' thing, but it helps my enjoyment immensely on a slow day. 

but it helps my enjoyment immensely on a slow day. 

As long as you're ok with not playing your best, smoke 'em if you got 'em.

If the course is so busy that teeing off means a 5 hr round, I'll grab my fly rod. If there's room ahead of the group I'm following, I've taken to my buddy's approach. We call out to the ahead group and ask to play through. People almost always are more than happy to let you through....they commonly just don't think to initiate it. 

[RussUK]

Its sod's law that i end up catching a 4 ball of blokes who maybe have one who plays on a regular basis. It's always the same. The good player hits a good shot and the others duff it 50 yards or shank it into the trees. Just when you think its clear and your'e about to take your shot, one of them emerges from the tree's shouting that he's "found it" before taking 3 more shots getting to the green. You then have to wait another lifetime on the fairway whie they putt.

It's why i always have my phone on me so i can keep my mind occupied. I used to get annoyed but now i just use the time to slow down, relax and get my breath back.

I found its not worth having a go at the slow players as many are the sort who can be confrontational.

[Rkrider99]

One of the other things I see a lot of, and I'll do it myself, is chip from tee marker to tee marker while waiting on the tee. Get's extra practice time in.

[BaconNEggs]

18 hours ago, NEhomer said:

but it helps my enjoyment immensely on a slow day. 

As long as you're ok with not playing your best, smoke 'em if you got 'em.

I don't think the effects are as strong as a non-smoker might expect. I play hockey, and routinely enjoy a toke before that as well (as do others), to no significantly noticeable deterioration in abilities. 

Robert Garrigus was on record as saying he would smoke in the middle of competitive rounds all the time, and many other players would as well. 

Besides the point though, a nice cigar could do the trick as well-- just keeping you relaxed and patient. At least that's my approach.

[NEhomer]

4 hours ago, BaconNEggs said:

I don't think the effects are as strong as a non-smoker might expect. I play hockey, and routinely enjoy a toke before that as well (as do others), to no significantly noticeable deterioration in abilities. 

Robert Garrigus was on record as saying he would smoke in the middle of competitive rounds all the time, and many other players would as well. 

Besides the point though, a nice cigar could do the trick as well-- just keeping you relaxed and patient. At least that's my approach.

You assume I'm a non-smoker. 

You're swinging a club 100+mph at a 1.68 in diameter ball with a clubhead that's 40 inches away from your hands and you're suggesting that getting high has no affect on a head game like golf? Sorry bro, leave it in the glovebox for after the round if you truly want to play and score your best. 

[Aguirre]

On 3/5/2018 at 11:33 AM, David in FL said:

Play with a good, competitive 4-some.  Play a game that involves enough on the line to matter to you all.  It will tend to slow you all down and shift your focus away from outside distractions...

This is good.

Also, just f***ing deal with it. I don't like slow play anymore than the next guy, but I'm at the golf course. I'm not married, but I wouldn't want to be spending time with your annoying wife or shitty kids either, so just enjoy the day.

[Bucki1968]

8 hours ago, Aguirre said:

This is good.

Also, just f***ing deal with it. I don't like slow play anymore than the next guy, but I'm at the golf course. I'm not married, but I wouldn't want to be spending time with your annoying wife or shitty kids either, so just enjoy the day.

Jeeze...I don't have any shitty kids.....Actually my wife isn't that annoying. She is a pretty good player. As a matter of fact she just got her index down to a 7.9.

[BaconNEggs]

16 hours ago, NEhomer said:

You assume I'm a non-smoker. 

You're swinging a club 100+mph at a 1.68 in diameter ball with a clubhead that's 40 inches away from your hands and you're suggesting that getting high has no affect on a head game like golf? Sorry bro, leave it in the glovebox for after the round if you truly want to play and score your best. 

Well no, I'm not suggesting it has no effect. I'm stating there's no noticeable decline in my performance. The effects on psychomotor skills are subtle and overstated (and in fact are negligible in routine users-- Ramaekers et al. 2010. Tolerance and cross-tolerance to neurocognitive effects of THC and alcohol in heavy cannabis users. Psychopharmacology 214), and on the flip side it decreases performance anxiety-- which is one of the main reasons the WDA bans it from competition. The head game is actually exactly where it benefits you the most. And doubly so if we're talking about getting stressed out and angry about waiting on your next shot for 5-10 minutes, which is the topic at hand.

"Oh yeah, there were plenty of guys on the Nationwide Tour who smoked in the middle of the round. We always talked about it. You could go in the Porta John and take your drags." - Robert Garrigus

On ‎3‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 7:03 AM, Rkrider99 said:

One of the other things I see a lot of, and I'll do it myself, is chip from tee marker to tee marker while waiting on the tee. Get's extra practice time in.

I like this too, although not too much you can do if you're waiting out on the fairway or rough.

[The Hook Meister]

There is not really a lot you can do about slow play.Golf courses like to over book and it does not help our game at all. At least you have a built in excuse for a not so good round. : the play was so slow I could not get into any kind of groove."

[iacas]

39 minutes ago, The Hook Meister said:

There is not really a lot you can do about slow play.

Sure there is. "Giving up" isn't on the list.

[Buckeyebowman]

On 3/7/2018 at 9:45 PM, NEhomer said:

You assume I'm a non-smoker. 

You're swinging a club 100+mph at a 1.68 in diameter ball with a clubhead that's 40 inches away from your hands and you're suggesting that getting high has no affect on a head game like golf? Sorry bro, leave it in the glovebox for after the round if you truly want to play and score your best. 

Oh, yeah! Many years ago one of my buddies found out all he had to do to beat me was get me high before we teed off! He could handle it, I could not! I finally caught on to his game and refused all such additives until after the round!

[NEhomer]

10 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Oh, yeah! Many years ago one of my buddies found out all he had to do to beat me was get me high before we teed off! He could handle it, I could not! I finally caught on to his game and refused all such additives until after the round!

Lol!  

I'm pretty good a dealing with slow play if the course is just busy and I commit to the time I know right off the bat it's going to take but I can't stand an abrupt change of pace. What's worse than cruising along with a great score going and then hitting a friggin' roadblock on the 16th tee and crawling into the clubhouse? That screws me up most of the time.

[Patch]

I had a 4 some cruise up on me today. I thought I was playing ok, speed wise, but they still caught me.  

I was walking, and they were in carts. Four older gentleman. I was a bit surprised until I spoke with one of them as they played through. 

They didn't take the time to putt. They had their own little game where the closest to the hole on their approach shots, on the green, won that hole. That, or the first one on the green in the same number shots would win that hole. 

I was happy to see why they were so fast, since it had me wondering for a while as to why I was playing so slow. Maybe some day their game might be used to help with slower play. Who knows.

I can see where this is a quicker way to golf, but it also has some built in problems, since it probably wouldn't work on a crowded course. Maybe they use their putters on those days. The bags I saw had putters in them. 

[fishgolf]

We just let our friend, a retired Army O6, who is 5'9", a buck sixty and has zero patience, handle them.  It's usually pretty entertaining.  I sometimes remind him we're not at a military installation.

Best approach I've had starts by asking nicely that they try and speed up play.  More often than not that seems to work.  There are always a few holes on most courses that slow things down. But if the course is managing it as they should the marshal typically is on top of it.

I really like quick play and am always on guard about holding up groups behind me - often urging guys in my group to move their arses. But I've also come to realize that slow play, at times, is just going to happen and to just roll with it.

[Moxley]

Having the right expectations can help. 

My course has an online booking system so I can see all the bookings, yesterday evening I went after work to do 9 holes, but saw it was unusually full for that time, but decided to play anyway. I gave up after 6 in the end, but didn't mind too much because I knew there was a good chance it'd be like that (admittedly it's less frustrating because I'm a member and thus no green fee to pay).  Still enjoyed doing 6.

It'd be great if more courses brought their booking systems online so golfers could see how busy a given period is, might actually help golf sort themselves away from busier periods too. 

 

[saevel25]

2 hours ago, Moxley said:

Having the right expectations can help. 

Expectations should always be under 4.5 hours for 18 holes, and that is on a tough course.

2 hours ago, Moxley said:

It'd be great if more courses brought their booking systems online so golfers could see how busy a given period is, might actually help golf sort themselves away from busier periods too. 

A small percentage of courses do this.