10 minute gaps...

[Hobbit]

I joined a club earlier in the year that runs 10 minute gaps for 4ball comps. Bizarrely, it seems to make for quicker rounds. Whether its because there's no stop start play that allows players to keep their rythem or what I don't know but it got me wondering...

If a club runs 8 minute gaps that sees the field concertina and late teeing off by the end of the day, and the usual grumblings about slow play, would a club get pretty much the same number of competitors out with 10 minute gaps but not have lots of whinging?

I don't know the answer but what I do know, from several weeks of play, is you never seem to wait to tee off or play your subsequent shots.

So rather than have the usual argument about individual's attitude to pace of play, I wonder if the answer is to change the spacings?

 

[Old Skier]

I have used 10 min gaps 4 fourballs for quite a while now and managed to get it going in our area leagues. It does help with the slow play side of things.

 

[fundy]

Pretty much what the R&A recommend and Ive suggested at our club several times, especially for medals. Decent gaps on 1st tee leads to a much better flowing golf course, but the owners think they get more money by booking up more slots at shorter gaps

 

[CliveW]

We have nine minute seperation on all tee times on all three courses and works fine.

 

[Imurg]

It's virtually irrelevant what the gaps are at many places.
More often than not, as soon as the group in front is out of range the next group is on the tee.
Unless you have a Starter......

 

[North Mimms]

We have 8 minute tee times and you seem to wait a lot.

We had a regional heat of a National comp a few years ago, and they specified 10 minute gaps... everything flowed much better.

But of course that means less people playing per hour ££££££££

 

[Crow]

We have a starter and play fourballs, including mixed and ladies.

We have a 9 minute gap and, apart from a bottleneck at two consecutive longish par threes, things flow pretty well most weeks.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

We don't have tee times except for competitions where it's an 8 minute gap. The opener is a 22 par three and it works pretty well. Medal play perhaps not so much so but you could argue that's the same anywhere

 

[Scooby999]

We have times, 10 min gaps but have a bell on the first, a par 5! So normally our gaps our shorter as prevailing wind means tee off earlier!

 

[Deleted member 17920]

It's virtually irrelevant what the gaps are at many places.
More often than not, as soon as the group in front is out of range the next group is on the tee.
Unless you have a Starter......

That's true, our starter won't let you go before the 10 mins and usually the group in front are walking on the green by that stage, by the time you get to the ball you are ready to play straight away. If you wait for the group in front to get out of driving distance usually you are waiting for them to clear the green and so it continues for the whole round.

 

[pbrown7582]

We have 8min tee times but only play 3ball stroke play individual comps, Definiately seems one way to help course flow better more spread and less people on course but does it keep everyone happy? Or would more be hapy being on course but slower round.

 

[Foxholer]

Hobbit has noticed the principle that some folk have been saying for years! There is nothing bizarre about it!

It really depends on what the priority is. If it's pace of play, then 10 mins works very well and gives adequate volume of players.
If volume of players is the priority, 8 min tee times will work, but pace of play will suffer and the first Par 3 will be a bottle-neck - and others might be too. The shorter the gap, the longer the round will take - because of hold ups/bottle-necks.

A Par 3 to start forces the course to have 'sensible' gaps.

 

[dewsweeper]

No wonder we have slow play problems.
On Saturday we played a 3 ball S/ford qualifier.Tee times alternated between 7 mins then 8 mins through the day.
About 160 played.
Dewsweeper

 

[Foxholer]

No wonder we have slow play problems.
On Saturday we played a 3 ball S/ford qualifier.Tee times alternated between 7 mins then 8 mins through the day.
About 160 played.
Dewsweeper

That's probably the only way to get that many onto the the course - so slow play has to be expected!

That just sneaks into the 'manageable in 1 day' category, but last groups are probably finishing between 17:30 and 18:00.Time to consider splitting the comp across Divisions and onto 2 days - and 10 min Tee times.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

At my old club, which was one of the busiest in England, we switched from 7 to 10 minute gaps in the early 1990's.
It made a huge difference and speeded up play from 4.5 hour rounds to 4 hours. Busy days we still had over 200 golfers on each course.

To make it work you have to hold up players on the first. That is harder than it sounds.

 

[Birchy]

At my old club, which was one of the busiest in England, we switched from 7 to 10 minute gaps in the early 1990's.
It made a huge difference and speeded up play from 4.5 hour rounds to 4 hours. Busy days we still had over 200 golfers on each course.

To make it work you have to hold up players on the first. That is harder than it sounds.

That is the key. Too many clubs the tee times dont even matter. People stand on the tee and just go when the group in front is out of range.

 

[Foxholer]

At my old club, which was one of the busiest in England, we switched from 7 to 10 minute gaps in the early 1990's.
It made a huge difference and speeded up play from 4.5 hour rounds to 4 hours. Busy days we still had over 200 golfers on each course.

To make it work you have to hold up players on the first. That is harder than it sounds.

That's impressive. I've just done the arithmetic with 200 players. 24 players per hour is 8 hours 10mins of solid 4-balls. So starting at 07:00 last group goes off at 15:10 and finishes at 19:10 - on each courses!

 

[Khamelion]

My club runs 7mins gaps and apart from 4 ball comps, the club only allows 3 balls for all other comps. Played yesterday in a stableford comp and only got held up a couple of times on the par3s while waiting for the green to clear.

 

[teetime75]

To keep a 10 min. gap right through the round depends
on everyone playing well.

If a player in the group in front loses a ball on his drive
that's 5mins.gone.If his partner then loses his ball on
his second shot that's 10 mins. gone.

Yes I know they should wave you through,
but that's another story

 

[dewsweeper]

That's probably the only way to get that many onto the the course - so slow play has to be expected!

That just sneaks into the 'manageable in 1 day' category, but last groups are probably finishing between 17:30 and 18:00.Time to consider splitting the comp across Divisions and onto 2 days - and 10 min Tee times.

I am sure you are correct and we will probably have to change to 2 days
It is great being a member at a private members that is vey competitive,with qualifiers every week.
One anomaly is that 2/3 groups of ladies who are full playing members and can get to the start sheet before men who are working ,play social golf in the midst of the mens comp.This some times means men cannot get a time slot in a qualifier or even Board comps.
Equality gone mad.
On ladies day, men cannot fill tee times before 1230 even if there are any available.To add insult to injury the ladies play in pairs at 10 minute intervals presumably to make it seem that they need all morning to get 40 competitors around the course.
Sorry rant over.
Dewsweeper