Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
Workers..??
Duckster
Tour Rookie
Marshy77
Journeyman Pro
Least he had a pint after his round before he passed.
I had a mental challenge today as I endured a 4.5hr round in matchplay, which quite simply just shouldn't happen or be possible, but it did! It's even harder when it's an opponent from another club that's the culprit, at what stage, if any, do you say, come on mate, you need to speed up! We lost a clear hole by the 3rd and 2 holes by the turn, in some bizarre way the group behind never pressed so that was a god send but didn't make it right, when he's taking his 5th shot out of a bunker and you're on the green in 2 with only a 10 footer left, do you actually say when he flicks it out on top of the bunker mound for 6, are you picking up as I now have 5 putts for a half! I was marching ahead and even said, we've lost too much ground on the group in front, but got no response, I once saw Jocky Wilson get knocked out of a world championship darts match when playing against a very slow player as he just couldn't cope and concentrate on his own game, I felt like that today/night, tee'd off at 2.15 and came in at 7pm, I was actually saying to myself halfway round that I was going to quit my B-team if it's going to be like this, lovey people you meet and play with but that was like a bad trip to the dentist and fully tested my resolve!
seochris
Challenge Tour Pro
We have elapsed times on our buggies and get notified if we drop more than ten minutes behind the allocated pace of play. The problem here is that if your group is quick and the players in front are not but within their allocated time then they are under no obligation to let you through...so it comes down to consideration for others. This is the root cause and difficult to address.
The other issue is how long do you allow for a four ball better ball or a two ball. They are all mixed here so we try to get out in fours as a two ball is agonizingly slow if stuck behind a 4BBB game. The times here are set at 4.5 hours for a round. There is a move to reduce the time allocation to 4hrs 15 minutes but is being met by resistance from a lot of members.
Capella
Journeyman Pro
We normally have the (unofficial but agreed upon) rule that, even in matchplay, when you can not get Stableford points on the hole anymore, you pick up and concede the hole. If both players reach that point, the hole is halved. Keeps people from hacking through the bushes forever or playing the third provisional ball. Matchplay is not played very often, though, so it takes players some time to get used to the format and the fact that you don't have to putt it out to the bitter end.
Junior
Tour Winner
In all honesty, the biggest change I've seen in the last 10 years is that people nowadays tend to walk leisurely and socialise a bit more whilst walking down the fairway....talking about the footy or the condition of the greens etc etc.
When I first started, most of the chit chat would happen on the tee and once everyone had hit, they would walk with 'purpose' toward their ball and not socialise very much walking down the fairway.
When I first started, most of the chit chat would happen on the tee and once everyone had hit, they would walk with 'purpose' toward their ball and not socialise very much walking down the fairway.
I looked back down the fairway after I had frog marched up to his ball at one point and he was 50yds behind getting a sandwich out of a large box, feck me I thought he was going to put a blanket down and get a bottle of plonk out next 😡
we have an overseas member staying in one of the clubs cottages for a few months and the club have included him in a few interclub matches. hell he is slow.
we were last out on Sunday with him in the group in front, he was always way behind his playing partners and on the par 3's he was on the tee while they were on the green. he said after thats the fastest he had ever played it took them 4 hours and lost 3 holes on the group in front.
we were last out on Sunday with him in the group in front, he was always way behind his playing partners and on the par 3's he was on the tee while they were on the green. he said after thats the fastest he had ever played it took them 4 hours and lost 3 holes on the group in front.
3565
Journeyman Pro
that just shows how slow a round of golf is outside of the U.K. Yet we are still going on about how slow it is in the UK when a survey said that we are the quickest to play a round of golf then any other European country.
need_my_wedge
Has Now Found His Wedgie
I've seen a group at ours actually stop and stand still to chat halfway down the fairway, on more than one occasion... I did catch up to them on the 8th, but they were only playing 9.... fortunately for me.
dufferman
Journeyman Pro
Here's the thing. We're all looking at this from a golfers POV. What about a golf club POV? Clearly, this issue has been around for a while, and those who play faster just deal with it. So why the hell would a golf club want to change anything? No skin off their nose. They don't care if it takes 4 1/2 or 5 hours to play golf, they care that their tee times are full & they have all the money they can make!
Junior
Tour Winner
I had a similar situation when I played against a guy last year..... he was always on his phone texting . I'd be waiting to hit and he would be behind me with his head in his phone. He apologised and said it was work problems !!
effayjay
Club Champion
Played at Mottram Hall with a society last Sunday and Monday. On the first day the starter was on the ball ensuring that the group in front was virtually on the green of the par 5 1st before letting you tee off. We had a free run all day.
Day 2 a different starter just sat in the shed. Groups teed off as soon as those in front were (almost) out of range, we were stacked up all day! It's not rocket science is it?
Day 2 a different starter just sat in the shed. Groups teed off as soon as those in front were (almost) out of range, we were stacked up all day! It's not rocket science is it?
woody69
Journeyman Pro
This happened to us this weekend. Played the Aylesford and Arden courses over the weekend. On the Saturday we had 2 tee times booked for some reason (we didn't book 2), so we went out at the first allotted time (13:38) with no one in front of us. As we were walking off the green I looked and saw the group scheduled to go out after us were already waiting for us to clear the green and play their 2nd shots and it was 1 minute BEFORE our 2nd allotted tee time (13:46), so they must have tee'd off around 4 minutes or so after we had tee'd off originally and we were 'out of range'. They basically spent the entire 4.5 hr range waiting for us and it was made even worse when we caught the group in front by the 3rd and were waiting for them. Starter just wasn't doing his job properly.
TBH i don't mind if you want to take 5 hours around a golf course as long as you let me through, this is one of the main problems not letting groups though.
Region3
Ryder Cup Winner
Just give him the chip for a 6.
If I was confident in the 2-putt I'd give him the bunker shot for a 5.
Doesn't help the rest of his slowness but he might take a hint.
Jake O'Reilly
GM Staff
Pretty much hit the nail on the head there Sweep, also there's a ridiculous amount of liable content in there, but I don't suppose they bothered to fact check and look at all the videos we produced on YouTube on how to beat slow play, then again, we are just a dying magazine, it's not like we've got a website that does millions of views a month, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat … Still, fair play to their creativity, they could've just tweeted a link to the Condor advert but went to the trouble of writing all that!
drdel
Tour Rookie
Well said.
The 'slow play' subject is, in m opinion, one of the easy areas to construct an argument. It like religion there are a variety of opinions and common ground is scarce.
Unfortunately the solutions are often unpalatable to many golfer who enjoy a sport in the open air with a group of mates and so the social aspects outweigh the urgency to complete 18 holes. Allowing faster players through can work but not always.
Golf clubs face the challenge that regimenting the time of play and available Tee times will annoy some members who may move on to others clubs or activities.
Imposing times/timing or tracking equipment has side effects as the systems needs a mechanism to 'enforce' the 'regulations' taking staff time and/or adding course marshals - this will increase a Club's costs significantly.
I can see the pressure from the 'sprinters' leading to special committees. Then like so many committees they will want to ensure everyone that the do 'stuff' to show they should continue. Consequences then are that more and more dross will emanate.
Golf clubs need to make a profit and while many point the finger at retirees as a portion of society they are an ideal revenue source who have time to spend in the clubhouse and money. Thus golfers are a skewed section of society and the natural pace of play will vary widely.
Ultimately, the only way forward is to convince members to play with tolerance and consideration for fellow golfers, two qualities I feel are in short supply in modern society. Tracking technology will not be any more than a source of data that shows the time elapse for a game of golf is subject to a vast range of variables from weather, course difficulty, golfer's health and ability, and the reason for enjoying the sport.
