Golf Pairs 5hr30 rounds becoming the norm?

[wjemather]

Too often these competitions are played from tees that are simply too long for the ability of a significant proportion of the players taking part; and having paid their money, many will take every shot regardless of whether they can actually score.

 

[Oddsocks]

I get longer courses take longer due to walks between holes etc. but Seaton Carew should be no more that 4hrs and others should be no more than 4:30. I think half the problem is that people take longer than three mins to look for balls. I completely understand everyone joins these to play the course but that doesn’t mean you can’t pick up a missed putt or drop a ball on the fairway to play the hole but not score.

Rounds were 5hours plus before the time was reduced and people used to push the 5 min limit back then. I don’t see this as the biggest impact.

I played the Mizuno event at the Addington last week and it was 5h30.

It’s a tough course with tricky greens which slows things down, but the back nine was painful with 5-10 minutes waiting on each hole, was 3 hours.

This is where I set my time marker. I caddied there as kid in the 90’s when the heather was a lot thicker, the course was tighter and the trees were left wild with bramble bushes starting at the tree line. My regular Saturday and Sunday 4 ball was made up of a 65yr old off 11, 74yr old of 16 and generally 2 other gents between 65-70 both around 15-18.

We would go off the whites at 8.30 sharp either off the 1st or 5th of there were more than one additional group on the 1st and would always be in by 12.00, 12.15 was deemed slow.

How can 4 pensioners get around a course playing its hardest, it pretty simple.

If it was deep enough in the to be lost, it was normally called after 2 mins max and they generally knew what clubs they would be hitting.

Lasers & GPS IMHO have slowed the game down and I personally played a couple of rounds without my watch recently and was noticeably quicker.

Also, back then people wasn’t as heavy into lessons. With most pro’s giving you a small routine to build into your practice swing this is an absolute KILLER to round times.

Aimpoint……. Don’t even go there!

 

[wjemather]

Too often these competitions are played from tees that are simply too long for the ability of a significant proportion of the players taking part; and having paid their money, many will take every shot regardless of whether they can actually score.

To add to this, tee times are often too close together in order to fit more players in and make more money.

 

[YandaB]

So glad I do not play golf anymore.
I gave up when 18 hole rounds took over 4 hours.
Golf will be like cricket soon with a lunchtime break at the 9th hole.

In the 1990's I played a complete 36 hole scratch match play final in less than four hours

What are the biggest impacts that have caused this do you think?
Pre shot routines.
Players not being ready to play
Everyone walking to each ball in turn
More 4 balls
Slower walking pace
Shorter gaps between tee times
Higher handicaps
All of the above?

 

[stymied]

My opinion on what has slowed the game down.
1) Not playing ready golf.
2) Waiting for the person furthest from the hole to hit before going to the next ball then starting the process of determining distance (no longer is distance stepped off or approximated), picking a club and then starting a preshot routine.
3) Marking of putts that don't impact the play of others.
4) Faster greens and therefore greens that people spend more time trying to read.
5) Playing more golf on away courses that people aren't familiar with (when you play the same course you tend to know where your mishits will end up, you know when a shot is lost, you know distances and club selection and you know the breaks of the greens)
6) Less than 10 minute tee time intervals
7) The ability of some to hit the ball a long way without having control of where shots are going (big face on the driver allows a shot that might have missed the club face 30 years ago to still have a high ball speed but be way off line).
8) Buggies shared by two golfers of differing game types.

 

[evemccc]

My opinion on what has slowed the game down.
1) Not playing ready golf.
2) Waiting for the person furthest from the hole to hit before going to the next ball then starting the process of determining distance (no longer is distance stepped off or approximated), picking a club and then starting a preshot routine.
3) Marking of putts that don't impact the play of others.
4) Faster greens and therefore greens that people spend more time trying to read.
5) Playing more golf on away courses that people aren't familiar with (when you play the same course you tend to know where your mishits will end up, you know when a shot is lost, you know distances and club selection and you know the breaks of the greens)
6) Less than 10 minute tee time intervals
7) The ability of some to hit the ball a long way without having control of where shots are going (big face on the driver allows a shot that might have missed the club face 30 years ago to still have a high ball speed but be way off line).
8) Buggies shared by two golfers of differing game types.

An abundance of buggies outside the pro-shop is an almost perfect way to tell that I won’t really enjoy the course too much

 

[IanM]

An abundance of buggies outside the pro-shop is an almost perfect way to tell that I won’t really enjoy the course too much

Doesn't that mean they are not being used?

 

[rulefan]

We just held a 4BBB Seniors' Open. Over 120 pairs. Virtually all were walking. I only saw 3 or 4 buggies.
!0 min intervals
First out - back in < 4h15m
Last out - back in < 4h30m but it got much hotter during the day.
Our standard time for county & EG events is 4h10m for 3 ball strokeplay at 10 min intervals

 

[bigyin55]

I joined a club for the first time this year and playing competition golf is an eye opener. I have no time for it tbh.

I was a nomad golfer and I'm going back to it. Play plenty rounds with friends but medals etc isn't for me. Boring.

 

[IanM]

I joined a club for the first time this year and playing competition golf is an eye opener. I have no time for it tbh.

I was a nomad golfer and I'm going back to it. Play plenty rounds with friends but medals etc isn't for me. Boring.

I can see where you're coming from. I've only played in one qualifying comp at my home club this year.

I've played several pairs and team opens at away clubs. I've played lots of social golf at away courses, inc 10 new courses already this year.

Simply put, it's more fun! Most of the Seniors at the home club only play there and absolutely nowhere else. I guess thats their choice. That would bore be completely.

Each to their own.

 

[Deleted member 30853]

Slow play is the worst part of amateur golf. If my group fall behind I'm quick to tell them to hurry up. If the group In front fall behind they get told as well...

 

[Oddsocks]

My opinion on what has slowed the game down.
1) Not playing ready golf.
2) Waiting for the person furthest from the hole to hit before going to the next ball then starting the process of determining distance (no longer is distance stepped off or approximated), picking a club and then starting a preshot routine
3) Marking of putts that don't impact the play of others.
4) Faster greens and therefore greens that people spend more time trying to read.
5) Playing more golf on away courses that people aren't familiar with (when you play the same course you tend to know where your mishits will end up, you know when a shot is lost, you know distances and club selection and you know the breaks of the greens)
6) Less than 10 minute tee time intervals
7) The ability of some to hit the ball a long way without having control of where shots are going (big face on the driver allows a shot that might have missed the club face 30 years ago to still have a high ball speed but be way off line).
8) Buggies shared by two golfers of differing game types.

Point 4 is huge, play is noticeably faster on slower greens:
A- people less cautious as a bad putt isn’t generally as bad.
B- less putts in general, and that that miss are generally short so you have already read the line from the previous putt.

 

[AussieKB]

3 1/4 hours last Thursday in a 3 ball at one course and then just under 4 hours at my other course on Saturday in a 4 ball,
we caught the group in front that had started over 2 holes ahead of us on the 12th, will give them credit for picking up their pace.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

What are the biggest impacts that have caused this do you think?
Pre shot routines.
Players not being ready to play
Everyone walking to each ball in turn
More 4 balls
Slower walking pace
Shorter gaps between tee times
Higher handicaps
All of the above?

Mainly just a general lack of urgency and unawareness of your place and responsibility on a golf course.
Golfers are walking at a much slower pace.
More 4 balls playing.
As a youngster our club allowed only two ball play until 10.30 am.
Couples who started playing at 9am were finished around 11.30am
Call through of faster games was a given.

 

[sunshine]

This is where I set my time marker. I caddied there as kid in the 90’s when the heather was a lot thicker, the course was tighter and the trees were left wild with bramble bushes starting at the tree line. My regular Saturday and Sunday 4 ball was made up of a 65yr old off 11, 74yr old of 16 and generally 2 other gents between 65-70 both around 15-18.

We would go off the whites at 8.30 sharp either off the 1st or 5th of there were more than one additional group on the 1st and would always be in by 12.00, 12.15 was deemed slow.

How can 4 pensioners get around a course playing its hardest, it pretty simple.

I would always expect these guys to play fast. Slow swings, hitting it short and straight. Easy club selection, they are hitting the same fairway wood for almost every shot till they get to the green.

 

[chellie]

Mainly just a general lack of urgency and unawareness of your place and responsibility on a golf course.
Golfers are walking at a much slower pace.
More 4 balls playing.
As a youngster our club allowed only two ball play until 10.30 am.
Couples who started playing at 9am were finished around 11.30am
Call through of faster games was a given.

How short it the course and the layout? Quickest players I know at ours with no hold ups in a competition will take a bit under 3 hours. Quickest I've done ours in social golf was just over 3 hours including having a loo break. No toilets on the course so that adds extra time!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

How short it the course and the layout? Quickest players I know at ours with no hold ups in a competition will take a bit under 3 hours. Quickest I've done ours in social golf was just over 3 hours including having a loo break. No toilets on the course so that adds extra time!

Open Qualifier and European DP Tour venue
Par 72
No halfway House

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Mainly just a general lack of urgency and unawareness of your place and responsibility on a golf course.
Golfers are walking at a much slower pace.
More 4 balls playing.
As a youngster our club allowed only two ball play until 10.30 am.
Couples who started playing at 9am were finished around 11.30am
Call through of faster games was a given.

If you are comparing slow comp play now to a time when it was 2 balls only, that really isn't comparing like with like. I can fly round in a two ball, the moment courses add a 3rd and a 4th player into groups, the whole situation changes. With membership sizes now, no way could clubs go back to that.

 

[Neilds]

Faster players are also a cause of slow play - pushing their way round the course meaning groups have to wait as they play through. If everyone played at the same (sensible/reasonable) pace, then it would flow more smoothly. Traffic calming on motorways is a good example of how this works.

 

[rulie]

Faster players are also a cause of slow play - pushing their way round the course meaning groups have to wait as they play through. If everyone played at the same (sensible/reasonable) pace, then it would flow more smoothly. Traffic calming on motorways is a good example of how this works.

Where I play (NA), playing through is very rare (maybe during a ball search, but less frequent now with 3 minute search time). I do play in the morning, and average round for a 4 ball is 4 hrs, sometimes 345.