Golf Random Irritations

[sjw]

Groups that turn the 18th into a ceremony ground for saying there congratulations and goodbyes. Ludicrous.

Also, lack of bells on holes with blind tee shots. Why?!

Blind tee shots on a day where you've gone out with a group a couple of holes ahead and you're not sure if you should be waiting for a bell or not...

I'd prefer a large mirror on a tall stick!

Or (and I've thought about this before) a button on the tee box that turns a light on. The light goes off when you press another button near the green (or after 10 minutes, whichever comes first).

 

[Lord Tyrion]

South Shields have a couple of tall frames, standing platforms or whatever, that you climb up to see over a crest and gauge if it is safe to tee off. Tyneside have one as well from memory. Good to have, certainly on tee shots. Once on the hole, it is back to bells.

Bells work well as long as people remember to use them. No bells , bad from the club concerned.

 

[sjw]

South Shields have a couple of tall frames, standing platforms or whatever, that you climb up to see over a crest and gauge if it is safe to tee off. Tyneside have one as well from memory. Good to have, certainly on tee shots. Once on the hole, it is back to bells.

Bells work well as long as people remember to use them. No bells , bad from the club concerned.

I remember the one on 18 at South Shields. Was quite useful; would have been more useful if I could actually see over the bushes! Wasn't helped by not really knowing where I was aiming or how far away anything was.

We have one on our 16th which is very useful.

 

[sjw]

Blind tee shots on a day where you've gone out with a group a couple of holes ahead and you're not sure if you should be waiting for a bell or not...

I'd prefer a large mirror on a tall stick!

Or (and I've thought about this before) a button on the tee box that turns a light on. The light goes off when you press another button near the green (or after 10 minutes, whichever comes first).

I've had a better idea.... on the tee box you have a winch that hoists a weight up, which is set up to take 10 minutes to fall to the bottom.

EDIT: Or even, an egg timer. I'm a doughnut.

 

[Orikoru]

I've had a better idea.... on the tee box you have a winch that hoists a weight up, which is set up to take 10 minutes to fall to the bottom.

EDIT: Or even, an egg timer. I'm a doughnut.

The only things that really work are mirrors or high platforms where you can see for yourself. Every other solution relies on the fact that the group ahead won't forget to do it.

 

[sjw]

The only things that really work are mirrors or high platforms where you can see for yourself. Every other solution relies on the fact that the group ahead won't forget to do it.

Ok... how about a gate which you have to go through which flips the egg timer?

 

[Orikoru]

Ok... how about a gate which you have to go through which flips the egg timer?

You're going to be emailing Dragon's Den before today is done.

 

[Alan Clifford]

Blind tee shots on a day where you've gone out with a group a couple of holes ahead and you're not sure if you should be waiting for a bell or not...

I'd prefer a large mirror on a tall stick!

Or (and I've thought about this before) a button on the tee box that turns a light on. The light goes off when you press another button near the green (or after 10 minutes, whichever comes first).

Come on, this is golf. That's 19th century technology so is far too modern for tbe golfing world.

 

[TheHeron]

All jokes aside, it's a bit of an issue that I really do think needs to be sorted. The mirror on a stick thing is a great idea and surely not that difficult to implement? Not sure how you'd gage the distance though...

 

[Slab]

This is all a bit old school… its easier than that

Electronic tags on the golf bag, open the app on tee and you can see/zoom in to the group in front and quickly see if they’ve cleared the landing area
Phone can prompt player when its safe to play without viewing, and alert player on their GPS watch

(and with a bit of fiddling the pro-shop can takeover control of the battery trollies not left at exit from green and move them while player faffs about putting. Slow groups can be forced to increase their pace as the YTS staff in the shop speeds up the trolly down fairways etc)

 

[TheHeron]

Good idea but a touch ambitious I feel. If some clubs can't even be bothered to put a bell up then I doubt they'll front the cost for tags, especially as it'll be costly to replace them. The head pro at my local is forever morning the loss of buggy keys because people forget to hand them in...

Just put bells up and have a sign on the tee box reminding people to ring them once they've hit their second.

 

[Slab]

Good idea but a touch ambitious I feel. If some clubs can't even be bothered to put a bell up then I doubt they'll front the cost for tags, especially as it'll be costly to replace them. The head pro at my local is forever morning the loss of buggy keys because people forget to hand them in...

Just put bells up and have a sign on the tee box reminding people to ring them once they've hit their second.

Probably right although it'd be members that fund it by paying for their tags with membership fee and if buying 500 tags the cost per person is gonna be about a tenner a skull
Couple of dozen spares for visitors and bobs your builder, job done

Home club has three holes with a blind landing zone (& no bells) fortunately the buggys all have gps screens to tell you where the group in front is etc but if a course has predominantly walkers...


side use is that pace of play can also be analysed & managed with the same tag to make the course more enjoyable for all and more profitable

 

[GB72]

Probably right although it'd be members that fund it by paying for their tags with membership fee and if buying 500 tags the cost per person is gonna be about a tenner a skull
Couple of dozen spares for visitors and bobs your builder, job done

Home club has three holes with a blind landing zone (& no bells) fortunately the buggys all have gps screens to tell you where the group in front is etc but if a course has predominantly walkers...


side use is that pace of play can also be analysed & managed with the same tag to make the course more enjoyable for all and more profitable

That is ingenious, lot could be done to help pace of play with GPS tags especially as you can pinpoint log jams and send someone out to sort it. You can also record the pace of play of individuals over a period of time and then talk to those that are inherently and consistently slow.

 

[TheHeron]

Probably right although it'd be members that fund it by paying for their tags with membership fee and if buying 500 tags the cost per person is gonna be about a tenner a skull
Couple of dozen spares for visitors and bobs your builder, job done

Home club has three holes with a blind landing zone (& no bells) fortunately the buggys all have gps screens to tell you where the group in front is etc but if a course has predominantly walkers...


side use is that pace of play can also be analysed & managed with the same tag to make the course more enjoyable for all and more profitable

Superb idea and implementation for the buggies that! Never seen that before, though a lot of the courses I play aren't particularly lavish... can barely afford to pay the greenkeepers it seems.

 

[Slab]

That is ingenious, lot could be done to help pace of play with GPS tags especially as you can pinpoint log jams and send someone out to sort it. You can also record the pace of play of individuals over a period of time and then talk to those that are inherently and consistently slow.

Yeah my garmin golf watch already tracks the exact route i took to play each hole + green to tee

It could easily show choke points and identify what causes them (could just be an inordinate number of ball searches in a particular piece of rough that can be quickly cut/staked etc) it could show the impact to time/pace of different pin positions, show where players routinely all walk to one ball on fairway before going to the next, players teeing off early, group spacing, leaving bags at front of green etc etc

all the things that are brought up every time we have a slow play thread... not for the purpose of making a round too fast, just to make sure its not too slow


oh and compare rounds in rain/wind etc to those on dry days for a proper 'expected pace of play' for the next day that has similar conditions

 

[3offTheTee]

Ok... how about a gate which you have to go through which flips the egg timer?

Go to Elie in Fife where the starter has a periscope on the first.

 

[GB72]

Yeah my garmin golf watch already tracks the exact route i took to play each hole + green to tee

It could easily show choke points and identify what causes them (could just be an inordinate number of ball searches in a particular piece of rough that can be quickly cut/staked etc) it could show the impact to time/pace of different pin positions, show where players routinely all walk to one ball on fairway before going to the next, players teeing off early, group spacing, leaving bags at front of green etc etc

all the things that are brought up every time we have a slow play thread... not for the purpose of making a round too fast, just to make sure its not too slow


oh and compare rounds in rain/wind etc to those on dry days for a proper 'expected pace of play' for the next day that has similar conditions

Trouble is I can see certain members at my old club almost literally exploding at the thought of being tagged. They will all be bandying about the term '1984' like they had actually read the book

 

[Orikoru]

A feller in my club has come down from 21 ish to 12.6 this year while I stagnate in the 14's. I played with this guy once, over a year ago, and he didn't show many signs of being that good then. I don't know what his secret is for his transformation but I am envious, and irritated. He must have been having lessons off Tiger Woods or something. The other week he shot 75 which was net -9 in the medal since he was still off 16 at the time. Meanwhile I play really well but just shoot 82 every single week. Damn this man for making me feel worse about myself.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

We have had a bell on our long, blind dogleg 2nd shot, par 4 2nd hole. We no longer have one. Our neighbours over the boundary hedge complained about the incessant clanging. I get that.

Silent alternatives have been considered…but we have implemented none. Why? Because our 3rd is a par 3, and the bit extra time it takes for groups to play the 2nd - waiting until the green is clear, as confirmed by someone walking forward to check, helps minimise pile-ups on the 3rd tee.

 

[sjw]

A guy on a forum I frequent has a handicap in the 14s. I don't know what his secret is but I am envious, and irritated. He also claims that he's never had any lessons. The other week (and every other week) he shoots an 82. Meanwhile I feel like I'm playing really well but just shoot 91 every week. Damn this man for making me feel worse about myself.