Masters 2023

[IJames]

Its only a recommendation, so shows the authorities are not convinced pace of play is something they should be handling. And I would agree. Golf is not a speed contest, nor sport where a given time is allotted to the contest. A round is defined as 18 holes. Time taken is irrelevant.
Tours, as part of the entertainment industry, and so restrained by TV schedule requirements have some interest in predictability at least. But they dont really impose sanctions, nor force the issue and sanction players.
Everyone pretty much agrees, golf can take whatever time players want it to take.

Invalid conclusion imo! To me, it's only a recommendation because the authorities recognise that there are a large number of reasons why it might take longer than 40 secs for player to take a shot! Idiots who dive into the ponds or streak for extreme example! There should be time standards, though with leeway for exceptional conditions or events (like trees falling over)! It's up to oficials to establish and police those standards imo!

 

[IJames]

What a load of bollocks

I totally agree! There are so many things simply incorrect in that post there must be some strong alcohol involved!

 

[Val]

If rory makes phil and reeds run everyone says so what.

It's brakes off golf. Neither were really in it.

Good high finish but let's not get too carried away.

At the business end brooks was really disappointing. There was birdies out there with those traditional Sunday pins and he was awful.

Rory made that run last year and everyone ranted and raved about it

 

[garyinderry]

Rory made that run last year and everyone ranted and raved about it

A brilliant Sunday round but he was never in it really.

The posted scores always pull in the leaders a bit as they are protecting a lead. Agusta sets up to allow people to make charges on the back 9 with plenty of scoring opportunities if you take them on.

 

[Golfmmad]

I'm a

Rory is a better golfer than Faldo was, and is competing in an era with a greater depth of talent.

I'm a big fan of Rory and I agree, but if Rory had the game mindset of Faldo, he would have won at least one Masters.

 

[jim8flog]

Its only a recommendation, so shows the authorities are not convinced pace of play is something they should be handling. And I would agree. Golf is not a speed contest, nor sport where a given time is allotted to the contest. A round is defined as 18 holes. Time taken is irrelevant.
Tours, as part of the entertainment industry, and so restrained by TV schedule requirements have some interest in predictability at least. But they dont really impose sanctions, nor force the issue and sanction players.
Everyone pretty much agrees, golf can take whatever time players want it to take.

The trouble is that what one see on the box starts creeping in to the game at club level and I know amongst most of the seniors I play with regularly we are pretty fed up with rounds taking 4 hrs. I am like Peter Alliss I very much bemoan the end of a round of golf taking 2.30 to 3 hours.

I know with how long a round takes these days and had it happened in the past there would have been 100s of rounds I could not have played because that long would not have fitted in with my work schedule.

 

[BiMGuy]

The trouble is that what one see on the box starts creeping in to the game at club level and I know amongst most of the seniors I play with regularly we are pretty fed up with rounds taking 4 hrs. I am like Peter Alliss I very much bemoan the end of a round of golf taking 2.30 to 3 hours.

I know with how long a round takes these days and had it happened in the past there would have been 100s of rounds I could not have played because that long would not have fitted in with my work schedule.

I presume a 2:30 round was as a single or a 2 ball?

I use a range finder, line all of my shots up, and line up the little line on putts, and hole out on every hole. Yet, I still find myself standing around waiting for others to play.

Slow people are slow regardless of how they play.

 

[Mel Smooth]

If I'm getting round a golf course in 4 hours I'm pretty happy with that. Not fussed about being waved through, as it often leads to having to rush through a couple of holes which I don't like, I'm there to enjoy myself.
The biggest cause of a slow round is people looking for golf balls, what they are doing on and around the green, or the time taken to assess yardages etc is pretty insignificant.

 

[Mel Smooth]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1645787756034142210

 

[Golfnut1957]

The trouble is that what one see on the box starts creeping in to the game at club level and I know amongst most of the seniors I play with regularly we are pretty fed up with rounds taking 4 hrs. I am like Peter Alliss I very much bemoan the end of a round of golf taking 2.30 to 3 hours.

I know with how long a round takes these days and had it happened in the past there would have been 100s of rounds I could not have played because that long would not have fitted in with my work schedule.

I posted this following Saturday's round, but it's worth a repeat.

We followed a society out Saturday afternoon, 3 hours for 10 holes. Rather than follow them around the back we went back to the 1st and played the same 10 holes in an easy 1.5 hours.

 

[Golfnut1957]

If I'm getting round a golf course in 4 hours I'm pretty happy with that. Not fussed about being waved through, as it often leads to having to rush through a couple of holes which I don't like, I'm there to enjoy myself.
The biggest cause of a slow round is people looking for golf balls, what they are doing on and around the green, or the time taken to assess yardages etc is pretty insignificant.

I agree with all of that.

 

[jim8flog]

I presume a 2:30 round was as a single or a 2 ball?

I use a range finder, line all of my shots up, and line up the little line on putts, and hole out on every hole. Yet, I still find myself standing around waiting for others to play.

Slow people are slow regardless of how they play.

Pre GPS and lasers I have had many a round as a 2 ball (first out on the course) of 2-2.30 hours. Trouble was it meant waiting for the bar to open.

I used to organise a swindle with a variety of standard of golfers. We used to get in regularly around the 3hr mark. This was mainly before the advent of GPS and lasers and most did not even use a yardage chart because they all knew the course so well. At one time the club wanted Saturday medal groups to get round in 3 hrs 20 minutes.

Fastest time for me as single on an empty course 1hr 10 minutes however using a buggy but with a score of just 2 over gross.

I have played this course for over 30 years and I know more or less what club to use without needing any yardage aids. I have a laser and use it about once every 3 rounds these days and the GPS has sat at home for around 2 years as I no longer play away.

 

[AJNairn]

I have played this course for over 30 years and I know more or less what club to use without needing any yardage aids. I have a laser and use it about once every 3 rounds these days and the GPS has sat at home for around 2 years as I no longer play away.

Surely, you'd be interested in distance to the pin for the shot to the green! Or are the flags front-middle-back colour coded? That's pretty much the only distance I need to know on a course I'm used to!

 

[Anoetic]

For me it’s just where are the pins, I can the pick the club accordingly…it’s only if I have a brain fart when I swing and visit the wrong part of the course it takes slightly longer….I just pace to a known point…..99% of amateur golfers only need a yardage book and are happy to be anywhere on the green in regulation…GPS is just a modern fad that slows things down….

 

[timd77]

Gps on my watch, takes as long to check the yardage on that as it does to say ‘bunch of technophobes’!

 

[Orikoru]

For me it’s just where are the pins, I can the pick the club accordingly…it’s only if I have a brain fart when I swing and visit the wrong part of the course it takes slightly longer….I just pace to a known point…..99% of amateur golfers only need a yardage book and are happy to be anywhere on the green in regulation…GPS is just a modern fad that slows things down….

How can pacing up and down the course possibly take less time than glancing at a screen and reading a number??

 

[IJames]

If I'm getting round a golf course in 4 hours I'm pretty happy with that. Not fussed about being waved through, as it often leads to having to rush through a couple of holes which I don't like, I'm there to enjoy myself.
The biggest cause of a slow round is people looking for golf balls, what they are doing on and around the green, or the time taken to assess yardages etc is pretty insignificant.

Even folk looking for golf balls isn't a massive problem imo - unless it's frequent! Time lost on one hole is normally caught within a hole, or maybe 2, because there's no waiting for the group ahead to be out of range plus allowance for the once a decade magic connection!

 

[Anoetic]

How can pacing up and down the course possibly take less time than glancing at a screen and reading a number??

I didn’t say how far or how often I did it……so who’s laughing now numbnuts…..…..and I agree a watch is the best solution not a range finder

 

[Depreston]

Enjoyed mickelsons round but it’s not making me want to watch LIV

 

[jim8flog]

Surely, you'd be interested in distance to the pin for the shot to the green! Or are the flags front-middle-back colour coded? That's pretty much the only distance I need to know on a course I'm used to!

They are colour coded but I have good eyesight*. Most times it is a choice between 2 clubs so the decision become very easy. My game is no longer to a standard where I hit to a precise yardage anyway.

I remember once reading a tip that most amateurs should know the yardage to the back of the green and take the club which with their very best reaches that distance, we very rarely hit our very best shot so the ball should always bee on the green with a straight shot.

* Or latest course manager thinks we do not need them because the size of the greens does not warrant it.