Pointless rant....

Airlie_Andy

Airlie_Andy

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Bit of a pointless rant I know but it's making me feel better. We have a drivable par 4 on our course, well 3 or 4 actually but this particular one is about 270 yards or 250 from the reds. Anyway I'm playing the hole alongside it and notice 2 elderly ladies on the tee waiting to tee off and by waiting to tee off I mean waiting for the green to clear! I decided to wait and see them tee off as I thought I must be about to see something special. They both eventually teed off and the longer of the 2 managed about 160 yards. Now I'm all for erring on the side of caution but never in a million years were they ever going to drive that green so why on earth were they holding the following group up by waiting?

Told you it was a pointless rant.
 
I posted something very, very similar on the pet hate thread that was doing the rounds last week.

Why is it, in your case, or long par 4/5's that people taking there second shot with 220+ yards to the green, stand in the middle of the fairway with a mid-iron waiting for the green to clear :confused:

With the best will in the world, even if the flushed a 7 iron it's not going to make the green, and by a long chalk!

You are not alone in this Andy :thup:
 
I don't know, it really grinds my gears when people are unduly slow!

Favourite episode of it so far was on a par 5 at my place - quite long, into the wind you're lucky to get on in 3. Pair of lads hit 200 yard drives, whip out their range finders (must have been plus of 300 yards) and proceed to wait for a four ball on the green to clear.

Finally cleared, player 1 whips out his fairway wood and tops it 40 yards, player 2 with a mid iron dinks it down the fairway.

I was so frustrated, as was everyone else on the tee!
 
I have to agree Andy but on the other hand if the pace of play ahead is slow perhaps they just wanted to try and build a buffer ahead so they weren't being held up. Not good though if they then held everyone else up in the process. Did they make the green with the second?
 
HomerJSimpson said:
I have to agree Andy but on the other hand if the pace of play ahead is slow perhaps they just wanted to try and build a buffer ahead so they weren't being held up. Not good though if they then held everyone else up in the process. Did they make the green with the second?
Click to expand...
I didn't hang around to see Homer. I just wandered off shaking my head. See this sort of thing all the time but that was the worst example I've ever seen. The other week when we had that strong wind we arrived on the tee of a long par 4 to see the group in front teeing off in to a very strong head wind. They hit pretty good drives that went about 200 yards. With another 240 to the green they then stand there with irons in there hands waiting for the green to clear! Even without the strong headwind the chance of hitting an iron 240 yards is remote. Needless to say they didn't get anywhere near the green with the second shots. The only reason I'm telling this story is that I did manage to reach with a drive and a 3 wood. :D
 
Occasionally I wait for the group ahead to at least be on the green before teeing off on a 270 yard par 4 at the course i play as I'm reasonably new to the game I could hit it 170/180 or I could catch it and hit it a few yards off the green

Perhaps like me they were a bit rubbish (inconsistent) :rofl:
 
Airlie_Andy said:
Bit of a pointless rant I know but it's making me feel better. We have a drivable par 4 on our course, well 3 or 4 actually but this particular one is about 270 yards or 250 from the reds. Anyway I'm playing the hole alongside it and notice 2 elderly ladies on the tee waiting to tee off and by waiting to tee off I mean waiting for the green to clear! I decided to wait and see them tee off as I thought I must be about to see something special. They both eventually teed off and the longer of the 2 managed about 160 yards. Now I'm all for erring on the side of caution but never in a million years were they ever going to drive that green so why on earth were they holding the following group up by waiting?

Told you it was a pointless rant.
Click to expand...

Hope there wasn't anyone behind you...:whistle:
 
Stuey01 said:
And yet if you'd seen you stood there waiting for the green to clear you'd be on here whining about it...
;)
Click to expand...

Fortunately I was last to play so didn't have to wait and my drive was a good 30 yards further forward so the green was in range with a fairway wood rather than an iron. :funk:
 
If there is even a small chance that I could hit into someone then I'll wait. The one time I didn't, at our 12th, I ended up hitting a 3 hybrid out of the screws to end up pin high left while people were still putting out. I felt like a right tool.
 
Better safe than sorry. I know that 9 out of 10 times I'm not going to get anywhere near the potential distance from my clubs and the likelihood diminishes greatly if anyone is watching. :)

I've tracked my 3 wood and the average distance I get is 158 yards. My longest was last Sunday at 223 yards and previous best was 194 yards. If you were to watch me at any time, I would probably hit it 160 yards and you might scoff if I waited for someone to move off from 240 yards away. Whilst it would be pointless for me to wait for someone to clear from 270 yards away, just because you see me hit it 160, doesn't mean I might not hit it 230 +
 
I think sometimes its just best to wait, whats the point in risking hurting someone.

I tend to wait just in case, you might stripe one. last year i was playing in a medal from the back tee's on the 8th at my home course down wind 320 yards, was hitting 3 wood just for position and a nice wedge in, flushed it and it must have taken a good bounce too.

The guys on the green were not happy as the ball rolled up in front of the cup blocking the guy who was in the process of putting out;)
 
Being new to the game I too always err on the side of caution in this respect. Often think that people up front might think im rushing or bullying them if they are playing a green and my ball drops 40/60yds behind.
 
I hit a 4 wood 245 last Sunday. For me, this should be impossible. I carry my driver about 225 ish, and this 4w carried a bunker at 220. I know it was 245, as I had mucked up my drive, and my second on a par 5, and had lasered the pin prior to the third shot. I ended up on the green, exactly pin high, but out to the right (245, but no draw, some people are never happy!).

sometimes, you've just got to wait there, and risk looking a plonker if you don't make it.
 
Airlie_Andy said:
Bit of a pointless rant I know but it's making me feel better. We have a drivable par 4 on our course, well 3 or 4 actually but this particular one is about 270 yards or 250 from the reds. Anyway I'm playing the hole alongside it and notice 2 elderly ladies on the tee waiting to tee off and by waiting to tee off I mean waiting for the green to clear! I decided to wait and see them tee off as I thought I must be about to see something special. They both eventually teed off and the longer of the 2 managed about 160 yards. Now I'm all for erring on the side of caution but never in a million years were they ever going to drive that green so why on earth were they holding the following group up by waiting?

Told you it was a pointless rant.
Click to expand...

In the other thread I said that I had done this. It was a big help when playing with a much more experienced player who was able to guide me and tell me to play so haven't done it since. The problem stemmed from not really knowing my own game, and being paranoid about etiquette breach - focussed just on the group ahead, not thinking at all about the group behind. For me, a bit of gentle guidance, recognising I'm only just taking off the stabilisers was really welcome. (And why I'm on this forum)
 
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