Potential dilemma for a golf club manager/secretary

[pokerjoke]

When I started playing I was shooting 130+,i would never have even
contemplated entering a card, let alone a comp.
This to me was etiquette,understanding golf and how it works.
My dad,who was a member and was teaching me knew it was not right for
me,and wouldn't have been right to burden other players.
Of course as my scores came down circumstances changed.
I40 shots is obviously going to take a lot longer than 80.
Im sure it would cause chaos on the course in a medal,stableford obviously not so
much as he could pick up.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

When I started playing I was shooting 130+,i would never have even
contemplated entering a card, let alone a comp.
This to me was etiquette,understanding golf and how it works.
My dad,who was a member and was teaching me knew it was not right for
me,and wouldn't have been right to burden other players.
Of course as my scores came down circumstances changed.
I40 shots is obviously going to take a lot longer than 80.
Im sure it would cause chaos on the course in a medal,stableford obviously not so
much as he could pick up.

The club Match & Handicap convenor plays with your member in a medal competition - but does not reveal or say anything in respect of his position or anything about your members slow play. At the end of the round M&H convenor lets your member know that he had been asked by the committee to assess the truth or otherwise of complaints the committee have received in respect of slow play. And gives your member his verdict.

The problem has been created by the club in not managing and assessing ability and golf understanding of new members. If you accept the money - few questions asked, then you have to accept the outcomes or awkward moments that will follow.

 

[davidy233]

Not read the many pages which have been added to this since this morning - I take it the original post is hypothetical? I've never played golf with anyone who was very slow due to his lack of ability - played with a few who were slow because of their pre-shot routine or because they were stopping opposite their playing partners to watch them play their shot rather than moving towards their own ball to get ready for their next shot though.

 

[ger147]

Interestingly I just looked at the results for our last medal. There was a guy off 28 who shot 142 (8, 12, 7, 5, 6, 4, 5, 4, 9, 7, 12, 6, 14, 9, 10, 6, 4, 14). I know everyone has bad rounds but 44 shots over handicap? I don't care what anyone says, you have to question whether he should be playing as I know I would have the right hump if I was in that group.

You shouldn't be getting 12 or 14 on a hole, even in a stroke play event. Clearly at that level, a pick up and NR for that hole would be the correct course of action in a competition. By all means play every hole and try and get a score you can try and beat next time whenever you can, but in any comp 7 scores of 9 or more just isn't on in my honest opinion. Surely on at least 1 or 2 of those holes, there MUST have been an impact on pace of play unless he is the worst putter in the history of Golf?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

You shouldn't be getting 12 or 14 on a hole, even in a stroke play event. Clearly at that level, a pick up and NR for that hole would be the correct course of action in a competition. By all means play every hole and try and get a score you can try and beat next time whenever you can, but in any comp 7 scores of 9 or more just isn't on in my honest opinion. Surely on at least 1 or 2 of those holes, there MUST have been an impact on pace of play unless he is the worst putter in the history of Golf?

I don't disagree, but I don't know anymore information than the score.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

You shouldn't be getting 12 or 14 on a hole, even in a stroke play event. Clearly at that level, a pick up and NR for that hole would be the correct course of action in a competition. By all means play every hole and try and get a score you can try and beat next time whenever you can, but in any comp 7 scores of 9 or more just isn't on in my honest opinion. Surely on at least 1 or 2 of those holes, there MUST have been an impact on pace of play unless he is the worst putter in the history of Golf?

I had a 11 in the club champs first round last year and still qualified - if I had followed your path I would have not qualified. Why should someone NR because they run up a high score on a hole !

 

[JezzE]

Most of slow play comes from the players themselves regardless of ability - the solution to slow play is to penalise the players who cause the problem. Warnings on the course ,Shot penalties first of all , then DQ'd then bans.

I don't think there are many clubs in a strong enough position in terms of membership to start really clamping down on individual slow players...

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I don't think there are many clubs in a strong enough position in terms of membership to start really clamping down on individual slow players...

Well they should be - as otherwise they'll lose members. NO member is more important than the club and members clubs are stuffed as soon as we let individuals think they are and the club let them get way with whatever behaviour they want. There are too many arses with big egos out there who will assume new 'rights' if you let them

Stamp on slow play individuals and we the rest will get the message.

 

[chrisd]

exactly this happened recently at an event I attended, and it was a shotgun start so the course was packed from the first minute.

140 was the players good round, and they didn't even have a handicap!

did it make any difference? None at all - it's not generally about the total score, but about how the player conducts himself around the course.

the event was the H4H day :thup:

Didn't he say you were a little on the slow side?

 

[JezzE]

Well they should be - as otherwise they'll lose members. NO member is more important than the club and members clubs are stuffed as soon as we let individuals think they are and the club let them get way with whatever behaviour they want. There are too many arses with big egos out there who will assume new 'rights' if you let them

Stamp on slow play individuals and we the rest will get the message.

Sounds good in principle, but I don't think it would work right now. A few years ago, we had a piece all lined up ready to go with a slow play 'case study' but the secretary had second thoughts about letting us run it at the last minute as the club feared that the individual concerned would recognise himself being singled out (although not named of course) and up and leave with a few of his mates, thus taking several thousand pounds worth of income away from the club. They decided it was a risk not worth taking.

I'm sure many other clubs would follow suit, especially if the individuals concerned are influential within the club...

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I don't think there are many clubs in a strong enough position in terms of membership to start really clamping down on individual slow players...

Two embers recently served a 1 comp ban for repeated slow play and not taking heed from the warnings. If slow play isn't clamped down then the clubs could lose a lot more members

 

[JezzE]

Two embers recently served a 1 comp ban for repeated slow play and not taking heed from the warnings. If slow play isn't clamped down then the clubs could lose a lot more members

Possibly, and I'm not saying I either condemn or condone the reluctant attitude towards dealing firmly with slow players. I just think that at the moment it's quite a difficult matter for clubs to deal with as firmly as many might like.

Have any forumers left clubs because of the pace of play, or seen members leave in numbers because of slow play?

If it's anything like my club there's a lot of moaning and clubhouse disgruntlement but I'm not sure many have actually upped sticks because of it...

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Possibly, and I'm not saying I either condemn or condone the reluctant attitude towards dealing firmly with slow players. I just think that at the moment it's quite a difficult matter for clubs to deal with as firmly as many might like.

Have any forumers left clubs because of the pace of play, or seen members leave in numbers because of slow play?

If it's anything like my club there's a lot of moaning and clubhouse disgruntlement but I'm not sure many have actually upped sticks because of it...

Yes seen a few members leave because of 5 hour medal rounds

 

[JezzE]

Yes seen a few members leave because of 5 hour medal rounds

Woburn or Leighton Buzzard?

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Woburn or Leighton Buzzard?

Leighton.

 

[Birchy]

I think there needs to be some ways of stopping it reaching the melting point which it does/has at some clubs hence why I started this thread.

Clubs could lose members if they single out one individual and also of the flip side could lose members if medal rounds are so slow over a long period of time. Its a no win situation for the club in my view which is why something needs to be done before it gets to that as whatever is being done at the moment clearly isn't working at a lot of clubs.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I think there needs to be some ways of stopping it reaching the melting point which it does/has at some clubs hence why I started this thread.

Clubs could lose members if they single out one individual and also of the flip side could lose members if medal rounds are so slow over a long period of time. Its a no win situation for the club in my view which is why something needs to be done before it gets to that.

But you don't always know how slow people will play until they compete in medals - it's hard to do something before

 

[JezzE]

Leighton.

And how healthy is membership at Leighton - full with waiting lists etc or constantly looking around for new members?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Yes seen a few members leave because of 5 hour medal rounds

What I don't understand, and maybe we're lucky, is how golf takes 5 hours? Slow for us is anything over 4 hours and in 3 years I think I have only experienced 4 hour+ rounds twice. One of those was when they decided to play a board comp in 4-balls.

Even on Saturday with my wayward friend we were done in about 3:45

 

[Deleted member 15344]

And how healthy is membership at Leighton - full with waiting lists etc or constantly looking around for new members?

No waiting lists and below the level we want - more people leaving this year.