S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

But what if he was perfectly healthy, and this was the speed he wanted to play at?

Then he'd be told to speed up by other members of the society.
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

As we all know, each golfer is assigned a handicap that reflects his playing ability.
Would it be so difficult to also give each player a speed ranking...slow, med or fast.
As all golfers are different... some run round and some dally, this would enable organisers to arrange the tee times where fast plays tee off first, followed by medium and slow at the back.
Everyone then plays the speed they want to and no-one HAS to accept a slow round as Slugger mentioned before unless they want to.

As far as hunting for a ball is concerned this is straight from the rule book

"Players searching for a ball should signal the players in the group behind them to play through as soon as it becomes apparent that the ball will not easily be found.They should not search for five minutes before doing so."
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

I despise slow play. It is unecessary and utterly selfish.

In golf, you need to be ready to play your shot when it is your turn - simple as that. This does not mean that when it is your turn, you pretend your coming up the last at The Masters and enter into an elaborate pre-shot routine with three practice swings. It means you are ready to hit the ball.

If you feel the need to have two minutes of histrionics before actually striking the ball then do it in advance of the point at which it is your turn. Failing that, drop the pre shot nonsense and hit the ball then go and find it.

Slow players are selfish players. Get on with it and give some thought to the people you are playing with and the rest of the field.

I love this attitude. :D

You, of course, are right.

And everyone who disagrees with you is wrong.

No selfishness in that kind of thinking, is there ?



So if you go round in 2 hours 40 minutes, everyone who goes round in more than 2 hours 50 is rude, and selfish.

Anyone who has the impudence to take a practice swing is rude and selfish.

Anyone who changes their mind over club selection having just watched someone else's shot is rude and selfish.

Nah.

I'm thinking it's just you. :D

Think what you like. I didn't mention specific target times for 18 holes, rather I am talking about removing the unecessary timewasting that goes on in between shots. It comes down to courtesy and good manners. Be ready to play when it is your go.


And no-one ever hit a decent shot with a practice swing........... still, if you think that a couple of swishes at thin air will help you hit the ball properly then you carry on....Surely we have all hit enough golf balls in our lives to know what to do without having the need to refresh our memory during the minute before we hit the ball?
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

Why people feel the need to take a 6000 or so yard run whilst playing golf is beyond me :D

Each to their own :)
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

And no-one ever hit a decent shot with a practice swing........... still, if you think that a couple of swishes at thin air will help you hit the ball properly then you carry on....Surely we have all hit enough golf balls in our lives to know what to do without having the need to refresh our memory during the minute before we hit the ball?

Snelly, whilst I agree with your general principle in that you should be ready to play when it's your go and that there is a lot of un-necessary time wasting that goes on, I can't agree about the practice swing. The pro's know more about their swing than any of us but there are very few that don't take a practice swing.

I never used to but currently do as I am making a lot of changes to my swing and it helps me get a feel for the shot before I hit it. When I'm happy, I'll probably stop doing this again but for the time being, I see a lot more time wasting going on than me taking a couple of practice swings and I can assure you that if I didn't so it, none of the groups I play in would get around any quicker.
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

And no-one ever hit a decent shot with a practice swing........... still, if you think that a couple of swishes at thin air will help you hit the ball properly then you carry on....Surely we have all hit enough golf balls in our lives to know what to do without having the need to refresh our memory during the minute before we hit the ball?

Snelly, whilst I agree with your general principle in that you should be ready to play when it's your go and that there is a lot of un-necessary time wasting that goes on, I can't agree about the practice swing. The pro's know more about their swing than any of us but there are very few that don't take a practice swing.

I never used to but currently do as I am making a lot of changes to my swing and it helps me get a feel for the shot before I hit it. When I'm happy, I'll probably stop doing this again but for the time being, I see a lot more time wasting going on than me taking a couple of practice swings and I can assure you that if I didn't so it, none of the groups I play in would get around any quicker.

Agreed. I am guilty of being slightly provocative... :)
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

a practice swing takes around 2 seconds. Say you take 2 practice swings per shot that's 4 seconds, plus 3 or 4 more for your actual shot, that's 8 seconds per shot, probably nearer 15 once you take the pauses between practice swing and shot. do that 80 - 90 times in a round and that's 20 - 22.5 minutes per round actually taking practice swings and shots, maybe a wee bit longer when you add on putting and thinking about things on the tee. So, for arguments sake, say less than 30 minutes actually taking golf shots.

On average, we walk at around 4mph and cover roughly 5 miles during a round of golf.

Add it all up and it comes to less than 2 hours....

Then add on looking for the occasional lost ball and waiting on playing partners playing their shots. That'll take it up to maybe another 30 mins tops.

so, what the hell are we doing for the other 1.5 - 2 hours!!!!

We're waiting for folk marking cards on the green, leaving bags and trolleys at the wrong side of the green for the next tee, repairing pitch marks, divots, taking drinks, eating bananas, picking other peoples litter up off the course, taking phone calls from their wife telling them their dinner is in the dog, moaning about the condition of the greens, discussing the rules, putting waterproofs on when a couple of drops of rain fall on their nose, taking them off again when they realise it's only an overflying bird taking a leak, laughing at their mates slipping on the wet grass when walking of a slopey tee box, walking back to the tee because they never hit a provisional, tieing their shoelace, cleaning their balls, cleaning their golf balls, re-attaching their tour size cart bag onto their trolley for the 6th time, looking at their gps for a green that's 30 yards away and lastly but not least, their telling their playing partner that they've never hit a shot as bad as that before!!!!

Thinking about it, it's a bloody miracle that it only takes 4 hours for a round!!!

:)
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

As we all know, each golfer is assigned a handicap that reflects his playing ability.
Would it be so difficult to also give each player a speed ranking...slow, med or fast.
As all golfers are different... some run round and some dally, this would enable organisers to arrange the tee times where fast plays tee off first, followed by medium and slow at the back.
Everyone then plays the speed they want to and no-one HAS to accept a slow round as Slugger mentioned before unless they want to.

As far as hunting for a ball is concerned this is straight from the rule book

"Players searching for a ball should signal the players in the group behind them to play through as soon as it becomes apparent that the ball will not easily be found.They should not search for five minutes before doing so."



Lets say one of your players your playing with off the tee hits a wild shot into the rough and its obvious it wont be found easy the four ball behind has caught up and want to play through or you let them through,however one of their players does the same and its obvious his ball wont be found easy either,that then means youve got two groups hunting for balls and players all over the fairways.Then your player finds his first and then you have to ask to be let through again,imo ridiculous swapping and changing,the rules state you have five minutes you should be given five minutes.
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

a practice swing takes around 2 seconds. Say you take 2 practice swings per shot that's 4 seconds, plus 3 or 4 more for your actual shot, that's 8 seconds per shot, probably nearer 15 once you take the pauses between practice swing and shot. do that 80 - 90 times in a round and that's 20 - 22.5 minutes per round actually taking practice swings and shots, maybe a wee bit longer when you add on putting and thinking about things on the tee. So, for arguments sake, say less than 30 minutes actually taking golf shots.

On average, we walk at around 4mph and cover roughly 5 miles during a round of golf.

Add it all up and it comes to less than 2 hours....

Then add on looking for the occasional lost ball and waiting on playing partners playing their shots. That'll take it up to maybe another 30 mins tops.

so, what the hell are we doing for the other 1.5 - 2 hours!!!!

We're waiting for folk marking cards on the green, leaving bags and trolleys at the wrong side of the green for the next tee, repairing pitch marks, divots, taking drinks, eating bananas, picking other peoples litter up off the course, taking phone calls from their wife telling them their dinner is in the dog, moaning about the condition of the greens, discussing the rules, putting waterproofs on when a couple of drops of rain fall on their nose, taking them off again when they realise it's only an overflying bird taking a leak, laughing at their mates slipping on the wet grass when walking of a slopey tee box, walking back to the tee because they never hit a provisional, tieing their shoelace, cleaning their balls, cleaning their golf balls, re-attaching their tour size cart bag onto their trolley for the 6th time, looking at their gps for a green that's 30 yards away and lastly but not least, their telling their playing partner that they've never hit a shot as bad as that before!!!!

Thinking about it, it's a bloody miracle that it only takes 4 hours for a round!!!

:)

Blimey, if I was taking that many practice swings 80 or 90 times a round I'd be knackered and would be shooting somewhere in the region of 150 :D
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

the rules state you have five minutes you should be given five minutes.
Correct, but you dont hunt for 5 mins then call them through.
That ladies and gentlemen is why sometimes your round takes 5 hours. :mad:
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

Pro v wan, please don't be so precious. If you re read the post it says let the scratch guys through.

But, seeing as you made it personal, why should I stand around waiting for you to take 9 shots extra during every round when I could be finished 20 minutes earlier as you effectively still have to play a par 5 and a par 4??
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

the rules state you have five minutes you should be given five minutes.
Correct, but you dont hunt for 5 mins then call them through.
That ladies and gentlemen is why sometimes your round takes 5 hours. :mad:

Or if 3 out of the 4 are in the long stuff, don't all spend 5 minutes looking for player No1's ball, not find it so then spend 5 further minutes looking for player No2's ball and when that's found after 4.55 seconds spend another 5 minutes looking for player No3's ball.
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

What gets my goat is as a two ball following a four they leave the green you play on putt out you look across and there are still two of them to drive. What have they been doing?Having a picnic?And still they won't let you through. Aaaaah
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

I think a lot depends on the type of game and the course. I missed out on Castle Stuart but from the reports and pictures I'd have wanted to meander round (within reason and not holding the next group up) and savour the course and the surroundings. Golf itself would almost have been a secondary.

If I'm playing at Ascot in a 2/4 ball and its a roll up I'm trying to play as well as I can but won't take too much time hunting for my ball if it isn't visible within a minute or two. I will take my pre-shot routine though but will do so while others are playing so I'm ready when my turn comes.

In a competition I'll take my time and focus. If others want to rush ahead thats up to them. I'm looking to score as well as I can and get a cut. Of course once I've played my way out of contention (usually the 3rd or 4th) and 0.1 is a given I'll resort back to roll up mode.

Finally, if I'm paying a green fee somewhere (I'm playing Pyrford in a few weeks) I want to enjoy my round and don't want to feel harrased or intimidated just because a member wants to get around in record time. Of course I'll play as quickly as possible given the traffic in front etc and would consider calling gropus behind through as a given. However on a course I've never played I want to be sure I know where I'm going and try and work out the best shot for the circumstance. That may take a few seconds longer than normal but as I'm giving my hard earned cash to the club I think thats my perogative.
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

It would appear that there is a lot of debate about what is and what isn't slow play. The R&A have taken this out of our hands. There is a reccomended time to complete a round which is under 4 hours. I like all, I hesitate to call myself a golfer so I will stick to, all those who love the game, do not want to be rushed but I think that 4 hrs is plenty of time for a round on all but the most demanding of courses, Carnoustie for example. I started this post because I am fed up with the dawdelers who forget that there place on the golf course is behind the game in front and not in front of the game behind. If you lose a hole on someone let the game behind through. If you ar about to hit your 6th or 7th shot from the fairway pick up and lets get on with the game. Nobody wants to rush you and spoil your enjoyment you do not rush to get round in 4 hrs. Thanks :)
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

If you lose a hole on someone let the game behind through.

I would far rather that the slow group caught up with the group in front. Dependant on how and where you call through, the whole of the field behind can be held up for another 5 - 10 minutes :mad:
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

The longest roung of golf I've ever play was at Royal Portrush 3 years ago, 6hrs and 20 minutes (18holes). I complained to the GUI when we had finished and his answer to me was "what can we do about it?" My reply was "get out there and move them on" which didnt go down to well. I mean 6 bloody hours to play 18, the higest handicapper in the field that day would of been about 3.
I tee off every Saturday morning at 7.37, it takes us 4 hours to play our round. We wait on every shot, the 4ball behind never catches us but we're stood there waiting.
I watch all kinds of golfers on our course and some really take the biscut.
I think it's one of those things and we just have to learn to live with it.
 
Re: S....l...o....w P..........l.........a..............y

I think being a bank holiday weekend everyone seemed to be out on Saturday morning. We caught up the two in front (we were a two) by the 3rd and joined up to try and keep the pace of play sensible. By the time we got to the 10th there was a queue and the back nine was appalingly slow. To be fair to the group in front of us they were moving quite quickly but it was the four in front of them. Painful and no idea of etiquette. All would look for a lost ball, trollys in sill positions, no inkling of calling others up. It is the same group that go out first every weekend and so set the pace for the day. It is always SLOW. There aren't many good golfers from a handicap perspective and I'm fine with that. They all play off the same level so their groups are always closely fought for the pot. However they are all experienced golfers and should know to call others through and must be able to tell they are holding things up. I think because its their mates behind it'll either be a loss of face or that it doesn't matter.
 
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