Slow play Hurts Your Scoring

Foxholer

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Wow.
So the same people playing together week in week out?
Isn't that pretty common/normal?
Certainly is at the place I play at now (though maybe 'same group of 8 or 12' for 'fiddles'). And was same at a couple of others in the past too.
Like Imurg posted drawn ones are/were rare/specials.
 
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2blue

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We have a number of habitual dawdlers within our roll up groups, hence a direct consequence on the pace of play for the people I play with. We have tried politeness, directness and everything between but as some have said, skin of a rhino and to no avail. They are slow in comps as well which has a greater effect on the whole field and I know some have written in but the club seem to bury their collective heads. In general terms, most members consider 4 hours to be an acceptable length of time and in most cases including comps we achieve that give five or ten minutes either way. Is there really any way we are going to change such ingrained habits?
Most 3 or 4 Balls adopting 'Ready Golf' & managing their preparation should be able to achieve this even if they have to let through some of the 'hurry-on & chop-it brigade'.
 

HomecountiesJohn

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Slow play is the most soul destroying part of golf. There should be sanctions for slow play, a bit like middle lane hoggEd’s on the M25.

I can accept waiting on the odd shot here and there but when it’s every hole and every shot it becomes unbearable.

I’ve played in many society days where it’s taken 5hrs to get round but we’ve never had to wait or held the groups behind us up. It’s just been a constant pace.
 

Smiffy

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Having organised many, many golf trips in the past, the one thing I have realised over the years is that the really slow players will never admit to being slow.
As is usual during these events, I will normally put myself out in the first group so that I am back in time to collect and mark score cards.
At one meeting at Forest Pines in particular I was waiting by the side of the 18th green to collect cards as players finished.
The group that had been following us were walking to their balls as we left the green, and were ready to play as we sat down.
God knows what had happened to the third group out, I kid you not, we waited for at least half an hour, maybe more, before they came into view on the 18th tee.
When questioned why they had fallen so far behind, we were met with "we've been waiting on every tee" and "We were right up behind the guys in front". Really??? Really???????
You couldn't make it up.
 
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bobmac

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When questioned why they had fallen so far behind, we were met with "we've been waiting on every tee".....
You really couldn't make it up.

I've no problem with people taking their time but they have to tee off towards the back of the field either wise they are spoiling the day for everyone else.
I know it's more difficult to organise societies when you don't know who is slow but clubs know who they are and they should be encouraged to tee off later in the day. If they can't play later in the day, at least keep them out of the first few groups.
 

Smiffy

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I've no problem with people taking their time but they have to tee off towards the back of the field either wise they are spoiling the day for everyone else.
I know it's more difficult to organise societies when you don't know who is slow but clubs know who they are and they should be encouraged to tee off later in the day. If they can't play later in the day, at least keep them out of the first few groups.

What bugs me Bob is that whoever it is will not agree that they've been slow.
We used to have a mate we played with who was always the slowest around a course. We used to put him in the last group but the other guys with him were always moaning.
He just wouldn't accept that he was slow, and would argue 'til the cows came home that it wasn't his fault.
 

bobmac

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What bugs me Bob is that whoever it is will not agree that they've been slow.
We used to have a mate we played with who was always the slowest around a course. We used to put him in the last group but the other guys with him were always moaning.
He just wouldn't accept that he was slow, and would argue 'til the cows came home that it wasn't his fault.

Better one group moaning than the whole field moaning if he goes out first.
 

chrisd

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Wow.
So the same people playing together week in week out?

With a computer booking system opening a week or two before playing, it's most likely to produce the same groups. Back when I first played at my club most of the winter was friendly games and a matchplay winter league where strangers were more likely to play each other. This certainly helped integrate new members, and newcomers to the game learned the rules much quicker but, sadly, the influx of new players dont get to mix much and their rules knowledge, in particular, is woeful at times. Now our winter league is 5 rounds of betterball with the best 3 of 5 counting, and the top 16 pairs go through to the knockout matchplay in March - it works but doesnt promote mixing of players.
 

bobmac

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Does anyone know of any club that has experimented with 'speed slots', say before 9am when players are encouraged to take less than 3hrs 30?
 

Albo

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I dont get why this has to be hard to figure out.
If a course says, a round at our course should take no more than 3h30 (for example) for a 4 ball, 3h15 for a 3 ball, 3h for a 2 ball. Everyone knows the expextations, of each group is then timed going round and one found to be slower by more than 10 mins, that group gets a warning each of the players in that group, 3 warnings for any particular player sees you reatricted to afternoon tee times for a month. That should keep pace of play up to the courses set standard.

As has been said in this thread, slow is subjective, but not if the course states what slow is and actually does something about it.

I'm aware this is unlikely to happen
 

bobmac

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However, if someone expects me to go round with them in a fourball in 3 hours 15 minutes, then they can jog right on! Which they probably do if playing golf that quickly!
Equally though, I'm not looking to spend 5 hours on a course with anyone either!

That's the whole problem, some people want to go round in 3hrs 15 or even less whereas there are a few who like taking 5 hours.
The only way you can keep them all happy is to have the faster players out first.
This would also have the knock on affect of hurrying along the chasing groups to not fall a hole behind. If you have the slower players out first, there will be no gaps as everyone slows down to the pace set by the first groups.
 

Imurg

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I dont get why this has to be hard to figure out.
If a course says, a round at our course should take no more than 3h30 (for example) for a 4 ball, 3h15 for a 3 ball, 3h for a 2 ball. Everyone knows the expextations, of each group is then timed going round and one found to be slower by more than 10 mins, that group gets a warning each of the players in that group, 3 warnings for any particular player sees you reatricted to afternoon tee times for a month. That should keep pace of play up to the courses set standard.

As has been said in this thread, slow is subjective, but not if the course states what slow is and actually does something about it.

I'm aware this is unlikely to happen
The problem with a system like that is you need to know why the group has taken 10/15 minutes longer than they should....a lost ball adds 3 minutes each time...have 5 in a 4 ball per round and there's your 15 minutes ..they're not necessarily being slow, they may not even be holding up the group behind if they're having the same problems..
Just saying " you're 15 minutes late" is blunt force trauma...
And what about the group behind the group that's 16 minutes over time..?
They'll likely be over time too but it's not their fault...
 

BiMGuy

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That's the whole problem, some people want to go round in 3hrs 15 or even less whereas there are a few who like taking 5 hours.
The only way you can keep them all happy is to have the faster players out first.
This would also have the knock on affect of hurrying along the chasing groups to not fall a hole behind. If you have the slower players out first, there will be no gaps as everyone slows down to the pace set by the first groups.

What do you propose when either group can’t play in your prescribed speed slots?
 
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