Slow play is great!

[HughJars]

I doubt I've ever read as much pish in one article.....until I read the comments on their facebook page

https://www.nationalclubgolfer.com/news/18-holes-under-3-hours-golf-not-for-you-pace-of-play/

https://www.facebook.com/NationalClubGolfer/posts/10156884474064030

 

[Orikoru]

I usually expect a four ball to take up to 4 hours, three ball up to 3.5 hours, and a two ball under 3 hours. I don't think that's excessive, we don't usually faff around or anything, and I would hate to feel like I'm rushing to get round quicker to please everyone else as I wouldn't enjoy it and most likely play crap. I'll happily wave people through if I need to.

One of the course we play regularly, Bushey Hall, has a 'pace of play' column the scorecard advising how long you should have taken to reach each hole. By the 18th it says 4:00 so obviously 4 hours is accepted - seems odd to have that on the scorecard though as a two ball taking 4 hours would be hugely excessive.

 

[duncan mackie]

I doubt I've ever read as much pish in one article....

strangely, given your comment, I couldn't find a single thing in the article that I didn't agree with.

I didn't move onto the Facebook comments though - I've other things to do

 

[patricks148]

I'm a quick player and so are ...most of the guys i play with, none of us rush around we walk to the ball and hit it , find it and hit it again. all the slow guys at mine are the ones that faf about be it PSR or not being ready to play when its their turn and general buggering around. My course its easy to get round in 3 hours even as a 4 ball most of the time.

but our layout does make for a quicker round, you mostly walk of the green straight onto the next tee, been playing Nairn Dunbar a fair bit this winter and thats 3 and a half even for a quick 4 ball at least as there is far longer walks to the next tee from the last green

 

[Imurg]

Don't do Faceache so can't see the comments but I don't read that article as "slow play is great" - mostly agree with what he says
Golf does take time, I think, in a way, Golf is getting obsessed with speeding up
If you don't have much time then play 9
3-4 hours isn't that long for a game depending on circumstances.
A 5-6 mile walk is going to take a couple of hours unless you're striding out...add into that playing shots (between 3 or 4 players), looking for the odd lost ball, brief stop at the halfway hit etc etc and a 3 hour round is pretty much a minimum for a 3 or 4 ball.
Add in some longer walks between greens and Tess and 4 hours isn't necessarily slow.
Once it gets the wrong side of 4 hours then it is getting slow but until then I don't think you can really complain.
If you can't commit to the time it takes to play the game then maybe you do need to question whether it's the right hobby for you.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

Pace of play must be variable, surely.?
Two lads in their thirties off single figures will (should ) always be a lot quicker than two high handicap seniors.
And four high handicaps seniors, being mindful of pace and not faffing about, is still going to be very slow, and maybe slower than the Club expects.
But if the Club permits high handicaps playing medal comps, then it can't criticise long-time rounds?
So, which is worse on a golf course, being held up, or being pushed by following group
Answer- Both😊

 

[patricks148]

Pace of play must be variable, surely.?
Two lads in their thirties off single figures will (should ) always be a lot quicker than two high handicap seniors.
And four high handicaps seniors, being mindful of pace and not faffing about, is still going to be very slow, and maybe slower than the Club expects.
But if the Club permits high handicaps playing medal comps, then it can't criticise long-time rounds?
So, which is worse on a golf course, being held up, or being pushed by following group
Answer- Both😊

Don;t agree if you are up in place with the group in front how can you be pushed????


hate waiting to play

 

[Deleted member 21258]

If every round on a normal course took 4 hrs for a 4 ball I would be a happy lad, the three of us can normally get round in 3 -3.15hrs quite comfortable round most of the courses we play, without rushing etc.

Hard to imagine without almost running playing as a 4 ball and playing in less than 3 or probably even faster than 3.5ish hours around a normal course.

No answer fits everyone and if someone is faster, then come on though I think.

 

[nickjdavis]

Pace of play is also hugely dependent upon course layout. Start off with a par 5 where you could easily have three groups playing the hole at the same time, follow it up with a difficult par 3 and then a short par 4 where you need to wait for the players to actually get on the green before teeing off....and you've a recipe for congestion during the early holes of a course. Add a few holes where the "previous green to next tee" distance is more than a 30 second walk and you've got a situation where a 4 hour medal round for a 3ball is not unreasonable.

I've been a member at a course that is 500 yards longer than my current course (where a medal round typically takes around 4 hrs 10 minutes), and allegedly, by popular opinion, a far more difficult course, and yet, during the time I was a member there I don't ever remember playing a medal round that lasted longer than 3hrs 45 minutes. However, the fairways are much wider and there are virtually no significant walks from green to tee.

Yes theres loads of things that we can do as players to "speed up" but at the end of the day the ultimate limiting factor is the layout on which we play.

The perception of slowness is also largely driven by one thing and one thing only....how long you are actually stood around "waiting". I've played 3.75-4 hours rounds that seemed really slow and 4.5 hour rounds that just sailed by simply because in the former we've been stood waiting on the group ahead to clear out of the way.

 

[IanM]

No one likes standing around waiting for the game in front of them or being pressed by the game behind..... sort that out yourself and lapsed time looks after itself!

 

[fundy]

Don't do Faceache so can't see the comments but I don't read that article as "slow play is great" - mostly agree with what he says
Golf does take time, I think, in a way, Golf is getting obsessed with speeding up
If you don't have much time then play 9
3-4 hours isn't that long for a game depending on circumstances.
A 5-6 mile walk is going to take a couple of hours unless you're striding out...add into that playing shots (between 3 or 4 players), looking for the odd lost ball, brief stop at the halfway hit etc etc and a 3 hour round is pretty much a minimum for a 3 or 4 ball.
Add in some longer walks between greens and Tess and 4 hours isn't necessarily slow.
Once it gets the wrong side of 4 hours then it is getting slow but until then I don't think you can really complain.
If you can't commit to the time it takes to play the game then maybe you do need to question whether it's the right hobby for you.

Thats because its ignored slowing down for far too long imo. Sadly its too late to do much about it now especially as they have no interest in doing so on tour

 

[cookelad]

Thats because its ignored slowing down for far too long imo. Sadly its too late to do much about it now especially as they have no interest in doing so on tour

Was talking with Nashy earlier in the week/last week, and he pointed out that the tour don't want the players to speed up, and why would they? If their product can be in the public eye for 6 hours instead of 4, then that's 6 hours of advertising time they can sell (or maybe I'm just becoming cynical)

 

[Grant85]

I think a lot of people would be quite happy if their round was 4 hours tops.

Certainly if I get a good run at my course, it flows pretty well, and 3 and a half hours is very achievable without rushing.
My previous course did not flow as well and 4 hours was a big struggle (quite a few 50m to 80m walks from green to next tee as well as 1 tee directly behind the previous green).

As I've said before, it's marginal gains. No one is saying folk should be rushing round or hitting their shot without taking a few seconds to just consider what they're planning to do.
But there's a dozen things you could do just to shave a few seconds here and there, which adds up for a 3 or 4 ball over 18 holes.

Definitely feel that golf trolleys have added quite a bit of time to most rounds. However, we are well past the point of no return with regards to this.

Putting with the flag in (certainly long putts) should make a difference, especially for 2 ball.
Likewise more clubs promoting ready golf for all social and medal rounds.
Going to make a conscious effort to mark, clean and replace my ball on the green in one movement (assuming not in anyone's line) rather than keep it in my pocket then replace it pre-shot.
Doubt the 3 minute rule will make much difference. If 3 guys don't find a ball within 2 minutes, then it's probably not worth finding and there would have been very few searches than extended much beyond 3 minutes.
Clubs can also make a conscious decision to consider problematic areas (for example marsh areas where a ball plugs, or thick rough that is not maintained but very much in play).

 

[Grant85]

Was talking with Nashy earlier in the week/last week, and he pointed out that the tour don't want the players to speed up, and why would they? If their product can be in the public eye for 6 hours instead of 4, then that's 6 hours of advertising time they can sell (or maybe I'm just becoming cynical)

I personally find the European Tour stuff dragging on throughout a Sunday morning or Afternoon.

Don't notice it the same on the American stuff, but generally not planning to do anything else when that finishes, other than go to bed.

 

[jamielaing]

I don't remember golf being any faster than it is now in the amateur game. There are times when you get held up, but I've always had that. I genuinely think there are outside factors at play here and it basically comes down to life in general.

Say you need to buy some jeans. It may take you 3 hours to get from your house to town, try on jeans, buy them and get yourself home again. That's a Saturday. Towns busy, loads of people trying to park in town, roads are busy etc.

Do that a 10.30 on a Wednesday and suddenly you've saved yourself half an hour.

I also think that socially things have changed which in turn has made everyone very keen to get round in 3 hours. We all have family commitments or other social things to do on a Saturday. In the 70s/80s, you went to the golf club and were there for the day for a large majority. You weren't expected elsewhere for 4 hours after your tee time. Everyone's lives are busier and as we do naturally, we try to squeeze stuff in.

But, golf is a game that take time. I enjoy heading to the club knowing I have allocated quite a bit of time to my passtime. The worst thing to me is when I stand on the 1st tee in a medal and the guy I am playing with is already going on about it maybe taking too long. If that's his priority play at 2pm when it is quieter, why take the time right in the middle of the peak!

One last thing, when have you ever got to the football sat down and said 'I hope this doesn't last 90 minutes!'. Sports take time.

 

[Jacko_G]

The comments on this thread apart from a couple are the reason that slow play is here to stay.

 

[drdel]

The game will take as long as it takes, weather, number of players etc etc. Each course will be unique and present a challenge. Of course we could always make 'speed' the main criteria and tell course designers we want to play but we don't want to take too much time.
The new design brief...
Have high fences around the course limits so no 'out-of-bounds'
Remove the rough
Take away any trees, bushes
Remove any ditches and streams
Remove bunkers
Make the hole bigger
slope all fairways to the middle.
Slope greens towards the hole.

Just might be an issue with the sport's popularity e.g. Would we still ENJOY a game probably not !!

 

[patricks148]

consideration for others is also a factor,or should i say lack of it. most of the worst slow coaches at our couldn't care less they are holding the course up.

you know the ones, the type that think letting anyone through is a personal affront to their manhood

 

[Deleted member 1418]

I usually expect a four ball to take up to 4 hours, three ball up to 3.5 hours, and a two ball under 3 hours. I don't think that's excessive, we don't usually faff around or anything, and I would hate to feel like I'm rushing to get round quicker to please everyone else as I wouldn't enjoy it and most likely play crap. I'll happily wave people through if I need to.

One of the course we play regularly, Bushey Hall, has a 'pace of play' column the scorecard advising how long you should have taken to reach each hole. By the 18th it says 4:00 so obviously 4 hours is accepted - seems odd to have that on the scorecard though as a two ball taking 4 hours would be hugely excessive.

Read about the first dozen words of your opening sentence; then read your second paragraph - what do you think the 4.00 relates to?

Not unusual for a club to have recommended pace of play times for each hole on their score cards - actually a good place to have them as the score card will be in constant use.

I would suggest to any 2 ball taking four hours - if they haven't been held up on every hole - that they should probably find a different game to play!!

 

[IanM]

Golf of course takes time.... walking five miles takes time.... of course it does.... The issue is the stuff that isnt necessary.

The bloke who will stand on the tee club in hand and continue his chatter when he should be hitting the ball, the guy taking his example from the Tour Pro in thinking about his shot for ages then having 3 or 4 practice swings, the bloke who hides his scorecard in the bowels of a staff-bag and cant find it, the look through the Bushnell for 2 minutes and still not know the distance... etc etc etc etc

Remarkably, that bloke is always someone else!