Slow play

[chrisd]

I played in a 4 ball yesterday with probably one of the slowest players I've ever been out with. Not only did he do all the things that are well documented in previous postings that slow up play, but of course, he took twice as many shots as the other 3 of us, therefore making the game last even longer.

I bumped into the assistant pro on the course and said that I thought we'd be back in by Sunday if all goes well and that I had started to time the players swing, not on my watch, I was using using a sun dial!!

 

[woody69]

Did you ask him to speed things up?

 

[chrisd]

Did you ask him to speed things up?

I did, but the circumstances were a little difficult to insist!

 

[groundskeeperwilly]

I find that my play goes downhill quickly if I get slowed down too much so I feel for you!!! It can be a tricky one to address too if you don't know the other player well.

 

[North Mimms]

Did you ask him to speed things up?

I did, but the circumstances were a little difficult to insist!

I suppose suggesting someone gets a move on as they take their third shot in the same bunker can be a little unhelpful!

 

[Fader]

Problem is we all hate slow play, we all experience it regulalry and can point out to people that play slow. But will or does it make them change their approach and pace of play? NO..

The reason being is because they can't admit it and its always someone else not them. Its a rock and a hard place when your playing with someone like that, all you can do is broach the subject and let it fester in their minds whilst somehow going about your own business

 

[Robobum]

If it was going on continually, I'd go for the Rory Sabbatini approach..........does anyone remember when he had walked all the way up to the back of the green whilst Ben Crane?? was fannying around over his 2nd?? He then chipped on and holed out before Crane got to the green.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

If it was going on continually, I'd go for the Rory Sabbatini approach..........does anyone remember when he had walked all the way up to the back of the green whilst Ben Crane?? was fannying around over his 2nd?? He then chipped on and holed out before Crane got to the green.

I remember this well - thought it was a good stand to take although he took A LOT of flak for it. Seems odd to me that many in the US are (like everywhere i guess) vehmently against slow play but vilified Sabbatini for this action??

 

[One Planer]

If it was going on continually, I'd go for the Rory Sabbatini approach..........does anyone remember when he had walked all the way up to the back of the green whilst Ben Crane?? was fannying around over his 2nd?? He then chipped on and holed out before Crane got to the green.

I'm playing in a works society day next week at the Izacc Walton Gc. I paired with a player similar to the OP.

I'm going to do a Sabbatini :thup:

 

[chrisd]

the player is the boss of one of the other in the 4 ball who is a real good friend of mine, he couldn't say anything and I did say that we need to speed up but, short of a Sabbatini, things weren't going to quicken. Like most slow players, he was just completely unaware of the fact he took so long to do everything. He had at least two, very slow and deliberate practise swings on most shots, he parked his trolley in the wrong places, he never got a club out or sussed the shot until it was his turn etc etc

The fact is that people will just not play with him in future as his reputation becomes known in the club which is a shame as he isn't too bad a person, however, I don't think he's the sort who would sit down and be gently told of the "facts of life" in playing the game

 

[Deleted member 18121]

I've tried a few times saying (when playing in a 4 ball) "come on guys we better get a move on as they're catching us up" - rather than directly at a specific person in the hope the culprit would take the hint....unfortunately he NEVER does. Always marks his ball, lines it up, practice strokes every single time on the green....not to mention the amount of times he makes all his practice shots on the fairway only to change his mind on clubs and go through the routine again.

 

[Foxholer]

the player is the boss of one of the other in the 4 ball who is a real good friend of mine, he couldn't say anything and I did say that we need to speed up but, short of a Sabbatini, things weren't going to quicken. Like most slow players, he was just completely unaware of the fact he took so long to do everything. He had at least two, very slow and deliberate practise swings on most shots, he parked his trolley in the wrong places, he never got a club out or sussed the shot until it was his turn etc etc

The fact is that people will just not play with him in future as his reputation becomes known in the club which is a shame as he isn't too bad a person, however, I don't think he's the sort who would sit down and be gently told of the "facts of life" in playing the game

I'd suggest you consider convincing the Pro, or maybe the Club Captain, to go out with him and get the message across. It's more likely that he'll take it from someone of 'high stature'. Playing with the boss can be fraught with difficulty!

 

[JezzE]

Problem is we all hate slow play, we all experience it regulalry and can point out to people that play slow. But will or does it make them change their approach and pace of play? NO..

The reason being is because they can't admit it and its always someone else not them. Its a rock and a hard place when your playing with someone like that, all you can do is broach the subject and let it fester in their minds whilst somehow going about your own business

Herein lies the truth.

What we need is some kind of Slow Players Anonymous meeting... "Hello, my name's Gordon, and I'm one of the slowest golfers on the planet..."

To be honest, until the people who are slow will admit to it and see the need to do something about it, I don't think anything will change much. It only takes one tortoise-like group to spoil things for everyone, especially if they won't wave anyone through as such people invariably don't.

I played somewhere in the north-east for a magazine feature recently and caught up with a two-ball on about the 5th who resolutely refused to wave me through for the next two hours, presumably mistakenly believing that single players still have no standing.

Lost the will to live eventually and skipped a hole and a half to get ahead of them, which I don't like doing when I'm out there to check out a course, but it was the lesser of two evils by that stage.

 

[londonlewis]

Lost the will to live eventually and skipped a hole and a half to get ahead of them, which I don't like doing when I'm out there to check out a course, but it was the lesser of two evils by that stage.

That sucks, having to do that.
If you are shockinly slow, you really should improve your ability to let people play through - whether it is a single player or a four ball! shame on them!

 

[Rooter]

in my circle of mates, we have a player like the guy mentioned by the OP. A number of the guys now refuse to play if he is playing which is a real shame, and as my wife is friends with his wife, i often get forced to play with him. its so tedious, i have broached the subject so many times, but he still insists on 2-3 practice swings, measuring and tracking every shot (inc many duffs) by GPS and then he has the slowest shot ever, after the practice swings, its 20-30 seconds staring at the ball... x that by 120+ shots.... i am really struggling, i find my self playing out of turn a lot just to keep some form of pace of play....

 

[North Mimms]

in my circle of mates, we have a player like the guy mentioned by the OP. A number of the guys now refuse to play if he is playing which is a real shame, and as my wife is friends with his wife, i often get forced to play with him. its so tedious, i have broached the subject so many times, but he still insists on 2-3 practice swings, measuring and tracking every shot (inc many duffs) by GPS and then he has the slowest shot ever, after the practice swings, its 20-30 seconds staring at the ball... x that by 120+ shots.... i am really struggling, i find my self playing out of turn a lot just to keep some form of pace of play....

Copy this out and paste it to his golf bag

PGA Tour slow play rules and penalties are based on what the tour calls "bad times." Let's say Group X has fallen off the pace and is out of position (meaning, too much space - usually a full hole - has opened between this group and the group ahead of it).

A rules official or Tour official will notify all players in the group that the group is being put "on the clock." Once a group is on the clock, PGA Tour officials begin timing each player. Once that timing of a group begins, each player has 40 seconds to play each stroke, except in the following cases when he has 60 seconds:

• He is the first of his group to play from the teeing ground of a par-3 hole;
• He is the first to play a second shot on a par-4 or par-5;
• He is the first to play a third shot on a par-5;
• He is the first player to play around the putting green;
• He is the first to play on the putting green.

 

[groundskeeperwilly]

Herein lies the truth.

Lost the will to live eventually and skipped a hole and a half to get ahead of them, which I don't like doing when I'm out there to check out a course, but it was the lesser of two evils by that stage.

I find myself doing this on a pretty regular basis either because they see me as a lone player with no standing or often if the group holding me up are of the 'more experienced' generation who seem at my club at least to believe that younger players have less standing!

 

[cookelad]

presumably mistakenly believing that single players still have no standing.

I was on our 16th tee (adjacent to the 1st) on Sunday where a group of were all loudly complaining about singletons now having standing and why it had been changed when they should have been teeing off - I calmly pointed out that perhaps it was because one-ball just gets on with it without talking when it's their turn to play and asked if they could "please keep the noise down there's people on the tee"!

 

[timd77]

I don't really see a problem with slow play as long they let people through.

Having just started playing again after a break of over 10 years, my first couple of rounds were (pro-rata) approx 120. Gradually coming down now which has naturally resulted in me playing more quickly, but i'm taking around 100 shots. However, i want my game to improve and so I still want to take the appropriate amount of time over each shot, and so i'd say i take 30 seconds for a shot off the tee, 20 off the fairway/rough (both include 1 practice swing), and then on the green i will mark my ball and line it up which maybe take 30-40 seconds.

So that's
20 () shots off the tee x 30 = 10 minutes
40 putts x 40 seconds = 26 minutes
40 off the fairway/rough x 20 = 13 minutes

A total of 49 minutes. even round it up to an hour because these are all approximate, some shots will take half the time, some will take longer, but 1 hour doesn't sound a lot, especially when you consider i'll let people through when appropriate.

I agree that if i'm waiting behind another group it does affect your own game and slows down your rythm, but similarly, if i'm under pressure to take each shot and haven't got time to get myself ready (ie, practice swing, marking the ball etc) i'll never get better and will always be taking 10-20 shots more than my playing partners.


Edit - Clearly it takes more than 1 hour to play 18 holes, this is merely calculating the actual shot time.

 

[JezzE]

I don't really see a problem with slow play as long they let people through

Waving through works well on a course that isn't rammed. But on a busy course, as most typically are during comps, the only people who benefit are those waved through. For everyone else, it just adds another 5/10 minutes to the round...