(Sorry this has been done to death) The solution to slow play is slow play

[njrose51]

I play as often as I can and I am still amazed when I see experienced club golfers doing things that hold up play - marking cards on greens, bags left in the wrong place, looking for balls over 5 minutes, players not playing shots whilst others looking for balls, not waving through, not being ready to play etc etc. I am also still stunned by the often stupidity and greediness of clubs when players are given closely timed tee off times of 5-7 minutes. They need to be more realistic. Comments on this thread have suggested we could slow down our own play to the pace of the course/let go of that Holy Grail of a 3 1/2 game. Possibly yes. Personally though I don't think we - as players - will ever really stamp out slow play as inevitably things will happen that affect the pace of game - bad shots, poor etiquette etc - or the fact that one day we will be stuck behind a group of players who are learning the game and will take umpteen shots per hole. Yes we can all behave better, learn how far we actually can hit our clubs, but the directive HAS to come from the R&A and the clubs themselves doesn't it? A stricter code of play for professionals, stricter rules for members, better briefings from the Pro Shop for visitors, better course maps on cards or cheaper course maps to buy, lengthier tee times, clearer guidelines on slow play etc. I don't think we can ever go back to how it was, or reminisce about the good old days, but instead, perhaps, we should be working towards a more acceptable future standard of play I just don't know how we are going to get there?

 

[Slab]

When I read the OP I thought the message was:
The solution to slow play killing your own game is to accept the days pace of play as soon as you can in your own round, even if its not your preferred pace

Others seem to read that the OP wants to further aggravate slow play but it didn't come across that way to me


Any player/group can easily slow the pace for the field but, unless they are the root cause, they cannot speed up the pace for themselves or the remainder of the field

Once its slow that time has gone, it cannot be clawed back by a mid-group forcing themselves to wait several minutes per shot. They can only maintain pace/position and be ready to take up the opportunity to pass

The guys out of position or heading the field can make a difference, no one else can though

 

[Curls]

My summary is

"When the bases are loaded and there is no hope of progression, you cannot change the pace of play, only how you respond to it"

Getting upset and annoyed as you wait around only upsets and annoys you, the people in front don't give a hoot about your game and the people behind only want you out of the way. I don't think becoming part of the problem is the solution, but I have learned that accepting your fate is better than ineffectually getting worked up.

 

[dufferman]

I play as often as I can and I am still amazed when I see experienced club golfers doing things that hold up play - marking cards on greens, bags left in the wrong place, looking for balls over 5 minutes, players not playing shots whilst others looking for balls, not waving through, not being ready to play etc etc. I am also still stunned by the often stupidity and greediness of clubs when players are given closely timed tee off times of 5-7 minutes. They need to be more realistic. Comments on this thread have suggested we could slow down our own play to the pace of the course/let go of that Holy Grail of a 3 1/2 game. Possibly yes. Personally though I don't think we - as players - will ever really stamp out slow play as inevitably things will happen that affect the pace of game - bad shots, poor etiquette etc - or the fact that one day we will be stuck behind a group of players who are learning the game and will take umpteen shots per hole. Yes we can all behave better, learn how far we actually can hit our clubs, but the directive HAS to come from the R&A and the clubs themselves doesn't it? A stricter code of play for professionals, stricter rules for members, better briefings from the Pro Shop for visitors, better course maps on cards or cheaper course maps to buy, lengthier tee times, clearer guidelines on slow play etc. I don't think we can ever go back to how it was, or reminisce about the good old days, but instead, perhaps, we should be working towards a more acceptable future standard of play I just don't know how we are going to get there?

You've hit the nail on the head there. The reason for my frustration is everything you've said above. And the reason for my conclusion - play slower - is exactly that. Our 2 ball getting frustrated seeing a group of buggies parked the wrong side of the green for the next tee isn't going to do bugger all to help slow play.

 

[Junior]

Those courses are not all that common. hillside is the longest I've taken to play a round of golf. That was 5 hours, waited all day long.

5 hours as the 3rd or 4th tee time is a joke.

Wait till Trump & Carnoustie mate

At least the view will be nice

 

[patricks148]

one thing ive gained from this thread is I'm glad i don't play on courses down there. it puts into prospective my last slow round which was two weeks ago, when we caught a 3 ball who tee's off 20 mins before us and held us up the whole way round (a 4 ball).

our round took 3 and half hours which was half hour longer than it should have taken, due to one of them frozen over the ball for at least a minuet for each shot ( he's off scratch as well). a few words were said thats for sure.

 

[Slab]

Those courses are not all that common. hillside is the longest I've taken to play a round of golf. That was 5 hours, waited all day long.

5 hours as the 3rd or 4th tee time is a joke.

Don't take it the wrong way but couple of questions:
Do you feel by waiting on every shot you reduced the duration of the round?
Would that round have been a minute longer if your group had slowed down?

Not to be slower than the group in front obviously just match their pace so that you could pass easily if/when the chance comes along but play each hole slower than you did

So instead of waiting to play your shot you're walking, reading greens, thinking over club/shot/conditions/landing area/roll out etc etc just generally playing golf at a slower pace

Your group loses nothing in terms of position or pace but you're not spending time just waiting either

Basically asking yourself, is mid-round ever the best/right time to sort out golf's pace off play problem

 

[woody69]

People are slow, but don't realise they are slow. The easy answer is to have a clock on a few holes across the course, say every 3 holes that shows what the time should be if they are keeping to the correct pace of play. So starting clock has 8am, hole 3 would say 08:20am, hole 6 would say 08:50am etc. Players would immediately see how far they were behind (or ahead) of their expected time and it would give most people (I would imagine) an incentive to try and speed up.

I honestly think it would be that simple and you would soon start to see who was regularly holding people up.

 

[garyinderry]

Slab it was completely blocked from the get go.

When we got to the second tee there was already a group there and the group in front of them where just leaving.

No one was pushing to play through. It wad just bumper to bumper the whole way.

No amount of slowing down could get us into a flow with those in front.

 

[GB72]

The honest answer is that there is no solution, the problem will persist. You can point the finger at as many people as you like but most clubs cannot afford to lose members so do nothing. If my club is anything to go by, the worst offenders are long term members who think they own the place and adopt the 'I pay a lot for my membership and I will play how I want' attitude. You threaten action on some of these long term members and you could easily lose a dozen or more members with them when they flounce off.

I have said this on a number of topics, not just pace of play, golf and golf clubs have no interest in change. They are happy with things the way they are whether it is pace of play, dress code, making the game more inclusive, attracting younger members and all sorts of other areas.

Basically, until the last golf club in the area is about to close its doors permanently, there is a breed of golf club member who has no interest in anything beyond that which suits him and his peer group and those are the ones to who tend to run the clubs.

Slow play will remain because there is no will at many clubs to do any more than pay it lip service.

 

[Capella]

If my club is anything to go by, the worst offenders are long term members who think they own the place and adopt the 'I pay a lot for my membership and I will play how I want' attitude.

I totally second that. Granted, some beginners might be slow to start with just because they need more shots and hit a few complete misses, but at least at our course, they are normally very carefull not to hold people up and will let other groups through readily, because it makes them totally nervous to have someone waiting behind them. It's more the ecart driving long term members (many of them not as dynamic and athletic as they once might have been) who take their time and like to have a little chat in the middle of the fairway or on the green once in a while. :blah:

And they are known for it as well. Always fun to see how other players start racing towards the first tee to tee off in front of them when they see them pulling into the parking lot, leaving behind buckets of unhit balls on the range and half drunken coffees on the club house terrace.

 

[GB72]

We have ones who move about the course like the red arrows in formation. All 4 in a group to the first ball, have a chat, watch the shot, discuss the shot then all 4 to the next ball and repeat.

 

[Qwerty]

So long as the club are accepting visitors on a Saturday then I'll always be as slow as the local muni'. I put up with it for years and nothing has changed. Your only as quick as the slowest group in front of you on the course and if this happens to be a 4 ball who are just starting out in the game then your knackered.
The only option is pay the fees and join a decent club.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Just go up to the group ahead and state to them "we are a smaller and faster group and so you won't mind us playing through as it'll save us from being tight up behind you all the time - and that's never much fun is it - feeling you are rushing every shot" And when they say "well you won't be going anywhere" - just say "well that'll be our problem and we'll deal with it when we get to - thanks guys"

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Just go up to the group ahead and state to them "we are a smaller and faster group and so you won't mind us playing through as it'll save us from being tight up behind you all the time - and that's never much fun is it - feeling you are rushing every shot" And when they say "well you won't be going anywhere" - just say "well that'll be our problem and we'll deal with it when we get to - thanks guys"

And if they don't let the group through ?

 

[GB72]

The way that a lot of golfers react to being asked if you can play through you would think you had asked if you could sleep with their wife.

 

[irip]

The way that a lot of golfers react to being asked if you can play through you would think you had asked if you could sleep with their wife.

I take it you haven't seen my wife

 

[Deleted member 15344]

The way that a lot of golfers react to being asked if you can play through you would think you had asked if you could sleep with their wife.

Exactly - it seems it's a crime to not allow people through for some or even letting an obvious quicker group start before you

 

[GB72]

Amazing the amount of golfers who amble around the course but can get a real sprint on to get onto the next tee to tee off before the group behind get within a distance where they can ask to play through

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

And if they don't let the group through ?

Shoot them...

If they refuse you can politely state that you actually have a right to play through under etiquette and possibly under club guidance rules in place to avoid slow play. I have never actually forced the point and walked onto the tee to play. Don't think I would.

I'd hope that were a group actually to come to my group asking to play through using language such as I have suggested - that we'd recognise that they must feel strongly about our pace of play or their desire as a smaller faster group to play through - and that we are only going to get aggro and hassle if we don't - so we just stand aside.

The problem would be much less so if players were taught how to play through a group and let a group behind play through. In recent matches I have been waved through quite a few times by groups who knew what they were doing and knew that we knew what we were doing - and I reckon they added a handful of minutes maximum to the duration of their round.

So for instance - we were a foursome and a fourball in front of us. As we approached the green one of the group in front came across and asked if we wanted to play through (they could see we were catching them). We said yes thankyou - and proceeded to play out the hole. Meanwhile the group in front teed off and off they went. By the time we got to the tee and were ready to play they were just about all out of range and stood aside as we teed off. They then played on, When we got to our balls they were still chipping on or about to start putting. They marked their balls and stood aside. We played on. As we walked up that group replaced balls and played until we reached the green. Those that hadn't finished marked their balls and picked up. We played out and went to the next tee and teed off. They got to the tee minutes before we got out of range. So they maybe lost 3 minutes on the green and 2mins waiting for us to get out of range. And our play-through went smooth as a babies bum. Easy, and no grumbling from anyone