How slow is to slow???????????????

**Tee'd Off** · 07-05-2005

Today was an interesting experience. I went out to the course with my younger brother in the hopes of getting in a full round. Well things got off to a nice start but by the time we got to the 3rd hole it was a log jam. Apparently an older man had decided to take his 6 or 7 year old grandchild out for a round. Then when you couple in the group behind them that was made up of a bunch of guys who must have never visited a range because they were hitting shots that were just downright awful. COuple in the attitude "I paid so I'M going to take my time and who cares if I lie ten with 200 yards to go into the green!!!!! They were that bad! As for the grandfather & grandson I have no problem with a child learning the game but c'mon take him to a par 3 course & not a reguler course that is just shy of 6700 yards! Sounds like to me that granddad was more interested in playing himself then really showing his grandson how the game is played! What was even more disgusting was neither of these two groups would let us play through!!!!!! When we got to the 9th tee three groups behind us had caught up to us and we were still waiting to tee off! Needless to say I was disgusted. One of the guys in the group behind us was so steamed he just tee'd up a ball and smashed a 2-iron into these folks.....not cool but funny!!!! When we finished the 9th hole I was still ticked so I went into the Pro shop & complained like hell! I wanted half my money back which I got...there was no way I was going to play another 9 holes with these clowns ahead of us!!! Total playing time for 9 holes........4.5 hours! I play 18 holes walking in about 4 hours! This sort of thing in my area of the country seems to be getting worse as of late!!! With the total number of rounds played for area courses way down this year how can the different courses enforce the slow play rule without scaring away much needed buisness!!!!!!! Slow play is such a downer......I firmly belive they should have a total time limit for everyone to play 9 or 18 holes when play at course get busy. If you exceed it your round is over!!! Exceptions for weather & slack periods can be made as well!! SLOW PLAY SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**jordoo** · 07-05-2005

Wow I never would have lasted that long. There must have been a lot of open holes infront of these groups . I would have jumped them let them cry about it and when the ranger comes up tell him tha they are way to slow holding up the complete front nine and u either expect ur money back or to be able to complete the holes that for sanity reasons u where forced to skip. My father and I did this as a twosome once. We played the front behind a pair of woman who really moved along and didn't hold us up. So when we had to wait for them on the tenth tee we we surprised. After about 1/2 an hour we finished the tenth and went across the street to the 11th tee where we saw the problem. The woman where still waiting 4 the this foursome with no one infront of them to tee of on the 11th a 420 yard par 4. No one any where within sight on the hole and only the secound guy is hitting. They all stunk and hit about 3 balls a peice while yacking it up in between each. So we informed the woman we would be skiping that hole and asked if they would like to jion us, they declined. So these guys start holloring at us when we drive by. The 12th is a short par 3 that we completed with out even seeing the 4 some make the tee behind us. On the 14th hole the assistant pro comes out and askes us whats going on so we tell him and he offered to let us play 12 again when we finished . Any way then he drives of and tells these guys that they had to let the two ladies play through. The ladies told us when they finished as we where still entering scores and hanging around. The four of us had a good laugh as the woman discribed the seen as they where forced by the pro to let them through. I have gained alot of respect for that pro let me tell you.

**Benguk** · 07-05-2005

waiting on every tee just looses a players momentum and i really hate. Sure I shoot 95-105 in my rounds, but im not slow!

**bd8802** · 07-05-2005

Originally Posted by Benguk

waiting on every tee just looses a players momentum and i really hate. Sure I shoot 95-105 in my rounds, but im not slow!

But, keep in mind that when you start playing in large tournaments, the pace is going to be slow. Take the times you are held up as practice for when you are held up in tournaments. I have seen many golfers have an inability to adjust and as a result shoot hight scores in large, slow tournaments.

You can keep a momentum, you just have to find something that works for you.

/bd

**dychen85** · 07-05-2005

Originally Posted by Tee'd Off

Today was an interesting experience. I went out to the course with my younger brother in the hopes of getting in a full round. Well things got off to a nice start but by the time we got to the 3rd hole it was a log jam. Apparently an older man had decided to take his 6 or 7 year old grandchild out for a round. Then when you couple in the group behind them that was made up of a bunch of guys who must have never visited a range because they were hitting shots that were just downright awful. COuple in the attitude "I paid so I'M going to take my time and who cares if I lie ten with 200 yards to go into the green!!!!! They were that bad! As for the grandfather & grandson I have no problem with a child learning the game but c'mon take him to a par 3 course & not a reguler course that is just shy of 6700 yards! Sounds like to me that granddad was more interested in playing himself then really showing his grandson how the game is played! What was even more disgusting was neither of these two groups would let us play through!!!!!! When we got to the 9th tee three groups behind us had caught up to us and we were still waiting to tee off! Needless to say I was disgusted. One of the guys in the group behind us was so steamed he just tee'd up a ball and smashed a 2-iron into these folks.....not cool but funny!!!! When we finished the 9th hole I was still ticked so I went into the Pro shop & complained like hell! I wanted half my money back which I got...there was no way I was going to play another 9 holes with these clowns ahead of us!!! Total playing time for 9 holes........4.5 hours! I play 18 holes walking in about 4 hours! This sort of thing in my area of the country seems to be getting worse as of late!!! With the total number of rounds played for area courses way down this year how can the different courses enforce the slow play rule without scaring away much needed buisness!!!!!!! Slow play is such a downer......I firmly belive they should have a total time limit for everyone to play 9 or 18 holes when play at course get busy. If you exceed it your round is over!!! Exceptions for weather & slack periods can be made as well!! SLOW PLAY SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW 4:30 for 9 holes???
I thought my course was bad. I usually complain when it takes me 2:30 to finish 9 holes. When people play slow infront of me , I usually stand on the tee box and start making practice swings just to let them know im ready.
Usually my score has a positive correlation with how long my round takes

under 4 hours usually means low 80s, 430-5 usually means high 80s low 90s 5+ usually means 90+.

**PA Jayhawk** · 07-05-2005

One of the more interesting methods is used by a course I used to play. At every tee box there is a clock, not with the current time, but adjusted for the tee time. So if you tee off at 8am, the clock at every tee box will read 8am. So if it reads 8:15, you know you are 15 minutes behind. Needless to say, this is one of the few courses I have seen where there has never been a problem with long rounds. They allow 4:30 hours. Every busy weekend round I have ever played there has been completed in a timely fasion, usually around 4 to 4:15 hours.

My wife and I are paired up alot since it is usually just the two of us, we both play extremely fast. One of my biggest fears is being paired up with with a slower couple. Nothing worse than playing really fast and your foresome being the problem. Fortunately it has only happened once where we were a couple holes back. When the ranger told us we were running behind, I asked if he would kindly split up our group as there were about 2 holes in front of us at that time. He obligued. After about 2 more holes the ranger drove by and indicated that the twosome was now holding up the foursome behind them.

**SDB1** · 07-05-2005

If the course has any managers that are worth a damn they'll take care of the problem! If people are playing 8 or 9 hour rounds that's lost revenue for the course. In Southern California the timeframes are very strict. Alot of the courses have checkpoint clocks to check your pace of play. Plus, they have Marshalls making sure people are keeping up with the pace. All the new GPS equipped carts tell you right on the screen when your falling behind the pace of play. One course I play will physically escort the slow group to the next whole in order to free up the log jam! The group will then have the option of going back to the skipped hole after their round and playing it.

**dorkman53** · 07-06-2005

How slow is too slow?
If you need to slip out between the front and back 9 to get a haircut.......

**PA Jayhawk** · 07-06-2005

Originally Posted by dorkman53

How slow is too slow?
If you need to slip out between the front and back 9 to get a haircut.......

The course we frequented where we used to live, and our current one, if there is a slow round, it is not unheard of for us to run home in between the holes. Our old course, we lived accross the street and 4 houses down from a hole. Our current one is close to 3 and 4 and is in the development, so we can take the cart. I figure if it is a round where we can make it home and back, it is too slow. Usually the run home is to grab more beer, because if it is that slow, we know will need more to finish the round.

**shooter mcgavin** · 07-06-2005

Originally Posted by Tee'd Off

Today was an interesting experience. I went out to the course with my younger brother in the hopes of getting in a full round. Well things got off to a nice start but by the time we got to the 3rd hole it was a log jam. Apparently an older man had decided to take his 6 or 7 year old grandchild out for a round. Then when you couple in the group behind them that was made up of a bunch of guys who must have never visited a range because they were hitting shots that were just downright awful. COuple in the attitude "I paid so I'M going to take my time and who cares if I lie ten with 200 yards to go into the green!!!!! They were that bad! As for the grandfather & grandson I have no problem with a child learning the game but c'mon take him to a par 3 course & not a reguler course that is just shy of 6700 yards! Sounds like to me that granddad was more interested in playing himself then really showing his grandson how the game is played! What was even more disgusting was neither of these two groups would let us play through!!!!!! When we got to the 9th tee three groups behind us had caught up to us and we were still waiting to tee off! Needless to say I was disgusted. One of the guys in the group behind us was so steamed he just tee'd up a ball and smashed a 2-iron into these folks.....not cool but funny!!!! When we finished the 9th hole I was still ticked so I went into the Pro shop & complained like hell! I wanted half my money back which I got...there was no way I was going to play another 9 holes with these clowns ahead of us!!! Total playing time for 9 holes........4.5 hours! I play 18 holes walking in about 4 hours! This sort of thing in my area of the country seems to be getting worse as of late!!! With the total number of rounds played for area courses way down this year how can the different courses enforce the slow play rule without scaring away much needed buisness!!!!!!! Slow play is such a downer......I firmly belive they should have a total time limit for everyone to play 9 or 18 holes when play at course get busy. If you exceed it your round is over!!! Exceptions for weather & slack periods can be made as well!! SLOW PLAY SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow that's ridiculous. Beginning golfers should stick to the 9-hole courses anyway, not go out for 18. My wife is a beginner, so when we go we're slow, but we just do a 9hole course, which is plenty for her anyway.

**EricM12169** · 07-06-2005

Originally Posted by SDB1

If the course has any managers that are worth a damn they'll take care of the problem! If people are playing 8 or 9 hour rounds that's lost revenue for the course. In .

thats something that is never mentioned. Revenue. If every group played in four hours, the course could get more people on and generate more revenue. Add to that, a lot of people avoid slow courses.

I take my kids out to play sometimes (they are 12 and 7). But, we wait until late in the day, when the course is empty, and if someone comes up behind us, I make the kids pickup, or we just pull over and let the group behind us play thru. However, I am teaching my kids to play quickly!

To answer your question, I think four hours is about what a round should take for a foursome, walking or riding. Four and a half is borderline too long and anything more is rediculous.

**kirksey74** · 07-06-2005

thats why they give penalty strokes for slow play.

as for your situation, most courses around here have areas where it says '5th hole-You should be here no later than 1 hour and 1/2'. and if they aren't there in time, all you have to do is call the clubhouse and they will politely ask the group to speed up or let the groups behind play thru.

**jordoo** · 07-06-2005

I used to play with this guy who had a 5 year old who played. And we never held anyone up he would have his son Tom tee it up from around 100yards on every hale thats where he started and then when tom got board with golf he would just not play a few holes and watch us.

I guess my piont is there is room and time for everyone if we are just smart about things and keep it moving I just wish everyone could understand this.

**PA Jayhawk** · 07-06-2005

Originally Posted by jordoo

I guess my piont is there is room and time for everyone if we are just smart about things and keep it moving I just wish everyone could understand this.

I agree. When my wife and I started playing, I never remember holding people up, or for that matter, not waiting on the people in front of us. There was just less waiting because I felt comfortable playing shots without the fear of hitting into people. We also had and still have for that matter, the philosophy of "If you are not on the green in double par, it is time to pick the ball up". I tend to believe that just being aware that it is more enjoyable for the people with you or behind if they are not seriously waiting on you, they will not mind, because you will be playing up to speed. If you are playing in a foursome that is behind another foursome, who cares if it takes you 6 strokes to reach the green or 2. I can take 6 strokes and be on a green faster than someone taking 2, without having them wait for me. You are most likely not holding up the person you are with because they will have to wait for the green to clear anyways. Granted, I wouldn't recommend doing this and being one of the first groups out in the morning, but instead get a late morning or early afternoon tee time.

I tend to believe that a 30 handicap, will play as fast as a 15 handicap by simply showing common sense. I tend to believe that the people we commonly play with, would never play with us had we not been faster golfers while new to the game. They tend to complain about pace occasionally, and probably would not have been on the course with us more than once had slow play been an issue.

It only becomes annoying if while people are waiting, you are receiving a lesson from a playing partner every shot, or lieing 10 and still being 100 yards and wanting to continue the hole. If you know you cannot find the green in double par, pick up the ball, it shows that you respect the people you are with and the ones behind you. If you find you are in a foursome and you are falling behind, skip a hole and allow your partners to catch up with the group in front. If you use common sense, there is nothing wrong with being a beginner and playing on the course. As a beginner, the key is to be comfortable on the course and have a good time. Unless you are having a stellar round, does it really matter if you play ever shot. If I am having a blow up hole, I tend to do better to pick up the ball and relax until the next hole anyways.

I have more respect for beginners who follow these rules, than a decent golfer who can't get the ball off the tee, insists on playing off the blues, lies 8 in the woods on a par four every hole, and insists on playing out every hole, and give no thought to moving up to the whites when they know they do not have it that day. Some days you just don't have it, just using common sense makes a big difference on how you will be viewed. I had an absolutely horrendous round a couple weeks back when we paired up with a twosome, and finished with a 110. The guy we played with called and asked if we wanted to pair for a round this weekend, which we did, and had a great time. I told him we had a great time, and was glad that he called and was thankful I at least had a better game the next time. He indicated it was enjoyable because he and his playing partner could see how I handled myself on the course with the adversity, and didn't ruin their day simply because I had a bad one on the course.

**jordoo** · 07-06-2005

Well said PA Jayhawk

I have to say that I agree whole Heartedly with ur entire post.

**bethpage caddy** · 07-06-2005

I agree as well, and I think this was touched up upon in Jayhawks post, but I would think a 30 handicapper and a scratch golfer would play at almost the same pace. While the scratch golfer takes 3 practice swings, or thoroughly studies the contour of the green, the 30 handicapper gets up, looks, and hits. (Which might be why he/she is a 30 handicapper, lol)

**bethpage caddy** · 07-06-2005

I agree as well, and I think this was touched up upon in Jayhawks post, but I would think a 30 handicapper and a scratch golfer would play at almost the same pace. While the scratch golfer takes 3 practice swings, or thoroughly studies the contour of the green, the 30 handicapper gets up, looks, and hits. (Which might be why he/she is a 30 handicapper, lol)