golfrewind.com

After my round today I just though I'd post some thoughts and see what some of you think about pace of play. I've read a number of comments on golf discussion boards about it, much of which I didn't really agree with. So here's my rant...

We usually have 2 or 3 foursomes, but today the weather was not great, and the course was somewhat sloppy from the all day rain we had yesterday, so only 5 guys showed up to play. We just joined up and played as a fivesome. The management allows this with one condition... that you keep up with the group ahead. They will break you up if you don't. Today that wasn't an issue, as there was nobody in front of us for 7 holes. As a fivesome, we played the front 9 in 1:40, and the back in 1:55. The reason for the slowdown on the back was that on #13 we caught up with a THREESOME and had to wait on them several times from then on.

Now here we are, 5 old guys in 3 carts, playing an unbalanced Round Robin, skins, greenies, etc., and WE had to wait on 3 young guys carrying. I've read here that some of you think that carts slow the game down... not when the players in them have a clue and the course isn't so stupid as to have that ridiculous "cart path only" rule. We never rushed, just played ready golf, moved out smartly when we were supposed to, and generally did what we were there for... that is, we played golf. We saved most of the bullxxxx for the 19th hole while we figured out who owed what to whom over a pint.

So those of you who think it's old guys who play slow, or cart riders who play slow, or 5 somes who play slow.... you're wrong. IT'S SLOW PLAYERS WHO PLAY SLOW.... .PERIOD.

Anyone want to dispute that????

Definitely won't dispute what you say. At a municipal in Honolulu, I often go in the afternoons to play 9 as a single. I've been paired up with all kinds of people. One man I remembered was 92 and played 9 holes every weekday afternoon. There are other "seniors" that I've played with. In addition to that, I've played with beginners, women, single digit handicappers and everyone else.

I find that no matter who you are, how old you are or what your skill level is, the most important factor is knowing your game and playing accordingly. For example, the 92 year old man I played with hit the ball consistently but he couldn't get it that far. He knew this and wouldn't even wait until the group was 200 yards in front to play his next shot.

I find the slowest golfers are those who don't know their game. They think they can hit a mile and when they address their ball, they take about 8 practice swings before mishitting it 40 yards.

i think we need to build them their own course........that way everyone there enjoys a 5-6 hour round........i can't stand getting behind slow people that won't allow you to play through.......recently got stuck behind a dad and his three pre-teenage sons for 4 holes......none of them could hit it over 50 yds at a time.....was tempted to just hit over them and keep going....i finally bounced one off their cart on a short par 4 while they were on the green

had this happen the other day, want to hear your comments........i was playing in a threesome, and we were playing pretty fast, but i looked behind me and saw a single waiting on us.........so i wave him through and he smiles, waves, gives me the ol' universal head nod, goes to his bag for a club and decides to take his cell phone call, so we wait a couple of minutes on this guy and he's still on the phone, and we decide to finish the hole.............on the next hole we hit our drives, and go to our balls in the fairway, i look back and see this guy on the teebox and wave him through again.......he then proceeds to take his ball to the ball cleaner for about 3 minutes, anyways i'm getting frustrated w/ this guy so i say the **** w/ it and we finish the hole........this was on hole 8, we go to the clubhouse at the turn and get some drinks, and as we're coming out i see this guy speeding ahead of us to hole 10, looking mad that he had to wait on us for 3 holes....my question is, does this guy have a right to be mad after i tried to wave him through on two different occasions?????

not at all...
I play as a single often on my home course, on which play is incredibly slow due to the abundance of lost balls in the fescue...
needless to say, I wait a lot...and so if I get a rare opportunity to play through (once a buddy and I played behind a group from 2-15 until they waved us through) I make sure not to disappoint the people that are being so nice

that guy was just a *****

My wedding day me and my groomsman played golf before the wedding. At the turn we all grouped up..................... all 11 of us................ No one ever caught up with us. We were all in carts, varying in ages 20yrs old to 60 yrs old, and also varying sobriety levels. Sometimes we would argue who was playing the pro v1 with 2 blue dots on it and who was playing the one with 3 blue dots on it but we never slowed anyone down. there was a foursome teeing off on 9 as we did 10 and they stayed at least 1.5 holes behind sometimes 2.5 holes. I agree, slow players slow golf down.

Your not going to here me argue with you. At my club on a Saturday we can get about 100 or so people who start teeing at 12 (2 tee start) all in by 5pm. A slow round down here is 4 hours

Were you drinking before your wedding, too?

A couple of points people brought up here definitely slow the game down. Some people just have to talk on the cell phone during a round. Another thing is, a lot of people take way too long looking for their balls.

How many hours do you consider to be a slow round?

Anything over 4:20 is slow by my standards of playing most of my golf on a crowded public course. If I had my ideal world, a slow round would be anything 4 hours and up, because I know that nobody needs to take longer than that to play 18 holes (yesterday we were waiting some during a 3:55 round) Playing as a twosome, my friend and I can play 9 holes in under 1.5 hours if there is nobody in front of us.

Watch any 4 average golfers, and you'll see that they spend more time watching each other hit than anything else they do on the course. If they were instead thinking about and preparing for their own shots, they could cut as much as 30-60 seconds off almost every stroke they take. Multiply that by 90-100 strokes and you get the main difference between a fast player and a slow player.

Last week there was a foursome of sweet little old ladies getting out of their Cadillacs when we pulled into the lot of our muni. Spouse helped them lift their clubs into the rollers they'd brought with them and helped them manage their way to the pro shop. All I could think was "Oh no! I hope we have the tee time before them!"

Let me tell you, we were on the third hole when we invited them to play ahead of us. Those gals could move! Seems we'd chanced on a group that has played that course every week for the last 20 years. Arthritis and osteoporosis be danged! They were 2 holes ahead of us at the end. You just never know.

I'll tell ya, when I think of slow play, I don't usually think of older golfers. They are some of the fastest!

But, I agree with most on this thread, it's annoying playing behind slow players. One of my pet peeves is when one person is hitting, and another member of the group is standing there picking his or her nose. After the first player hits, 'then' they decide to figure out how far they have, take out their club, practice swings, etc.

Be ready when it's your turn! Annoying.

I always have my distance figured out, take a practice swing or two, and am ready to hit when it is my turn.

Fourputt, I'll agree wholeheartedly. Provided riders aren't total duffers on the far end of the spectrum it is hard for walkers to keep up the pace of riders. Many times I've noticed they shoot the bull a bunch and many times walk most of the way together and then split up when they get closer to the balls. I could care less as long as when crowded they walk briskly and don't allow holes to open in front. The same should go for riders as well if they are holding anyone up. Not all good golfers walk and not all bad golfers ride.

Well, I am not sure I understand your argument. It seems as though the group in front of you was on pace for a 4 hour round....which is pretty standard. If 4 hours is too slow for you, then most course are probably going to upset you. Also, the guys in front of you were walking, so it is gonna take a bit more time. Maybe your argument is people see older golfers as the slower ones....which I don't think is true. I see slow golfers as the slow ones. I also see drunk golfers as slow golfers.
However, when I play alone and get behind a foursome, I just accept the fact that I am gonna be there for awhile. Doesnt matter if they are walking, riding, old, young, male, or female. The point is quick golfers will sometimes have to wait....thats just how it goes.
But I do give the 6 hour rounds a big thumbs down.

I was thinking the same thing. There are times I go as a solo and of course that way riding I can do a round in 3hrs. But you always will run up on a group and it's understandable that you'll have to slow down.

Maybe Fourputt is one that would fire a hot one at them to encourage them to speed up.

I think the point was the course was wide open and the five of them came upon three walkers and they didn't offer to allow them to play through and kept having to wait. I have never like fivesomes but if they are playing quicker then they should allow them through. Four hours on a busy course is reasonable but 3 1/2 is more than ample time to play an easy round for a foursome unless someone is playing slow. I've played with very few foursome that took over 3 1/4 unless it was backed up.