Pace of play

[revkev]

I know we've talked about it but I've got three suggestions. One is totally in the hands of the usga. The other two could easily be suggested and even modeled by them. Please read them then agree, disagree or make your own.

 

1. Slow the greens down. Green speeds are much faster than they used to be and I firmly believe that's a culprit in the slow play movement. Lots of people think they putt better on fast greens. For the most part they don't. Slow them down and watch play speed up.

 

2. Only have two sets of tees out for use each day. The forward and the back. Watch a tour event, all the tees are never on the tips. I get sick to my stomach on my home course when I see guys on those black tees in front of me. It's almost always a long day.

 

3. Change the lost ball and ob rule to a drop as near as possible and as a lateral hazard. Just a one stroke penalty. When you could only drive the ball 150 or so the rule made sense. It doesn't anymore.

[RookieBlue7]

I can tell you, after keeping up with my putts (well a playing partner keeps it, I quit a while ago), that I putt better on faster greens.  When they're rolling 11+, I putt my best. 

As far as tees, the amount of tees isn't the problem, the golfers playing from the wrong tees are.

Don't mind either way on the lost ball rule as I never spend my full 5 minutes searching.  If I can't walk 25-30 feet into the area it's lost and find it, I drop it.  I'm too lazy to search for any longer.

The problem isn't the rules, greens, etc.  It's golfers that have the sense of entitlement about themselves.  I don't care what course you're on in the world, a foursome that has a clue about what they're doing and how to manage their way around a course should have zero problems getting in under 4 hours.  I don't care what they say, there's zero excuse for it to take longer.  Competency on the course goes a long way to making sure everyone has a good time and plays at a reasonable pace.  Courses managing their golfers like they SHOULD, will also ensure that a pace of play is adhered to.  You've got to have marshals and rangers that aren't afraid to do their job and tell people to pick up the pace and if they don't, make them skip a hole.  

[BIG STU]

Have to agree with Rookie on this one. My area is a little different than most this being a tourist area. Some courses do try to enforce against slow play. I do play with a few guys that are rangers at different courses and they are told to "be there and be seen but don't piss the tourists off" In reality their hands are tied. I have also griped about people playing the wrong tees for their game for years you see it a lot down here. A few courses had tee vs handicap signs and tried to enforce it but ended up "pissing off the tourists" so it was stopped. Some courses have changed some OB stakes to lateral stakes to speed up play and all have drop areas over the hazards. It is a delicate balance here. Most of the locals here during the hot golf season either play at the courses that are lower tier and not on the motel package or don't play at all. There are a couple of courses that have went sort of semi private where you can buy a local membership reasonably and get preferred tee times. If they have times left over they will book a out of town group. Yep slow play is a issue here

[apprenti23]

The only one of your reasons that I think may help a little is the sets of tees. Green speed doesn't matter as most golfers don't completely finish out anyway and with that being said 99% don't even know that stroke and distance is a penalty!

[EJ Mac]

Not sure what would help in my area. We seem to be plagued by the I'm the only one alive on this earth syndrome. I have been unfortunate enough to be paired up with a few painfully slow twosomes. I can shoot anywhere from an 88 to a 128 but will still get it done in very short order. Having witnessed some of the slow play center stage it is really hard to say what would help beyond a full out brain replacement on repeat offenders. When I first took up the game I would not dare step foot on a golf course until I could hit a shot consistently in the air at least 150 yds. I have only played 2 rounds from the tips due to being paired up with a group playing there and knowing it would not hold up the pace by me playing there.