Ready Golf - The New Norm?

[bama no 1]

14 hours ago, jpchanez said:

I play with the same group of 15 - 20 dudes that get together on Wednesdays and Saturdays for 9 and 18 holes, respectively. It’s a good mix of old and new, working and retired, walkers and riders. None of us are professionals and we’re not playing a tournament, so we stick to a few basic rules:

1. Do not damage your clubs. Move your ball off of rocks, roots, or tough earth. Don’t waste time guessing how you’re going to hit this - move to some nearby grass and keep it moving. No penalty.
2. No ball hunting in the woods. We’re strict on this one. Unless it’s sitting at the edge of the wood line, no time is to be wasted searching for a ball. Drop a ball on the grass near the entry point and keep it moving. No penalty.
3. Bunkers suck, your day doesn’t have to. No need to reach double bogey while in the sand. If you know you’re not getting out in 1, use the “back-on-the-line outside of the bunker” rule and keep it moving. The first time incurs no penalty, but subsequent uses come with a penalty stroke.

These rules are meant to complement ready golf, not take its place. We’re here for a good time, not a long time. Please play accordingly. 

Excellent points to keep it moving and everyone has a fair play amongst your group.

[NM01]

9 hours ago, GolferXY said:

Denying that the issues of lack of skill don't impact pace of play is, in my experience, wrong.  

 

Some higher handicaps can play slower because of the number of shots they have to take but it’s not a cause for slow play. If this was skill based then low single digits, scratch and plus handicaps would be the fastes golfers, but there are more than enough of here golfers that are slow. A group of slow low handicaps is painful to be behind. 
 

Etiquette not skill is the cause of slow play.

[satingolfer]

Guy’s really interesting comments on ready golf and pace of play. I personally love my leagues players and our respective towards enjoying golf. We always enjoy our scheduled matches and keep handicap. This style of golf has been embraced by the forum in said topic. 
  The relationship with relaxed play with us as singles or in a group of unknown individuals till tee off will always be dynamic based on meeting new golfers and individual ability. 
 I have experienced just about everything commented, with not too many disappointing rounds. We will always experience better golf with friends, buddies, and better players, I just remind myself to be respectful of how new golfers accept each other’s opinions, abilities, most of all styles and personalities. 
  Met many new players with random tee times and continue to golf with occasionally. My key is fun which has changing styles per individual and age group. I feel I can play up to higher challenges, while keeping within my own standards of performance. 
  MGS forums are great shame on me for not throwing in sooner. Looking forward to additional conversations. 
later. 
 

  

[cksurfdude]

23 hours ago, Rob Person said:

Walkers, pushers, and riders- these are also contributing factors. A group of 4 walkers obviously is not going to be as quick to navigate the course as a group of pushers, and riders will almost always be quicker to the ball than the other 2.  Again, see the above about skill levels and tee times. 

Rob you make a lot of good points but I have to stand up for walkers - I prefer to walk, and I prefer to play at a steady pace and there are many occasions when I'm standing around watching riders in carts going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth .. with NO GOLF being played...

So, yes .. from one shot straight to the where the ball lies a riding cart *could* be quicker vs walkers .. BUT .. in no way does that mean over the course of an entire round that the cart golfers will have a shorter total round time. 

If that is what you were saying, I apologize for being argumentative but it's not "obvious" that cart golf is faster for a round of golf. IMHO.

[Rob Person]

24 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

Rob you make a lot of good points but I have to stand up for walkers - I prefer to walk, and I prefer to play at a steady pace and there are many occasions when I'm standing around watching riders in carts going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth .. with NO GOLF being played...

So, yes .. from one shot straight to the where the ball lies a riding cart *could* be quicker vs walkers .. BUT .. in no way does that mean over the course of an entire round that the cart golfers will have a shorter total round time. 

If that is what you were saying, I apologize for being argumentative but it's not "obvious" that cart golf is faster for a round of golf. IMHO.

No argument there, as I stated, many walkers out pace the riders. And a group of riders most definitely can take longer as walkers each can get to their ball and hit, vs riders having to troll around looking for each of theirs, and wait on each other to swing. 

One of my friends still hasn't grasped the concept of letting me ride to my ball, get a couple clubs, then they can ride to their ball to play, and I will move towards them.

Lots of scenarios that can cause pace issues.  I was just providing some general insight from both a player and a starter/Marshall pov.

[TJ Hall]

I’ve told some of my cart partners that they can head over to their ball while I’m hitting and then I will walk over to the cart.

And, I’ve also asked cart partners to keep an eye on my shot if I can’t see the path just to help speeding up finding the ball.

Even just some small improvements can help improve the speed.

[Duffer55555]

If each golfer in a foursome takes just 5 seconds off each shot (excluding tap-ins and gimmes), that adds up to about a half-hour shorter round!

[GolferXY]

4 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

 A group of slow low handicaps is painful to be behind. 

So true!  But then again, they take say, 20 minutes to finish a hole let's break that down.

Scratch: Driver.  Walk to the ball in the fairway.  Primp your gear, check your yardage, stand over the shot, blah blah blah.  Total, 5 minutes.  Walk to green, take 10 minutes to finish the hole.  5 minutes or so walking from tee to green. Total 20 minutes.  Too long.  Speed it up please.

Weekend warrior: Driver: search for 5 minutes for your drive lost in the woods.  Throw another ball out onto the fairway 20 yards further toward the green. Hit the ball way left and way short.  Search for the ball.  Scull the wedge. Chip it to 30 feet and 3 putt.  10 minutes walking tee to green.  Total 18 minutes.  Too long, but the only way to get faster is to get better.

Both of these scenarios are illustrative of what I have witnessed hundreds of times on the course.  The scratch golfer has the seemingly easier task.  He/she only has to tweak their set up, they've already done [and are doing] the hard work on their game. The new golfer has to want to improve, have the time and finances to pay for it, and have the athleticism to accomplish it.  

It seems that you have a bias against those who play slow even though they don't have to.  I do too!  They appear to expect the whole world to slow down to their pace.  But you also seem ready to overlook the slow play of any but the best players.  I don't blame, I just witness.

[RetiredBoomer]

I'm a senior.
I play on weekdays only.
I'm not in a hurry.
I like to play in traditional order.
I like eight eyes looking at a shot when there are no fore-caddies to do it.

I can understand others being in  other situations and having other priorities.
Time is more precious to busy people.
For me, however, slow play simply isn't an issue. 

 

 

Edited May 12 by RetiredBoomer

[NM01]

2 hours ago, GolferXY said:

So true!  But then again, they take say, 20 minutes to finish a hole let's break that down.

Scratch: Driver.  Walk to the ball in the fairway.  Primp your gear, check your yardage, stand over the shot, blah blah blah.  Total, 5 minutes.  Walk to green, take 10 minutes to finish the hole.  5 minutes or so walking from tee to green. Total 20 minutes.  Too long.  Speed it up please.

Weekend warrior: Driver: search for 5 minutes for your drive lost in the woods.  Throw another ball out onto the fairway 20 yards further toward the green. Hit the ball way left and way short.  Search for the ball.  Scull the wedge. Chip it to 30 feet and 3 putt.  10 minutes walking tee to green.  Total 18 minutes.  Too long, but the only way to get faster is to get better.

Both of these scenarios are illustrative of what I have witnessed hundreds of times on the course.  The scratch golfer has the seemingly easier task.  He/she only has to tweak their set up, they've already done [and are doing] the hard work on their game. The new golfer has to want to improve, have the time and finances to pay for it, and have the athleticism to accomplish it.  

It seems that you have a bias against those who play slow even though they don't have to.  I do too!  They appear to expect the whole world to slow down to their pace.  But you also seem ready to overlook the slow play of any but the best players.  I don't blame, I just witness.

Both those scenarios are etiquette issues and not the lack of skill by a high handicap golfer. Rules say 3 minutes so the high handicap looking for 5 isn’t causing slow play by his/her skill it’s by their lack of etiquette and knowledge of the rules to include not hitting a provisional.

yes I despise slow play and not paying ready golf whether it’s in the group I’m in or anywhere on the course.

its why I choose to play my golf at courses that actually enforce their pace of play policy and those courses have a wide range of age and skill scattered throughout the tee sheet. I like knowing that if I have a morning term time or a peak hours tee time I’m finishing in 4.5 hours or less even on rough courses

[NM01]

4 hours ago, cksurfdude said:

Rob you make a lot of good points but I have to stand up for walkers - I prefer to walk, and I prefer to play at a steady pace and there are many occasions when I'm standing around watching riders in carts going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth .. with NO GOLF being played...

So, yes .. from one shot straight to the where the ball lies a riding cart *could* be quicker vs walkers .. BUT .. in no way does that mean over the course of an entire round that the cart golfers will have a shorter total round time. 

If that is what you were saying, I apologize for being argumentative but it's not "obvious" that cart golf is faster for a round of golf. IMHO.

Riders with bad etiquette are worse than a walking foursome. It kills me when I see carts hanging out at each ball all the way to the green, or seeing people walking bakc and forth across a whole because they didn’t grab any clubs or only grabbed one ands it was the wrong one.

i use to get mad at the group I played with on days it was cpo. They rarely took enough clubs for the possible shot they had and the next one after

[RetiredBoomer]

11 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

I despise slow play and not paying ready golf whether it’s in the group I’m in or anywhere on the course.

 

 

Not trying to play with reasonable efficiency is indeed impolite,

but ready golf, playing out of order, is not traditional golf.

Our club opened in 1906,

and will NEVER require "ready golf."

Edited May 12 by RetiredBoomer

[RetiredBoomer]

3 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Riders with bad etiquette are worse than a walking foursome. It kills me when I see carts hanging out at each ball all the way to the green, or seeing people walking bakc and forth across a whole because they didn’t grab any clubs or only grabbed one ands it was the wrong one.

i use to get mad at the group I played with on days it was cpo. They rarely took enough clubs for the possible shot they had and the next one after

I also get cranky about things, Ricky.

Golf just isn't one of them.

I play to enjoy the fresh air socializing with my friends.

If it made me angry, I'd choose another activity.

[Javs]

Guess all the slow players are those not on the forum. Since all of us here hate slow play…ha ha 

[itsteetime]

2 minutes ago, Javs said:

Guess all the slow players are those not on the forum. Since all of us here hate slow play…ha ha 

Yes, they know their slow play is undefendable 

[Josh Parker]

13 minutes ago, Javs said:

Guess all the slow players are those not on the forum. Since all of us here hate slow play…ha ha 

Everyone knows it's not me slow playing. Haha. I knocked out my round the other morning in less than 2hrs. 

[Rob Person]

55 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

Everyone knows it's not me slow playing. Haha. I knocked out my round the other morning in less than 2hrs. 

On a simulator?   

Fastest 9 I've ever done is 1h35m. Was just having a good day on a slow tee time on the course.

We have a regular 3 or 4some that do that. Pure speed golf. They play scramble, and only putt once each, then pickup to get to the next hole.  They are also the ones that complain about " slow play" because they push through a hole in under 6 minutes.

[Josh Parker]

Just now, Rob Person said:

On a simulator?   

Fastest 9 I've ever done is 1h35m. Was just having a good day on a slow tee time on the course.

We have a regular 3 or 4some that do that. Pure speed golf. They play scramble, and only putt once each, then pickup to get to the next hole.  They are also the ones that complain about " slow play" because they push through a hole in under 6 minutes.

If I'm first out during the week, I can play 18 in under 2 hours. 

[NM01]

1 hour ago, RetiredBoomer said:

I also get cranky about things, Ricky.

Golf just isn't one of them.

I play to enjoy the fresh air socializing with my friends.

If it made me angry, I'd choose another activity.

I enjoy golf and I avoid places that don’t maintain a good pace of play so that I can enjoy my time on the course and not deal with people who are clueless about etiquette and other people.

its not different than going anywhere else, bad service at a restaurant means don’t go back there. 

[cksurfdude]

5 hours ago, Rob Person said:

Lots of scenarios that can cause pace issues.  I was just providing some general insight from both a player and a starter/Marshall pov.

Cool .. thank you, Sir!

 

19 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Fastest 9 I've ever done is 1h35m. Was just having a good day on a slow tee time on the course.

Yes! As mentioned my wife and I like to walk with electric push carts - we're not great players but we like to keep moving it along.

If there's no waiting on a group ahead for our next shot, then at a very comfortable walking pace (plus with one or two extra shots here and there) our median 9 hole time is 1:40.

 

[Javs]

1 hour ago, Josh Parker said:

Everyone knows it's not me slow playing. Haha. I knocked out my round the other morning in less than 2hrs. 

In the summer here when it’s empty we can play 18 in 2 to 2 1/2 hours. We fly around and still play serious. Get into the rhythm and go!

Edited May 12 by Javs

[Josh Parker]

Just now, Javs said:

In the summer here when it’s empty we can play 18 in 2 1/2 hours. We fly around and still play serious. Get into the rhythm and go!

Absolutely!  It can be done.  My normal group consist of two 5's, probably 15hdcp and 20+ and we all keep it moving. Lost ball last 20-30 seconds and you take a drop and play. 

We still talk trash and have a good time

[Javs]

2 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

Absolutely!  It can be done.  My normal group consist of two 5's, probably 15hdcp and 20+ and we all keep it moving. Lost ball last 20-30 seconds and you take a drop and play. 

We still talk trash and have a good time

Yes Sir and it’s fun moving and playing. We still have our bets and talk cap. Everyone gets ready as the other player is hitting. Boom we are off and running!

[bama no 1]

2 hours ago, Josh Parker said:

Everyone knows it's not me slow playing. Haha. I knocked out my round the other morning in less than 2hrs. 

you wouldnt have made it in less than 2 hours if I was playing in front of you> lol

[Josh Parker]

11 minutes ago, bama no 1 said:

you wouldnt have made it in less than 2 hours if I was playing in front of you> lol

I normally have to wait on the guys mowing the greens. 

[itsteetime]

15 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

I normally have to wait on the guys mowing the greens. 

Then, you are out too early.

[satingolfer]

Yeah man 2 1/2 hour round awesome. This time of year I can’t get out until after 3pm. After June begins I’ll be able to get in early morning, like, 3 hour rounds. Just love good moving golf keeps you in the game big time. When the group gets slowed up the commentary about kicking back with cold on & chatter does in fact create good vibes. 

 

 

[satingolfer]

Rodger that to the Dew crew chasing mowers in the morning!!! 

[bama no 1]

11 minutes ago, itsteetime said:

Then, you are out too early.

absolutely correct.  when the greenskeepers cant even get the basic task of getting the greens cut before golfers start showing up on the box then something is wrong.

 

this creates the domino effect, mowers have to wait to let player through, then they start to cut greens, then another golfer stops them again, so on.

I think a survey should come out of this question.

Why do you play golf?

1) to enjoy the outdoors and spend time with friends in a causal setting, not rushing to finish.

2) strictly for exercise.

3) Just like playing golf and want to finish as quickly as possible

Would be curious as to the outcome of the survey, then pose this survey results with the original question of how to fix slow play.

[Dead Solid Bogey]

If I want intense an a fast pace, I go to work/ job site. … If I want a leisurely time, trash talking, enjoying the outdoors, and challenging my limited skill level… I play golf.