Pace of play

[BillL]

At our club, private, the early morning times move very quickly - many of the low handicappers (under 5) - play in 3:30.  We are carts only until afternoon, so when we are 90 degree vs. cart parth only, we are generally 4:15-4:30 when cart path only it can go up to about 4:30-4:45.  So many folks simply don't understand the little things you can do to speed up play - Player A gets to thier ball, Player B gets out and looks at approximate yardage for next short, grabs 3 clubs and walks to their ball.  Play ready golf (I won't tee off in front of a birdie or an eagle, but everything else is fair game in a standard weekend round, not a tournament).  Record the score at the next tee box vs. sitting in the cart holding up the group behind.  Pick up after handicap max (again unless in a stroke play tournament).  Limit the stories - and I'm a chatty guy, but there is a time and place for the 3-5 minute story

I think the Covid golf explosion has certainly led to slower rounds and many players who were never taught proper etiquette - just look at the bunkers at most courses and how pitch marks go unrepaired on greens.  You can tell pace of play is something I so wish would improve.  No reason to not get around  in 4 hours or less - I wish it was so. 

[silver & black]

22 minutes ago, Tallwood88 said:

My club has been asking where I have been. I haven't been playing very much with them this year and probably won't the rest of the year or at least until cooler weather comes in September. Why? Slow play. I won't stand around in 90-degree heat waiting on every single shot. It isn't fun for me. Because of this I am spending A LOT less time and money playing golf. I'm that guy the industry is concerned about.

The industry isn't concerned about you at all. For every one of you, there are two to take your place.

[leftyrockets]

Played last night in Canada where the pace of play is pretty leisurely and no one really lets anyone play through. I waited on every single shot of the day, was behind a 5 some and 2 foursomes and my round till only took about 3.5 hours. Rounds shouldn't take more than 4 hours, but people need to be mindful of what they are doing on the course. 

[itsjustagame]

Build pace of play coaching/warnings into all cart-mounted, hand held, and watch GPS systems. 

[dandad]

As a member of our state's senior golf association, it was the biggest complaint we heard. We asked our board members to volunteer as rangers. When a foursome falls one hole behind the group in front of them we ask that they become 2 twosomes until they catch up. We have 200 golfers in most events starting with tee times in the am and the pm and have reduced our pace of play to under 4 1.2 hours sometimes even approaching 4 hours flat.

[Coulter]

I just started walking 18 holes and every time I walk I still run up on groups that may or may not let me play through. Even walking I always finish between 3-3&1/2 hours. Anything after 4 hours is too long for me. I think having a Marshal out would probably help my course with the groups that like to stand around and wait for another player to hit their shot before taking their own 2 minute pre shot routine then getting to the green and mapping out every contour of the 40 ft putt they have coming up just to miss it 15 ft short. I normally just pass these groups when I can or if the course is extremely busy just call it a day. 

Edited June 24 by Coulter

[DerekB54]

I think if it’s a busy day, 4 hours should be acceptable, though we’d all prefer it be closer to 3.5hours. To speed up play, these rules should be adopted by most players:

1.  Play everything as a lateral hazard. For most golfers, going back and re-teeing the ball doesn’t make sense. Also, playing a provisional isn’t always going to help, because now people are looking for 2 balls. Just drop where it went in and move on 

2. Gimmes. Most amateurs should be taking gimmes if the course is busy. Hit it to three feet and don’t worry about it. I’ve played with a lot of people who can spend 10 minutes on a green. That is just frustrating. 
3. Play the appropriate tee box. If you’re a 20 handicap, why are you playing from 6700 yards? Thats insane. 
4. Play ready golf. We aren’t pros. If someone hits their ball in the woods and you’re walking or are in a different cart, go hit your ball while they look, then join them on their search. 
5. Be courteous and don’t hit the shot you just chunked over again unless you’re taking a mulligan. More than likely, you’re going to mess up again, and now you’re even more frustrated. Also, don’t hit extra putts if people are waiting on you. 
6. This one is very common for old guys. WALK AND TALK at the same time. Don’t pull to the green or tee and sit in the cart for 5 min to tell a story. Keep the game going. Move while telling the story. 
 

These are things we do in my groups when playing on busy days with golfers that aren’t better golfers/not serious about handicaps. 

[Julius]

my club which is semi private is average of 4 hours, a few times when we used to go out even earlier (7am or so) it could be 3:30 or during the week, on the weekend forget it, it is 4 to 4:!5.  My group walks so at 4 hours it is ok, on carts it might be more frustrating.  Recently they put in some clocks that are staggered in the course that tell you  if you are ahead or behind - this is a quite an interesting development and we do use those to take a reality check as to where we are.  Typically we do the first 9 in 2 or less but the second 9 seems to knock us off.  I would think maybe bunching people together with similar handicaps or no more than one high handicapper (25 or more) per foursome. But those would be more challenging to introduce I would think. 

[mbrodeur86]

Personal opinion here but I think that's what a course marshal is there for (or at least one of his/her duties). At my course *semi-private) we don't have one and it's borderline infuriating to be playing the front 9 on the course only to go to 10 and have 3 groups who didn't go to the clubhouse cut in front of you. Maybe people with higher handicaps who don't play as often should be asked to play scramble or just play 9 holes? I think 4 hours is very reasonable but start pushing past that and it starts to drag.

I just played a 4 person scramble last friday to raise money for the local hospital here and as you can imagine there were groups of people who never play playing in this tournament and they were slowing down pace of play to a point we'd have to wait over 20 minutes between shots! The tournament organizer saw this and had them skip some holes to speed up play. For some people it doesn't matter how long the round takes but you have to be considerate of other people too. In this case there was a supper and prizes afterwards so time was essential to keep everything finishing at a reasonable time. 

[Bryn DAndrea]

Mandatory caddies between 7am-1pm or whatever the busiest part of the day is? Forecaddies at my club help even the slowest folks play quicker, find their ball, rake their bunker, and remind them of how slowly they are playing. 

Edited June 24 by Bryn DAndrea

[Michel Falardeau]

I play at a private course our standard went from 4:15 to 4hr.  Two factors: first early tee times at an 8 minute interval (faster/better players) switching to 10 minutes interval around 9:30; second most golfer seem to play from the wrong tees in light of their abilities (we switched from traditional colour tees (blue, white, yellow, red) to # (1-6) some resistance at the beginning but now that a lot of members have mover to more adapted tees for their ability, the pace of play has improved.  There are still issues but overall these prove to be an improvement.

[dwally]

Our course is semi private and the rounds are usually only four hours. If playing first thing in the morning then they often are between 3-4 hours. Players need to play ready golf and keep up with the group ahead of them. The slower rounds seem to take place more often when competitions occur. Slower groups should allow other groups to play through. We do not have any marshals on our course.

[trike11]

On 6/22/2024 at 4:41 PM, Cruise said:

So I work at a semi private golf club. Some folks, usually members or better players, complain the pace of play is too slow.  What can a busy course do to achieve an acceptable pace of play up?  We average 4 to 4 1/2 hours per round. Granted better players can play at a pace which is less than 4 hrs, however when you mix in all the different ability levels for all the different players on a weekend day is our average an acceptable pace?  It’s like folks forgot how long a round took them when they first started playing.  I would love to hear feedback from the masses!  Thanks for the input 

I see you are in Ontario, NY, which course? I grew up in Sodus so I am curious.  :-))

The biggest issue I see is ready golf and it happened to me this weekend. The group on front of us rode around together like they were attached at the hip even if their balls were far a part.

Also, tee time intervals can also be a challenge. I get it, clubs need to make money, but 8/9 minute tee times stuff too many people on a golf course sometimes.

[drewsdad08]

I used to work at a semiprivate club when I was a kid and also as a second job until about 6 years ago.  12 minutes should be lowest interval between tee times in my honest opinion.  In my usual group, we don’t look for lost balls.  That helps.  Your group has gotta play ready golf when course is crowded.  Do not pull flags.  

[mbrodeur86]

13 minutes ago, Bryn DAndrea said:

Mandatory caddies between 7am-1pm or whatever the busiest part of the day is? Forecaddies at my club help even the slowest folks play quicker, find their ball, rake their bunker, and remind them of how slowly they are playing. 

Bring back the Caddyshack! 

[Bryn DAndrea]

1 minute ago, mbrodeur86 said:

Bring back the Caddyshack! 

lol, I will say, a few years ago we had maybe 4 regular caddies. There were no mandatory rules of taking a caddie. I can’t say with any data that the rounds were longer, but our pro instituted mandatory caddies during busy hours all summer on Fri-Sunday and we have 20 caddies at the course most weekends now, ready to go out.

[Capreolus]

Make it easier to find the ball:

No tall brush between tee box and fairway

Rejuvenate (mow, but not low enough to kill it) heather between playing surfaces. 

Do not use tall rough as obstacles on course.

Avoid having hidden landing areas with ball runoffs into water/tall rough/brush

Etc.

[Joseph j Andreola]

My solution to slow play  , in a perfect golf world , would be not looking for lost balls longer than 90 seconds , it seems many high handicap players buy expensive balls that they aren’t skilled enough to use and they spend 5 to 10 minutes looking after  every shot , until said players get skilled enough to keep the ball in play , they should use $10.00 a doz balls and get over it and another thing, said high handicappers should not play at the busiest times! No one has consideration for other players! Too many egos out there!  we use 8 min intervals now but we’re gradually going to 10 !!! 

[SongWriter]

I think if the USGA would make it illegal to straddle your line again. (Sorry Aimpoint folks) AND....also make it illegal to spot your ball more than twice...maybe only once!!..AND...make it illegal to use a line on your ball to aim with....to me...when folks started using that line...and re-marking over and over...and over and over..........and over.......trying to emulate the golfers who are on tour....really slows things down....also....make sure everyone has a range finder.....(I know most folks do now)...also...GPS on carts (even tho it's expen$ive) would also help.....

[Rustler1958]

Pace of play will always be an issue some people look at golf as a social event while others look at it as exercise a 3 ball should take 1 and half hours for 9 holes and fourball 2 hours. Double those for 18. Golfers should also be aware of shortest exit route from green. Be ready to play your shot when it is your turn. Golf on golf course and chat in bar afterwards 

[soccer2492]

Depends whom is asking. If it's the wife or girlfriend it’s like 7 hours or more. But a round of golf should take 4-4.5 hours. I think it also depends on the course, some of the nicer courses we pay for, I do not mind going slower.

Edited June 24 by soccer2492
spelling

[That’s Mr. Dirt]

I am an OK golfer (even better if I don’t have cocktails during my round, but that’s another story) and witnessed wait times of 5 to 15 minutes in between groups.  It is quite frustrating to tee off and then have to wait a few minutes to hit your ball as you watch the group ahead of you migrate from ball to ball to ball instead of spacing it out and playing ready Golf.  The big thing that I’ve noticed is that most courses still adhere to the eight minute tee off between groups. Judging by the abilities that I’ve seen, this needs to be extended to 10 minutes, maybe 12. Several courses I’ve also played at have double booked times and have forced even shorter times between groups. This just leaves everyone standing around on the course waiting for the Ranger, if there is one, to come around to speed up the pace of play. Also, golfers must be made aware of the rules, specifically, don’t look for your ball more than three minute rule. Also, if you want to fish golf balls out of the water, do it on an off day or when it’s raining. Ain’t no one got time for that.

[AndyK]

Alcohol is a big contributor to slow play, especially when abused by the golf-uneducated and etiquette-lacking, post-Covid golfing crowd. 

Add the fact that the skill-level is no where near justifying playing on regulation length golf courses, these same golfers need to be playing short courses (par three's and executive-length) and spending time on the driving range instead.

How do you police that?

Require verifiable handicaps (as done at some golf courses in the UK) to determine eligibility and the set of tees to be played from. 

We use 8-minute intervals and can maintain a 4.5 hour rounds with use of a course marshal on weekends/holidays otherwise we see sub-4 hour rounds.

[James S]

Knowing people will take their time on the green you will need to look elsewhere. Need to get people to stop looking for lost balls or needing to return to the tee or their last ball position due to a lost ball or one that is OB. If all hazard areas are marked with red stakes and not just areas where there is a lost ball penalty or make OB markers half white and red letting people take a one stroke instead of two that would help. Local rules are great ways to speed up play and help people enjoy their round. A three foot ”gimme” circle is good too.   

[Cfhandyman]

43 minutes ago, DerekB54 said:

I think if it’s a busy day, 4 hours should be acceptable, though we’d all prefer it be closer to 3.5hours. To speed up play, these rules should be adopted by most players:

1.  Play everything as a lateral hazard. For most golfers, going back and re-teeing the ball doesn’t make sense. Also, playing a provisional isn’t always going to help, because now people are looking for 2 balls. Just drop where it went in and move on 

2. Gimmes. Most amateurs should be taking gimmes if the course is busy. Hit it to three feet and don’t worry about it. I’ve played with a lot of people who can spend 10 minutes on a green. That is just frustrating. 
3. Play the appropriate tee box. If you’re a 20 handicap, why are you playing from 6700 yards? Thats insane. 
4. Play ready golf. We aren’t pros. If someone hits their ball in the woods and you’re walking or are in a different cart, go hit your ball while they look, then join them on their search. 
5. Be courteous and don’t hit the shot you just chunked over again unless you’re taking a mulligan. More than likely, you’re going to mess up again, and now you’re even more frustrated. Also, don’t hit extra putts if people are waiting on you. 
6. This one is very common for old guys. WALK AND TALK at the same time. Don’t pull to the green or tee and sit in the cart for 5 min to tell a story. Keep the game going. Move while telling the story. 
 

These are things we do in my groups when playing on busy days with golfers that aren’t better golfers/not serious about handicaps. 

Well stated. A round shouldn’t take more than 4 to 4.25 hours. Ideally 3.5 hours.  I hate hurry up and wait golf.  If a round takes 5 hours or more, I’m not playing there.  A number of factors come into play affecting pace of play. Tee times should be at least 10 min apart, ideally 12.  Have the starters “guide” people to the appropriate tee box. Let faster players play through, provided it’s not jammed up in front of you. Don’t take forever on the greens by looking at the putt from all angles and then missing it and then doing the same thing all over. Consider gimmes, if it’s 2 feet or less.  If you can’t find your wayward ball in 1-2 minutes, move on.  Play ready golf. Be cognizant of your pace of play and spacing between groups. In some cases, those “slow” players in front of you are actually on time with respect to pace of play and you’re just playing quickly. A good Marshall is helpful in keeping people moving. At the end of the day, please be considerate of others and still have fun. 

[Douglas Stefanson]

On 6/22/2024 at 1:41 PM, Cruise said:

So I work at a semi private golf club. Some folks, usually members or better players, complain the pace of play is too slow.  What can a busy course do to achieve an acceptable pace of play up?  We average 4 to 4 1/2 hours per round. Granted better players can play at a pace which is less than 4 hrs, however when you mix in all the different ability levels for all the different players on a weekend day is our average an acceptable pace?  It’s like folks forgot how long a round took them when they first started playing.  I would love to hear feedback from the masses!  Thanks for the input 

A few that can help speed up pace of play are as follows: Playing ready golf ( lining up your shot and hitting when ready as long as it is safe to do so) and not always waiting for farthest away to hit first. Letting a shorter hitter tee off first when safe for them even though it is not their honor. Picking up when you take the maximum strokes on a hole allowed for your handicap.  Having a marshall on the course requiring slow groups to pick up pace as it only takes one very slow group to back up whole course ( players should be made aware this will happen and be enforced up front).

 

[Scott Newman]

On 6/23/2024 at 6:41 AM, Cruise said:

So I work at a semi private golf club. Some folks, usually members or better players, complain the pace of play is too slow.  What can a busy course do to achieve an acceptable pace of play up?  We average 4 to 4 1/2 hours per round. Granted better players can play at a pace which is less than 4 hrs, however when you mix in all the different ability levels for all the different players on a weekend day is our average an acceptable pace?  It’s like folks forgot how long a round took them when they first started playing.  I would love to hear feedback from the masses!  Thanks for the input 

When I first started playing as a very young person with my dad as a 10 handicapper - if I wanted to play - I needed to run ahead and not hold anyone up - simple things - if you have a routine and it takes longer than usual - get to your ball - start your routine - but be aware - understand you are holding others up! … for me - not keeping up or not holding others up, meant not playing or picking up my ball. You don’t need to be a good player to play fast … simple as that 

[Don Nagle]

Bottom line is that people need to understand the rules of golf and know how to play ready golf. Taking multiple balls off the tee, the five practice swings, not being ready to play. Lining up your putt for your 8th shot. Keep a handicap, play to your maximum number of stroke per hole and pick up and move on. Golf should be played in 330 hours walking. 4 1/2-5 1/2 rounds of golf are mind numbing. Courses have a responsibility to keep people moving too. 

[Richard Shows]

Too many variables to speed up the pace of play. 4 1/2 to 5 hours is the norm now. 

Some courses are now limiting groups to foursomes. The gap between tee times would help a bit, but the courses are trying to make money....so..... My Saturday group of 20-25 golfers each week has a nice mix of low handicap players and high handicap players, and we mix it up do not put all the high hdcp players in the same group. Playing ready golf is a nice little fix....not player out playing first every time.

The biggest thing I see every week is the time players take to look for errant shots and green reading. 3 minute rule is broken almost every time. We have a few players who walk around the entire green and look at every angle. They take way too much time to try and read the green.

[thicks1]

4 hours max! The biggest slow down that I see time and time again would be recreational players spending way too much time on the green. Pacing distance, kneeling, plumb bobbing…..all while still missing the putts and by a lot.