Behind Slow Players Etiquette

[djrexyman]

Alright, so I'm sure we can say we've all been there, wether it was us playing slow when we were first learning or, playing behind a group that seems to be taking their sweet sweet time. 

Context:  

I played a round recently at a local pricey municipal, tee time is around 120, anyways I digress.  We pull up to a par 3 with 5 groups backed up on it. I call the Marshall, we are all waiting for a foursome that each player hits multiple times.. The Marshall gets there only to tell me they are on pace and what does he expect him to do. In this scenario what would y'all have done. mind you 5 groups and it took 5.5 hrs to finish round. 

What I did: I called again along with multiple other groups and Marshall refused to tell them anything or move them up, I ended up yelling at the group , and it made other groups yell too.. I honestly feel like a total you know what for doing so but it still didn't change anything. 

how do you guys deal with a slow playing group that isn't being considerate for other players? 

[John L]

The marshal has an obligation to say something if there are several holes open in front of them. Having said that what I have done in a similar situation is my group just went skipped the hole and went past them. If time allows we went back and played the hole that we skipped. I would have reported it to the manager of the course and let them know their people are not creating a fun atmosphere. 5.5 hrs is not pace of play 

 

[Hacker60521]

Ouch.  That seems awful. I’ve never seen a hole backed up by that many groups. 
 

First, the Marshall was absolutely wrong to not say anything. Maybe all of the foursomes could have found someone with authority to complain to at the clubhouse after the round was done.
 

Second, I can’t believe the slow foursome didn’t notice or react to the backup they created. That’s a whole new level of cluelessness or selfishness. But if they knew that the Marshall won’t enforce pace of play then why should they care.

 

Finally, I hate skipping holes but I definitely would have considered it in this situation. 

[bens197]

Golf Course Marshals (if they’re on the clock) are as useful as volunteer police officers.
 

With the costs of running a municipal course on the rise, the easiest cost savings are often the marshals. This made me laugh thinking about it. Of the last ten rounds I’ve played, only one course has a Marshal and he was hiding on the furthest part of the course smoking darts. 
 

Golf courses don’t care about pace. They’ve already got your money once you hit your first ball. 

[NM01]

Im with Ben. The marshals at most courses aren’t worth anything. They are usually there for the free golf and not much help. Plus the course probably doesn’t want them to say anything so that they don’t upset the patrons.

One of the reasons it don’t play courses that don’t enforce a pace of play or if I do it’s during non peak hours 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Sounds like a note to management is needed. That's just bad.

[Rob Person]

I work part time as a Marshall (and I'm a Leo too, btw)  I always make sure that my tee sheets are up to date and we have a spot for turning times, etc. Not knowing if your course was 18 holes or 3 or 4 , 9 holes , I find the turning time players are the most cause for the backup, playing into the scheduled tee times. 

To your point about them hitting multiple balls, he should have gave them a friendly warning to play what they had hit or to pick up and move on or even suggest scrambled play, or let others move ahead. 

Sorry you had a terrible experience though. Being over an hour past suggested PoP is not acceptable imo

[Swood1994]

Kind of surprised the Marshal said they were on pace if you finished behind pace… seems like they didn't want to do their job. That can really make a round unenjoyable, sorry that happened!

[jbern]

Your situation sounds really bad, although it does seem like a lot of people have 5+ hr rounds. If I were in your situation, I do think I would've called the course a couple of times, like you did. I do not think I would've started to yell at them. I have a feeling I would've called the course again and asked to play through or asked for a beverage cart! 

If it was a favorite course, I'd probably avoid playing it during peaks times and if it wasn't part of my top few courses in my area, I would just avoid it all together.

Maybe the courses I'm playing are never busy or I'm always playing at off peak times, but I have hardly run into pace of play issues in my area. Only very minor issues and it's usually because I'm playing fast and not because other groups are playing overly slow. Not to rub it in, but I played in a scramble last Saturday with 24 teams and ALL TEAMS were done UNDER 4 hours (the horn blew at 0815 and all scores were logged and posted by 1208). It was the fasted scramble I've ever been a part of. 

[Byrnzee]

I had a similar situation when I played Arcadia Bluffs earlier this summer. It was my favorite course I've ever played, but we nearly had a six hour round. I understand it's a resort course and slower play should be expected, but there were 5 groups waiting on a par 3 at one point. 

The marshals need to jump up to whoever is holding people up and tell them to skip a couple holes or start picking up the ball after a number of strokes. If you're new to golf or just don't play often, what's the fun in whacking the ball 12 times before you even get to the green? Hit a drive - if it's short, drop it 100 (or even 50) yards from the green and play from there. It'll be more fun for everyone involved and keep pace of play more efficient.

[bens197]

1 hour ago, Rob Person said:

I work part time as a Marshall (and I'm a Leo too, btw)  I always make sure that my tee sheets are up to date and we have a spot for turning times, etc. Not knowing if your course was 18 holes or 3 or 4 , 9 holes , I find the turning time players are the most cause for the backup, playing into the scheduled tee times. 

 

I see you

[djrexyman]

12 hours ago, John L said:

The marshal has an obligation to say something if there are several holes open in front of them. Having said that what I have done in a similar situation is my group just went skipped the hole and went past them. If time allows we went back and played the hole that we skipped. I would have reported it to the manager of the course and let them know their people are not creating a fun atmosphere. 5.5 hrs is not pace of play 

I forgot to mention our tee time was 0816. After reading this I'm actually going to call today and let them know about the experience and hope they do something to rectify, because this is one of my favorite spots. This is a very beautiful course so that's mostly why we didn't want to skip the hike but definitely will do that next time. thanks. I'll let you know how the call goes

[William P]

I also work part time as a Marshall, can't let Rob hang out there by himself. While each case is different, the situation as described should have been addressed by the Marshall as it is not acceptable to play multiple balls during the round and especially when it slows pace of play. I would also find it difficult to believe that a group could be on pace if there were 5 groups waiting on the tee, even if those waiting were less than foursomes. I would also offer, that a situation of this degree should have been addressed before getting to this extreme.

While some Marshalls are not willing to address the situation for fear of upsetting the foursome and possibly losing them as future customers, they should be aware and concerned of the potentially many more customers lost due to the slow play and the bad PR generated by it. 

I have found that most are willing to pick up the pace if asked in a polite and friendly manner. 

[Erin B]

Interesting topic. I've been playing with people that have a lot of opinion on the subject lately. A few think that there should be some etiquette test and card issued to golfers before they can play. I usually stay patient or skip the hole if there is an open hole in front of the slow group. 

Edited August 5 by Erin B

[Rob Person]

It's one thing to be playing faster than pace and be upset you are held back to pace of play.  It's another to be locked up with no place to go

[mwade4040]

Slow play kills a round.  You can shoot 120 or more and still keep pace.  Players that "fall asleep" over the ball before they hit are my biggest issue.  Get ready while others in your group are hitting so you can hit quickly.  In my opinion, new golfers do very little to learn the game and just are out on the course whacking away with little regard for rules or etiquette.  I'm very ok with having to wait occasionally but if I know there is a group that is to blame, I'm saying something to them (politely) about picking the pace.  Most Marshalls arent worth talking to about pace of play at local public courses.  I have played at private clubs..especially in FL that marshalls are all over slow play and have personally witnessed them kicking groups off the course after 2 warnings

[Rob Person]

If you are riding,  and it is CPO, don't expect a 4 some to be quick. It happens alot here due to the amount of rain we get, quickly!

I've suggested to management to move to 2 person groups when CPO,  as it will allow others to play steadier paces, and allow those others to play through quicker. But inevitably,  it all comes down to $$

[KC Golf]

Slow play is a hard one if the Marshall isn’t watching the slow group until they are back on pace.

i think public courses need to understand that slow play leads to a bunch of angry golfers in their wake that hurts future business.

Edited August 5 by KC Golf

[Paul Hedrick]

3 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

Slow play is a hard one if the Marshall isn’t watching the slow group until they back on pace.

i think public courses need to understand that slow play leads to a bunch of angry golfers in their wake that hurts future business.

I agree with KC Golf on this for sure.  I stopped playing at one of my local courses because of this issue.

[KC Golf]

21 minutes ago, Paul Hedrick said:

I agree with KC Golf on this for sure.  I stopped playing at one of my local courses because of this issue.

Leverage your green fee dollars! 

Edited August 5 by KC Golf

[Bossfan]

We’ve always been able to call the clubhouse and they send the marshal out to check things. We’ve been pretty lucky. I’ve been other places and nothing happens 

[Dweed]

As with Rob and William, I have also done my duty as a marshall on a muni. Yes do get to play a round for each 8 hour shift we worked. We cleaned trash, picked tees off the tee boxes, cig butts and sunflower seed shells off the greens as well as repair ball marks. Yes, the toughest part was asking slow players to pick it up a bit if it was obvious they were holding groups behind. With the exception of one time, those folks took a polite talking to and tried to move along quicker. Treat politely and most will accommodate.  The one that didn't? I wish I had had Rob there, that's for sure. Drunk bachelor's party on a Fri night is no fun.

[Rob Person]

24 minutes ago, Dweed said:

As with Rob and William, I have also done my duty as a marshall on a muni. Yes do get to play a round for each 8 hour shift we worked. We cleaned trash, picked tees off the tee boxes, cig butts and sunflower seed shells off the greens as well as repair ball marks. Yes, the toughest part was asking slow players to pick it up a bit if it was obvious they were holding groups behind. With the exception of one time, those folks took a polite talking to and tried to move along quicker. Treat politely and most will accommodate.  The one that didn't? I wish I had had Rob there, that's for sure. Drunk bachelor's party on a Fri night is no fun.

I get cussed out so often I have tuned it out, Much like I have learned to at my public servant job.

But know what? Most members and guests keep returning,  and most generally apologize.

why? We are the only PUBLIC course that is maintained at premium playing conditions (99% of the time) and unless you are a military/first responder/trail card member,  the price is quite high per round ($126+ tax)

Otherwise you can play at 3 others local courses. 2 that are not worth the cart fee to play. (I still play them too for fun and change of scenery)

 

[alw699]

This is crazy! I've been spoiled with pace of play as far as my dad and I golf every Saturday and Sunday at our home course, and we make sure we get the first tee time of the day. We typically play a round somewhere between three and three and a half hours. Any time we travel and play a new course it makes even a four hour round feel like forever. Like many of the other guys are saying it's pretty rare to see a marshal actually out there keeping up pace, so my go to move is to drive right past a slow group and keep the round moving! (and any skipped hole is obviously a par haha) 

[Dweed]

@alw699. Whether I agree or disagree is totally irrelevant. Thank you for joining the forums and voicing your thoughts. Hope to see you in the future posting. Welcome.

[TAGolf13]

Funny, played a few weeks ago for the first time at a public course in Venice, FL. We pulled around the corner heading for the tee box, only to find a group of about 8 "players" (more like guys with their girls having a good time) half-blocking the cart path. They had music and who knows what else going on. Fortunately, they let us play through. During the Open, I played in our local game on Sunday, and one of the players had a live radio broadcast of the Open playing. I'm so over it all that I didn't even bother to ask him to turn it down or off. Now that golf has become a game for the masses, all sorts of things are happening on the course. Etiquette? Hah! I spend considerable time fixing other people's ball marks on the green and sanding divots while I'm waiting my turn. I'm a cynic, but the lack of care for anything but I, me, mine appears to be a societal norm...what I consider an epidemic.

[WaffleHouseTour]

12 hours ago, TAGolf13 said:

Hah! I spend considerable time fixing other people's ball marks on the green and sanding divots while I'm waiting my turn. I'm a cynic, but the lack of care for anything but I, me, mine appears to be a societal norm...what I consider an epidemic.

The pro called me the other day to let me know they had a shot gun going off in thirty minutes and I needed to be off the course by ten. “No problem, I will fix only MY ball marks.  I’ll finish in no time.” 

[mwade4040]

13 hours ago, TAGolf13 said:

Funny, played a few weeks ago for the first time at a public course in Venice, FL. We pulled around the corner heading for the tee box, only to find a group of about 8 "players" (more like guys with their girls having a good time) half-blocking the cart path. They had music and who knows what else going on. Fortunately, they let us play through. During the Open, I played in our local game on Sunday, and one of the players had a live radio broadcast of the Open playing. I'm so over it all that I didn't even bother to ask him to turn it down or off. Now that golf has become a game for the masses, all sorts of things are happening on the course. Etiquette? Hah! I spend considerable time fixing other people's ball marks on the green and sanding divots while I'm waiting my turn. I'm a cynic, but the lack of care for anything but I, me, mine appears to be a societal norm...what I consider an epidemic.

My biggest pet peeve is people not fixing their ball marks....drives me insane!  I think I might repair 4-5 per green during an average round.  Some have no concern for the condition of the course.  I can live with music, etc but un-repaired divots on greens is big "No No" in my book.

[Warrior42111]

Biggest peeves are ball marks, and not playing ready golf (sans tournament)

I get slow play happens and if the course is stacked it stacked, but at least get on them. Waiting because you'll catch right back up is annoying to everyone behind you

[Chas c]

My big pet peeve lately is local courses scheduling regular tee times behind tournaments/scrambles/etc. without enough buffer. Recently had an after work round that would have become a 5+ hour round if I had stayed since they A) gave the group a 30 minute buffer and B) triple booked the first tee time behind the group (showed up at the first hole and there were 9 people)! Seriously considering not going back after they way I was treated when I called the club house after waiting 20 minutes on the 3rd hole ( I never did tee off, the last tourny group was only 150 yards out 20 minutes after teeing off, and the green was clear the whole time, they weren't being held up). I scooted to the back 9 and tried to get back to the front afterwards, but it was still backed up ( I got to the 6th hole and there were 3 groups waiting to tee off).