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  1. #1
    8 Iron MrMulligan is on a distinguished road
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    Slow Play - Can't someone do something about people who are slooooowwww...

    I am a memebr at the Clublink Greyhawk course and we just held out Club Championship. It took me more than 3 1/2 hours to play the front nine!! We were sent out in groups of three (an occasional fourth was interspersed). My question is this, at a low handicap, why does it take so damn long to play this type of tournament? Why can't tournaments actually enforce slow play rules where you'll be penalized - are there actually whiners who would be against a slow play rule? Or am I just impatient and unable to accept that this is a widespread problem that cannot "seem" to be fixed?

  2. #2
    Must be Single dbleber is on a distinguished road dbleber's Avatar
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    3 1/2 hour for 9 holes! I would have snapped! That’s just stupid, sounds like people think they are better then what they are and over analysis every little thing. Funny thing is they probably still miss!

  3. #3
    Hall of Fame NoBack is on a distinguished road NoBack's Avatar
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    Nothing you or any of us can do.

    If people would do alot of things before they get to their ball (look at 2 angles for your putt before it's your turn etc.....) then the faster the rounds will get. Besides if the pro golfer would speed up and show everyone it should'nt take 5 hours to play as twosomes, then maybe something will happen. IMO I doubt it.
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  4. #4
    Golf Canada Rules Official L4 gbower is on a distinguished road
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    At our club champs we told everyone that our head pro shop guy, who was going to marshall, had the right to put someone on the clock and if necessary penalize someone a stroke for the first offence, two for the second and then disqualified if it continued. Both of our rounds were completed in under 4 1/2 hours compared to the over 5 hour rounds last year. You can't just let anyone marshall with this authority as it will have to be someone that knows what's going on. 40 seconds for a shot max and it keeps the pace going. We had a few people put on the clock but no penalties were accessed and everyone was extremely happy with the pace. All it takes is for one person to get penalized and word spreads really quick and the pace gets back to where it should be. Another thing that often contibutes to a really slow round during CC is that whoever sets the course up thinks it's the last day of the US open. The course should be set up for a reasonable pace of play. If the cups are on slopes then 3 and 4 putts become the norm.
    Anyway my $.02 on this one

  5. #5
    Weekend Hacker Steelhead is on a distinguished road Steelhead's Avatar
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    Club Championships are notoriously bad for slow play. Probable because there is something to win at the end. Like mentionned in the other posts in only takes a couple of players thinking they are Tiger Woods to slow everything down. At our club they spread out the tee-off times to try to avoid the problem as much as possible but it still takes 5 hrs.
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  6. #6
    Major Poster EDSGOLF is on a distinguished road
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    That's the million $ question!
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  7. #7
    Hopelessly Addicted Shivas Irons is on a distinguished road Shivas Irons's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gbower
    At our club champs we told everyone that our head pro shop guy, who was going to marshall, had the right to put someone on the clock and if necessary penalize someone a stroke for the first offence, two for the second and then disqualified if it continued.
    All courses should be doing this.

    Quote Originally Posted by gbower
    Another thing that often contibutes to a really slow round during CC is that whoever sets the course up thinks it's the last day of the US open.
    Very good point that is usually forgotten. Nothing wrong with having a few "green light" pin placements in any tournament.

  8. #8
    GolfPig of the Year 2006 Golfbum is on a distinguished road
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    My Club C was the same, long rounds both days. Saturday we had a little rain, but not enough to disrupt play. Sunday it was windy, which of course slowed guys down as they made club selections.

    Then of course there was the odd time guys came back to tees to reload after losing balls in the fescue. One of our Par 3's is 170 yards, the first 125 yards is all carry over a ravine filled with trees and some water. Deemed a water hazard, so if guys chunked it in there off the tee that was a reload. I remember one guy last year who had to reload 4 times on that hole, for a smooth 13 Nice thing was he won his flight this year

    Isn't it funny how guys take Club C so seriously and usually end up shooting scores above their average scores? I saw that in our Club C, we had 3 handicappers shooting in the mid to high 80's!

    The joys of the annual Club Championships. I like the fact that the Pro was going to put people on the clock. The only problem with that is, ( and I think this is true for the PGA too) there is usually one guy in a group that slows the entire group down, yet everyone gets called for slow play. The slower player should be the one paying the price.
    My opinions are my own, I do not follow others.

  9. #9
    Golf Canada Rules Official L4 BC MIST is on a distinguished road
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    Quote Originally Posted by Golfbum
    I like the fact that the Pro was going to put people on the clock. The only problem with that is, ( and I think this is true for the PGA too) there is usually one guy in a group that slows the entire group down, yet everyone gets called for slow play. The slower player should be the one paying the price
    If the event is properly organized this kind of unfairness would not happen and I am appalled(not really)that the pro would be part of this. The RCGA and other provincial organizations have a slow play policy that should be adopted by everyone.
    Group slow? Each member of the group is then put on the clock. Any individual taking more than 40 seconds to play a subsequent stroke is penalized 1 stroke. Second infraction - 2 strokes. Third infraction -Disqualification. Simple. The slow players get penalized, not the group. Common sense and fair play rules.

    Adding to gbower's comments above, when we set up the course for the CC, we considered that the CC was not only for the better players, but for the B's and C's and the ladies, as well. The pin locations were more challenging than normal, but none were placed where 3 putting would be the norm. Different classes played from different tee markers.

    While our fairways are not the greatest, we have played the ball DOWN, all season. This also speeds up play as marking, lifting, cleaning and placing, takes time. Our members are also learning to hit down on the ball because of this and this will only help their games.

    During our weekly Mens' Night, we always take a few minutes to discuss particular rules. As the participants in MN are usually the same as those who play in the CC's, knowing what to do on the course when rulings are required, also saves time.

    In our CC we left 30 minutes of open time in front of the first group which finished the front nine in 1:56. Unfortunately, we caught up to other members/green fees, which slowed us down, otherwise a sub four hour CC round would have been possible.

    Eliminating the mentality that the course for the CC must be setup to be very hard means that play is swifter and while scores may be a little lower, so what? The players playing their best, will still win.

  10. #10
    Putter wadeb39 is on a distinguished road
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    Sloooooowwww play

    I'm a member of Oakhurst C.C. and we use marshalling to help control slow play. We assess a two(2) stroke penalty if a group is more than two(2) holes behind the group in front of them. We also assess a two(2) stroke penalty if you do not finish the 18th hole twenty minutes after the group in front of you.

  11. #11
    Golf Canada Rules Official L4 BC MIST is on a distinguished road
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    Quote Originally Posted by wadeb39
    I'm a member of Oakhurst C.C. and we use marshalling to help control slow play. We assess a two(2) stroke penalty if a group is more than two(2) holes behind the group in front of them. We also assess a two(2) stroke penalty if you do not finish the 18th hole twenty minutes after the group in front of you.
    How can you justify penalizing the entire group when the slow play may be caused by only 1 or 2 of the players? Do you then expect the faster players to play faster to make up for the lost time?

    Why not just have your marshalls follow the guidelines set down by the RCGA? Warn the group, time the individuals. Any individual taking more than 40 seconds is penalized. Fair to everyone and only the perpetrators get punished, the way it should be.

  12. #12
    Bogie Marmotte is on a distinguished road Marmotte's Avatar
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    Ban gambling from the course for a start.
    I marshall at le Sorcier. There are two types of slow players: The guys/girls who have to make 7 or 9 strokes on every hole. And those who want to make ten bucks on every hole. In the case of the slow players, any marshall will tell you that you can speed them up by various means (best ball, skip a hole, ready golf....).
    In the case of the gamblers, they will simply not budge before you threaten to expell them from the course. They will keep on playing in total disregard of the groups behind, and are normally 15 minutes late after 4 holes, 30 minutes after 9, and close to an hour by the time they reach the 16th.
    All the other 15 foursomes behind will finish with 60 to 70 minutes more on their round. At le Sorcier, that means going from 4.5 hours to 5.5 hours.
    When it is a tournament, you can rely on officials to levy penalties, but on a nice Sunday afternoon... with no officials around, there are few means short of simply noting down their name, and tell them there is no room when they try to book next time.
    It is much better to have hundreds of recreational players who are happy to be on the course than to have to entertain the contempt of a few schatch players who are notoriously slow and will be the first to say that a 5 hour round is too long for them.
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  13. #13
    Amateur Golfpeasant is on a distinguished road
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3295
    I marshall at le Sorcier. There are two types of slow players......there are few means short of simply noting down their name, and tell them there is no room when they try to book next time.
    Just make sure you get the right people. Last time I was at Le Sorcier, they partnered us with a nice couple. The man was very good and very fast...his wife was a rare recreational player who often duffed...no worries, I'm fast I don't care.

    The marshall came up to my twosome twice to say WE were slowing down the play. So we just said ok, well try to speed up.

    He stopped telling us when he saw us stick it to the pin a few times and realized what was going on.

  14. #14
    Putter wadeb39 is on a distinguished road
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    Sloooooooowwwwww play

    Yes we do penalize the whole foursome because there are only one(1) or two(2) marshalls on the course at any time and they are pre warned by these marshalls to speed up play or be penalized. We believe it up to the faster players in the foursome to speed up the slower players.

  15. #15
    Hopelessly Addicted Shivas Irons is on a distinguished road Shivas Irons's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 3295
    Ban gambling from the course for a start.
    You can't be serious!

    It's as simple as keeping up with the group that is in front of you. If I want to play skins with my buddies and at the same time we can keep up with the group in front of us, then what's the problem?

  16. #16
    Must be Single Sakuraba is on a distinguished road Sakuraba's Avatar
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    I just can't stand those rounds where its impossible to not keep up with the group in front of you. I get really steamed when I go to a course and its just too full. 3 groups on every hole.

  17. #17
    Amateur Golfpeasant is on a distinguished road
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    Quote Originally Posted by wadeb39
    Yes we do penalize the whole foursome because there are only one(1) or two(2) marshalls on the course at any time and they are pre warned by these marshalls to speed up play or be penalized. We believe it up to the faster players in the foursome to speed up the slower players.
    LOL...well I'm not about to tell people I don't know to speed up. The marshall should speak to the entire group or not at all.

  18. #18
    Driver Adska is on a distinguished road
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    On Tuesday at our home course, a good friend of mine and I teed off at 1pm, and were behind two groups of twosomes. We passed the first group on the 10th tee, and caught up to the last group on the 11th. These wankers didn't budge at all. We were the only three groups on the back nine. There is NOTHING more annoying than a twosome of guys who THINK they are decent golfers, and play as fast as a PGA tour round.

    We finished in 4:45, at our home course on a Tuesday afternoon. We never take longer than 3 hours if it's us two and an open course. Skill level is irrelevant too... I've played with complete HACKS who play lightning quick. I'm definitely a TYPE-A personality, so lots of stuff bothers me, but SLOW PLAY...... Shoot me.

  19. #19
    Hopelessly Addicted Shivas Irons is on a distinguished road Shivas Irons's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adska
    I'm definitely a TYPE-A personality, so lots of stuff bothers me,
    ...sorry, but that's funny.

  20. #20
    Hopelessly Addicted el tigre is on a distinguished road el tigre's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adska
    These wankers didn't budge at all. We were the only three groups on the back nine.
    I would have skipped a hole and walked by. Depending on the layout of the course you might have been able to play it later.

    I had a similar situation where we decided to skip the par 3 they were on and started walking to the next tee. They actually picked up their balls off the green without putting out and ran to the next tee! Now THAT was annoying!
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  21. #21
    8 Iron lovethatping is on a distinguished road
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    since we're all complaining...

    last summer we were stuck behind a fivesome at Cascades (we were only two on a cart). for the five players there was one cart and it was clear they were all (slow) hacks. We caught them towards the end of the front nine and hoped that they were only there for nine holes....no such luck.....they proceeded to walk over to the par 3 10th. everytime, five tee shots then five guys into the forest to find their balls for what seemed like an eternity. on the 11th, we watched this tee box debacle for the last time and decided to drive past them. slow play and not enough carts on the back 9 of Cascades equals slow round! as we approached them on the cart path our cart started to run out of juice. we ended up crawling passed them soo slowly they just stopped and watched us. it was actually quite funny. after that we never saw them again.

  22. #22
    Caddy Law is on a distinguished road Law's Avatar
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    I wasn't aware that you were allowed to have a fivesome. I would have asked them to play through and if they refused, probably played through them while they were off on their hike in the woods.
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  23. #23
    GolfPig of the Year 2006 Golfbum is on a distinguished road
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    Key To Beating Slow Play

    Well I found out the key to beating slow play.
    3 of us played this afternoon, teed off at 2:50, I was in the car and heading out the driveway at 5:50, after parking the cart and taking the key into the clubhouse.
    HOW? Played in the rain and rode carts. The course was empty in front of us. Had to sit for a few minutes on one hole while the rain hammered us. Quick trip to the parking lot after 15 to grab a dry towel. Man it was sweet, no waiting on the tee etc. Bonus of all of this? Shot 73, 3 over par And that was after a boogie, double boogie start ( No warm up and the damn island green, Par 3, dunked one in the water ) Slow play usually messes my game up, waiting around takes any momentum away.
    So if you want a quick round wait until the conditions are crap, put your rain gear on, take 5 towels and hit the course!
    Same thing happens when it is about +4C too, no one ahead of you to slow you down Except the odd snow flurry
    Now to be serious, we all need to prod slow players in our group along. I have played with some guys that are slow as snails. You drop hints about the group behind is waiting, or the group in front is a hole ahead. Also play ready golf, if you are at your ball and ready then hit it. Same as putting. If you are just playing a casual round there is no reason not to do that. It simply speeds up play. If player A is lining his putt up, or still getting putter out of his bag after chipping on and you are ready to putt then announce you are ready and make your putt. I doubt anyone is going to be offended by that.
    Hit a provisional off the tee if you think your first shot might be lost. Again that speeds up play. Last but not least, try to watch everyone elses shots, if they hit it in the junk you can help them look for it because you know where it went.
    All of these are simple things to do that will speed up play.
    My opinions are my own, I do not follow others.

  24. #24
    Putter golffreaks is on a distinguished road
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    Never Again

    Two years ago my friends and I played Darcy Ranch Golf Course near Calgary, Alberta. We were the first team to tee of for the day. As we played our round the grounds crew decided to mow all the tee boxes just when we were walking up to tee off. We had to wait at least 10 to 15 minutes at every hole for them to move out of the way. My problem that day was not the ground crew but for the Marshal who road our assess. I have never been so rushed to play a game of golf before in my life. I understand that we are the first group to set the tone for the day but to be bugged by a marshall every second hole was pissing me off. Has anyone here every finished 18 holes under 3 hours because I have? I am never playing the course again in my life. I felt pressured for every shot made and very closely watched. Can't say the people behind us that day was waiting to tee off.
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