slow play is killing me!

[rezadue]

Had atee time booked at Loch March on Thursday. Showed up only to be told there was a tournament playing. But thee should be no problem with us getting a round i, in 4.5 hours. By the time we got to the pat 3 7th. We were one of three foursomes waiting to tee off with another foursome on the green. That is 16 pepopleon one par 3!!!! We walked off the course after 13.

Today at Stonebridge we were waiting to hit our shots on every hole. From the first tee shot on the first hole to the last on the 18th. Appearantly there was some sort of President's cup type garbage. I took 5 hours and 5 minutes to play a round. Gave up keeping score after 6!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

[goliath]

Im with you. I am so tired of slow rounds. I play like garbage. I have quit after nine about 4 times this year bacause I couldnt take it anymore or I was out of time and wouldnt have been able to finish my round before I had go to work.

[Bosco]

I was up your way last week and played Mississippi both saturday and sunday early morning rounds, no issues. I'm lucky if i get to play once per week, therefore have bit the bullet this year and have been paying full pop to get out early. avoids the slow rounds and i get to enjoy the rest of my day. When i do get out for an afternoon/evening round its pretty well a given that waiting to hit a shot will occur.

[ex-mailman]

You were informed there was a tournament going on.. right? What else did you expect.

[rezadue]

Mr. Ex-mailman. We were not informed of the tournament until we got to the course for our tee time. At 12:30 PM. Having taken the afternoon off work (using vacation hours). And although we were told the was a tournament, we were told it should be no problem to play in 4.5 hours.

You asked what I expected. I expect to be informed when I am booking my tee time that there is a tournament that day. So I can choose to take an afternoon off to go play there or not. And, oh yeah since I use executive golf, I had already paid for the round.

[DenisO]

It's odd, everytime recently that I've played at Eagle Creek it has been pretty damn slow as well, no idea why. 5 hour round at least which sucks. Oddly enough, no matter what's being played at Hautes Plaines (tournament or not), the rounds have always been fast, I love it there. Slow rounds really kill your mojo/concentration/groove

[imozzie]

I agree....played Le Sorcier for the first time today. As we were having our bags loaded, the guys indicated that they pride themselves on ensuring that rounds are no longer than 4.5 hours. We finished....6.5 hours later...with carts...no tournaments!

Love the course and actually shot a pretty good game. But give me a break...that's nuts!

[Gobble_It]

Played 5 1/2 hour round at Gatineau this afternoon.

The worst part is I was playing with my kids (14) and a friend with his kid (11) and we still had to wait to tee off at every hole.

The foursome in front was just too damn slow and probably too embarrassed to let the kids to past..We caught them at the par 3 a few times and they just took off walking away...no marshal in sight at this golf course...I wont' take the kid out in the afternoon at this golf course again.

We ended up shooting apples into the waste basket to pass the time at every hole.

[Mattchew]

played Lombard Glen a few weeks ago early on a saturday morning and was told that the group infront of me was the first group off for the day and were about 20min ahead so should be a quick round. Get to the third hole and there they are looking for balls in the trees for about 15min even after they noticed me standing there. from then on I was walking to the tee as they were hitting and not once did they ask me to play through. Get to the club house after 9 and was told by the marshal they were members and had played in there allotted time so to pretty much suck it up! asked on 11 if I could play through and was told by a very friendly gentleman in the group that I was being rude for even asking, and i have no respect for others on the course! So skipped a few holes and decided to visit a friend that lives near the course for about an hour and as i was driving by on my way home i noticed the group was still on 18! The last couple of years I have noticed more and more rounds are getting like this and almost expect a 5+ hour round of golf when I book!

[DenisO]

You should've told them they were rude for not letting a single play through with an open golf course in front of them, and that they had no respect for others. Hypocrites!
You should've then walked ahead of them and play the next hole, and come back to the one you missed at the end of the round (probably best to do it on #10).

[Mattchew]

They were certainly told how I felt, plus it was so hot I just wanted to go home.

[ex-mailman]

Rez- My error I did not read you OP that you were not told until you arrived. Sorry.

[HoganWoods]

Hey Matt,

I've had this happen to me a few times since I've joined a course. During the summer I'd goto the course at 6:30am to tee off before everyone. I like to zoom through in 2 hours or so. Anyways, a few times I ran into other members who would not let me go through... AT 6:30am!!! The worse was they would practice putting after missing putts while I was standing to hit my approach behind them. The first time this happened I tried to pass to the next hole while they were finishing up and one guy almost RAN to the next tee to intercept before I got there. He didn't let me tee off... I had to skip multiple holes. Apparently I was disturbing him... Nice way to welcome a new member eh? Who the hell doesn't let someone through that early in the morning when you are literally the only people on the entire course. Anyways, I'm getting raged up just thinking about it.

[Marcos]

[QUOTE=HoganWoods;418967]Hey Matt,

I've had this happen to me a few times since I've joined a course. During the summer I'd goto the course at 6:30am to tee off before everyone. I like to zoom through in 2 hours or so. Anyways, a few times I ran into other members who would not let me go through... AT 6:30am!!! The worse was they would practice putting after missing putts while I was standing to hit my approach behind them. The first time this happened I tried to pass to the next hole while they were finishing up and one guy almost RAN to the next tee to intercept before I got there. He didn't let me tee off... I had to skip multiple holes. Apparently I was disturbing him... Nice way to welcome a new member eh? Who the hell doesn't let someone through that early in the morning when you are literally the only people on the entire course. Anyways, I'm getting raged up just thinking about it.[/QUOTE

Wow, now that s pretty bad. Some people think they own the course. That is pretty poor golf etiquette or just stupid. I play around 8:00 every morning with no issues but any round in the p.m. as resulted in 5 plus hours . We dont have marshalls officially at Buckingham but the pro keeps an eye out on the course and scoots right out to move people along if need be. It sems some courses do not have marshalls and some other courses have way too many. Best to play early if you can.

[golfisforfun]

I agree that slow play can be frustrating, BUT I want you to answer these questions...
Where are beginners supposed to play? If they are taking 20-30% more shots than the average golfer, it is going to take longer.
At no point do golf courses (other than a very few) inform golfers that they have a time limit to play.
We had gorgeous weather on the weekend and it was awesome to be outside. I was in no rush to finish my round of golf so I can understand people playing slowly.
I realize there is a courtesy factor, but everyone pays to play, and everyone has the right to take every shot required to finish the 18 holes.
As I said, it can be frustrating, and I am someone who plays very fast and never takes a practice swing, but I am realistic...
There are going to be days with beginners and non-golfers on the course and they will be slow rounds.
If that is something that gets you really angry you need to learn to relax because slow golf is not the end of the world.

[Weazl]

My problem with slow golf is due to poor etiquette. If a group behind you has to wait and your going to shoot a 100 or more, either let them through or play ready golf.

[Break68]

I played a really slow round at Gatineau yesterday.
We played at 10:22 and the place was packed.
We finished after almost 5 hours.
I was ok with it but my buddy was freaking out.
I was happy not to be home working on the house.

[golfisforfun]

My problem with slow golf is due to poor etiquette. If a group behind you has to wait and your going to shoot a 100 or more, either let them through or play ready golf.

Wow, I am pretty sure more than 50% of golfers are shooting well over 100, so a lot of groups will need to let you play through...

And what is wrong with a 5 hour round? Is it because you have other things planned and only give yourself 4 hours time to play? Why do we need to rush through a round of golf? ARe you unable to keep your focus if you need to wait before hitting?

[Marcos]

If you are a beguiner golfer then I expect people to be aware of golf etiquette, After playing 6 shots on a par 3, 8 shots on a par 4 and 10 shots on a par 5, pick-up your ball and move on. This just makes sense and goes a long way in making the game more enjoyable for beguiners. Its important to choose the right course when you are starting off and not play at 7;30 in the a.m. where you will be told to move along because you are holding up the rest of the golfers who also payed for there round.

[triple-bogey]

I realize there is a courtesy factor, but everyone pays to play, and everyone has the right to take every shot required to finish the 18 holes.

Generally I would agree with that statement. However, this past Saturday, we were at Richmond Centennial, and on hole 14 caught up to three young ''yahoos'' (for lack of a better qualifier) who had clearly never played the game before - or if they had, then they really sucked. My issue was not with them being bad, but the fact that each of them would tee-up up to three balls, until they finally hit one that they ''liked''. That is a total of about 9 tee shots, on every hole, while my group is waiting next to the tee-box. It was wide open in front of them, and they never offered to let us play through. On hole 16, I said ''you know guys, this is not a driving range''. They looked at me and started to laugh. At this point I just gave up since we were almost done. But they definitely ruined what had started out as a perfect outing.

[jeffc]

Wow, I am pretty sure more than 50% of golfers are shooting well over 100, so a lot of groups will need to let you play through...

And what is wrong with a 5 hour round? Is it because you have other things planned and only give yourself 4 hours time to play? Why do we need to rush through a round of golf? ARe you unable to keep your focus if you need to wait before hitting?

what is wrong with 5 hour rounds? lots! I am never in a rush to get through a round of golf but waiting every shot destroys any sort of rhythm in a round of golf. I played a month ago with Reza, just 2 of us at equinelle in 3 hours walking. We played at a good pace but anyone who has played with me know I don't walk very fast. That course is a 10km walk. I also have a family so the longer I am at a course, the longer I am away from them. Figure a half hour drive to and from the course and arriving a half hour early and I'm gone 6.5 hours +.

As for where do these high cappers play? I could care less what your cap is as long as you can keep the pace. Rather than looking 5 min for a ball, look for 1. If you can't find it, move on. If you can't keep pace, get some lessons, get on the range before getting on a course. Or, play in the middle of the day or late on a weekend when the course is empty.

All that being said, I have encountered my share of slow golf over the years and now I try to avoid those courses and times where I run into this, but it is inevetable sometimes.

[jeffc]

I realize there is a courtesy factor, but everyone pays to play, and everyone has the right to take every shot required to finish the 18 holes.

on the contrary, part of the game is keeping pace - if you can't do that you need to pick up your ball and move to the next hole.

[Weazl]

Wow, I am pretty sure more than 50% of golfers are shooting well over 100, so a lot of groups will need to let you play through...

And what is wrong with a 5 hour round? Is it because you have other things planned and only give yourself 4 hours time to play? Why do we need to rush through a round of golf? ARe you unable to keep your focus if you need to wait before hitting?

We were on the tee on the 200 yard par 3 at Hammond yesterday, #8 I believe while I watched two golfers still not on the green in 8 shots. One finally picked up his ball, and the other threw his club across the green, then had to go get it to putt out while we were watchin with another group catching up as they walked up the path. A 9 or 10 on a par 3 calls for moving on IMO.

[golfisforfun]

Wow, now I know why golf is often considered a "snobby" sport...
Golfers of all abilities are welcome, but there is a limit to how many shots you can take, because there are better players who have things to do other than wait for you to hit your ball...
Rules of golf allow you to look for a ball for 5 minutes I believe, so I guess you can't expect people to cut down to 1 minute of searching...
And because you have a half hour drive, that means we need to stay at 4 hour rounds so you are not gone from home too long?
And on a par 3, you are only allowed 6 shots... no wonder so many people have handicaps that are not accurate! Does that include your putting?
And if you are a beginner, you should not tee-off at 7:30am, because that is for the better, faster golfers... It does not matter if that is the only time of day you can play, you are not good enough for those spots...

In repsonse to another post, nobody has the right ot tee up 3 balls on the tee and pick their best. You pay to play one ball.

[Weazl]

And yes, I prefer to play fast and keep momentum going and not have to wait too long between shots or I over analyze and screw up! ha ha ha I suck I admit it.

[cleek]

here's a couple of ideas to speed up play:

10 minute tee time intervals ; courses hire marshalls and train them on how to do their job properly ( too many gents driving around just being social) ; beginners should be encouraged to play best ball / scramble format ( less pressure & saves time) if they are learning and shooting in the 100's no need to hdcp.

Lastly almost every score card has a few simple rules & regulations , one of them is usually ....slower players must allow faster players to play through. I have suggested that the big mouth of a slow group refer to the course requirements on the back of the card. There is not much of an argument there.

[HoganWoods]

If you are a beguiner golfer then I expect people to be aware of golf etiquette, After playing 6 shots on a par 3, 8 shots on a par 4 and 10 shots on a par 5, pick-up your ball and move on. This just makes sense and goes a long way in making the game more enjoyable for beguiners. Its important to choose the right course when you are starting off and not play at 7;30 in the a.m. where you will be told to move along because you are holding up the rest of the golfers who also payed for there round.

This is a big issue. I Have no problem with people sucking on the course or even a 5 hour round on saturday afternoons but I agree with you that people need to understand and learn the proper etiquette when playing. Things like:

-goto your own ball and get ready to play
-do not look for your ball longer than 5 mins and DO NOT look for other balls
-parking your cart on the proper side of the green and not 40 yards in front of it while putting
-Do not take 79 practice swings

You guys know what I'm saying. When I started out I sucked big time but I always played at a good pace because that's what I've been shown, maybe the courses should take responsibility and show all these new golfers the same thing.

Oh and.. for GODS sake I hate it when guys that can't even hit the ball are waiting from 250 yards before shooting their second on a PAR 5, as if they'd have a chance to reach. Then when they get there in 10, they will look at the putt from 15 different angles like they are about to putt for the US Open.

[Weazl]

I'm all for 10 minute tee time intervals and marshalls who actually marshall instead of look for balls int he woods or talk to members.

[jeffc]

Wow, now I know why golf is often considered a "snobby" sport...
Golfers of all abilities are welcome, but there is a limit to how many shots you can take, because there are better players who have things to do other than wait for you to hit your ball...
Rules of golf allow you to look for a ball for 5 minutes I believe, so I guess you can't expect people to cut down to 1 minute of searching...
And because you have a half hour drive, that means we need to stay at 4 hour rounds so you are not gone from home too long?
And on a par 3, you are only allowed 6 shots... no wonder so many people have handicaps that are not accurate! Does that include your putting?
And if you are a beginner, you should not tee-off at 7:30am, because that is for the better, faster golfers... It does not matter if that is the only time of day you can play, you are not good enough for those spots...

In repsonse to another post, nobody has the right ot tee up 3 balls on the tee and pick their best. You pay to play one ball.

I don't consider myself a snob - nor do any of the people I play with. Yes, the rules allow for 5min to look for a ball but ettiquite also states you must keep pace. So look 5 min as long as you keep pace. Again, I have played with guys that shoot 110 and keep pace, there is really no excuse. And it's got nothing to do with my drive, etc. It's my preference to not spend 5+ hours on a course - its not enjoyable to wait every shot.

btw, there are lots of good golfers out there that are slow also, but for other reasons like looking at a putt from 6 directions prior to hitting it.

I think you are taking this the wrong way. Take as many strokes as you like, just keep pace with the group in front. Otherwise, any decent course should have marshalls asking you to pick up and move along.

[leafman]

If there is a gap forming between your group and the group in fron of you, you should let the group behind go through. Just because you are going to play a 5 hr round shouldn't mean everybody else should too. We had 2 drunk kids get lost and got on the wrong 9 and when we corrected them they deceided that they'd get more holes for their money by continuing where they were and each hit 2-3 tee shots every hole. There were 2 groups waiting every hole for 5 holes until we saw a marshall and he moved them. On the golf course is the only time I wish I had a cell phone. People just don't know/care that there actions affect others nowadays imo.