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USGA opens slow play initiative - "While we're young"

All of the ads are really funny
 
The real problem with slow play is in real life people who play slowly don't think they are slow. Until someone gets it through their thick heads that they are the problem and until golf courses realize the amount of revenue slow play costs them and do something about it slow play will continue.
 
Tedfroop said:
The real problem with slow play is in real life people who play slowly don't think they are slow. Until someone gets it through their thick heads that they are the problem and until golf courses realize the amount of revenue slow play costs them and do something about it slow play will continue.
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Yup, I played at a course in Turkey that had GPS units on each cart (not the range kind but the kind that lets the club house know where the cart is), it was kind of neat because you could place a drink/food order on the incart unit and they would bring it to you on the course. The flip side was they watched the pace of play using the GPS tracking... If you got too slow they martial came out and talked to you, needless to say we got busted (being Americans we were taking loots of pictures and looking at the sites). We instantly picked up the pace of play and to be honest we were not even fully aware of how slow we were playing (the golf portion was going fast, it was all the other stuff we were doing that was slowing us down).
 
I think this is all pretty worthless without some sort of set standard. Every course is different, every day is different and every round is different. So they keep saying speed up play, but we really don't know what is expected of us except on certain courses that have things like clocks on the tee boxes, GPS units on the carts or Marshalls.

It's one thing when people are so slow that they're stopping progress on the course, but where is the line? Golf is supposed to be a relaxing game of fun and fellowship. I don't want it to turn into a conveyor belt just so the courses can get as many people through in one day as possible. Isn't that why they came up with tee times in the first place, to keep a separation between groups and maintain pace of play?

If you watch the videos, they are mostly talking about common sense things that waste a lot of time, not the extreme ones like grabbing clubs and heading for your ball on the other side of the fairway. That's why I pay the money for a cart, so I don't have to do all that walking. It might add a little time to the round, but IMO it's a perfectly acceptable part of the game. There are lot's of things we could do to speed up play, but if they end up sucking the fun out of it, what's the point?
 
tgtt said:
So you're saying tee it forward was a failure? I don't know but it made literally zero difference in my area. I haven't seen any courses promoting it and actually heard people bad mouthing when suggestions were made to play up a set of tees. I bet "get golf ready" isn't having much of an effect either.

The only way to fix this is:

1) enforcement on the Tour with a shot clock being ideal
2) teaching at 1st tee programs and teaching and enforcing for all junior golf
3) courses getting on board with a pace of play rate

Problem solved within 5 years.
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The AJGA has very strict rules related to pace of play. The junior golfers who play in events that monitor US/World junior golf rankings, are aware of this.

I would like to see the high school programs emulate the pace of play rules that the AJGA has. But, that would require more volunteers and coaches.

AJGA Pace of Play
http://www.ajga.org/tourninfo/pace.asp

How it works


The Tournament Committee will designate six (6) holes on the course as timing station checkpoints. Typically, checkpoints will be on holes Nos. 2, 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17.

A volunteer will be stationed at the green of each timing checkpoint, using color-coded cards (green, single red or double red) to indicate a group’s gap time relative to the group in front of them and relation to the designated overall time par on the course. It is the responsibility of the player to know which cards they receive at all checkpoint holes.

Factors used to determine overall time par
Factors Used to Determine Overall Time Par
Overall time par is the amount of time in which the AJGA Tournament Committee expects all players to complete a round. This will be expressed on a per-hole basis and an overall time for 18 holes.


  • Size of the tournament field
  • Number of competitors in grouping
  • Single tee or two tee start and interval of time
  • Course marking (OB, Hazards, GUR)
  • Course set up (hole locations, yardage, rough)
  • Speed of the greens
  • Distance of walks from green to tee
  • Weather
  • Reachable Par 5s
  • Driveable Par 4s
  • Course conditions (hard/fast vs. soft/slow)
  • Number of Rules Officials to monitor play


Instructions to players

All players should take responsibility to ensure every member in the group is following the AJGA Pace of Play Guidelines.
1.) Realize your group is “on the clock” as soon as you play from the teeing ground on your first hole.
2.) Play ready golf throughout your entire round.

3.) MUST, MUST, MAY –

  • MUST – The first player to finish playing a hole MUST immediately grab their bag and start making their way to the next tee.
  • MUST – The player MUST also be the first person to play from the next teeing ground.
  • MAY – This player MAY tee off if they want to.
4.) When spotters, officials or parents are available to help search for a potentially lost ball, the AJGA recommends that the other players go forward to play his next shot or shots and HOLD THE GROUP'S POSITION ON THE GOLF COURSE.
5.) WALK WITH A PURPOSE between shots!

The green card and red card

The green card
A green card will be issued when a group is in position AND/OR within overall time par through that checkpoint.
The red card
A single red card will be issued when a group is out of position AND behind overall time par through that checkpoint. When a group receives a single red card, each member of the group will receive a red card (left) containing information filled out by the Rules Official.

Pace of play penalties
There are two types of penalties that may be assessed after a group receives a double red card:

  • Group penalty: A one-stroke penalty may be assessed to each member in the group if the group receives a double red card. Only an AJGA Rules Official will assess penalties.


  • Individual penalties: After a double red card, a one-stroke penalty may be assessed to a player(s) who has recorded bad times, who is not playing ready golf and/or is lacking effort to make up time.
Throughout the round, Rules Officials will collect data on players including slow-playing habits and bad times. A bad time is defined as taking more than 45 seconds to play a shot without distractions.
*A penalty stroke is added to the hole where the first red card was issued. Penalties will be confirmed with the group by an AJGA Rules Official and verified in the scoring area.


How to avoid a pace of play penalty (double red card)

To avoid a penalty situation following a single red card, a group must fulfill one of the following at its next checkpoint:

  • Regain position (gap time) with the group immediately ahead through next checkpoint (green card).
  • Make up enough time to be on or below overall time par through next checkpoint (green card).
  • Gain one minute on overall time par from single red card checkpoint to the following checkpoint (extending the single red card).
* If a group receives a red card at a checkpoint which is immediately preceding their final hole, and the final hole is played at or under overall time par, no penalty will be enforced.
Undue Delay
If a player records five (5) bad times during the round, they may receive a one-stroke penalty for undue delay. Players will be warned after receiving three (3) and four (4) bad times. A player may receive another penalty stroke if they record two (2) or more additional bad times.

*A penalty for undue delay can be issued whether or not a group has received a red card.
 
The problem isn't that they don't have a penalty system in place for slow play, it's the fact that they don't enforce it as often as they should.
 
I like the campaign -hopefully it will do something about slow play. I played the Ko'Olina course on Oahu yesterday morning and was fearful that it would be the typical resort round of 4.5 - 5 hours. The carts had GPS on them that would tell you to speed up anytime you fell behind. We had 2 guys in our foursome that shot over 100 and lost a bunch of balls and we finished in 3:50, with a stop for beers and sandwiches at the turn. I had only planned on playing once this week but now that I know I can be done by 11:00 am, I'm playing 2 more rounds which means an extra $300 revenue for the course. I was surprised when the GPS warned us that we had fallen more than a hole behind on the 8th hole when we wre only 90 minutes into our round. Maybe all courses could issue a gps device to each golfer and use a similar warning system. I do think the biggest challenge in speeding up play is slow players don't think they are slow.
 
People being taught better pace of play etiquette will certainly help, but the problem will never go away as long as courses still employ rangers who do nothing and book tee times 5 minutes apart. Any models the USGA throws its money at creating can't do anything about laziness and greed.
 
Nice to see them at least addressing the issue, and using humour to do so. A long way to go, but its a start.
 
I think a lot of it has to do with attitude. People think they can take as long as they want because they paid for the round or they don't get out much so they want to enjoy it or something. Then you have people who are just flat out rude who take 25 minutes at the turn or talk on their cell phones in the middle of the fairway. So I am not sure how much this will help.
 
I like and hope it get the message across to the countless slow holders on the planet
 
Tadashi70 said:
I like and hope it get the message across to the countless slow holders on the planet
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I hope they were playing them when Webb was tying up his boots this morning.
 
Canadan said:
I am a huge fan of this initiative.



ready golf and Tee it forward are things I encourage every time I hit the course. I wish it was plastered on every tee box.
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Agree. I took the pledge ( as far as I could tell I was about #446), even though I'm not a slow player by any stretch of the imagination.
 
I liked the one with Clint and the one with Tiger putting is ironic since he is soooooo sloooooow putting.
 
I'm impressed by the USGA's sense of direction here. Starting with us everyday hackers to get the word across should go a long way to fixing the pro's slow play! :alien:
 
Some of them have been pretty funny.
 
Seeing these for the first time today and I really like what they're doing here. Yesterday played a round at TPC sawgrass that lasted a smooth 5:15min. Luckily we were enjoying our time there.
 
I like it! My Wednesday night match play league has been averaging 2hr 45mins. It's f'ing ridiculous.
 
Instead of "mashed potatoes" people need to yell "while we're young" at some slower pros.
 
I'd just like to know one thing sarcastically speaking.

Its never ourselves and never anyone we ever speak to, never anyone on the forums, never anyone we know, or anyone they know, and never anyone who complains about it,...... so who are these imaginary mysterious slow people that keep bothering all of us if its never any of us or anyone we know or anyone that knows them?? and where are they???
 
blugold said:
Instead of "mashed potatoes" people need to yell "while we're young" at some slower pros.
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I'll bet that will come at some point.......
 
rollin said:
I'd just like to know one thing sarcastically speaking.

Its never ourselves and never anyone we ever speak to, never anyone on the forums, never anyone we know, or anyone they know, and never anyone who complains about it,...... so who are these imaginary mysterious slow people that keep bothering all of us if its never any of us or anyone we know or anyone that knows them?? and where are they???
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I know plenty. They all think I'm joking when I tell them to hurry the $%^& up.
 
blugold said:
I'm sorry. But this campaign may be funny. But it won't do a thing.
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It has to start somewhere. The first step in solving just about any such problem is raising awareness, and most slow players don't even know that they are slow, or at least they don't realize that there are just a few simple things they could do to be a bit less lethargic in their on course acts. Once the average player is actually aware of the issue, then you can start educating him on the finer points of good pace of play.
 
blugold said:
Instead of "mashed potatoes" people need to yell "while we're young" at some slower pros.
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Wish I could have given you about a dozen "Thanks" for this one. :thankyou:
 
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