Great test round at my Home course.

[coolbreeze]

I was at my home course on friday and I see a sign up sheet on the counter with a header that says "I believe that golf should be played in under 4 hours". You could then sign up for the day that they are going to do a test day and see if it is easily possible to go through a whole day with every round under 4 hours. Love this idea! Play at my course has gotten really really slow lately as it is the best winter course in the area due to having the best drainage and 2 feet of sand under the whole course so golfers from all the other courses in the area whose courses have become sloppy are now playing there frequently and they are slowing play considerably causing a lot of us members to complain about these 5 and a half hour rounds.

Just thought this is an interesting test and glad that I am not the only one in the area who thinks that golf has become too slow.

 

[Ole Gray]

I was at my home course on friday and I see a sign up sheet on the counter with a header that says "I believe that golf should be played in under 4 hours". You could then sign up for the day that they are going to do a test day and see if it is easily possible to go through a whole day with every round under 4 hours. Love this idea! Play at my course has gotten really really slow lately as it is the best winter course in the area due to having the best drainage and 2 feet of sand under the whole course so golfers from all the other courses in the area whose courses have become sloppy are now playing there frequently and they are slowing play considerably causing a lot of us members to complain about these 5 and a half hour rounds.

Just thought this is an interesting test and glad that I am not the only one in the area who thinks that golf has become too slow.

I am with ya Cool. I play better when on the move and when the action comes to a crawl, my tempo for some reason speeds up when I do get over the ball :confused2:. As long as the pace is moving fairly quickly my tempo slows back down to my rythm in my head. I guess I get antsy when the going get's slow and when it's finally my time to hit, I rush it.

 

[Canio]

I am with ya Cool. I play better when on the move and when the action comes to a crawl, my tempo for some reason speeds up when I do get over the ball :confused2:. As long as the pace is moving fairly quickly my tempo slows back down to my rythm in my head. I guess I get antsy when the going get's slow and when it's finally my time to hit, I rush it.

I'm the same as you Gray. I guess I think that if I play faster, the other slowpokes with follow suit. Doesn't work and MY game suffers! I hate, Hate, HATE playing slow rounds. I like to play a round in about 3 1/4- 3 1/2 hrs. 4 hrs is just barely tolerable. 5-6 hrs. Smoke starts to come out of my ears! If you're in my group, don't even think about taking 6-7 practice swings! I kid slow players to 'please don't use the pendulum method from the fairway!'

 

[Sean]

IMHO the pace of play issue is a problem more brought on by the golf courses then the players. Many courses have eight minutes between tee times. Really? A foursome of single digits would have a problem finishing a hole in that time. And people wonder why courses get backed up? Of course golf courses want to cram as many golfers in as possible for the revenue. A realistic spread would be twenty minutes, but that will never happen.

Sure, some golfers play slow, but eight minutes between tee times plays a role too.

 

[JNRadio]

IMHO the pace of play issue is a problem more brought on by the golf courses then the players. Many courses have eight minutes between tee times. Really? A foursome of single digits would have a problem finishing a hole in that time. And people wonder why courses get backed up? Of course golf courses want to cram as many golfers in as possible for the revenue. A realistic spread would be twenty minutes, but that will never happen.

Sure, some golfers play slow, but eight minutes between tee times plays a role too.

You don't have to finish the hole in eight minutes... just have to have hitten your 2nd shots in 8 minutes and be out of range so the other group can tee off

 

[Sean]

I know. But that's still not enough time IMHO.

 

[SprayTech]

I think how a course is set up has much to do with slow play also , most amature's can't hit out of 3-6 " rough , or hitting narrow fairways , 3-6" rough around the greens , this leads to many lost balls that slow the game up due to everyone trying to find the damn ball !
Courses think people should play a course the way Pro's want it set up.
Plus no one knows how to play ready golf anymore its everyone goes to the shortest ball off the T and watches him hit then its off to the next guys , bla bla .
Plus the mental attitude that "I payed my money I'll take all damn day if I want , I've got all day "!
Then the guys that want to hunt balls around every water hazard they come to .
Dont get me started .....

My buddy that owns the 9 holer I play all the time is going to try something next spring , hes cutting the grass everywhere at fairway height , and keep track of times , he thinks it will speed each T time by 15-30 minutes . when you can see your ball land and can see it from a ways off , it should speed things up .

 

[bogey_russ]

I think how a course is set up has much to do with slow play also , most amature's can't hit out of 3-6 " rough , or hitting narrow fairways , 3-6" rough around the greens , this leads to many lost balls that slow the game up due to everyone trying to find the damn ball !
Courses think people should play a course the way Pro's want it set up.
Plus no one knows how to play ready golf anymore its everyone goes to the shortest ball off the T and watches him hit then its off to the next guys , bla bla .
Plus the mental attitude that "I payed my money I'll take all damn day if I want , I've got all day "!
Then the guys that want to hunt balls around every water hazard they come to .
Dont get me started .....

My buddy that owns the 9 holer I play all the time is going to try something next spring , hes cutting the grass everywhere at fairway height , and keep track of times , he thinks it will speed each T time by 15-30 minutes . when you can see your ball land and can see it from a ways off , it should speed things up .

the course right next to my house pretty much has no rough and its impossible to lose a ball unless you hit into someones back yard that has a big dog... pace of play there is still brutal
most of it is due to the bottlenecked traffic situations(slow guys with early teetimes) and the course being packed all the time
oh yeah that and the fact that its considered by locals to be a "beginners" course

courses walk a fine line when they pack it with ppl but the pace becomes over 5 hours... gain business by getting a ton of ppl on... but lose business cuz PoP is so slow you cant fit anymore ppl on the course
plus you turn off a few ppl... ive heard "you guys have one of the better courses in the area but i wont play there because play is too slow" or "when are you gonna get more marshals to speed things up"

 

[SprayTech]

It also helps my buddy is 6' 11 &1/2" tall and weighs in at about 320 , but no one usually gives him grief as hes one nice guy and everyone knows him , been there for 26 years now .
Hes always out on the course riding around and talking to people asking how things are going , he also has a cart full of balls and if some one has lost theirs he will throw them a ball and say sorry you lost one .

 

[bogey_russ]

It also helps my buddy is 6' 11 &1/2" tall and weighs in at about 320 , but no one usually gives him grief as hes one nice guy and everyone knows him , been there for 26 years now .
Hes always out on the course riding around and talking to people asking how things are going , he also has a cart full of balls and if some one has lost theirs he will throw them a ball and say sorry you lost one .

dude thats awesome... love boss's like that

 

[Hawk]

I played at a really nice course in Indiana this summer that was giving away free food or drinks for rounds finished in less than 4:15. The starter gave us a paper that had our start time and the time we needed to finish by. I was pretty confident we'd make it. Turns out the four groups ahead of us were not interested in free stuff. We didn't even get close.

I don't think 8 minute tee times is as much a problem as lack of marshaling. Around here, the marshals are really just retired guys that need something to do and they don't care. There is one course that times you and it moves pretty quick.

 

[TC]

I think how a course is set up has much to do with slow play also , most amature's can't hit out of 3-6 " rough , or hitting narrow fairways , 3-6" rough around the greens , this leads to many lost balls that slow the game up due to everyone trying to find the damn ball !
Courses think people should play a course the way Pro's want it set up.
Plus no one knows how to play ready golf anymore its everyone goes to the shortest ball off the T and watches him hit then its off to the next guys , bla bla .
Plus the mental attitude that "I payed my money I'll take all damn day if I want , I've got all day "!
Then the guys that want to hunt balls around every water hazard they come to .
Dont get me started .....

My buddy that owns the 9 holer I play all the time is going to try something next spring , hes cutting the grass everywhere at fairway height , and keep track of times , he thinks it will speed each T time by 15-30 minutes . when you can see your ball land and can see it from a ways off , it should speed things up .

i think you hit on some good points:

1. roughs do need to be trimmed down, or like your buddy is doing, non existent. check out Tiburon where the shark shootout was, no rough around the greens. i love the idea.

2. it's a lot of the golf courses fault. most rangers i've seen could give a flip, and when they do know that it's the one group holding everything up, they do little about it for fear of pissing someone off.

3. i roll with the punches on the course. i don't like really slow play but it doesn't really bother me either.

 

[JNRadio]

I played at a really nice course in Indiana this summer that was giving away free food or drinks for rounds finished in less than 4:15. The starter gave us a paper that had our start time and the time we needed to finish by. I was pretty confident we'd make it. Turns out the four groups ahead of us were not interested in free stuff. We didn't even get close.

I don't think 8 minute tee times is as much a problem as lack of marshaling. Around here, the marshals are really just retired guys that need something to do and they don't care. There is one course that times you and it moves pretty quick.

one group can ruin it for everyone, ditto for most of the marshalls at the courses around here... retirees just looking for free golf. it doesn't take much just a little "can you pick it up guys you're backing up the course" a little shame goes a long way.

Best course around here for enforcing PoP is course at Rutgers University, they warn you once, move you up a hole the 2nd time, the third time you are off the course. I love that policy...

 

[Tmex]

This is why Paul Casey likes us.

I get people get annoyed and I do myself at times but I'm really learning that in order to be real good, you have to be able to play in any type of condition. Slow play has really rattled me lately but I'm learning to get over it and play my game.

i think you hit on some good points:

1. roughs do need to be trimmed down, or like your buddy is doing, non existent. check out Tiburon where the shark shootout was, no rough around the greens. i love the idea.

2. it's a lot of the golf courses fault. most rangers i've seen could give a flip, and when they do know that it's the one group holding everything up, they do little about it for fear of pissing someone off.

3. i roll with the punches on the course. i don't like really slow play but it doesn't really bother me either.[/QUOTE]

 

[bogey_russ]

I played at a really nice course in Indiana this summer that was giving away free food or drinks for rounds finished in less than 4:15. The starter gave us a paper that had our start time and the time we needed to finish by. I was pretty confident we'd make it. Turns out the four groups ahead of us were not interested in free stuff. We didn't even get close.

I don't think 8 minute tee times is as much a problem as lack of marshaling. Around here, the marshals are really just retired guys that need something to do and they don't care. There is one course that times you and it moves pretty quick.

there are a few courses ive played with gps in all their carts
the gps will tell you the PoP and if you get behind it will remind you to pick up the pace... if it gets bad an you are holding up groups behind you a marshal will come around and ask you to pick up or let ppl play thru... i love those courses

 

[Hawk]

there are a few courses ive played with gps in all their carts
the gps will tell you the PoP and if you get behind it will remind you to pick up the pace... if it gets bad an you are holding up groups behind you a marshal will come around and ask you to pick up or let ppl play thru... i love those courses

Me too. The only problem is the one that has them around here is a 40 minute drive for me, so the time all equals out.

 

[bogey_russ]

Me too. The only problem is the one that has them around here is a 40 minute drive for me, so the time all equals out.

hahah... yeah i didnt even figure that into the equation... plus the ones with gps are pretty pricey

 

[Super Tuna]

If you don't mind me asking Cool Breeze, which course is it? I've found that Victoria is way better then Vancouver for pace of play. Cedar Hill was the only one I've really gotten bogged down on due all the deer that day.

 

[coolbreeze]

If you don't mind me asking Cool Breeze, which course is it? I've found that Victoria is way better then Vancouver for pace of play. Cedar Hill was the only one I've really gotten bogged down on due all the deer that day.

My home course and the one I'm talking about is Cordova Bay golf course. I love how this has evolved into a conversation about improving pace of play. I do find that the pace of play here is faster than in Vancouver but I hate 5 hour rounds wherever I am. There have been some good points here about how to improve round times but I think when it comes down to it, it's the golfers playing and the marshalls. If the group ahead has fallen behind a hole and a half then have them speed up quickly or get them off the course.