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How often do you see a Ranger/Marshall?

Don´t see them very often, but whenever I do I apreciate it. Its not a "job" I would like as I don´t see myself having the patience for it. If I were to have a problem with a marshall I´d probably try and sort it out or just call the clubhouse.
 
Smallville said:
A question for those who see marshalls not doing their job as you think they should do: Do you address this with the golf pro? Or just complain about it to people who can't do anything about it (like the people in your group).

Maybe they are doing what they are told because that was the instruction they got from the golf pro. You need to let the person in charge know you aren't happy about it or things will never change. Maybe they need to get new marshalls, may be that means the pro needs to give them new instructions.
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It comes down to management. Our local course has poor management. The pro listens to complaints and does nothing from poor watering of the greens to pace of play he just listens and doesn't care. The members have complained about the pin locations all year and they haven't changed all year, you can see some ridiculous ones where they are on slants and everything just sometimes unfair.
 
One public course that I play (North Fulton/Chastain in Atlanta) can have some serious backup issues. Often times, the marshals are not on the course and are usually at the first tee. (They do an excellent job of getting groups off on time -- the course gets a lot of play.) I usually play early and miss the crowds, but the few times that I have noticed ridiculous backups, I've called the pro shop and someone has been out within about 10-15 minutes. Not to bad for a muni...

Here's another question for the board: A couple weeks ago I was playing in a foursome at a local (public) course. A twosome went in front of us, and there was a foursome behind us. We kept pace with the foursome, and the twosome (as you would expect) was long gone after about two holes. Throughout the round, though, there was a marshal pushing us every 3-4 holes. At first, he mentioned that there were a couple holes between us and the group in front of us (the twosome). When I asked him if he expected us to keep pace with the twosome, he told me that we needed to keep a "general" pace that we were not on. (Full disclosure: we played in about 4:10)

Apart from one par 3, the group behind us never waited. I'm still aggravated about the marshal -- enough to not return to the course. Anyone else had the same experience?
 
I see the marshall pretty much any time I play a weekend round. Usually in the morning he is on the #1 tee letting groups know of any changes to the course and reminding folks of the 90* rule. As the day progresses I usually see him once or twice making his rounds and occasionally asking folks to pick up the pace.

For the most part my experience has always been pleasant. There was the one time that I was told to "pick up the pace", when truthfully we were about 5 minutes ahead of the recommended pace. Sometimes I wonder about the obsession with others' pace, getting stacked up on Par 3s can be a pain, but I try enjoy the entire experience even if it takes 5+ hours. Slow pace means more intake of Aiming Oil of the beer varietal. :clapp:
 
Starter has mentioned this mythical creature, "The Ranger", but I have yet to see him.
 
ATLGolfer said:
One public course that I play (North Fulton/Chastain in Atlanta) can have some serious backup issues. Often times, the marshals are not on the course and are usually at the first tee. (They do an excellent job of getting groups off on time -- the course gets a lot of play.) I usually play early and miss the crowds, but the few times that I have noticed ridiculous backups, I've called the pro shop and someone has been out within about 10-15 minutes. Not to bad for a muni...

Here's another question for the board: A couple weeks ago I was playing in a foursome at a local (public) course. A twosome went in front of us, and there was a foursome behind us. We kept pace with the foursome, and the twosome (as you would expect) was long gone after about two holes. Throughout the round, though, there was a marshal pushing us every 3-4 holes. At first, he mentioned that there were a couple holes between us and the group in front of us (the twosome). When I asked him if he expected us to keep pace with the twosome, he told me that we needed to keep a "general" pace that we were not on. (Full disclosure: we played in about 4:10)

Apart from one par 3, the group behind us never waited. I'm still aggravated about the marshal -- enough to not return to the course. Anyone else had the same experience?
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Just goes to show that there are idiots in every job...LOL. Good case of a marshall without a clue. I would say you did fine time wise.....maybe a little long, but not by much.
 
Thechosen1 said:
It comes down to management. Our local course has poor management. The pro listens to complaints and does nothing from poor watering of the greens to pace of play he just listens and doesn't care. The members have complained about the pin locations all year and they haven't changed all year, you can see some ridiculous ones where they are on slants and everything just sometimes unfair.
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At most courses I have played over the years the pro does not have any say in pin placement or watering on the greens. This is the responsibility of the head greens keeper. I agree about pin positioning I have seen pins in places I doubt a pro could get to and make a putt over 3 feet. I keep telling the head guy that they need to put pins in places that the green is fairly level around the hole, not on a slope which happens all to often. One course I used to play at I knew the guy who placed the pins and he used to laugh about where he put them. Thought it was funny.
 
I think in some cases, not all cases but some, the courses are in a tough situation. Many are just getting by and many are in the red. They hate to turn away business and this results in the course being overloaded. No excuse for marshalls doing nothing about slow play, but as I've said many times before, I would do all you can to avoid peak times.

I'm not sure what the answer is to some of this, but I tend to just go with the flow if I choose to play at peak times and the course is busy. Takes a little give and take from both the slow groups and the fast groups. Things at my course are done by the board, which is made up of longtime members. We meet once a month and talk about complaints, issues on the course etc. The pro/owner likes the idea of getting the thoughts of others who have an interest in the course. He has final say on everything, but he likes involving others in some of the things that are policy. We have complaint cards that are handed out when someone is unhappy about something, whether it is conditions, slow play, pins placements etc. It is a good way of knowing what people are thinking.

I'm very happy to live and play in an area where we just don't have many on course issues.
 
prior to the new management taking over our course there were literally tons of marshals
im talking about most of the senior league guys were marshals
so 20-30 guys were working(volunteering) an hour or two and getting all the free golf they wanted... these guys played ever frikken day since they were old and retired
half of them took the job seriously. pace of play, keep ppl out of the woods teeboxes greens with carts, trash, water, broken tees
the other half were ball hawkers, nappers, proshop seat warmers, grillroom flirters etc
now that the new management has taken over everyone is gone from top to bottom that really doesnt "work" with the new situation
during the season we have full time starters and a marshal dependent on how many teetimes are in the books for that day
if the day is pretty light the starter and marshal might be the same person
on completely dead days (bad weather) we wont have anyone outside and the proshop becomes the starter/marshal
which kinda sucks cuz there is no way i can see out on the course if some jerk is 4wheeling on a cartpath only day
off season we are still open for play but at a skeleton crew

most courses in this particular area whether muni semi-private private have severely cut on course staff
and quite a few courses the starter is the guy behind the counter and the marshal is the cart guy/ range guy/ outside guy
heck we've even gotten the beer cart person to marshal (keep an eye out for jerks driving carts on greens etc)

what gets me is the essence of golf is self policing... calling penalties on yourself etc etc
its not just about counting strokes but all the rules of golf
including etiquette(not letting ppl play thru)
course rules
not driving the carts onto greens/woods/tees
it amazes me how many ppl dump all over that essence of the game we all love
 
I agree russ. I posted this in another reply from the USGA webpage;

"Unlike many sports, golf is played, for the most part, without the supervision of a referee or umpire. The game relies on the integrity of the individual to show consideration for other players and to abide by the Rules. All players should conduct themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and sportsmanship at all times, irrespective of how competitive they may be. This is the spirit of the game of golf".

Pretty simple rules to live by on and off the course.
 
yeah thats basically the essence of a golfer and it just amazes me how many that play the game dont follow these simple rules

oh and a word about course pros
alot and i mean alot of course pros dont have any say whatsoever in the management of or say so in course day to days
heck several of the course pros at our course do exactly what i do except i dont teach/give lessons
they stage clean and put away carts... pick the range... run the proshop desk... inventory... etc etc
if you are going to complain to someone you have to talk to decision makers lol
 
I've actually been a bit disappointed in my course in this respect, it seems like they just go off a tee sheet and don't even follow up to see where people are and how pace is going. Sorry should have put this in the rant thread!!!
 
Never? I had never encountered one until we played in Florida. Only then did we have someone that went to the first tee with us but no one checked on us during the round. I guess we kept up with the pace of play well enough.
 
Never seen a ranger. I've played some upscale courses that supposedly have them but never seen one...
 
Never on my home course. The pro shop keeps an eye on turn times. I don't even know if one is employed.

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ghsace said:
$$$ issues at my home course - can't pay the ranger. Thus, haven't seen him all year.
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Think that's a big issue with a lot of courses. Most course I pay to play are usually $60 or less to play and either never see on because there isn't one or they have it where the employee is a starter during busy times and a ranger during when there are not a lot of people teeing off.

The course I use to work at though, when playing I would see the marshall/ranger a few times a round. They always had at least one on the course and during hot, busy days they would have another guy come in. It was a private course that basically had unlimited money.
 
I see a Marshall about very 3 holes. In my area every course has seniors who volunteer and get free golf for it. They still don't tend to tell people to let the group play through
 
Most courses that I play around here have rangers that are very visible - some are effective and others are clearly just riding around in a cart for the free golf.
 
My course has no marshall. The only time we even have a starter is the occasional weekend morning.
 
Never! One of the downfalls of my home course...whoever is working the pro shop is the starter...and they just look out the window and say, "youre behind that 3 some" or something like that....it didn't used to be a big deal but there are alot of older members that will grab a cart and just drive out and find an open hole and start from there if there is a wait on the first tee, and I am sorry that just pisses me off...I am a member too...but I make tee times and show up for them...I don't just go to the course on a weekend and expect to walk on and play right away...that's what tee times are for!!

A few weeks ago me and 2 buddies have the 7:30am tee time..so we are first off....we play the first 3 holes and round the corner headed to the 4th tee and there is a 4 some teeing off!! I reconginzed them as all older members that play a regular game on the weekends...but a group of 10 had gotten tee times...2 fivesomes and since this group never gets a tee time they would have been behind the 2 fivesomes...so they just jumped in front of us!

As soon as the last guy hit I told one of the guys I know pretty well, that they needed to let us hit and go ahead since we were first off and there was 3 of us and we would be pushing them....they didn't argue and we played on ahead and they never caught us....but geez I would never thing to JUMP to the 4th hole to start...I really wish they would enforce tee times at least on weekends and holidays.
 
I only see rangers on the cheaper quality courses and they rush everyone trying to pack as many people on the course as possible
 
I have been playing in NorCal for the past few months and some of the courses do the greatest thing. They have lots of "volunteers" for rangers and odds and ends help around the course and they get cheap golf. That would solve the money problem. But I don't see them out on the course that often. Only to check and make sure you paid at the first tee.
 
almost never, unless it's our group that is playing slow. ha! payed with two beginnners and we were "kevin na and ben crane" slow. But, they were not jerks about it. just his presence helped the beginners speed up.
 
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