What causes slow play?
What is the primary reason for slow play?
So many people neglect lessons and range practice and they just walk on.
That in combination with taking zillions of shots and not knowing when to pick up on a hole can ruin a round and the whole day for that matter..
That in combination with taking zillions of shots and not knowing when to pick up on a hole can ruin a round and the whole day for that matter..
Golfers who aren’t ready to play on the course
I took this to mean players who aren't ready when it's their turn to hit and then have to go through their entire routine instead already having that all done.
Reading putts from 360° and using a protractor
Especially when their first putt is from 80 feet away. That then turns into 30 feet (picking up their ball, marking the spot, cleaning it, lining it up), followed by 10 feet (picking up their ball, marking the spot, cleaning it, replacing it), followed by almost tap in range but they still insist on picking up their ball, marking the spot, cleaning it, replacing it, and then tapping in.
I took this to mean players who aren't ready when it's their turn to hit and then have to go through their entire routine instead already having that all done.
Reading putts from 360° and using a protractor
Especially when their first putt is from 80 feet away. That then turns into 30 feet (picking up their ball, marking the spot, cleaning it, lining it up), followed by 10 feet (picking up their ball, marking the spot, cleaning it, replacing it), followed by almost tap in range but they still insist on picking up their ball, marking the spot, cleaning it, replacing it, and then tapping in.
"Usually" unawareness & improper on course knowledge.
Inconsiderate people plain and simple.
I know a lot of people go out to golf to enjoy nature or get out of the house. You see your buddies or meet new people, but you don't need to have a full on therapy session out on the course.
1. It is OK to pick up your ball if you are lying 8 and are 200 yds away from the green. The notion that you have to keep detailed score of all of your shots is annoying.
2. More people should play match play so if you are out of a hole you can move on.
3. Both of you have legs, use them. There is no reason to drive from 1 ball to the next to hit shots. Park and go to each of your balls. Play ready. Not hard.
There are a ton of other examples but if you paid $100 to see the course guess what, so did everyone else. Have some consideration for other people.
I know a lot of people go out to golf to enjoy nature or get out of the house. You see your buddies or meet new people, but you don't need to have a full on therapy session out on the course.
1. It is OK to pick up your ball if you are lying 8 and are 200 yds away from the green. The notion that you have to keep detailed score of all of your shots is annoying.
2. More people should play match play so if you are out of a hole you can move on.
3. Both of you have legs, use them. There is no reason to drive from 1 ball to the next to hit shots. Park and go to each of your balls. Play ready. Not hard.
There are a ton of other examples but if you paid $100 to see the course guess what, so did everyone else. Have some consideration for other people.
I'll add: Not thinking about the next shot until the cart stops or until it's their turn. I have family that plays occasionally and they won't pick out their club or line up a putt until its their turn or be oblivious as to when it is their turn. You can use your range finder/GPS app or look for a sprinkler head while someone is hitting, plus read your putt while someone is hitting their next shot.
Most of the time I think it's people who don't know proper golf etiquette or the concept of "ready golf".
- Guys leave their cart/push cart on the side of the green where their ball went to rather than nearer to the next tee box
- Stand around or sit in their cart until it's their turn to hit, rather than going to their ball and being ready to hit when it's their turn
- Reading the green like they're on the 18th at Augusta just to miss that 3 foot putt
- Waiting for the group ahead to get on the green or hole out even if the green is 100+ yards beyond their range off the tee.
I could go on....
- Thread starter
- #8
D’oh I knew I’d miss a point in the poll! Welp I tried. I generally avoid the 8 minute tee time interval courses around here. Pace is usually poor at all of them.
HSO: I think all golfers should have to take an on course assessment w/ a local professional to improve their current golf IQ & ultimately would have to pass a series of "tests" to get approved to play. They do this in some European countries already. Knowledge is power.Most of the time I think it's people who don't know proper golf etiquette or the concept of "ready golf".
- Guys leave their cart/push cart on the side of the green where their ball went to rather than nearer to the next tee box
- Stand around or sit in their cart until it's their turn to hit, rather than going to their ball and being ready to hit when it's their turn
- Reading the green like they're on the 18th at Augusta just to miss that 3 foot putt
- Waiting for the group ahead to get on the green or hole out even if the green is 100+ yards beyond their range off the tee.
I could go on....
SlightDraw
Well-known member
Course tries to book as many tee times as possible
I think all of those reasons contribute to slow play. If a multiple of those apply to a single group it will slow it down for everyone out there that day.
If I pay $80 to $100 and it's the first time I have gotten out in a month, I'm going to enjoy it. I am still considerate to other golfers but I'm not going to feel rushed and have my day ruined.
I'm not on the course to run from shot to shot and break time records. I'm there to have fun.
Easily the most overblown topic on these boards.
I'm not on the course to run from shot to shot and break time records. I'm there to have fun.
Easily the most overblown topic on these boards.
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There are so many reasons.
What I see out there is everyone thinks they are Bryson DeChambeau and take all day reading the green like they are in the US Open. I mean you probably are not making that 15 footer, so go up hit the ball, and take your 2 putts. Plus, everyone thinks they can reach all par 5's in two. They wait when over 250 out for the green to clear only to hit the ball 100 to 150-yard shank.
I like to play ready golf. Get up there and hit the ball, go to the next shot, swing ONE practice swing, and hit the ball. On the green, give it a check to see the angle and only if time due to another person putting or hitting, you should walk to the other side to see. Otherwise, hit the dam ball. I have a theme, don't I?
What I see out there is everyone thinks they are Bryson DeChambeau and take all day reading the green like they are in the US Open. I mean you probably are not making that 15 footer, so go up hit the ball, and take your 2 putts. Plus, everyone thinks they can reach all par 5's in two. They wait when over 250 out for the green to clear only to hit the ball 100 to 150-yard shank.
I like to play ready golf. Get up there and hit the ball, go to the next shot, swing ONE practice swing, and hit the ball. On the green, give it a check to see the angle and only if time due to another person putting or hitting, you should walk to the other side to see. Otherwise, hit the dam ball. I have a theme, don't I?
- Thread starter
- #14
That’s sort of my thought. I don’t want to play 5 hour rounds, but I plan as if the round will be 5 hours. What’s the point if you’re rushing to finish? I wish more people would see it that way although I also wish courses would stop packing their tee sheets.
- Thread starter
- #15
Sheesh I have two guys I play with who are both slllooooow for different reasons. The one guy thinks he’s a pro and takes so many practice swings I get sore just watching and the other one just isn’t situationally aware and doesn’t play ready golf. It’s interesting. Brutal when they play together though!There are so many reasons.
What I see out there is everyone thinks they are Bryson DeChambeau and take all day reading the green like they are in the US Open. I mean you probably are not making that 15 footer, so go up hit the ball, and take your 2 putts. Plus, everyone thinks they can reach all par 5's in two. They wait when over 250 out for the green to clear only to hit the ball 100 to 150-yard shank.
I like to play ready golf. Get up there and hit the ball, go to the next shot, swing ONE practice swing, and hit the ball. On the green, give it a check to see the angle and only if time due to another person putting or hitting, you should walk to the other side to see. Otherwise, hit the dam ball. I have a theme, don't I?
As long as you are keeping up with the group ahead of you take all the time you want. When there are one or two holes open ahead of your group then your group is the problem. Everyone out there has paid for an enjoyable round. Don't be THAT guy.
This.
The green is by far the worst spot but I've seen some ridiculously long preshot routines in the fairway as well.
Round I played last week, group ahead took 20minutes to complete the first hole, half of that must have been on the green.
we should have skipped them there.
Rusty Dave
#staffproto
People think they’re on the tour.
Others are just oblivious and some just don’t care.
Others are just oblivious and some just don’t care.
- Thread starter
- #19
What if you’re on pace?
Nobody said you have to run shot to shot. if you keep up with the group in front of you, the only thing you can do, then you are on pace. If you lose a ball and go searching then catch back up with pace you are fine. The issue is with folks that think their time is more important than others. If you lose 2 balls a hole and then wait in the cart until someone else hits then drive over to that ball then that is slow. You can do your preshot routine, take pictures, get drinks from the beer cart and still keep pace. I know a lot of people want 3 hr rounds but I expect closer to 4 than 5. If I am in the first few tee times I expect 3.
This is one that is polarizing. If the scorecard says its a 4:30 pace and the group in front of you plays in 4:00 and you come in at 4:30 then I see it as a problem. I know there are some that don't but to me that is excessive. What the group behind you sees is that there is open space in front of you.
From my own limited observations, I'd rank them as:
1. Golfers not being ready to hit when it's their turn. Everyone stops for one person to hit, when in fact each person could be going to their own ball, selecting a club, and getting ready. I think this is the biggest culprit. Just go to your ball and be ready. If in a cart, drop off the nearest person at their ball, taking additional clubs they might need, then the other person drives on to theirs.
2. Players taking way too long looking for lost balls. Gotta know when to give up and play on. This gets compounded when the entire foursome gets embroiled in an extended search. I know helping comes with the best of friendly intentions, but it means that NO ONE ends up being ready to hit. This isn't about ability -- we all lose balls. You can play poorly and still keep up with the group ahead.
3. Players with consistently long pre-shot routines. Talking several practice swings, stepping away, etc. I don't see this as often, although I can think of a couple of people I've played with in the past that could get like this at times.
4. Extended conferences on the green. Every once in a while you run into a group ahead that look like they are negotiating complicated trade agreements on the greens. It can't possibly just be about who's away, can it?
5. This should rank higher, but courses that are unwilling to educate players on efficient play (or enforce it). You don't need to rush to play at a good pace, but there ARE some best practices to avoid clogging up the course. Clubs are sometimes afraid that enforcing those things might drive away customers.
You don't need everyone playing like this to have a slow round. All it takes is one group playing like this, and not letting faster groups through. They become a bottleneck on the entire course as groups get stacked up behind them.
I've learned to avoid courses with overly tight tee times, but I'd list that as well if I still played courses where that was the case.
1. Golfers not being ready to hit when it's their turn. Everyone stops for one person to hit, when in fact each person could be going to their own ball, selecting a club, and getting ready. I think this is the biggest culprit. Just go to your ball and be ready. If in a cart, drop off the nearest person at their ball, taking additional clubs they might need, then the other person drives on to theirs.
2. Players taking way too long looking for lost balls. Gotta know when to give up and play on. This gets compounded when the entire foursome gets embroiled in an extended search. I know helping comes with the best of friendly intentions, but it means that NO ONE ends up being ready to hit. This isn't about ability -- we all lose balls. You can play poorly and still keep up with the group ahead.
3. Players with consistently long pre-shot routines. Talking several practice swings, stepping away, etc. I don't see this as often, although I can think of a couple of people I've played with in the past that could get like this at times.
4. Extended conferences on the green. Every once in a while you run into a group ahead that look like they are negotiating complicated trade agreements on the greens. It can't possibly just be about who's away, can it?
5. This should rank higher, but courses that are unwilling to educate players on efficient play (or enforce it). You don't need to rush to play at a good pace, but there ARE some best practices to avoid clogging up the course. Clubs are sometimes afraid that enforcing those things might drive away customers.
You don't need everyone playing like this to have a slow round. All it takes is one group playing like this, and not letting faster groups through. They become a bottleneck on the entire course as groups get stacked up behind them.
I've learned to avoid courses with overly tight tee times, but I'd list that as well if I still played courses where that was the case.
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- Thread starter
- #23
Yea generally I see pace as 4 and a few of the courses I favor do as well. I figure as long as you’re within the course’s guidelines, that’s what defines slow play.
I can understand but personally I'm okay as long as I'm on pace or less. As for what I call my slow playing partner were were out first as a threesome on my most recent golf trip and came in at just over 3 hours with a 20 minute rain delay. What I learned is the course difficulty plays a huge part where there is way too much trouble. In my opinion I feel like after my last trip it's more on the course then people. Our slower rounds which were still only about 4 hours came when there was a lot of trouble in play on first and second shots.
Play ready golf! It's just that simple. Too many people watch too many players on Tour & want to emulate them. I get it to a point, but you're not putting for millions of dollars. When it's your turn, hit the damn ball. Even if it's not your turn, hit when it's clear. Don't worry about "honor" or "who's away" … if you're ready, hit it. That's one thing that I tell every group I play with at some point early in the round. "Don't worry about honor with me …. if you're ready, hit away." Especially if someone gets to the tee box before me, by all means, go ahead. The only thing I won't do is hit before a birdie or better.
Oh …. & BTW …. you can go first on all par 3's. "Oh, what did you hit there?"
Oh …. & BTW …. you can go first on all par 3's. "Oh, what did you hit there?"