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playing with someone who is a pace problem

rollin

rollin

"Just playin golf pally"
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firstly let me say the round was not the worst nor certainly was it not the longest of rounds. In the end it took us just under 440. Now im not one to complain much about playing 430 but that's only when Im not in the group causing it and the worst part was on this course (easiest and shortest of my county courses) it shouldn't ever take more than 4. maybe 415 on a weekend. But 440 on this course with no one in front? this was pain for me. Not only was it pain but I cannot stand being the group holding things up. I cant play well when Im embarrassed from being the slow group.

It was all this one individual. Everything he did was like watching paint dry. he just had no clue, idea, nor concern for moveing with any sense of urgency whatsoever. the rest of his group wasnt quite as bad but also did noting at all to help. I was spending the entire round trying to encourage raedy golf , nicely mentioning our pace, hitting out of turn, putting out, etc, etc. Nothing would sink in. I would hit even though in front to give him time to get ready and then after I hit I would turn back and he still wouldn't yet even be ready. Just grabbing a cub from the bag was a process with tis guy. No kidding whatsoever when I say placing his tee and ball on the tee box was a 15 second process. Then step back take 4 swings. Then step up and set, and reset, and reset, and reset, then hit. Then id be half way up the fairway before he even put his club away and left the box. An entire routine for every putt, never finished out after a lag, would have to mark and reset again, and would even have to make his 3 to 5inch tap ins. Watching this guy park his bag, grab a club, do preshot, set up, hit and put his club away was one the most painful things I could watch.

I tried hard to help the situation best I could and was not comfortable about any of it. What can ya do? short of getting angry or calling the clubhouse on my own group, and I actually considered this.lol
 
I feel your pain, and it's a true physical pain when this happens. For the record I have called the clubhouse on my own group before lol.

It was a beautiful winter day at a local course. Tee sheet was full and the worst thing possible happened...frost delay! 2 hours later they finally let us go and we happened to be the very first group. A single joined us, seemed like a nice guy so the more the merrier as always. This guy was the most selfish, ignorant, and slowest golfer I've ever been paired with. We played the front 9 in 3 hours and every minute of it was painful.

Pre shot routine? At least a 90 seconds. Unless a bird has the nerve to chirp then he has to start over.
Insists on playing the back tees - doesn't hit a driver longer than 175 yards.
Lost ball? Will look until he finds it...even if it takes 10 minutes. I handed him a brand new Z-Star XV 3 times to replace his lost ball just so he would freaking move.
At least 60 seconds to put a headcover back on.
Insists that we all wait behind him for all 146 strokes and said "ready golf is for rude a**holes"

I could go on and on. Everyone behind us was beyond angry (especially after the frost delay). At the turn I ran into the clubhouse and begged them to do something but turns out this guy was a member or regular or something so they didn't want to upset him. I eventually just told him on the tenth teebox that he was the slowest golfer I've ever seen and we need to pick it up. His response was that he is doing everyone a favor slowing them down and helping them relax. I walked off the course before finishing and before I left I told the proshop that if they ever let this guy out in the morning again they have nobody to blame but themselves for the problems.
 
Tell him we need to pick it up a bit.

Or go ahead without him.
 
Yup, don't be afraid to tell these people to pick up the pace. I do it all the time. I say something like "oh look we are falling behind the group in front of us, so we're gonna need to catch up".
 
If things didn't improve after talking to the group and there is no one in front, I would just go ahead and play on my own.

I played with a guy yesterday that was painfully slow. We played in 5.5 hours, mind you we were waiting almost every shot, but he said afterwards that he didn't find it slow.
 
Lol at calling the clubhouse on your own group. Hey, it could work, right?

Did you have a chance to skip ahead at the turn and go on without them? I hate being the slow group too, sounds like you did a lot, they just didn't pick up on it. I've also said things like, we really need to pick it up guys. I've even left after 9 holes and been able to get a rain check for another time.
 
This has happened to me plenty of times. After giving several " hey guys, we are falling behind, we need to pick up the pace" and nothing happens, I just curtly excuse myself, explain my intention of continuing alone and don't even stick around for confirmation. I'm gone. I'd rather play a couple of balls as a single behind groups of 4 instead of stressing about being in the slow group holding up the course.

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Ha, this actually happened to me today though in a different way. I golf alone 99% of the time as was the case today. My course has punch cards where after 10 18-hole rounds you earn a free round of golf. Well today was my free day. Unfortunately everybody in the county decided that today they needed to come out and golf the 1 time a year they do so and the course was more crowded than I have ever seen. I spent every single hole waiting and after the front 9 I had just had enough and said screw it all I'm going home. So I wasted half of my free round because I just couldn't take it anymore.
 
PowerCobra98 said:
Ha, this actually happened to me today though in a different way. I golf alone 99% of the time as was the case today. My course has punch cards where after 10 18-hole rounds you earn a free round of golf. Well today was my free day. Unfortunately everybody in the county decided that today they needed to come out and golf the 1 time a year they do so and the course was more crowded than I have ever seen. I spent every single hole waiting and after the front 9 I had just had enough and said screw it all I'm going home. So I wasted half of my free round because I just couldn't take it anymore.
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I can feel your issue there with that. But for me its very different type of feelings when your the group slowing things. I don't like speed golf at all and I don't even mind 430 too much (depending on the course) but that's if Im waiting on others. I hate most the feeling of comfortableness (or lack of) when its your own group causing an issue. I would much rather be waiting on a group ahead vs be that group. That feeling to me is the worst.
 
I have reminded my group about the pace of play plenty of times... and you don't have to be hateful to do it either.

Also, I tend to play ahead if it is a regular playing partner and they know where I stand with them and their pace (I rarely stay quiet about things like that). Walking up the hole and forcing them to hit into me a bit (while I watch them) is one of the most obvious ways of telling someone to pick it up.
 
I was on the border line (with my patience and embarrassment) as for deciding to excuse myself on ahead alone. As said imo the time wasn't exactly the worst by any means. But when its my own group any amount of over time and empty space ahead is a crappy feeling.

They were nice people and Im not one (contrary to what my debate posts can be like ..lol) but not one to be confrontational. Takes a lot for me to say "hey, I had enough" at risk of being disrespectful. I just kept pushing ready golf, making respectful comments about pace, playing out of turn while others lined up things or had to get ready. You know, all the things to help keep moving along and implying about it nicely as possible.

But I just never seen this quite this poor as for one person. Thankfully the other 2 was not too similar to him or we would have caused a 5hr round. He single handedly causes this round to go at least 1/2 hr longer than it should. had the others been as bad would have been a total night mare. I mean id be 40 yrds up on the right while he on the left 40 yrds back. I would somehow be at my ball turn back and hes not even partially ready. So I would go through my routine, take my shot, turn back thinking hed be hitting and see he still was barely ready not to mention had to go through his routine yet. Unbelieveable I would just shake my head in disbelief. here I am rushing to do what right , and its affecting my performance as well. Not only the rushing to help affecting me but also the feeling of being the slow group.

I couldn't bring myself to say anything more than I did and there was nothing more I could do to help. Id go find his ball while he was still lagging 50 yrds behind and that's after I hit last. Id point out his ball and then go on up to locate my own. I didn't dislike the guy at all and his conversation was friendly and all but cheeeze it was painful to watch him. Put slow pace group ahead and I would of been much more comfy knowing that vs the feeling of being slow. And as said this is coming from someone (myself) that is not a fan of speed golf at all and doesn't even mind a little bit of waiting here and there. But I just don't want to be in the group that is the cause of the waiting and certainly not an extra 30 to 40 mins worth of it.
 
I politely recommend that we pick up the pace. If they don't over a reasonable period of time, then I play ahead. Don't offer much other than, "I'm gonna play ahead guys, enjoy your round."

One time, one guy, the offender in the group and a rude individual (never met him before), tried to call me out at the clubhouse. I rarely stick around but ran into a long lost buddy.

Snail-male says smugly, "you were in such a hurry... for THIS?"

I turn to my buddy and giggle and say, "this is the guy I told you about."

"Him?" My friend says with a smile.

"Yeah," I said. "That's the guy."

Snail-male stared at us dumbfounded for a second before moving off as we continued our former conversation.

Once he was out of earshot, my buddy asks, "what the heck was that? What guy? What he do?"

I never told him about snail-male, it was all improv and my buddy proved to have a talent for it. ?
 
Rollin, that is a tough situation. I personally feel pressure to 'make up' for the other guy's slow play, but that doesn't help my game, so I now fight that temptation. The way I address it is to point out where we are and the need to pick it up to the group, then beyond that let it go. If after a couple of holes we haven't made up the ground, I say it again. I've prepared myself mentally for the possibility I may need to 'out' the offender, if the marshall just keeps getting on all of us, but so far the round has ended before that has happened. At some point I may have to take a marshall aside and say, "I've encouraged the group to pick it up several times and two of the three have, but the guy in the blue shirt just doesn't seem to get it. I'm as frustrated as you, and don't know what else I can do."
 
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rollin said:
firstly let me say the round was not the worst nor certainly was it not the longest of rounds. In the end it took us just under 440. Now im not one to complain much about playing 430 but that's only when Im not in the group causing it and the worst part was on this course (easiest and shortest of my county courses) it shouldn't ever take more than 4. maybe 415 on a weekend. But 440 on this course with no one in front? this was pain for me. Not only was it pain but I cannot stand being the group holding things up. I cant play well when Im embarrassed from being the slow group.

It was all this one individual. Everything he did was like watching paint dry. he just had no clue, idea, nor concern for moveing with any sense of urgency whatsoever. the rest of his group wasnt quite as bad but also did noting at all to help. I was spending the entire round trying to encourage raedy golf , nicely mentioning our pace, hitting out of turn, putting out, etc, etc. Nothing would sink in. I would hit even though in front to give him time to get ready and then after I hit I would turn back and he still wouldn't yet even be ready. Just grabbing a cub from the bag was a process with tis guy. No kidding whatsoever when I say placing his tee and ball on the tee box was a 15 second process. Then step back take 4 swings. Then step up and set, and reset, and reset, and reset, then hit. Then id be half way up the fairway before he even put his club away and left the box. An entire routine for every putt, never finished out after a lag, would have to mark and reset again, and would even have to make his 3 to 5inch tap ins. Watching this guy park his bag, grab a club, do preshot, set up, hit and put his club away was one the most painful things I could watch.

I tried hard to help the situation best I could and was not comfortable about any of it. What can ya do? short of getting angry or calling the clubhouse on my own group, and I actually considered this.lol
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You could have told the group you have an appt and just played ahead of them. Also No harm in saying to a group that we are playing too slow.
 
Plinyyounger said:
You could have told the group you have an appt and just played ahead of them. Also No harm in saying to a group that we are playing too slow.
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We talked of this in the thread. I mentioned it to them enough.
Appt is good excuse I suppose but lying is not really my style.
 
Understood about making an excuse. Maybe you could have just told them you didn't want to play with them and move ahead, be totally honest about it since it bothered you so much, that prob would have worked.

edit: unless it's a group you put together or were invited to play with. Then it would be weird to leave them behind. But as a single, that wouldn't be a prob.
 
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I struggle with this situation, as I'm not one to call someone out on something, but I get frustrated as all get out when someone in my group is slowing things down. I am super embarrassed about the group being slow, and I am always super paranoid if others think I am being slow. While I might say we as a group should pick up the pace, I have a hard time saying something to the person that is slow. I shouldn't worry about it so much and just say something, but it's really hard for me.
 
I am of the opinion that the biggest pace problem comes from to sorts of golfers. 1) People who rarely hit the fairway and spend more time searching for their ball than they spend actual playing time 2) people who play from the tips who give no evidence of being good enough to do so. Their game seems more suited to the senior tees rather than the pro tees.
 
luvagoodshot said:
I am of the opinion that the biggest pace problem comes from to sorts of golfers. 1) People who rarely hit the fairway and spend more time searching for their ball than they spend actual playing time 2) people who play from the tips who give no evidence of being good enough to do so. Their game seems more suited to the senior tees rather than the pro tees.
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I don't really agree with that. Slow play comes from poor players, good players and anyone in between and regardless of tees as well. Bottom line is that it comes from those who are simply slow. Yes the ball searcher can kill a pace understood well with that. But slow coms from all kind of players. Ive seen so many slow rounds from good players its not even funny. Or how about the friendly competitions where they think the entire course is for them only and many times that's good players. I see many poor players spraying balls and from longer tees and shooting 100 and will fly past a good player like nobody's business.

Slow players, regardless of ability level or tees simply do not know how to move along, have no awareness of it, or don't care, and usually never think they are slow. Imo there is no specific type of player or reason other than that person is slow.
 
One of my regular playing partners is excruciatingly slow. Our whole group is losing patience with this man but none of us knows a polite way to discuss this with him. All our subtle hints seem to go right over his head. We all like this man a lot but his pace of play is driving us crazy!!
 
I recently played and one guy was oblivious to the group behind us despite our telling him to move it along. He is also a serial Facebook user and texter on the course. We don't play with him often for good reason.


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Today's round had us catch up to a foursome of tour strikers that couldn't get their tee shots past the forward tees. As we played up their arse for two holes, we finally asked to play through on 14 since it wasn't being offered. They were visibly annoyed at my request to let a twosome through and disrupt their game. After playing through them and finishing our round, I walked off 18 to see them on the tee at 16. 2 holes in 50 minutes. A new level of slow....
 
Misike said:
Lol at calling the clubhouse on your own group. Hey, it could work, right? .
Click to expand...

Hahahaha ive never thought of doing this! That would be hilarious to watch the Marshall drive over...


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rollin said:
I don't really agree with that. Slow play comes from poor players,
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And poor players who play slow might only hit only 2 out of 14 FW's or less and are constantly spending inordinate time searching for balls in the rough, woods, or water. These sort of golfers are out in droves on the weekends slowing the pace of play for others. At least in my neck of the woods.
 
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