playing with someone who is a pace problem

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.

While that is the majority, I do know some guys who shoot high scores and lose a bunch of balls, but still play quickly. They play ready golf, step up to the ball and take their shot however good or bad. If its in the hay, they drop another TopFlite quickly and move on.
 
Yup, if I'm playing with strangers and we're not keeping up with the group ahead, then I become the group ahead, see ya!
 
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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!!

"Bob, we're friends, right?"

"Yep."

"Then as your friend, I gotta tell you, your pace of play is driving us crazy. We don't want to lose you as a partner. Will you let us tell you when you're holding things up?"

If he's not OK with that conversation, he wouldn't be OK with any conversation and isn't a friend worth keeping.
 
I have no tolerance for "ignorant" slow play. When you publicly state you don't care then I have no time for you. We had a guy who joined our group a few years back at a club I was a member at outside Dallas. Our regular group had the first or second slot each Sunday. One guy was an announced no show so the pro asked if a new member could play along. The pro said he briefed him on our pace, i.e. 3:15 walking, ready golf, have fun. My buddy Charlie then reiterated our deal on the first tee, very nicely I'll add. By the end of 2 this guy is bitching and moaning about how this isn't fun, he isn't enjoying, etc. We are being pushed consistently by the 3rd hole and by the 6th hole we are behind the "course" pace let alone our pace. Thought we lost him at the turn but unfortunately he had a 2 inch grip on a 10 inch turd so he comes lumbering up on 10 and yelling at us for not waiting - mind you 2 groups were sitting on the 10th tee behind us. 2:45 to play 9, one helpful suggestion on pace after another, 3 guys essentially played out on multiple holes waiting for him to finish. On 18, hats off, handshakes made, I offered the following, Randy, I wish you well and if you ever see us with 3 players and get the urge to join, don't, next time we won't tolerate your BS.
 
If I happened to be paired with stranger(s) I'll offer the usual tips to maintain pace if we're falling behind ie: ready golf, gimme putts, balls gone dude, just drop another, etc. If that doesn't work I'll politely excuse myself and jump ahead. A couple years ago as a walk on I was paired with 2 others that were deathly slow. 400 practice swings, reading putts as if US Open etc. By the 3rd hole as I looked back and saw 2 other groups on same hole I gave up. I told them I need to be done with round before they have to mow again and jumped to the next hole.
 
One of my friend is a +handicapper, he's a ball striker, he's long and solid on every shots. He likes to stripe his 2i mizuno blade 250+ off the tee to set the pace if we are playing with new people. But, but, the SOB is one of the most deliberate player you'd ever play with. Even when he tee off with iron, he's usually the last to hit.

How can you tell this type of player to pickup the pace. I've known him for 20 years plus and give him sh!t from time to time, but there's no chance in hell even a scratch player would ever tell him to pick up the pace. His pre-shot routine is pretty short as far as I can tell, but his pre-pre-shot routine is horrible about a minute +.
 
If I happened to be paired with stranger(s) I'll offer the usual tips to maintain pace if we're falling behind ie: ready golf, gimme putts, balls gone dude, just drop another, etc. If that doesn't work I'll politely excuse myself and jump ahead. A couple years ago as a walk on I was paired with 2 others that were deathly slow. 400 practice swings, reading putts as if US Open etc. By the 3rd hole as I looked back and saw 2 other groups on same hole I gave up. I told them I need to be done with round before they have to mow again and jumped to the next hole.

hahaha...or its if a late afternoon round, how about ...."how do you like your eggs? sunnyside or scrambled" ......cause we are going to still be here in the morning.
 
I think a good chunk of the slow play from good players is a carry over from tournaments. There is nothing worse than being a quick player in a tournament, you end up waiting a ton and getting out of rhythm. It is much easier to just slow yourself down and keep a steady feeling. I think that transfers over when you have coaches saying you should practice how you play.
 
If I'm a single that just joined the group and that group is causing the slow play and there is free holes in front of us, I politely excuse myself from the group and wish them well, and then go on and finish up by myself. This has only happened maybe a handful of times to me in my 17ish years of golfing.

If it's someone in my group that I put together that is causing it, I tell them "either pick up the pace or we are going to have to let other groups play through". If it's a group I put together I won't leave my friends behind, but I'm not afraid to call them out when they are slowing up the group. Luckily for me this has only happened once that I can remember.
 
You play golf long enough you're going to run into a slow guy that takes your group down. I have zero issue telling people to pick up the pace. If the ranger is doing his job and hawk'n us I have zero issue about selling the slow person out. Gotta speak up if you want some change.
 
I walk 18 in 3.5 hours. But I occasionally play with a guy and his no-can-golf dad and when we play it's an excruciating 5.5 hours in a cart. 18 is an easy 2.5 hours for me in a cart. 3 hours extra? Ugh. It really deters me from wanting to play with them. 10 practice swings and then freeze over the ball for sooooo long before a fast half swing to duff it 15 yards and do it all over again and again and again til they give themselves a generous 8.

There's a saying in music... "If you can't sing well, sing loud; if you can't sing loud, sing fast." I think it applies to golf. If you can't play well, at least play fast. Those 9 extra practice swings really don't help you hit the ball better!


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Friday I had the course to myself and rode 18 with cart path only in 1 hour 20 minutes. Yesterday took 4:45 or 4:50 but it was a great course so I didn't mind. Nothing worse than a 5 hour round on a below average course.
 
I usually play a few rounds a week by myself so I'm pretty chill when I pair up with others.
 
I guess there is an advantage to my antisocial tendencies. Can't say I've had a round longer than four hours all year. Last night was another golf evening of golf perfection. The three some in front were big hitters, their second shots were well out of range of our tee shots, the two dudes behind thought they were on tour. We had a great time and finished in 310. I suspect my love of the game would take a hit if I were forced to play crowded courses at prime time.
 
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You play golf long enough you're going to run into a slow guy that takes your group down. I have zero issue telling people to pick up the pace. If the ranger is doing his job and hawk'n us I have zero issue about selling the slow person out. Gotta speak up if you want some change.

This 100% ^^^

Much better then NOT saying anything at the time, then complaining to other playing companions. Just man up and be respectful! I used to play with a guy who would complain to me and others about someone in our group, lost all respect for dude and will never play with him again.
 
I would have told him to pick up the pace. I've never been in a foursome that has taken 4:40 to play a round with nobody in front of us, and that includes rounds where multiple players shot over 100 on a 145 slope course where the foursome lost 35+ golf balls.
 
I would have told him to pick up the pace. I've never been in a foursome that has taken 4:40 to play a round with nobody in front of us, and that includes rounds where multiple players shot over 100 on a 145 slope course where the foursome lost 35+ golf balls.

I here ya,...one doesn't have to play well in order to play at a respectable pace.
 
We got stuck behind a 4some on Sunday that was slower than Xmas. They were playing the back tee's and spraying the ball everywhere but down the center.
We were a 4some too and even had one of the guys wife with us that was a new golfer and we were still having to wait every tee box. I was so frustrated.
 
I would of tactfully told him im playing on. I have been in your situation before but one time the guy just had to look for his ball EVERYTIME it was in the sh*t. Even if he sent a 500mph straight hook into deep trees he was in there looking. And it wasn't even a premium ball lol I finally told him im going to go ahead and play through as I have plans that I need to attend later. I got done, had two or three beers at the clubhouse, shot the sh*t for about 45 minutes and he still hadn't made the turn to 18. Now when the group gets together and he shows up im begging to split the group
 
We got stuck behind a 4some on Sunday that was slower than Xmas. They were playing the back tee's and spraying the ball everywhere but down the center.
We were a 4some too and even had one of the guys wife with us that was a new golfer and we were still having to wait every tee box. I was so frustrated.

I don't know why people think that if sprayers played different tees they wouldn't also spray balls anyway. People just insist that tees is what makes or break pace. I even coinstantly hear people complain about tee choice of others while pace isn't even a problem. It just annoys them when they see others play poorly and not on forward tees even though the pace may be just fine. Ive even numerous times hear complaints about the group ahead playing wrong tees while that group is actually waiting on the pace in front of them just the same as we are.

Its just such nonsense imo. Poor play and tee choice does not have to be a pace problem. Pace problem comes from those who do not know how to move along. Those who do will do so regardless what tees they play and regardless how poorly they play. It makes it a little harder and it may take a little longer but that is a very different thing from being pace problematic. So very many people golf terribly and play tees longer than they should and yet keep up with respectable pace just fine. Its not the tees, nor the play necessarily, its the person. Those who know how to move and are aware of the situation will do so regardless and they very often do just that. So very many times good players can kill pace especially around the greens. But all anyone ever complains of is the 4some who is spraying and on the wrong tees. And will complain even though they may be waiting on the slowest grens playing group of good players ahead of them.
 
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.

I have secondhand frustration just reading this. :angry: :angry:
 
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.

interesting thought but wildly wrong. The slowest group I ever played with was probably the most skillful. Three guys playing the back tees, all within a couple shots of par. I was playing couple tees up from them. The time they took on the green alone was as long as I generally take to play an entire hole. Reading the putt from all sides of the hole, considering the break...takes time. Great golfers, not very fast.
 
Not only can you play at too slow of a pace, but it's possible to play at too fast of a pace as well. I like to pace myself so that those ahead of me aren't holding me up, and I'm not holding those up who are behind me.
 
Not only can you play at too slow of a pace, but it's possible to play at too fast of a pace as well. I like to pace myself so that those ahead of me aren't holding me up, and I'm not holding those up who are behind me.

im not a fan of speed golf either, have no and see no reason for a 4some to be done in 3-1/2 hrs either. I mean ive done it with 4somes and it didn't seem that fast either but its not something I need to push to do. Most the time i want to enjoy my time on the course. Waiting on slow group ahead too much too often can be a pain for sure but so can having rabbits up your butt too. keeping up with the group ahead may be correct most times but its njot the correct thing imo. The correct thing is to golf in a respectable time frame. If the group ahead are rabbits than so be it. Im not looking to run with them. And that goes for the group behind. As long as my group is not slow for the course than its not slow period imo. There is another side of pace problems too.
 
I have run into the slow single joiner in the past a couple of times.
After a couple of friendly hints, I have no problem giving them an ultimatum...pick up the pace or drop back and we play on.
The first time I did that, the guy picked up the pace and while we were still a bit on the slow side, it was a whole lot better than I expected.
The second time, the guy called me an @**hole and walked back to the clubhouse. When I got back to the clubhouse, Nick the pro asked me about the issue.
I explained to him how the guy was crazy slow and refused to pick up the pace and the ultimatum I gave him. Nick just smiled and shrugged his shoulders and said...whatcha gonna do?
 
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