Slow play? Bit of a rant

Just got back from playing a course which we'd never played before. We had a great opening 9 holes where I shot 4 over par. We'd already let a threeball play through due to us having to look for a ball but generally, we'd played fairly well and played the 9 holes in about 90 minutes. As we were about to tee off on the 10th, a chap who was playing behind us pulls up next to our tee, gets out and stands watching me about to tee off. I asked him if he was ok and he asked us, very sarcastically, if we were playing a competition. My mate answered no and he then told us to speed up our play. I told him that he should play through if he felt that we were playing slow and reminded him that he was in a buggy and we were pulling carts. Also, him and his partner weren't taking flags out, repairing pitch marks etc etc. After this, my round went to pieces and I shot the last 9 in 13 over. It took us 3 and 1/2 hours to complete the round. Now, apart from finishing with a poor score, I'm annoyed that we were accused of slow play. We'd never played the course before so we were having to check yardages etc on every hole.

So, was our round slow (3 1/2 hours to play 6264yard course) and if so, how do I go about speeding up?

Just a few observations, Andy, first of all one cannot cater for the assholes that are on the course these days and who take great delight in messing up others games. If you had lost a clear hole in front then it was your duty to call him through, but if not then tough sh*t. He has to stay behind you.

Not withstanding your problems you still managed to shoot three under your handicap, so not all that bad.

I am afraid you have lost me when it comes to checking yardages, as that is something I have never done. I have always trusted my eyesight, wind strength and direction and how I intend to play the shot.

3 1/2 hours these days is considered pretty fast, but two balls in my days were only 2 hours and ten minutes, fourballs 3 hours.

Because everyone else did, just a question of keeping ones place on the course. Now, of course with everyone being so slow, handicaps higher than 24 and a general lack of knowledge in respect of etiquette, all combines to produce slow rounds. It will never change now because the TV has shown how the pros do it and the amateurs are copying it all.

I stand on tees waiting for the group to clear in front only to find they are waiting for the green to clear when they still have three hundred yards to go. When it is clear, they then hit it twenty yards.

Many years ago, you either was a member at a private club which you would not gain membership of unless you could play to 24, everyone else played on public courses. Now of course money rules and I'm afraid this has lowered the standards all round, with courses not interested whether they put two balls out amongst fourballs, letting single players play, all of this causes totally unnecessary friction.

I don't want to spend my round having to let other people through all the time especially when I am holding my place on the course.

First of all, people who pull up next to your tee as you are about to tee off are jerks.  Someone kept doing that last week and on the 5th hole I finally said something to them about ettiquitte. 

But if you were keeping up and played 9 holes in 1.5 hours, I would have told that guy to shove it.   

No it is not wrong, having a buggy does not give them any priority. I use a buggy now, unfortunately and I never push my way through anyone.

I just remembered that last week I played paired up with someone who was determined to pass the group in front of us.  Granted these guys in front spent a LOT of time looking for lost balls.  I was content to wait because the group behind us was playing even slower.

So this guy tells the group that they can keep looking for their ball and that we were going to tee off.  Of course he hits his tee shot in the trees!  And then took three more shots to get to a short par 4.   

In actual fact I hate being called through, as inevitably I quicken up and usually play the hole poorly because of it.

Paul, this is a forum, an exchange of views. It would be pretty boring if everyone agreed with everyone else.

Contrary to what you may think, I have never asked to be called through at all, I learned a long while ago that patience in this game is essential and this is why I feel that golf courses get it wrong by causing unnecessary problems by mixing single players and two balls amongst fourballs.

I don't see why I should have my game spoiled by a single player or two ball up my backside when I am holding my place on the course. In actual fact at all private golf clubs, irrespective of what the R&A may have come up with, still have the single player has no standing. Pay and play courses could not give a stuff, money rules.

Your little story there, Paul, only confirms what I have been saying in respect of the new modern golfer, who only thinks of himself and has no idea about the etiquette, upon which this game was founded.

I am afraid it is too late now, Paul. The whole fabric of the game has been undermined by the big upsurge in the popularity of the game because of the building of many new courses, which, in the first instance, targeted the very wealthy through high entry fees or a requirement for debentures to be purchased. Golfing ability was the last requirement in this process.

Following on from this came the inevitable demise of these courses as they found it difficult to pay their way, as members became subject to greater demands from even newer courses and also the fact that what they had joined was not a club, in the true sense of the word, but a money making machine that really had no interest in its members.

How many courses do you know that have changed ownership because of this, I know plenty.

We now have large corporate groups owning courses, one of which I am a member at and if it were not for the fact that the two courses are both excellent and the crowd who regularly turn up for our twice weekly roll-up are nice people, I would, in all honesty join a private club much nearer to my home.

Crown Golf own 3 clubs with a total of 52 courses, all of these started out as independent ventures.

Without a structure in place, like a proper golf club with committees etc, then one cannot expect the traditions and etiquette of this fine game to be passed on to those who play there.

It would not make the slightest difference, Dave, the pace of play on a golf course is dictated by the slowest group and even constant harassment from a Marshall never seems to work.

I play with some great guys but a few of them are so slow it is painful to watch.

Thank you Martin for only confirming what I have been saying all along. The game has sunk to a level that would have been unthought of years ago.

I think the guy who wrote this summed it up pretty well. 

The great escape. Playing golf means you will be away from everything else that occupies your life-errands, babysitting, shopping, etc.-for at least 5 to 7 hours. I always tell my wife, "Hey, it's better than playing poker."

It will test your honesty. Mis-remembering a stroke here or there might be a subtle hint into your tempestuous soul.

It will test your patience. You know that curse word you haven't yelled in years, well, the golf course has a strange ability to bring that out. And don't get me started about the foursome in front of us taking forever to finish the 7th hole.

Quiet solitude. How often do you get to be surrounded by nature as the rays of the sun break the morning sky, and nothing, absolutely nothing can be heard for miles? That's the beauty of an early tee time.

Camaraderie. It's just the guys, a golf course and sporadic dialogue for five-plus hours. You can learn more about your friends over a period of a golf game than almost any other activity.

Sweet spot. For some golfers it may happen every hole and for other novice players like me it may happen once or twice a round, but a perfectly hit shot has no parallel comparison. It makes you feel invincible and on top of the world, that is until the next time you hit the ball.

It keeps you humble. The moment you think you've mastered the game, it finds a way to keep you modest. Whether it comes in the form of a small pond, a ditch full of sand or a forest of trees that seemed to come out of nowhere-golf is the great equalizer. As my friend (who's a tremendous golfer) once told me, "In golf, you never get better, you just suck less."

It keeps you focused. Golf is a game that can force you to spend $12 for a jumbo-sized pail of balls to perform one thing over and over. The devotion that some men exert to perfect their swing is a good reminder of how men can be so singularly focused.

The celebration. When you finally make that birdie putt or in my case the ever elusive double bogey, it calls for an all-out celebration. Fist pumps, high-fives, lighting of cigars or the ever-increasingly rare hug are all possible options. For that short moment, you realize that life is very good.

The memory. Whether it's because you played your greatest hole ever or that your buddy shared the best story on a golf course, a day of golf has 18 chances to leave an indelible mark.

Ok - I'm going to attempt to completely hijack this thread becuase it's getting too depressing!

Reasons why golf is great! Discuss!

Because I get to go play golf whenever I want.  

And when I actually get to play as a single with a four ball in front and a four ball behind, I can enjoy the heck out of my round because there is no way I could possibly slow anyone up and because I don't have to play with hacks that need a lesson.  It's the only time I really have the opportunity  to really and seriously look at a putt from all angles without feeling the need to just get up there and lag it close.  I can walk the course slowly, take my time and enjoy the day out without stress from anyone on the golf course.

Even better when I play as a single while on holiday in the middle of the week when I am the ONLY one on the course.  Now that is just pure heaven. 

The next best thing is playing a two ball with my brother. 

It's the only chance I get to dress like a pimp and nobody laughs...

It's the only chance I get to dress like a pimp and nobody laughs...

Well, except for everyone on Golfshake now.  :-)

That's why I stand next to Wayne when I can..

I'll get this post back on track.

Whilst playing at my course on Sunday me & 2 others teed off at 7:30am, we finished the 9th hole at 9:00am, didn't want to stop at the halfway hut as we were enjoying having nobody in front of us. As we teed off at the 14th which is a dogleg left & walked to our balls we noticed 3 trolleys by the 15th tee but no-one around??

As we walked onto the green to putt out 3 guys came strolling out from the halfway hut towards the trolleys!!! (They had obviousley started from the back 9). They then proceeded to tee off, one of the guys then turned to us & asked if we wanted to play through to which one of the others said "but don't hold us up though!!". They then had the cheek to stand with their hands on their hips while he played the hole??

As I'm a relativley new member there I wasn't sure on the rules etc but after checking them I'm informed that they had no right to stop at the hut on the 15th & should not have held us up at all.

It really annoys me how some members think that the rules do not apply to them & that they can talk to others how they want.

John.