Pretty annoyed... Is there a time limit on golf?

gerry87

I booked a round of golf in my club for today, there was a competition at 8am so we booked for 7.30 for myself and 3 friends all students. None of us are golfers, play maybe three or 4 times a year.

Anyway, we set off, there were two people waiting to tee off so we let them go first. Two people went after us and caught up with us so we let them play through too. After that, there was nobody within three holes of us for the entire game. Since we weren't holding anybody up we weren't rushing and picking balls up when things weren't going well.

At around 11 o clock the a caddy master drives up to us and tells us the pro is expecting us in at 11.30, we're probably on the 13th.

We decide to keep playing since there's nobody behind us, finish up at around 12.00/12.05, go in to pay and get our heads bitten off by the pro. Kept us there for a good 15 minutes giving out to us and banned us from the course.

Now I realise we were slow, but we're not golfers, it was 7.30 in the morning and we weren't holding anybody up. Is it wrong to think that I shouldn't have been banned from the course for being out there for half an hour too long?

Let me know if i'm outta line, cos i was pretty annoyed about it.

BUACHAILL

you cant be slow playing in my opinion if one your not in a competition and secondly your alone on the course. Thats like saying if I go out for a practice round and have the course to myself I still must complete it in 4hrs etc...what rubbish. I dont think your over reacting to this and think the pro was bang out of line, unless you were taking the mick on the golf course and not respecting it, or paying for the one round and hitting two balls every hole etc...which I am assuming you have not done...

Can I ask what club ??

JCDUB

Feck the pro Gerry, he was a cock.

You let two go ahead of you on the tee, fair play, you did right as you were in a three-ball, so they were gonna be quicker anyhow.
Then two more came up behind you and you let them through, no problem.

You are non-golfers and admittedly you did take quite a bit longer than usual to play, but you didn't hold anybody up, so I dont know why the pro read you the riot act.He should be glad of your money in this day and age.

Ah well, don't go back, his loss.

Codofwar

Buachill is right, by even letting others play through you were being polite out on the course and not annoying anyone. The pro and course ranger who came out to tell you seem like gobsh*ites to be honest.

28064212

When the caddy master came out to you, did he say why you were supposed to be in by half 11? Did you ask him could you finish? Does the pro have the right to ban you from the course?

f22

Name and shame

Kevinmarkham

I'm with everybody else on this - there seems to be no reasonable explanation as to why the course ranger felt the need to hurry you up.

What was the pro's explanation when you went in to pay? And are you all members of the club or just visitors? If the latter then alot of clubs feel they can get away with treating you badly. Add to that your 'students' tag and you're at the bottom of the pecking order, just above Juniors.

As F22 said, 'name and shame'.

jimjo

I can’t believe that, that's beyond..

Completely name and shame, however if you don’t want to do this tell us where you played this morning that way you’re not mentioning anyone’s name…

jimbling

This is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard in a while.

Firstly, 4.5 hours is not even that slow for a 4ball. If it's true that you weren't holding anyone up then I would definitely not accept that behaviour from the pro.

By the way, when you booked the tee time, did they say anything about a time limit to you? Did they say anything before you went out on the tee?

I wouldn't pay them if I got that abuse from the pro for no good reason.

Brockagh

Very poor form.

I was a member of Stackstown a good few years ago. Was on my own on the course practically. Chipped a couple of balls from the edge of the green on one hole, when two people screamed angrily at me from a nearby tee that there's no practicing on the course. They were furious.

Maybe there was a rule that said no practicing, but I didn't see it written anywhere and I wasn't hitting lots of balls on every hole. Worse form to shout across a course. That's what I think, anyway.

Your story is a lot worse than mine. You did everything right. And half an hour extra is not that bad. I've been held up by players who have taken over five hours to play.

neckedit

f22 wrote: »

Name and shame

I totally agree with this, tossers like this are what put people off the game!! Name and SHAME!!
`

Swinging Looney

Must name the course.

Although there is one thing I don't understand. If you booked a tee time for 7.30, why would only pay after you have finished the round? Surely you would pay beforehand like every other club I know. Is there more to this story that we don't know?

abceire

i ve been a greenkeeper for 12years , course manager too, i ve never heard such rubbish, and right now when ever course is looking for business more or less, that is just stupid,i didnt mind if anyone was slow,once they were not holding up other golfers,or greenkeepers, or playing 10balls into a green from the fairway ,making a huge divot. other then that work away, enjoy your mates company, take your time,and even if your not great sure once you enjoy yourself ,who cares

BoardsRanger

Swinging Looney wrote: »

Must name the course.

Although there is one thing I don't understand. If you booked a tee time for 7.30, why would only pay after you have finished the round? Surely you would pay beforehand like every other club I know. Is there more to this story that we don't know?

I would presume it was because some pro shops do not open till around 8.
Although i agree, by the sounds of things, the staff at the course were out of order but more often than not, there are two sides to every story.

Oliverdog

Abceire said it all.
By your account, you've behaved correctly. Do two things (1) Don't ever worry about it and (2) Name the course so none of us ever make the mistake of visiting it.

f22

Unless you were acting the bollix on the course I can see no reason why anyone should be treated in this manner.

As for 15 minutes of lecturing, I'm with Jimbling here, I would have told the pro to go f**k himself, refused to pay and reported him to the club manager.

I can't believe you let yourself be treated like that and did nothing.

soundsham

agreed he should have told the guy to go fook himself and name the place

sorry to see people thinking 4:30 mins is not slow it is, its at least 20 mins too slow

3-ball 3:40-3:50 in competiton less than 3:30 when out for a hack
add 30 mins for a fourball

Oliverdog

Yes, but he let two games through, that's got to be 10 minutes for each don't you think ?

BUACHAILL

soundsham wrote: »

agreed he should have told the guy to go fook himself and name the place

sorry to see people thinking 4:30 mins is not slow it is, its at least 20 mins too slow

3-ball 3:40-3:50 in competiton less than 3:30 when out for a hack
add 30 mins for a fourball

soundsham thats crazy and you know it !!
I am not a slow player and I rarely get around in any comp under 4 hours, out for a hack I will take my time even more so as I know generally there is nobody behind me...bottom line is who cares how long it took them once they didnt act the bollox and held nobody up ???

Even if they had held someone up all that should have happened is they get told by ranger to hurry up or let them play through...which they done themselves out of common sense, as for the 15 minutes of a lecture I would have wrapped my driver around his throat, no one should be spoken to like that regardless

soundsham

agreed to all you said

but i know when no-one is being held up its ok to have a few putts etc
but if you were 1st out on a club competition and you took 4hrs in a 3-ball......you'd be 20-30 mins too slow

jj72

soundsham wrote: »

agreed he should have told the guy to go fook himself and name the place

sorry to see people thinking 4:30 mins is not slow it is, its at least 20 mins too slow

3-ball 3:40-3:50 in competiton less than 3:30 when out for a hack
add 30 mins for a fourball

so at this rate the ladies playin the solheim cup will never get a game again.....it was takin them over 5 hours to play their fourballs.

this pro is a joke....

BUACHAILL

soundsham wrote: »

agreed to all you said

but i know when no-one is being held up its ok to have a few putts etc
but if you were 1st out on a club competition and you took 4hrs in a 3-ball......you'd be 20-30 mins too slow

I have changed my thinking on this time thing. I used to be of the opinion that everyone in comps were a half hour slower etc and should be hurried along, yet in any pro event that takes place the average is closer to 5 hrs which to be fair sounds like torture, however maybe they should look at it and allow more time !! I have been out for a normal game and done it in under 4 hrs comfortably but if I was playing for a Captains prize or any medal for that matter I would slow down purely to concentrate more. Either way these guys did not start a backlog and were paying good money so respect should have been shown to them !!

Clearly this club doesnt need the support...well for them

soundsham

BUACHAILL wrote: »

I have changed my thinking on this time thing. I used to be of the opinion that everyone in comps were a half hour slower etc and should be hurried along, yet in any pro event that takes place the average is closer to 5 hrs which to be fair sounds like torture, however maybe they should look at it and allow more time !! I have been out for a normal game and done it in under 4 hrs comfortably but if I was playing for a Captains prize or any medal for that matter I would slow down purely to concentrate more. Either way these guys did not start a backlog and were paying good money so respect should have been shown to them !!

Clearly this club doesnt need the support...well for them

lol,if you decide to take that length of time out there no doubt you'll hear about it,

callaway92

Wow..Way too much of an overreaction from the club Pro

gerry87

Thanks all, I realise there are always two sides to every story, and I wonder myself if there might be more to it, but if he did have a proper reason for chewing our heads then I'm sure he would have brought that up as the issue instead of focusing on our time.

One of the group had to leave half way through (he was given out to and banned too when he went in to pay...) and seemingly he mentioned there was some issue with students last week, so that might have something to do with it.

Of course, I wouldn't make a deal out of it if I knew we were doing anything wrong. And if it turns out we were doing something wrong I'd apologise without hesitation.

To answer a few of the questions, the pro shop wasn't open yet so we were told to pay afterwards.

And to the point that we shouldn't have taken that from him on the spot, it's easy to say but when you're standing with a pro giving out to you about rules in his golf club and you not exactly sure if you were right or wrong it's not exactly the strongest position to go all guns blazing. Also my dad plays there quite a bit so it would put him in an awkward position in the future.

If i get time tomorrow i'll pop in and have a word with him and see what the story was.

Swinging Looney

gerry87 wrote: »

If i get time tomorrow i'll pop in and have a word with him and see what the story was.

That could just be the best way to deal with this. Drop back in under calmer circumstances and ask for a better explanation. Clubs these days I thought would be happy to accomodate green fee players if they are not causing trouble. I am very surprised at the attitude of this place given the current climate.

If you don't want to name the club can you tell me how much the green fee was? At least we would know what type of place we are talking about....

Oliverdog

gerry87 wrote: »

. . .Also my dad plays there quite a bit so it would put him in an awkward position in the future.

If i get time tomorrow i'll pop in and have a word with him and see what the story was.

This seems to be the most sensible way to resolve this. The other suggestion, that he should be told to go f**k himself, would be counter-productive, and probably physically impossible, even for someone with the flexible frame of a golf professional.

soundsham

or unless he used a club

Myksyk

...with soft to regular flex.

DU.LLAHAN

4 hours 15 mins for enniscrone

http://enniscronegolf.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74&Itemid=175

A_Fitz

Thats ridiculous.

Met a jumped up pro myself this week at The Heritage.

elvis jones

A_Fitz wrote: »

Thats ridiculous.

Met a jumped up pro myself this week at The Heritage.

Which one ?

A_Fitz

The Seve designed one in Laois

elvis jones

Hmmm, i'm a member of the range and par 3 out there and am due to have lessons.....which pro was it, did he have an accent from a northern area of the country ??.......what happened that he acted like that ?

The main staff member in the range is lovely and have only dealt with one of te pros........

dublinrover

DU.LLAHAN wrote: »

4 hours 15 mins for enniscrone

http://enniscronegolf.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74&Itemid=175

And its a long course with plenty of walking between tees and greens , I think the Pro was right for giving a bollicking and wish more of them did likewise there are too many slow golfers in Ireland who think its acceptable to go around in 4 hours , I think four hours should be the maximum time not a target , 3.5 hours is sufficent time to play a round of golf too many people messing around mimicking the pros and wasting time by not being ready to play when its their turn this is the biggest factor in slow play. I have recently taken up golf again and am shocked at how long it takes now to go around in most courses I have played on, I have a young family and am a bit time pressured but would like to have a pint afterwards but usually I'm rushing back home after 5 hours on the course not to mention check-in and queing to enter scores on he computer.

A_Fitz

elvis jones wrote: »

Hmmm, i'm a member of the range and par 3 out there and am due to have lessons.....which pro was it, did he have an accent from a northern area of the country ??.......what happened that he acted like that ?

The main staff member in the range is lovely and have only dealt with one of te pros........

No not a northern guy, youngish guy. Maybe we caught him on a bad day. Im waiting to here back from The Heritage, so dont really want to say anything yet.

Didn't get a chance to play the par 3 course. Whats it like? How much is green fees?

elvis jones

Well i'm new to golf but I enjoy the par 3 out there. The greens aren't just simple, nice slopes etc. Height changes on the holes and hazards on the sides of some of the holes. Just 9 holes but 2 flags per green so you can play different lengths on the front and back nines.

It's 10 for 9 and 20 for 18 but I'm a member so I pay 195 andget it as often as I like with a lesson and 25% off balls at the range and 35 credit on my ac. Not a bad deal !

The young guy is normally great and throws me free balls the odd ti
time as well. I find him very good !

A_Fitz

elvis jones wrote: »

Well i'm new to golf but I enjoy the par 3 out there. The greens aren't just simple, nice slopes etc. Height changes on the holes and hazards on the sides of some of the holes. Just 9 holes but 2 flags per green so you can play different lengths on the front and back nines.

It's 10 for 9 and 20 for 18 but I'm a member so I pay 195 andget it as often as I like with a lesson and 25% off balls at the range and 35 credit on my ac. Not a bad deal !

The young guy is normally great and throws me free balls the odd ti
time as well. I find him very good !

Sounds good. Two pins is a good idea. 10 for 9 isn't bad, would like to play it.

That work on ur short game will def stand to u

soundsham

dublinrover wrote: »

And its a long course with plenty of walking between tees and greens , I think the Pro was right for giving a bollicking and wish more of them did likewise there are too many slow golfers in Ireland who think its acceptable to go around in 4 hours , I think four hours should be the maximum time not a target , 3.5 hours is sufficent time to play a round of golf too many people messing around mimicking the pros and wasting time by not being ready to play when its their turn this is the biggest factor in slow play. I have recently taken up golf again and am shocked at how long it takes now to go around in most courses I have played on, I have a young family and am a bit time pressured but would like to have a pint afterwards but usually I'm rushing back home after 5 hours on the course not to mention check-in and queing to enter scores on he computer.

glad to see someone else thinks this way
100% bang on
have seen guys having to walk off courses as they have to be elsewhere, be it collecting kids,wife or going to work whatever....all over some tosser talking all day to get around a golf course.....really p1sses me off,
and reading whats on this thread one guy was planning to take longer:rolleyes:, to concentrate more, the joys of the weekend tiger wood's,.................however maybe they should look at it and allow more time !! I have been out for a normal game and done it in under 4 hrs comfortably but if I was playing for a Captains prize or any medal for that matter I would slow down purely to concentrate more
another guy packed up playing after 3hrs 45mins today in another thread having played 13 holes i think it was,
people need to get a grip and shake it up big time,too many selfish guys out there think they own the place and fook anyone behind em,as for telling someone to move on if its necessary, you'd swear you were spitting in their eye they way some guys react,

BUACHAILL

soundsham wrote: »

glad to see someone else thinks this way
100% bang on
have seen guys having to walk off courses as they have to be elsewhere, be it collecting kids,wife or going to work whatever....all over some tosser talking all day to get around a golf course.....really p1sses me off,
and reading whats on this thread one guy was planning to take longer:rolleyes:, to concentrate more, the joys of the weekend tiger wood's,.................however maybe they should look at it and allow more time !! I have been out for a normal game and done it in under 4 hrs comfortably but if I was playing for a Captains prize or any medal for that matter I would slow down purely to concentrate more
another guy packed up playing after 3hrs 45mins today in another thread having played 13 holes i think it was,
people need to get a grip and shake it up big time,too many selfish guys out there think they own the place and fook anyone behind em,as for telling someone to move on if its necessary, you'd swear you were spitting in their eye they way some guys react,

referred to my quote I am glad to see and you have misread it or maybe I was not clear enough in how I put it across! I do not play my practice rounds the same as I would do a competition. This is for a number of reasons , There is nothing riding on it to start with, I am purely out there to get my eye in and have nice timing on my swing, i can pick up and walk on if i hit a bad one, its not strokes so i dont need to finish every hole. Firstly though to clear up your notion that I am planning on taking longer... no I am not. I am just saying when in a comp I try to concentrate more, read a putt a bit closer, make sure I dont follow a bad shot with another and normally I have to finish out every hole etc etc, I am always ready to play on my turn and play to a reasonably quick pace.

I think it should be looked at as I am yet to see a pro event finish their rounds in the proper times !! This unfortunately is the same in local club games, only takes one tricky par 3 and some lost balls to cause this delay, yes yes we all know it shouldnt but it does and that is a fact unfortunately. I am one of the most impatient people generally but when playing golf now I just forget about my extra time out there cause it serves me no benefit to get pissed off on the course, I dont like waiting like anyone else. If I am honest and I dont care how this is taken up most of the slow play / back log at local level comes from higher handicaps who in stroke play must finish out, this is not a problem for me but it is the truth.

I would love to be able to go around the course consistantly in under 4hours but this is just not realistic anymore because firstly there are a lot more people playing the game hence busier courses and secondly it doesnt take a whole lot in golf to go wrong and all of a sudden you have fallen behind.
If you dont like this dont play the game

harsea8

soundsham wrote: »

glad to see someone else thinks this way
100% bang on
have seen guys having to walk off courses as they have to be elsewhere, be it collecting kids,wife or going to work whatever....all over some tosser talking all day to get around a golf course.....really p1sses me off,
and reading whats on this thread one guy was planning to take longer:rolleyes:, to concentrate more, the joys of the weekend tiger wood's,.................however maybe they should look at it and allow more time !! I have been out for a normal game and done it in under 4 hrs comfortably but if I was playing for a Captains prize or any medal for that matter I would slow down purely to concentrate more
another guy packed up playing after 3hrs 45mins today in another thread having played 13 holes i think it was,
people need to get a grip and shake it up big time,too many selfish guys out there think they own the place and fook anyone behind em,as for telling someone to move on if its necessary, you'd swear you were spitting in their eye they way some guys react,

...and your not selfish wanting to get round as fast as possible cos you've got somewhere to be/something to do, acting like you own the place and fook anyone in front who may not be as good as you!!....its attitudes like yours that put so many people off golf

soundsham

harsea8 wrote: »

...and your not selfish wanting to get round as fast as possible cos you've got somewhere to be/something to do, acting like you own the place and fook anyone in front who may not be as good as you!!....its attitudes like yours that put so many people off golf

no i only want to be there as long as it should take,why should people have to be there an extra 45 mins or so.......maybe you like wind and rain or prefer to be out of the house

I'd rather be inside havin a bite to eat or a pint,having a chat, not waiting on every shot for some guy fannying about,
my point is i've seen plenty people having too walk off due to slow play.....and noone likes it being told they are too slow(obviously)

If you went to the shops every day and because of other people in there dilly-dallying around the place, it was making you late for work don't think you'd be happy,no you'd go elsewhwere or maybe not maybe your happy tottering around the place.....

copacetic

harsea8 wrote: »

...and your not selfish wanting to get round as fast as possible cos you've got somewhere to be/something to do, acting like you own the place and fook anyone in front who may not be as good as you!!....its attitudes like yours that put so many people off golf

It's the opposite if anything, slow play is ruining the game and driving many people away.

soundsham

BUACHAILL wrote: »

referred to my quote I am glad to see and you have misread it or maybe I was not clear enough in how I put it across! I do not play my practice rounds the same as I would do a competition. This is for a number of reasons , There is nothing riding on it to start with, I am purely out there to get my eye in and have nice timing on my swing, i can pick up and walk on if i hit a bad one, its not strokes so i dont need to finish every hole. Firstly though to clear up your notion that I am planning on taking longer... no I am not. I am just saying when in a comp I try to concentrate more, read a putt a bit closer, make sure I dont follow a bad shot with another and normally I have to finish out every hole etc etc, I am always ready to play on my turn and play to a reasonably quick pace.

I think it should be looked at as I am yet to see a pro event finish their rounds in the proper times !! This unfortunately is the same in local club games, only takes one tricky par 3 and some lost balls to cause this delay, yes yes we all know it shouldnt but it does and that is a fact unfortunately. I am one of the most impatient people generally but when playing golf now I just forget about my extra time out there cause it serves me no benefit to get pissed off on the course, I dont like waiting like anyone else. If I am honest and I dont care how this is taken up most of the slow play / back log at local level comes from higher handicaps who in stroke play must finish out, this is not a problem for me but it is the truth.

I would love to be able to go around the course consistantly in under 4hours but this is just not realistic anymore because firstly there are a lot more people playing the game hence busier courses and secondly it doesnt take a whole lot in golf to go wrong and all of a sudden you have fallen behind.
If you dont like this dont play the game

i take your veiws on board but i think you'd be better off forgetting the pro game as it has no relevance to your or my weekend golf

also you'd probably be better served practising as you mean to play at the weekend,taking the same time over shots so you don't do things differently when under pressure
i.e. having a routine and sticking to it,for both stableford and stroke, none of us are that good we need 2 game plans:rolleyes:

as for strokeplay and finishing out if your still in the competition fine you should play as if its stableford untill last 2-3 holes, takes the pressure off maybe that some guys feel by thinking of strokeplay,if your out of the comp completely why are you still finishing out when +4 or +5 on a hole,pick it up scratch the hole and move on,

if you think your in with a shot then i can understand being more careful for the last couple of holes, its a problem that a lot of guys have when playing strokrplay they dont play to their normal speed or rhythm and it hinders rather than helps

I think the time you take to play a round in competition should be recorded every single week, clock in at 1st clock out at edge of 18th simple as that if one guy forgets he could easily be given the same as his partners,an average for the field can be got this way easily and your own time be related to this as weather would be relative each week as would format, also your own average time over the rounds you play can be found out say over a 5 rounds min.

if say some guy is taking 4hrs 20 mins on a reg basis for 3-ball in my veiw he should be not allowed out before say 10.00 am or whatever the committee would chose as not to hold up the field,

just a rough idea,could be tried during winter as a test maybe and results feedback night held before summer rules came back in play in any club,wouldn't cost much but i'd say results would be helpful.
thoughts.........

harsea8

soundsham wrote: »

no i only want to be there as long as it should take,why should people have to be there an extra 45 mins or so.......maybe you like wind and rain or prefer to be out of the house

I'd rather be inside havin a bite to eat or a pint,having a chat, not waiting on every shot for some guy fannying about,
my point is i've seen plenty people having too walk off due to slow play.....and noone likes it being told they are too slow(obviously)

If you went to the shops every day and because of other people in there dilly-dallying around the place, it was making you late for work don't think you'd be happy,no you'd go elsewhwere or maybe not maybe your happy tottering around the place.....

from the first 2 paragraphs, I wonder why you bother playing, sounds like you'd rather be doing anything else....I thought golf was supposed to be fun?

harsea8

copacetic wrote: »

It's the opposite if anything, slow play is ruining the game and driving many people away.

If you are refering to experienced players who p*ss around then I'd agree that it would be annoying and might put people off, but if you are referring to people who just aren't that good yet, its unfair to expect them to fly around the course in the same time as you (assuming you are good)

BUACHAILL

Can I ask what handicap you play off Soundsham ??

soundsham

harsea8 wrote: »

from the first 2 paragraphs, I wonder why you bother playing, sounds like you'd rather be doing anything else....I thought golf was supposed to be fun?

sorry dont understand where your coming from there,

i just value my time,and enjoy a pint after golf with my mates

soundsham

harsea8 wrote: »

If you are refering to experienced players who p*ss around then I'd agree that it would be annoying and might put people off, but if you are referring to people who just aren't that good yet, its unfair to expect them to fly around the course in the same time as you (assuming you are good)

no its golfers at all levels,i didn't categorise any group

h'cap is always nearly 7 or 8 .......7 today
guys i play with 1 or 2 lower the odd time
but usually 6,9,10,11,12,14,15,22&24 (thinking of the 8 or 9 guys I play with)would be the usual suspects
and the 9,15 & 22 h'capper most often

p.s. the 10 and 15 h'capper are the 2 slowest

harsea8

soundsham wrote: »

sorry dont understand where your coming from there,

i just value my time,and enjoy a pint after golf with my mates

not coming from anywhere and not trying to start a row, just, as I read it, it sounded like the actual round of golf was something you wanted to get over and done with ASAP, whereas I'd say that the longer a round takes the better for me (as long as it doesn't involve lots of waiting around for other groups to finish up or tee off). I guess it depends on ones circumstances....I rarely get a chance to get away from the wife and kids, so when I do get a chance to get out on the course, I'm in no great hurry to get home

BUACHAILL

soundsham wrote: »

i take your veiws on board but i think you'd be better off forgetting the pro game as it has no relevance to your or my weekend golf

also you'd probably be better served practising as you mean to play at the weekend,taking the same time over shots so you don't do things differently when under pressure
i.e. having a routine and sticking to it,for both stableford and stroke, none of us are that good we need 2 game plans:rolleyes:

as for strokeplay and finishing out if your still in the competition fine you should play as if its stableford untill last 2-3 holes, takes the pressure off maybe that some guys feel by thinking of strokeplay,if your out of the comp completely why are you still finishing out when +4 or +5 on a hole,pick it up scratch the hole and move on,

if you think your in with a shot then i can understand being more careful for the last couple of holes, its a problem that a lot of guys have when playing strokrplay they dont play to their normal speed or rhythm and it hinders rather than helps

I think the time you take to play a round in competition should be recorded every single week, clock in at 1st clock out at edge of 18th simple as that if one guy forgets he could easily be given the same as his partners,an average for the field can be got this way easily and your own time be related to this as weather would be relative each week as would format, also your own average time over the rounds you play can be found out say over a 5 rounds min.

if say some guy is taking 4hrs 20 mins on a reg basis for 3-ball in my veiw he should be not allowed out before say 10.00 am or whatever the committee would chose as not to hold up the field,

just a rough idea,could be tried during winter as a test maybe and results feedback night held before summer rules came back in play in any club,wouldn't cost much but i'd say results would be helpful.
thoughts.........

I think you have got some good ideas in what you suggest but also think it will only establish how long your round takes, not sure thats of any real benefit as it will always depend on people around you anyway. As for not letting certain slower players out till 10 etc thats just not practical and in my opinion would create an awful atmosphere in a place you pay good money to be involved in to enjoy yourself and have fun.

Granted not much fun hanging about every hole waiting to take a shot but thats just how it is, putting added pressure on people to finish within a time wont help it any IMO. People should always have common decency and let people play through if they have fallen behind and I feel thats enough.

As for not comparing it to the pro's I dont understand why ? we compare everything else to them!! granted we are not and do not play like them but why not strive to play your best game possible and if that means I take an extra minute to look at a putt etc so be it, its not slow play and shouldnt be mixed up. If you feel that it is maybe your not applying yourself correctly to your own game ??? if you are and can just do it quicker than me then fair play to you.

As for suggestions on my practice not welcomed nor needed thanks