Slow play

mike12

Hi,
Played our first medal yesterday and it took 5 hours. How long dose it take in your club for a medal round and do you play 3 or 4 balls ours was a 4 ball.
Mike

hades

Played on Saturday and we were 4th out on the course for a 3 ball, and it took 4 1/2 hours. Meeting folks on the 5th tee box, after we finished the 10th there was 3 or 4 sets of 3 waiting to tee off. Reports of a 5 1/2 hour round for a finish. Absolutly shocking, we waiting for around 3 - 4 minutes before every shot.

You'd think getting out at 8 am, you'd avoid slow play :mad:

G1032

3 ball yesterday morning. Ballinrobe. 3 hours 40 minutes. Strokeplay. It's 4 balls after one o'clock or so.

Trampas

hades wrote: »

Played on Saturday and we were 4th out on the course for a 3 ball, and it took 4 1/2 hours. Meeting folks on the 5th tee box, after we finished the 10th there was 3 or 4 sets of 3 waiting to tee off. Reports of a 5 1/2 hour round for a finish. Absolutly shocking, we waiting for around 3 - 4 minutes before every shot.

You'd think getting out at 8 am, you'd avoid slow play :mad:

Which group was holding you up.

Thank is shocking

hades

First 2 groups, i know the lads playign in front of us, and their spot on. I mentioned it back in the club house, and it was a case of "those fellas, their always the same". I think players who are known to be slow shouldn't be allowed out until later in the day, letting them out first is just stupid.

scrubber72

G1032 wrote: »

3 ball yesterday morning. Ballinrobe. 3 hours 40 minutes. Strokeplay. It's 4 balls after one o'clock or so.

You were lucky. Took us over 4 hours 30.Got very slow on back 9 for some reason. We were a 3Ball with a 2ball in front of us.:(

GetInTheHole!

First medal was also yestedray.
Out in 3 balls and it still took 4hrs 30mins..

Fore Iron

If someone is known to play slowly, they should be warned or penalised or whatever, not simply told to go out later. That kind of condones slow play.

Most slow play comes from the same idotic behaviour. Bags strewn all around the greens rather than on the same side as the next tee, not being ready to play when it's your turn, not keeping an eye on your ball when you hit a loose shot so you know where to look when you find it, etc, etc.

But there are so many groups that think letting people through will slow your own round down. If you let people through sensibly then it will not. Standing on the next tee patiently waiting for the group behind to hole out and walk over will simply delay the next group behind them. You should make the decision to let a group through, tee off at the next hole, let them through and you all walk up to your balls together.

Or hit your tee shots, walk up to your balls, let them play through, hit your second shots while they are walking up the fairway, let them hit their seconds shots and you all walk to the green together. At least that way you give the group some spotters down the fairway so they lose their ball and slow things down further.

If people would just be sensible half the problem would go away...

WH BONNEY

Newlands - Singles stableford playing in 3 balls.

Afternoon you were looking @ 4 3/4 hours, with the added bonus of the sheet being 25 minutes late. The place is becoming a joke.

Can people tell me, what the interval is at their club on a singles timesheet, ours is 7 mins which I firmly believe is too little.

ssbob

WH BONNEY wrote: »

Newlands - Singles stableford playing in 3 balls.

Afternoon you were looking @ 4 3/4 hours, with the added bonus of the sheet being 25 minutes late. The place is becoming a joke.

Can people tell me, what the interval is at their club on a singles timesheet, ours is 7 mins which I firmly believe is too little.

9 mins at my club.

LarMan

10 minutes at my club

irishtoffee

Our first medal also yesterday and it took us 3h50m in 3 balls.Really can't understand clubs having singles tournaments and playing in groups of 4.It must be a nightmare.

PhilipMarlowe

Singles in 4's is crazy, particulary strokeplay... madness.
Our times are 8 mins apart... medal round yesterday was a little over 4 hours having started at 10:30 - we let one group through while searching and were only ever waiting for a min or two at any time. Fog for the early starters would have held things up a little on the course while people waited for safety reasons.
Stableford rounds off the whites are quicker but medal off the blues is generally ~4 hours.

Halfprice

well said fore iron.. Nothing as bad when your playing well and moving along just nicely and then your held up.. Or real slow going around and then coming up to the 9th near the clubhouse they seem to have a rocket up there holes and are on next tee and then slow down again when out of view..

Our's is a 10 min gap..

Dero123

Ours is in 8 mins intervals in three balls, if you tee off before 9.00 on a Sunday tends to be 3hrs 45mins mark for strokes, for some reason anytime after that and your into the four hours.

WH BONNEY

Hi Lads,
PM sent to anybody who quoted their clubs timesheet intervals.

Thanks in advance.

WH

f22

It only takes a couple of arseholes to cause a backlog and ruin everyones day.

PhilipMarlowe

My club is Gowran Park in Kilkenny... Forgot to add that fourballs are allowed after lunch for those who like to play their golf as a fourball.
Going out in fours is more social but those who get up early on a Sunday usually have to get home for family reasons etc so IMO it's only fair to accommodate them. It’s nice to get up early and have a round played and be home when the clan are barely out of bed. Slow players who book early tee times are evil.

Stingray

9 mins

GreeBo

10 mins but we start with 2 par 3's some days, when its par 4 to start its 7 or 8 mins moving to 10 mins in the afternoon.

We now have a local rule where you have to enter your exact start/finish time in your card or you get a DQ.

mike12

8 mins

strokes1

Check out the new measures re slow play at Hollywood Lakes!


Slow Play Monitoring

Slow Play can be very frustrating and is unnecessary. Pace of Play will be monitored this year very closely. Use of Marshals empowered to penalise or disqualify repeat offenders on any given day will be used.

The time sheet start times for St Patrick's Day along with the time that the cards were entered in the Men's Competition Computer are graphed in the attachment - other competitions will be similarly reported.

Over time it will become obvious which groups or individuals are repeatedly slow. Simple techniques for improving the pace without detracting from the game include;

Be aware of your position with regard to the group in front.

1. Do not concern yourself with the group behind; the fact that you are not holding them up is irrelevant as it is your group’s responsibility to keep up with the group in front.
2. If you feel that your group is falling behind, advise the other players in your group.
3. If your group is behind, try to catch up quickly.
4. If you lose a clear hole and are delaying the group behind, or if there is no group in front of you and you are delaying the group behind, invite the group behind to play through.
5. Do not wait until it is your turn to play before putting your glove on.
   
   
6. Do not wait until it is your turn to play before calculating your yardage and selecting your club.
   
   
7. Look at your own line of putt while the other players in the group look at theirs (within the bounds of normal etiquette).
   
   
8. At the green, position your bags so as to allow quick movement off the green to the next tee.
9. Move off the green as soon as all players in your group have holed out; mark score cards at or on the way to the next tee.
   
   
10. Play a provisional ball if your ball may be lost outside a hazard or out of bounds.
    
    
11. If you keep up with the group in front, you cannot be accused of slow play.

From the St Patricks Day statistics, it is noticeable that the groups up to and including 7.45 starters played golf at a reasonable pace - for some reason the 7.54 group took 20 minutes longer to finish their game.

Once delays creep in it is very hard to catch up in later games.

All rounds were deducted 10 minutes to allow for marking/signing and entry of cards - basically the walk from the 18th green to the locker room.

Any group can lose ground or lose a ball however, players MUST allow groups which are clearly moving faster through. No-one should have to wait on every shot throughout the round - some rounds were very close to 5 hours in duration. Rounds should be played in less than 4 hours - a generous 4.15 is the target set by committee.

GreeBo

strokes1 wrote: »

The time sheet start times for St Patrick's Day along with the time that the cards were entered in the Men's Competition Computer are graphed in the attachment - other competitions will be similarly reported.

Lots of people in my club enter their scores after they have lunch etc as the scoring hut is "after" the clubhouse.

strokes1

Cool! Good story!

hades

Bumping a semi old thread, with a kind of amusing story...

Played Mahon GC on friday last and got to the tee with my buddy. There was 2 three balls in front of us. One consisted of what i believe was a dad and 2 sons, and the other was a generic 3 ball.

So the dad goes up to tee off, ball goes 3 feet. He picks the ball up and places it back on the tee. Next shot, off to the the woods about 15 feet away. While he goes to retrive the ball, one of the sons goes up, rinse and repeat. After about 20 minutes of this, they finally let the 3 ball behind them to tee off.... and we're next.

Those lads tee off, and we're stuck for a further 10 minutes with dad and co, before they get off the tee box. I started talking to the lads behind us, saying they let one crew thru, so they'll probably leave us by on the next tee box.

So we tee off, play the hole and low and behold the lads are still teeing off on the second. No sign of being left thru.

5 holes later, while having to wait around 6 minutes for each of our shots there was a back log of us and 3 other sets of three balls waiting to tee off, while this crew managed 5 yards average down the fairway with each shot. So i take the time to run up to the dad and ask to be left thru on the next hole. His response, "why?", i explained that there was a bit of a log jam and it would be best to let a few groups thru. His response "f*** you", astonished i say, "are you serious?" and then i was told "go f*** myself" before he walked off and continued his game.

I've never come across this before on any course, and perhaps with Mahon being a municipal course, where the majority of players seemed to be green fee's (myself included) perhaps i shouldn't have expected anything else. Pretty much ruined the outing, shame aswell cos the course was pretty nice and in decent shape.

Trampas

hades wrote: »

Bumping a semi old thread, with a kind of amusing story...

Played Mahon GC on friday last and got to the tee with my buddy. There was 2 three balls in front of us. One consisted of what i believe was a dad and 2 sons, and the other was a generic 3 ball.

So the dad goes up to tee off, ball goes 3 feet. He picks the ball up and places it back on the tee. Next shot, off to the the woods about 15 feet away. While he goes to retrive the ball, one of the sons goes up, rinse and repeat. After about 20 minutes of this, they finally let the 3 ball behind them to tee off.... and we're next.

Those lads tee off, and we're stuck for a further 10 minutes with dad and co, before they get off the tee box. I started talking to the lads behind us, saying they let one crew thru, so they'll probably leave us by on the next tee box.

So we tee off, play the hole and low and behold the lads are still teeing off on the second. No sign of being left thru.

5 holes later, while having to wait around 6 minutes for each of our shots there was a back log of us and 3 other sets of three balls waiting to tee off, while this crew managed 5 yards average down the fairway with each shot. So i take the time to run up to the dad and ask to be left thru on the next hole. His response, "why?", i explained that there was a bit of a log jam and it would be best to let a few groups thru. His response "f*** you", astonished i say, "are you serious?" and then i was told "go f*** myself" before he walked off and continued his game.

I've never come across this before on any course, and perhaps with Mahon being a municipal course, where the majority of players seemed to be green fee's (myself included) perhaps i shouldn't have expected anything else. Pretty much ruined the outing, shame aswell cos the course was pretty nice and in decent shape.

I would have just rang the office and told them there is a 3 ball on x hole and holding up everyone and could you send the ranger out

golfwallah

See attached link to R&A site on the subject of "slow play":

http://www.randa.org/Rules-and-Amateur-Status/Pace-of-Play.aspx

Better to bring slow play to the attention of club or course officials - some people can be very touchy / rude or, should I say, suffer from "golf rage". I'd also avoid going back to play on a course that allows "the lunatics run the asylum" - and tell the officials just that.

k.p.h

I would have always had a problem with slow play before but a group of oul lads were up our arse all the way round a few Sundays ago.

We had let a 2ball through on the second as their was a clear run in front of us. So as we played out second shots they arrived to the tee.

Thing is we were all going well and hence taking out time around the greens(stroke medal also) . While the group behind were just belting away not looking at anything.

One of the lads was +3 through 12 when on the 13th fairway a few balls came down behind us. When the oul lads reached the green the were throwing a few looks and comments our direction.

Needless to say the guy who was +3 had a few fairly blunt words and when they realized he was one of the more talented golfers at the club they were slightly apologetic. The comment "its no fun waiting" was proclaimed by one of the oul lads also.

This made me think about slow play a bit I must admit.I understood where the lads were coming from but we were really trying to put in a score. From now on I am going to be a bit considerate of the people doing their best (no matter what handicap) in front.

Benicetomonty

If these old guys were up your arse the whole way round, they should've been let through asap, absolutely regardless of what score you were. Cannot stand slow play, never an excuse for it.

GreeBo

Benicetomonty wrote: »

If these old guys were up you're arse the whole way round, they should've been let through asap, absolutely regardless of what score you were. Cannot stand slow play, never an excuse for it.

+1
Just let them through if they are waiting, if you need to let more than 2 groups (of the same size as yours) through, then you need to take a look at your pace of play.
There is such a stigma attached to letting people through...it baffles me.

k.p.h

Benicetomonty wrote: »

If these old guys were up your arse the whole way round, they should've been let through asap, absolutely regardless of what score you were. Cannot stand slow play, never an excuse for it.

We were not playing slow.. They were playing fast .. We kept into a 2ball until well after the turn and they were still up our arse ..

If duffing 2 chips and 3 putting in 45 seconds gives you right of way on a course whats the point playing.

It was a stroke medal. Whats the point of trying to compete. If Tiger Woods and Paddy Harrington were playing in front of them would they have to let them through.

I understand exactly where the lads were coming from. I also understand where we were coming from. All I'm saying is people need to be a considerate if they are playing fast also.

The comment "Cannot stand slow play" could just as easily be interpreted I can not stand it if people in doing their best in front of me are slower than me.. I am entitled to play through.. Thats probably not what most people think but its worth considering just in case.

Maybe having timed round is the right way to go. We went out at 12.05 and were back in with grub just up as the Arsenal v Liverpool match started so I reckon 3.40 min must have been the most it would have taken us.

Anyway I'm not too bothered but I just think it could be something us golfers think about when it comes to slow play. Are they slow or am I fast .....

harpsman

sounds bit bizarre-were the group in front and the group behind not playin in medal?
if not why were they on course in middle of medal?
there must have been big gap behind old boys then if they were playin so fast-maybe shoulda just let them through in that case and then would have had peace

k.p.h

They were all playing the medal. It was bizzare. Probably should have let them through for the sake of it. Doubt that scenario happens too often to be honest. Food for thought.

I sometimes play with a guy that takes 2 min over every putt and then pulls it with too much pace.. Every time .. :rolleyes: Its really annoying because I don't even bother looking at my shots because I just want to move on..

harpsman

fair enough-think you were just unlucky having peolple who insist on keepin right on top of you just for the sake of it.we ve all had that once in a while.

i find playin with slow players even worse than playin behind them-you know the guys who insist on marking that 2 ft putt for a 9 or who refuse to move bit quicker when you ve lost touch with group ahead

jackal

k.p.h. - I am baffled as to why you did not let them through? You wanted to take your time and were on for a good score, the group behind wanted to plough through the 18 ASAP for one reason or another and were up your hoops the whole time... would it not have suited you and them to let them through?

Have been out on courses where they have just stuffed the timesheet to get as many punters out as possible. Its going to be slow, most just accept it... However, you will always get a group (much like the people who engage in pointless overtaking on the road) who just cannot stand being held up and will make their presence felt. This can be highly annoying if you are in front of them and are keeping up with those in front of you. Now I just let them through and let them be someone else's problem. Better than having them hit their shot as soon as you put the flag back in the hole etc.

ssbob

k.p.h wrote: »

If Tiger Woods and Paddy Harrington were playing in front of them would they have to let them through.

Of course that would have been the case, TW and PH can't hit a fairway between them:D

Slow play is a pain but the course ranger should be especially vigilant during competition by as you say making everyone sign out at a time you finish your round!!

getcover

hades wrote: »

Bumping a semi old thread, with a kind of amusing story...

Played Mahon GC on friday last and got to the tee with my buddy. There was 2 three balls in front of us. One consisted of what i believe was a dad and 2 sons, and the other was a generic 3 ball.

So the dad goes up to tee off, ball goes 3 feet. He picks the ball up and places it back on the tee. Next shot, off to the the woods about 15 feet away. While he goes to retrive the ball, one of the sons goes up, rinse and repeat. After about 20 minutes of this, they finally let the 3 ball behind them to tee off.... and we're next.

Those lads tee off, and we're stuck for a further 10 minutes with dad and co, before they get off the tee box. I started talking to the lads behind us, saying they let one crew thru, so they'll probably leave us by on the next tee box.

So we tee off, play the hole and low and behold the lads are still teeing off on the second. No sign of being left thru.

5 holes later, while having to wait around 6 minutes for each of our shots there was a back log of us and 3 other sets of three balls waiting to tee off, while this crew managed 5 yards average down the fairway with each shot. So i take the time to run up to the dad and ask to be left thru on the next hole. His response, "why?", i explained that there was a bit of a log jam and it would be best to let a few groups thru. His response "f*** you", astonished i say, "are you serious?" and then i was told "go f*** myself" before he walked off and continued his game.

I've never come across this before on any course, and perhaps with Mahon being a municipal course, where the majority of players seemed to be green fee's (myself included) perhaps i shouldn't have expected anything else. Pretty much ruined the outing, shame aswell cos the course was pretty nice and in decent shape.

I am the Dad you refer to.

Now I know internet forums are a great place to tell tall tales, but this takes the biscuit.
1. I took 2 attempts (appalling ones at that) at driving off from the first tee. I immediately left the 3 ball behind go ahead. This took all of 2 minutes maximum. Not 5 minutes, not 10 minutes, not 20 minutes, 2 minutes.

2. We had to wait on EVERY SINGLE TEE for people in front of us to play. In case it escaped your notice, we were behind a 3 balll, who were behind a 4 ball, who themselves were behind another 4 ball. At some of the tees, there were 2 groups ahead of us waiting to tee off.

3. When you asked me could you play through, and I asked why, your response was "there are 3 of you". I walked away and said NOTHING after this, didn't utter a solitary word, never mind twice cursing at you. If golf etiquette is that "there are 3 of you" is a good reason to play through, and then hang around waiting for the others in front to play, then my apologies.

4. I'm only a beginner at golf, just trying to learn the game and get some enjoyment myself from it. I was told take it up for specific fitness reasons. Your post typifies the type of crap I feared I would encounter, and the type of individual I would come across while playing the game. Fortunately for me, you are the first one I've come across so far.

BoardsMember

Ouch. Looks like someone is telling porkies...

hades

getcover wrote: »

I am the Dad you refer to.

Now I know internet forums are a great place to tell tall tales, but this takes the biscuit.
1. I took 2 attempts (appalling ones at that) at driving off from the first tee. I immediately left the 3 ball behind go ahead. This took all of 2 minutes maximum. Not 5 minutes, not 10 minutes, not 20 minutes, 2 minutes.

2. We had to wait on EVERY SINGLE TEE for people in front of us to play. In case it escaped your notice, we were behind a 3 balll, who were behind a 4 ball, who themselves were behind another 4 ball. At some of the tees, there were 2 groups ahead of us waiting to tee off.

3. When you asked me could you play through, and I asked why, your response was "there are 3 of you". I walked away and said NOTHING after this, didn't utter a solitary word, never mind twice cursing at you. If golf etiquette is that "there are 3 of you" is a good reason to play through, and then hang around waiting for the others in front to play, then my apologies.

4. I'm only a beginner at golf, just trying to learn the game and get some enjoyment myself from it. I was told take it up for specific fitness reasons. Your post typifies the type of crap I feared I would encounter, and the type of individual I would come across while playing the game. Fortunately for me, you are the first one I've come across so far.

Time to clarify things

1. I stand by what i said.

2. Your first ball barely got off the tee, your second after re-teeing went into the trees on the RHS behind the club house, you went off to retrive it. Your oldest son went into the trees on the right, and then your youngest went no-where. You were still missing when your eldest son let the people thru, not you. And then all three of ye tee'd off again, this time thankfully playing the ball where it lies after the tee off, and off ye went. This procedure did take a long while.

3. Ye only eventually caught up with the players in front of you, after our exchange. Before then you were 2 holes down on the players in front. Those players were on the seventh fairway when you were on the fifth green (where we met) After our exchange it appeared your youngest wasn't tee'ing off and ye picked up the pace significantly. I'm afraid if i hadn't of said more holes would have been lost.

4. I did go up to ask you to let us thru, my respose was there's 3 of you and only 2 of us, we're going a lot quicker. You did mutter something which i took up as "f off" i did say, "are you serious? and you walked off pulling your cart muttering the f word under your breath.

5. I appreciate your a beginner, we're all beginners, and thats why i asked to be let thru as you probably didn't know about letting folks thru, as your son had let the 3 ball thru at the very start.

The reasons i was getting frustrated was the repeated attempts at hitting the ball and bad course management. For example, Hitting the ball 10 metres, and then either walking up to hit from there leaving your bag behind (meaning after doing this a number of times, you end up 100m or more away from your bag), or worse still walking up to the ball, only to pick it up and replay it from the original spot. I'm not a serious golfer by any means, and the lad i was taking out that day, it was his very first round of golf. I personally feel that you had no regard for the course, or the players in your surroundings.

That is my version of events and i stick to it 100%.

k.p.h

I really think that this is just unfortunate and should not be discussed anymore. It's just the old case of the beginner in front of the more experienced player. It's part of the game. I'm sure this story is told in many a clubhouse up and down the country everyday.

"The pricks behind wanted to play through while we were waiting for the fairway to clear"

"The idiots in front wouldn't move over"

The thing is the pricks and the idiots are not meant to confront each other about it. They are just golf story's.

And golf story's are rarely accurate and if they were I wouldn't want to hear them

getcover

hades wrote: »

Time to clarify things

1. I stand by what i said.

2. Your first ball barely got off the tee, your second after re-teeing went into the trees on the RHS behind the club house, you went off to retrive it. Your oldest son went into the trees on the right, and then your youngest went no-where. You were still missing when your eldest son let the people thru, not you. And then all three of ye tee'd off again, this time thankfully playing the ball where it lies after the tee off, and off ye went. This procedure did take a long while.

3. Ye only eventually caught up with the players in front of you, after our exchange. Before then you were 2 holes down on the players in front. Those players were on the seventh fairway when you were on the fifth green (where we met) After our exchange it appeared your youngest wasn't tee'ing off and ye picked up the pace significantly. I'm afraid if i hadn't of said more holes would have been lost.

4. I did go up to ask you to let us thru, my respose was there's 3 of you and only 2 of us, we're going a lot quicker. You did mutter something which i took up as "f off" i did say, "are you serious? and you walked off pulling your cart muttering the f word under your breath.

5. I appreciate your a beginner, we're all beginners, and thats why i asked to be let thru as you probably didn't know about letting folks thru, as your son had let the 3 ball thru at the very start.

The reasons i was getting frustrated was the repeated attempts at hitting the ball and bad course management. For example, Hitting the ball 10 metres, and then either walking up to hit from there leaving your bag behind (meaning after doing this a number of times, you end up 100m or more away from your bag), or worse still walking up to the ball, only to pick it up and replay it from the original spot. I'm not a serious golfer by any means, and the lad i was taking out that day, it was his very first round of golf. I personally feel that you had no regard for the course, or the players in your surroundings.

That is my version of events and i stick to it 100%.

You can stick to all the versions of the story you want, but I've gone from telling you "f**k off" twice to muttering under my breath now, being 20 minutes on the tee to "taking a long time", your reason has changed from groups being backed up to the actual thing you said, etc. etc. etc.
You seem to spent your round watching and finding fault with what we were doing, maybe you should have concentrated on yourself.

The course was absolutely packed that day, we had to wait at every single tee, on the hole you ran up to me on (5th?), we had to wait for 2 groups to tee off on, but you continue to portray this as if we had a completely empty course if front of us and were just faffing about.

My youngest son is 10, yes he doesn't hit the ball very far, and has to be told to keep his trolley & bag with him, but it's your superior attitude about the non-quality of our play and downright lies that has really irked me here.

This has wasted enough space on this thread and forum already, but be careful about telling lies in future, you never know who is reading.

hades

I'm going to drop it here, but as much as you don't like getting called a liar, neither do i.

On the 5th green you can see the entire 6th and the 7th tee off, and there was no-one there. Additionally, while on the the 6th tee off which is a high vantage point in Mahon, i could see all along the 7th and there was no-one in front of you. After our chat you did meet the guys in front of you, but that was only after the 10th.

You muttered, i took it up as "f**" as thats what i heard, and thats why i mentioned it.

I report things as i see (or hear) them, i'm not a liar.

[/end]

PhilipMarlowe

/gets popcorn...








.... /changes mind.

/locks thread