We Need To Talk About Slow Play

bustercherry wrote: »

Like I say, sometime we need to apply some common sense to the situation rather than saying it's slow play for the sake of it.

Bad etiquette != slow play

You yourself pointed out that it would delay by 3 mins to the round.
All these little "irrelevant" things add up to slow play.

Also I dont see how it evens itself out over the round. If you do something slower than possible you dont catch up by continuing to do it slower?

Not having the last guy putting in the flag is faster than anything else and just as important as playing ready golf on the next tee. End of.

How hard can it be for someone who has finished out, to grab the flag in between the next guys putting or once the next guy has actually struck his putt ? How long does it take to get your shadow out of someone's line ?

I think we're really getting hung up on irrelevant minor details here tbh. Common sense and courtesy on the greens, without any hard and fast rules is the way to go.

First guy to hole out gets his ball and picks up the flag and gets out of the way, its simple, effective and fast.
I honestly cant see where the argument is coming from!

Though it is nice to be on the same side as "the masses", for once....

GreeBo wrote: »

You yourself pointed out that it would delay by 3 mins to the round.
All these little "irrelevant" things add up to slow play.

Also I dont see how it evens itself out over the round. If you do something slower than possible you dont catch up by continuing to do it slower?

Not having the last guy putting in the flag is faster than anything else and just as important as playing ready golf on the next tee. End of.

It "could" add 3 minutes at the most, every once in a while is either here nor there. Plus as I've said, players should be ready to play, it takes just as long to wait for another player to move around the green than than pick up the flag at the end. So realistically it should even itself out. It's potentially slower for the last player but the potential delay for 2nd player evens it out.

By the way you don't win a discussion by finishing with End Of. It just make you come across as a patronizing pr1ck, something that I would argue mods should be trying to avoid.

bustercherry wrote: »

So if he has to walk round to the opposite side of the green in the next players peripheral vision, casting shadows etc... The next player is held up, hence it's irrelevant they replace the flag as the slow play has already occurred.

Apply common sense.

Can he not do it after the next player has struck his shot or is lining up his putt ?
As you say, common sense should be applied.

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't get it - what happens if anyone is casting a shadow? People have to move around to get out of the way of any putt, what difference does it make if one has a flag in his or her hand?

And I'll make the other point - you could just man up and putt through the shadow! Unless it really matters it grinds my gears seeing amateurs getting angsty about such trivial things.

A still shadow perhaps but not some eejit swaying !!

@bustercherry

To make the last guy to hole out, then go and fetch the flag and replace it IS slower than for someone else to have it ready to stick in the hole when the last ball drops. FACT.

We are discussing all possible ways to speed the game up. Sure you are right, it doesn't take long, but it doesn't take long to wait for the guy who has the honour, or it doesn't take long to wait for the guy who has just played his chip but is still away and it doesn't take long for the fool who left his bag on the wrong side of the green to go and get it. There are loads of other little things that don't take long. Fact is, this thread is a discussion on ways to speed up the game, and all these little things add up.

You are fighting a loosing battle here and so far there is nobody in your corner. You have no argument. GreeBo is right and you are wrong. End of

bustercherry wrote: »

It's largely irrelevant if you are keeping up with the pace of play anyway.

This whole thread is irrelevant if you are keeping up with pace of play.

stevieob wrote: »

@bustercherry

To make the last guy to hole out, then go and fetch the flag and replace it IS slower than for someone else to have it ready to stick in the hole when the last ball drops. FACT.

We are discussing all possible ways to speed the game up. Sure you are right, it doesn't take long, but it doesn't take long to wait for the guy who has the honour, or it doesn't take long to wait for the guy who has just played his chip but is still away and it doesn't take long for the fool who left his bag on the wrong side of the green to go and get it. There are loads of other little things that don't take long. Fact is, this thread is a discussion on ways to speed up the game, and all these little things add up.

You are fighting a loosing battle here and so far there is nobody in your corner. You have no argument. GreeBo is right and you are wrong. End of

So it's a fact because you say so? I've gave a couple of examples where moving around the green will slow down play. Also I've clarified the last player replacing the flag is usually the exception to the norm so the extreme example. Would you complain to the group in front because they made the last player putting replace the pin? I doubt it because most reasonable people would tell catch a grip. There are more serious issues causing slow play than this.

I'll give you a FACT, last weekend I took 26 stokes less (not that it matters) than one of my 3 ball. All this else being equal (in fact I'd say we play at the same pace) the only way to speed up is for that player to be better or to make courses easier for players of lesser ability. Golfgraffix has already identified how one club has done some analysis to see where the course is causing slow play. Carton done similar with the Monty with the 1st and 3rd holes which were particular bottlenecks. Fixating over who replace the pin will not speed up the game.

etxp wrote: »

This whole thread is irrelevant if you are keeping up with pace of play.

That is true but some of the stuff people give out about is ridiculous. If they put as much effort into their golf than getting worked up over stupid stuff, they'd be able to play as good a game as they talk

GreeBo wrote: »

If they were holding my group up then I most definitely would complain, same as I would complain for marking the card on the green, bag on wrong side, etc, etc.



Call me crazy, but I'd rather people just play faster than the course have to be redesigned...

/edit
you could speed him up if you put the flag back in for him!

As I stated all things being equal, he was slower.

It doesn't need to be redesigned, just set up easier would be a start.

GreeBo wrote: »

If they were holding my group up then I most definitely would complain, same as I would complain for marking the card on the green, bag on wrong side, etc, etc.

If they are holding up your group, you point they are holding everyone up and not who put the flag back in. Otherwise you being petty...

I've finally caught up with all of the posts on this thread. I've actually never even considered the whole "flag on the green" thing. It just came naturally to me. If I am nearest I take it out and check where everyone else is putting from and leave it in a place where it wont have any effect on anyone. If I am first to hole out, I walk immediately to the flag (instead of to my bag) and pick it up and stand out of everyones way and pop it back in when the last putt is sank. I didnt think there was another way to do it !!

A load of pages back someone had a list of things that made me think they must have been behind our group a few times. The funny story on the tee...that cant be told while walking. The bag on the wrong side of the green.

Something I've noticed recently though is the PGA tour effect on the putting green. I look at my putts from both sides of the hole and find they look quite different some times from opposite sides.

I'm afraid I dont see the benefit of looking at the putts from the other angles. As in walking to a point that makes a 90 degree angle with the hole and your ball and checking the lines there. And doing the same the other side. I see tour pro's do it all the time on telly so I guess there's a reason for it. But holy sh*t it really slows the game down !!

Arsenium wrote: »

Something I've noticed recently though is the PGA tour effect on the putting green. I look at my putts from both sides of the hole and find they look quite different some times from opposite sides.

I'm afraid I dont see the benefit of looking at the putts from the other angles. As in walking to a point that makes a 90 degree angle with the hole and your ball and checking the lines there. And doing the same the other side. I see tour pro's do it all the time on telly so I guess there's a reason for it. But holy sh*t it really slows the game down !!

I take my time reading putts from different angles and I am a better putter for it. What works for one, may not for another. However, if I am to putt first, I wont spend to long looking, one look front an back will do. At the very least, I think every golfer is entiteld to do this.

If others are ahead of me, I will do a 360 around the hole, while they are lining up/playing. Then I am ready to hit when it is my turn so while I take my time looking, I don't hold the speed of play up.