How do you handle a slow player in your group?

So we have a guy in our group who is very inefficent which makes him slow. By inefficient I mean he's the type of guy on a cart path only guy will walk to his ball get his yardage then walk back to the cart to get a club and finally goes out to hit his ball, waits in the cart for his cart mate to hit before going over to his ball, etc. We have made comments but have yet to flat out say, "you are playing too slow". He's really a nice guy and a decent player who brings a lot to our group but his slow play is becoming painful.

Was wondering how others handle this type of player.

Thanks

I wouldn't play with that guy unless he picked it up.

I don't choose to play with slow players, but it happens sometimes. I just tell them to hurry up. Not sure why people get so bunched up over speaking plainly.

How well do you know the guy? Just tell him to play ready golf.

tell him to get some self-awareness and stop playing slowly. :russian_roulette:

Like the madgolfer said, tell him to play faster.

And, this will probably get moved to the rules folder, and I would like to ask in advance...why?

"Pick up the pace or you're not invited next week."

Like the madgolfer said, tell him to play faster.

 

And, this will probably get moved to the rules folder, and I would like to ask in advance...why?

Rules ... And etiquette.

It's not just the rules folder.

Rules ... And etiquette.

 

It's not just the rules folder.

I understand that...but how to tell your buddy to speed up is not a *golf* etiquette issue. In my opinion, of course. :)

Give him tips that maybe he didn’t know, like when playing CPO, bring 2-3 clubs with you, or drop off your cart partner, drive to yours, come back to pick him up after you hit yours. May seem common sense to experienced golfers but we all had to learn sometime.

Give him tips that maybe he didn't know, like when playing CPO, bring 2-3 clubs with you, or drop off your cart partner, drive to yours, come back to pick him up after you hit yours. May seem common sense to experienced golfers but we all had to learn sometime.

+1

My buddy was this guy... It use to drive us and the Marshall nuts.. It's embarrassing to have the Marshall yell "hurry up" at the whole group because of one guy.

I had enough but he was my friend so I was mindful about his feelings.

I volunteered to be the cart driver, said: we have to play ready golf.. I would pull up to his ball, shoot and tell him his yardage, tell him to grab at least 2 clubs, told him to wack it and start walking to his ball and I would pick him up.

it cut a lot of time, but his pre- shot routine was still long... I stopped taking practice swings myself(for full swings) and just walked up to the ball and ripped it so he can see.. I had to keep mentioning (drill in his head) to practice a shorter pre-shot at the range and bring it to the course.

now he flying and everything is just more enjoyable.

I think they don't know how unless someone walks them through.

There is a guy I get paired with at the local muni courses occasionally who is a really nice guy but just very inefficient; takes 2 practice swings on every shot, three practice strokes on every putt, will not give up easily on clearly lost balls, plus he is a wild hitter almost never in the fairway. My most recent pairing with him involved two other random guys, both of whom were pretty quick players. The three of us basically just kept leaving him behind and walked ahead on the far edge of the rough whenever he was putzing around getting ready to hit a shot or looking for his ball, often leading to all three of us being 100+ yards further down the fairway while he was playing his shot, putting out while he was getting ready to hit his greenside shot, or walking to the next tee while he was putting last. Eventually he seemed to get the idea and started moving a bit quicker to keep up.

Years ago when I lived in a different area and my buddies and I got paired with a real slow player during peak time at the muni, we would also employ the "keep moving and leave him behind" tactic. At least then the ranger could clearly see it was not the three of us who were slowing things down, but the slow guy who is behind the rest of his foursome.

If it were a private club I would probably either avoid playing with him or just directly tell him that if he wants to keep playing with us, we expect a certain pace. I will not continue to tolerate it.

The non self aware slow player is maddening ... self centred

Talk to him first then start playing ready golf. When he sees your are all on the green waiting maybe he’ll take the hint.

He's a good friend, I tell him with a smile "hurry up sally you're holding up the course". He might listen once in a while but often he does not. So I just start walking ahead and will finish out if he's really doinking it.Used to play every week, last season kept it to once a month.

These slow play threads are wild. I’ve played with lord knows how many people in my life, all of them with varying degrees of pace, and I can’t recall ever really caring about anyone’s playing speed. I guess if someone was truly dragging down my regular group day after day it would become grating, but I usually have plenty to occupy me on the golf course that I don’t notice.

Tell him he's gotta keep up with the group ahead.

Maybe you guys are too fast. I've played with those guys , too. How long is your group's typical round?

I start giving “helpful” suggestions, like “Hey man, grab a few clubs before you head out to your ball”, or “If you are ready, go for it...don’t wait on me”, or “Dude, what is this putt for...7? Just play it, or for that matter it’s good by me “...stuff like that. And I do the thing that the guy above said...just start moving on to the next shot, tee, etc.

Usually guys start to get the picture and they pick up a little bit.

But I have one friend that I played a lot of golf with who was slow because he took practice swings over and over and over, and he stalked his putts as if every one of them was to win the Masters, and he would look for lost balls forever.

So we started making jokes at first like “Dude, you aren’t finding that ball but I’ll give you a free drop if you want “. He didn’t take the hint, so we started getting more aggressive, like “Come on Tiger, just hit the damn putt”. Eventually we just started calling him out directly for being slow, but he still didn’t get it. Finally, I had enough when I was in a group behind him once and I hit into him. He grabbed me afterwards and was like “Dude, wtf?” and I just told him “You were glacial out there. We waited on you shot after shot. I yelled at you 5 times to speed wand you never did. I had to get your attention somehow “.

But it never changed. His rebuttal was that “He May be slower than us, but he takes fewer shots so it all evens out”. ?

Anyway, we eventually came to a bit of a truce. He’s a good dude...just a little funny sometimes.

I play with a couple guys that don't grasp the concept of ready golf. I don't care who hits first etc etc. They always want to wait for someone else to hit before their shot or vice versa. THIS one thing in particular drives me crazy. They will both spend 30 minutes if they could looking for their ball in deep cabbage. I don't get that. If I hit my ball bad enough that I can't find it in 1-2 minutes, I'm dropping another.

I start giving "helpful" suggestions, like "Hey man, grab a few clubs before you head out to your ball", or "If you are ready, go for it...don't wait on me", or "Dude, what is this putt for...7? Just play it, or for that matter it's good by me "...stuff like that. And I do the thing that the guy above said...just start moving on to the next shot, tee, etc.

 

Usually guys start to get the picture and they pick up a little bit.

 

But I have one friend that I played a lot of golf with who was slow because he took practice swings over and over and over, and he stalked his putts as if every one of them was to win the Masters, and he would look for lost balls forever.

 

So we started making jokes at first like "Dude, you aren't finding that ball but I'll give you a free drop if you want ". He didn't take the hint, so we started getting more aggressive, like "Come on Tiger, just hit the damn putt". Eventually we just started calling him out directly for being slow, but he still didn't get it. Finally, I had enough when I was in a group behind him once and I hit into him. He grabbed me afterwards and was like "Dude, wtf?" and I just told him "You were glacial out there. We waited on you shot after shot. I yelled at you 5 times to speed wand you never did. I had to get your attention somehow ".

 

But it never changed. His rebuttal was that "He May be slower than us, but he takes fewer shots so it all evens out". ��

 

Anyway, we eventually came to a bit of a truce. He's a good dude...just a little funny sometimes.

That's been my experience, too. The guys who really pose an issue with slow play have an internal problem. They either can't change how they operate or they don't see the issues they create. I think some of these guys have a bit of OCD or something the way they'll chase a 25-cent ball into the deep stuff for 5 minutes never really considering how easily it can be replaced. Of course the irony is that very few people who ever obsessed about finding their ball ever really cared what type of ball they were after! These guys will chase Noodles, Pinnacles and Top Flights for 10 minutes if you don't say something. It's like they're scared to lose anything.

Consider the guy who makes plenty of money but counts every penny and always rounds down when it comes to the tip. I don't think he's rounding down because he's a bad guy as much as he probably just loves money. He likely hasn't yet had that revelation where he realizes just how awful he looks--or how good it can feel to spread a little of it around to those who surely don't have as much.

I had a teacher once tell me something. He said, 'if you pay the cashier with a $10 bill and the clerk gives you change for a $20 and you keep it...well, I know what I can buy you for.' Granted this was inside a discussion about professional ethics so it was a little brash, but he was right to point out that it says something about your priorities if you value 10 measly dollars over helping another person when they've made a mistake.

Yet there are countless times people take advantage of others because they value stuff over people. That's how I see slow play. It's a guy essentially saying, 'it is more important I find this 25-cent ball than it is I consider how this is going to slow everyone else down.' That's the very definition of being inconsiderate. The question is whether it's something that can ever really be changed in a person. As I said, I think so but it can be a slow process with adults.

I'm not sure how effectively these slow-play types can actually curb their behavior. They just never seem to do it no matter how many clues are thrown out in their direction. I doubt they're all just stupid. It's probably something internal that dictates how they think and act that's so ingrained that telling them to "speed up" just isn't going to help.

One insight I had recently came from a novice that I played with who admitted he lost focus after about 5-6 holes. We joked about it but he relayed to me that after that point, he really didn't want to be out there. Granted you wouldn't know it by his friendly demeanor but for all intents and purposes he just stopped taking any of it seriously after that point. Maybe that plays into it somehow, IDK. Even if we call it a 'casual round,' it's clear that anyone worried about maintaining a reasonable pace is taking it seriously to a certain extent.

I wasn't fast enough but I should've responded with, 'well, if it didn't take us 2-hours and 45-minutes to play the front 9 maybe you'd be more interested!!! And that's another problem. The slower you play, the less fun any of the experience is likely to be.

So the only advice I can really offer is that I think these people need to be told by their friends very directly that there's an expected pace which needs to be kept up for the entire round because it influences how fun the event is for anybody who's out there. And they need to be told directly that if they don't match that pace and that they consistently hurt their playing partners ability to find a rhythm that their invitation will, in effect, be rescinded.

More importantly, I don't see how that message can be taken as insulting by the slow player. He's simply being given the choice between being considerate enough that he keeps up or not playing. If putting it in those terms is too harsh, I don't see how you'd want to play with that person anyhow.

So to summarize for the OP:

DO:

Speak to the player directly about pace of play.

Establish that a certain pace is expected to keep in rhythm and keep it fun.

Explain why maintaining that pace is considered an integral part of the experience.

Remind the slow-player taking more strokes is not the issue.

Frame it so the player can choose for him- or herself whether or not to join in.

DON'T:

Tolerate the issue indefinitely.

Aggressively attack or demean the slow player.

State that the goal is to play "as fast as possible."

Forget to remind the slow player that even novices can be fast players if they are considerate and stay aware of pace of play.

Forget to explain the concepts and scenarios involved with ready golf.

Maybe you guys are too fast. I've played with those guys , too. How long is your group's typical round?

Course I regularly walk is set @ 4:20 pace, 4:40 is normal on weekends, my buddy left to his way is 5:20. It's not the 110 shots, it's the walking to ball, going back to cart, 4 practice swings, 20 sec. of freezing over ball, cursing at the result. The utter lack of flow to it all. Tried to tell him on several occasions, "if things are off, don't slow down, don't think, play". He don't get it. I've lost dozens of decent rounds to worrying about pace of the group. I can adjust 5 hour play but if it's my group that is the direct cause, nah cannot do it. So I limit play with him now.

Maybe you guys are too fast. I've played with those guys , too. How long is your group's typical round?

 

Course I regularly walk is set @ 4:20 pace, 4:40 is normal on weekends, my buddy left to his way is 5:20. It's not the 110 shots, it's the walking to ball, going back to cart, 4 practice swings, 20 sec. of freezing over ball, cursing at the result. The utter lack of flow to it all. Tried to tell him on several occasions, "if things are off, don't slow down, don't think, play". He don't get it. I've lost dozens of decent rounds to worrying about pace of the group. I can adjust 5 hour play but if it's my group that is the direct cause, nah cannot do it. So I limit play with him now.

Yeah, that's slow. I'd leave him off the tee time, and when asks why, tell him he slows the group down. There's no getting around it.

He's being rude, not you.

Maybe you guys are too fast. I've played with those guys , too. How long is your group's typical round?

 

Course I regularly walk is set @ 4:20 pace, 4:40 is normal on weekends, my buddy left to his way is 5:20. It's not the 110 shots, it's the walking to ball, going back to cart, 4 practice swings, 20 sec. of freezing over ball, cursing at the result. The utter lack of flow to it all. Tried to tell him on several occasions, "if things are off, don't slow down, don't think, play". He don't get it. I've lost dozens of decent rounds to worrying about pace of the group. I can adjust 5 hour play but if it's my group that is the direct cause, nah cannot do it. So I limit play with him now.

 

Yeah, that's slow. I'd leave him off the tee time, and when asks why, tell him he slows the group down. There's no getting around it.

He's being rude, not you.

Yeah, we have history, he's a good friend. I just approach it now like it's more a social event and don't look to score personal best. In his amiable block head way he thinks by being deliberate he improves his chances, which is the problem. To your original point, I've played with guys that tear thru a hole and it soon gets reflected in the tempo of their swing which runs up the numbers unnecessarily. They've taken the slow play thing to bizarre, 'hurry up and wait 5 minutes on every tee box, score be damned' to an extreme. Flow is highly underrated in golf..

One thing at a time with guys like this. I'd start with playing dumb and asking him where his ball went when he walks back to the cart for his clubs, to try to get the point across that you can't do that. Or do the same when he's just waiting for his cart partner to hit. Little stuff like that to get him thinking about being moving and not just sitting still.

We have a guy in our regular group that takes 4 practice swings before every shot. One day after the round in the clubhouse, he stated he could not understand why he was getting so tired after each round. I just blurted out, "it's no wonder, because you actually played 72 holes with those 4 practice swings on every hole" everybody, including him had a good laugh, but apparently it got through, because now he only takes 2 practice swings. At least it's a step in the right direction.

I play my own game

Even since I started golfing (less than 2 years ago) my golf "mentor" always told me that its ok to suck, just suck quickly. Slow pace was a big no right from the start.

Im from NJ so people out here dont have an issue with bringing something up face to face right from the get go. If you are holding me up, or I am holding you up, someone is going to speak up quickly.

honestly is his pace of play keeping you guys off the pace at the course? if so, then its a problem. if not, then not really a problem. I would say if its the former you gotta have a chat with him. slow play kills us all and we're not trying to win a major here. I don't think it has to be mean just let him know that you think he could be quicker and offer him some suggestions. I think all golfers should be generally considerate to pace of play and being a slow player is not something any of us should want to be.

A certain in-law I have was a lot like that, but with slightly different nuances. It was about 7-8 years ago, I remember a particular round with him. He typically shoots in the low 100's most times he plays, so the sheer amount of swings he takes per round already makes him a little slower than average. But I digress, back to this particular round...

A year or two earlier I had picked up my first Sky Caddie. He decided he wanted a GPS device as well, but didn't want to shell out for the Sky Caddie. So he got some cheap GPS watch. Also on this particular day, he decided to bring a second GPS device with him, some free Golf Logix phone app.

So I remember it was on the 2nd or 3rd hole of the day. We reached his tee shot, and because the Sky Caddie always has the yardage available I say to him "150 yards to middle". I know he heard me, but he looks at his GPS watch anyways. "Hmmm, the watch says 147 yards, lemme see what the phone app says". For the next minute or two, he can't get the phone app to give him a yardage. I'm sitting in the cart repeating the phrase "150.... 150...... 150.....". He finally gets a yardage from the phone app. "153 yards. What the hell? Why does this one say 147, and this one says 153?". He stares at both devices, bewildered.

I say "it's 150, just average the two". He continues to fiddle with the phone.

Finally he puts the phone down and walks behind the cart to pick a club. Pulls one out, walks to his ball. Takes 4 practice swings, pauses, and then says "aww crap, this isn't the right club". Walks back, gets another, takes 4 more practice swings. Then he lines up, pulls the trigger, and... worm burner that goes maybe 50 yards.

I had to eventually wave the foursome up that was behind us. Yes, a twosome had to let a foursome through. And boy did I have to hear the protest from him about it. Needless to say I think I've played maybe 2-3 rounds with him TOTAL in the past 2-3 years. I just couldn't take it anymore.

I don't see this as being overly complicated. Just have a few guys from the group tell him he's a slow player and give him tips on how to play faster. If he's a friend he'll take the feedback, if he doesn't care or gets hostile, stop playing with him.