USGA Studying Pace of Play with GPS

[HitEmTrue]

[quote name='Andy L' timestamp='1402070517' post='9442923']
Yes moderator, why did you move my post to the gps forum? It isn't about gps devices it's about a golf pace study that happens to use gps as one of its tools.
[/quote]

Andy, using the "report" button is probably the best way to ask them to move it back...

[FAbb]

It'll be interesting to see if they find anything useful from this study, that they don't already know. There's nothing they can do about people not understanding how to play ready golf, which IMO is the biggest contributor to slow play.

[DavePelz4]

[quote name='Argonne69' timestamp='1401986568' post='9436265']
I sure hope they put a GPS tracker on the beverage cart, so they can easily correlate the fact that the reason the group paused for 5 minutes in the frikin middle of the fairway was because the cute cart girl stopped to serve drinks in the middle of the hole, rather than wait at the next teebox.
[/quote]

Played at Naperbrook two weeks ago and the guys in the group in front of us were talking (hitting on) the cart girl for 17 freaking minutes. She came back to our group and asked if we wanted anything and I said for the twosome in front of our foursome to get their as*** in gear.

She was neither amused or deserving of any business from us.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

I originally, and appropriately, posted this thread in the general golf forum. Then a moderator decided to move it to the gps/rangefinder forum and frankly it has no fit to that forum. Now the moderator moved it to the rules and etiquette forum, and it doesn't belong here either. Sigh... I have no idea of their logic.

[joeshmo]

Guess the marker in each group will carry a GPS next
week at the US Open..............

[Argonne69]

[quote name='Andy L' timestamp='1402112278' post='9447083']
I originally, and appropriately, posted this thread in the general golf forum. Then a moderator decided to move it to the gps/rangefinder forum and frankly it has no fit to that forum. Now the moderator moved it to the rules and etiquette forum, and it doesn't belong here either. Sigh... I have no idea of their logic.
[/quote]

I assume they believe pace of play is an issue of etiquette. In some ways it is (e.g. allowing a faster group to play through), and in other ways it's not (e.g. cutting rough to speed finding balls).

[Argonne69]

[quote name='joeshmo' timestamp='1402135106' post='9447719']
Guess the marker in each group will carry a GPS next
week at the US Open..............
[/quote]

'Still don't see how this is going to help anything. You've got a group of slow professionals playing on a purposely tough/slow course for a once-in-twenty-years event. Not sure how that's going to help the general golf community.

[lumberman2462]

[quote name='mwkbmw' timestamp='1401974820' post='9434853']
If the GPS can track the fact that they just duffed one 50 yards off the tee, (followed by a smothered 3 wood from the rough 120 or so down the fairway, leaving 230 to the center, uphill and over water), and the device can deliver a mild Taser-like shock to the golfer if they attempt to wait for the green to clear instead of hitting a 100 yard lay-up in front of the water, then, yes, it may actually speed up play.
[/quote]

This may well be the best idea I've ever read on GolfWrx.

You won the internets for the day.

[martinbns]

[quote name='North Texas' timestamp='1401987863' post='9436411']
[quote name='Argonne69' timestamp='1401986568' post='9436265']
I sure hope they put a GPS tracker on the beverage cart, so they can easily correlate the fact that the reason the group paused for 5 minutes in the frikin middle of the fairway was because the cute cart girl stopped to serve drinks in the middle of the hole, rather than wait at the next teebox.
[/quote]

I can't tell you how many times I've seen the cart girl stop at the green and wait for the group putting out instead of at the teebox. Then the group comes off the green and gets their drinks from her while the group in the fairway has to wait for them to clear the green before they can hit. Talk about slowing down the pace of play.
[/quote]

When that happens I usually act like a pro and hit my shot onto the green, all be it the other side.

Drives me nuts.

[joeshmo]

[quote name='Argonne69' timestamp='1402143962' post='9447983']
[quote name='joeshmo' timestamp='1402135106' post='9447719']
Guess the marker in each group will carry a GPS next
week at the US Open..............
[/quote]

'Still don't see how this is going to help anything. You've got a group of slow professionals playing on a purposely tough/slow course for a once-in-twenty-years event. Not sure how that's going to help the general golf community.
[/quote]

it was a joke. USGA is wasting their time with this.

[Spooky67]

Pace of play could also be influenced by managing twosomes vs foursomes. I agree with and practice letting faster groups play through, but I usually play in a foursome and the groups that press us- when that happens, are always twosomes.

[thejusme]

Now I'm convinced that the USGA has mind reading devices as well. I was just talking about this last round with my playing partners. I feel like there could definitely be some generalizations made from the data that would speed up rounds of golf. Are players taking too long to get off the tee? Can you break that down by groups who play the front, middle, or back tees? Are playing spending too long hitting their approaches? Does the GPS data show it's because they are walking around looking for lost balls (depending on the course), or not, perhaps indicating that a par 5 is considered 'reachable' by most players causing them to wait for the green to clear? In order to make the data really useful you have to localize it to a particular course so the course can make necessary changes. Would most courses do anything with the data? Probably not, but we can dream.

[larrybud]

Courses HAVE hired experts in this field to improve their pace of play only by changing course setup.

1) eliminating blind landing areas, or at least, tall grass in blind areas
2) eliminating tall grass in corners of dog legs
3) new courses, having the front 9 with the first par 3 no sooner than the 5th hole.

I couldn't find the article, but just the example they gave was a course they advise which reduced pace of play by 30 minutes, just by changing the setup of the course.

[Argonne69]

[quote name='larrybud' timestamp='1402601000' post='9482069']
Courses HAVE hired experts in this field to improve their pace of play only by changing course setup.

1) eliminating blind landing areas, or at least, tall grass in blind areas
2) eliminating tall grass in corners of dog legs
3) new courses, having the front 9 with the first par 3 no sooner than the 5th hole.

I couldn't find the article, but just the example they gave was a course they advise which reduced pace of play by 30 minutes, just by changing the setup of the course.
[/quote]

Lol. They had to hired an expert to tell them that? It's common sense. I would have told them that for half the price.

[larrybud]

Considering how some courses implement 7 minute tee times, I would say that common sense is a bit lacking the golf management industry.

[larrybud]

Here's a nice manual, by Bill Yates.

https://www.ngcoa1.org/images/ngcoa/Pace_of_Play.pdf