Getting really frustrated by the length of rounds.

[hybrid25]

Slow play and tourists are so bad in Orlando we're joining a private club. It actually annoys my wife more than me.

Florida = 2 too's

Too hot in the summer

and

Too many tourists in the winter

[Moonlightgrm]

I have been playing golf for almost 30 years and I am without question currently playing the best golf of my life at 45 years old. I usually break 80 and absolutely love the game like I did 30 years ago, but I am so frustrated by how long these rounds are becoming simply due to course mismanagement / disinterest.

 

I played golf yesterday and the round started off slow and got progressively worse. By the time we get to the 10th hole there is four groups on the hole (two on the tee box) and that continued on 11 & 12. At that point it took 3 hr 20 minutes to play 12 holes and judging by how it was becoming increasingly slower the final 6 holes would have certainly taken 2 hours no exaggeration.

 

When we were on 10 we realized that there was a fivesome three groups ahead. A couple of people called the clubhouse to complain and the marshall faked outrage about the whole thing when he knowingly let them go off that way. They did nothing about breaking it up even though they gave us the lip service that they were going to do something about it.

 

So I left after the 12th hole because the whole thing was ridiculous and I would have only been able to play 2-3 more holes anyways. I never would have imagined a 10am tee time would have been a 5 1/2 hour round.

 

Here is what pissed me off. When I left the 12th hole and headed back to the clubhouse it turns out that a really bad foursome and the fivesome behind them were holding up the whole golf course. There was only two groups on 16, a twosome on 17, and nobody on 18!!! So I played the 18th hole and left.

 

When are these golf courses going to get it in their heads that there is consistent money to be made on the weekend mornings if you run a tight ship? If word gets out that a quality gold course us having 4 1/2 hour rounds the tee sheet for Sat & Sun will be full by Monday evening and have plenty of repeat customers. I am really starting to believe that golf course mgmt are their own worst enemy in this matter.

 

I am seriously thinking about playing less golf because I am so tired of this crap. I love the game of golf. I love the decision making and creativity aspect of the game, but I am seriously getting turned off by this nonsense.

 

Am I wrong that golf courses are missing out on an opportunity to profit off the poor management of other golf courses? Hotels and restaurants that are well managed and offer quality service can stay in business for a long time. Have golf course mgmt just become indifferent to the whole thing, lazy, lack of true mgmt skills?

 

I have never worked in the golf industry in any capacity and do not care to because I just love playing. I may very well being missing something, or taking too simplistic of a look at the whole thing. Your thoughts? I am beyond frustrated.

Let me apologize, I did not read your entire post, but I think I have the gist of it. I felt the same way 22-years ago. My wife told me, if I quit playing local amateur baseball, I/we could join a country club and play all of the golf I wanted. It's the best golfing decision I could have made. Rounds with a cart are around 3-hours for a foursome and I've played 18-holes as a single in an hour and 20 minutes. It is heaven. We have a beautifully manicured championship course (we are home to an LPGA Tournament) and we have under 200 members. If you love golf and can afford it, join an exclusive country club. You won't regret it.

[Spooky67]

Hmmmm... I must be the lucky one. The course I play is always in great shape and no one really plays it much....? I normally play during the week to avoid the crowds...or so I thought. I’ve played the last four weekends and only saw another player once. Had a twosome teeing off behind me on 1, but never saw them again. And the other three rounds I never saw anyone actually playing. Playing at 11:30am on a beautiful Saturday you would expect a crowd, not so.

 

This course is always in great shape like I mentioned, greens were perfect last week, but it is tough. Hardly a flat spot on it so it, but I still have no idea why it’s always so open. I’ve played there for years, and it seems stable financially. Not sure where the money comes from to keep it going. It is in a neighborhood so maybe a portion of the homeowners dues help support the course..? IDK. But I love the fact that I can get a round in at anytime with no crowds at all and usually have the place to myself as far as I can tell.

 

[dedicated2journey]

Hmmm...slow play. Interesting myth...but does it really exist? Or have you been brainwashed to believe it is a problem. I live in Denver and play at a club that is less than 10 miles from the airport. Home of the Colorado Open, Green Valley Ranch Golf club. Tourist central!

 

With a cart, 4 some of myself and tourists snapping photos of the rockies, talking about stuff, not really focusing on golf, 7200 yard Dye brother design. 4ish hours with ease, even if it feels like 5. We're too fast paced in america, why can't we just enjoy the moment? Be present while we are playing and let the externals wash away?

 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SLOW PLAY! Just be ready to hit when it is your turn...and enjoy the fact that you are on the golf course. You could be sifting through trash in India, or walking miles to find water in Africa.

[Wooderson]

Hmmm...slow play. Interesting myth...but does it really exist? Or have you been brainwashed to believe it is a problem. I live in Denver and play at a club that is less than 10 miles from the airport. Home of the Colorado Open, Green Valley Ranch Golf club. Tourist central!

 

With a cart, 4 some of myself and tourists snapping photos of the rockies, talking about stuff, not really focusing on golf, 7200 yard Dye brother design. 4ish hours with ease, even if it feels like 5. We're too fast paced in america, why can't we just enjoy the moment? Be present while we are playing and let the externals wash away?

 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SLOW PLAY! Just be ready to hit when it is your turn...and enjoy the fact that you are on the golf course. You could be sifting through trash in India, or walking miles to find water in Africa.

 

Good luck! I'm praying for you. While I agree with you, I don't think there will be many others. People are in too big of a hurry these days. See it on the course and in driving. Some people's world falls apart if they are forced to actually drive the speed limit. I get lots of evil looks (even in the right lane) putting down the interstate in my Jeep doing 60-65.

 

I am a fast golfer. Not two hour fast. I generally take three to four hours to play, but if it stretches to 4.5+ I won't lose my cool over it. Especially if the weather is nice. Don't see the need for extra stress in my life.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

Hmmm...slow play. Interesting myth...but does it really exist? Or have you been brainwashed to believe it is a problem. I live in Denver and play at a club that is less than 10 miles from the airport. Home of the Colorado Open, Green Valley Ranch Golf club. Tourist central!

 

With a cart, 4 some of myself and tourists snapping photos of the rockies, talking about stuff, not really focusing on golf, 7200 yard Dye brother design. 4ish hours with ease, even if it feels like 5. We're too fast paced in america, why can't we just enjoy the moment? Be present while we are playing and let the externals wash away?

 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SLOW PLAY! Just be ready to hit when it is your turn...and enjoy the fact that you are on the golf course. You could be sifting through trash in India, or walking miles to find water in Africa.

 

LOL... This is definitely a first world problem. But so is all of WRX.

 

Anyway I agree with you when you say "Just be ready to hit when it is your turn"... But when people aren't ready, that is virtually the entire root cause of slow play.

 

But nothing ruins a round more than broken rhythm when people aren't playing as stated... Being ready to hit.

[phil75070]

Part of the problem is the fact that courses publicize an acceptable pace of play at anywhere from 4:15 to 4:30. Even though groups could play faster they feel as long as they are on that pace to heck with everyone else behind them. Add that to the fact that they don't know or can't figure out what that 4:15-4:30 pace works out to per hole and now you start seeing rounds North of 5 hours!

[om18v]

We have some courses in the area that give the locals some great deals. One place I play after 5pm really caters to the locals otherwise they would die during the slow hot summers. Sometimes it can be pretty sparse and I have played solo in 2.5 hrs. Other times it's pretty crowded and it will be slow. If you go in with you eyes and expectations open you can have some evening fun and realize you are not going to finish. I have been paired with some whiners that complain the whole time about slow play. Or the group that wants to skip holes even though there is no way you will finish before dark. Uh, did you see how many groups went off at 5?

 

Then you can have a night like I did last night. I was paired with 86 and 71 year old. Guys played solid golf and we had a grand old time. I took 2:15 to play nine but felt like 1hr. We all knew it was going to be slow. Fortunately the group behind us knew it too when they would catch us on the tee box. Also the same as when we rolled up to the tee and the group in front was waiting. We would joke and laugh just enjoy being out. It was that kind of evening. I did see the one whiner guy while waiting at the bag drop and was so glad I didn't get paired with him again. Perspective and expectations, that's pretty much what it comes down to.

[FourTops]

Ice cold beer and/or sneaking a couple bottles of Cabernet is the anecdote to slow rounds.

[nsxguy]

Ice cold beer and/or sneaking a couple bottles of Cabernet is the anecdote to slow rounds.

 

Looks like you've had a few,,,,,,,,,,, of each,,,,,,,,,,,,, :cheesy: :cheesy: :cheesy:

[FourTops]

Ice cold beer and/or sneaking a couple bottles of Cabernet is the anecdote to slow rounds.

 

Looks like you've had a few,,,,,,,,,,, of each,,,,,,,,,,,,, :cheesy: :cheesy: :cheesy:

 

LOL! I meant "a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person".

[nsxguy]

Ice cold beer and/or sneaking a couple bottles of Cabernet is the anecdote to slow rounds.

 

Looks like you've had a few,,,,,,,,,,, of each,,,,,,,,,,,,, :cheesy: :cheesy: :cheesy:

 

LOL! I meant "a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person".

 

Oh, you DID ???

 

Sorry, my bad. I thought you meant "antidote". :pardon:

 

Carry on !!! :hi:

[FourTops]

Ice cold beer and/or sneaking a couple bottles of Cabernet is the anecdote to slow rounds.

 

Looks like you've had a few,,,,,,,,,,, of each,,,,,,,,,,,,, :cheesy: :cheesy: :cheesy:

 

LOL! I meant "a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person".

 

Oh, you DID ???

 

Sorry, my bad. I thought you meant "antidote". :pardon:

 

Carry on !!! :hi:

 

You got me!

[moose557]

Played a round on Thursday last week and the order was a 4-some, my 3-some and then a 4-some behind us. The group in front of us was not very good but we also had one less person so we kept pace easy. The group behind us was very skilled and up our Word not allowed the whole time. We were not playing particularly fast as we were not the hold up but I feel the group behind us was getting a bit annoyed.

 

How do you handle people being annoyed at you when you are not the problem? The group behind eventually skipped from hole 10 over to 13 when they saw an opening. We were in no rush but once the group behind cut around, there was no one else behind so we actually got to relax and BS rather than play fast paced golf which is always nice.

 

My method is to never look behind me. I just don't care. I have one job, to stay up with the folks in front of me.

 

For some reason this annoys me more then a slow round. Same groups are the ones firing once your 5 feet off the green and not even in the cart then crawl up your a** on the next tee when there is just no place to go and everyone is waiting on every shot.

 

 

[resnor]

Played two Saturdays ago...the group in front of my group wouldn't tee off until the group in front of them was at least 300 yards out...and these guys couldn't drive the ball farther than 200 yards. On par fives, I watched them wait for greens to clear before taking their second shots, when they were at times 300 yards out. That's the kind of stuff that's causing long rounds.

[EBG]

Some insight from another part of the world:

 

I've been playing golf all over Europe for 20 years and in Sweden, where I live, pace of play is becoming a real problem. Funny, because number of golfers is steadily decreasing and number of courses is constant.

 

A couple of years ago the national golf federation changed the entry process into golf; in order to simplify and get more people to play. Apparently, it wasn't all that great, and, in my opinion, new golfers haven't gotten the education needed entering the sport. There has been a significant change for the worse when it comes to etiquette on the course; especially in respecting your fellow golfers and how to behave on the course. Not letting faster golfers play through, not being ready when it's their turn, leaving their bags in the wrong places etc.

 

Pace of play has taken a serious toll, and in a country where we really don't have the setup with private and muni courses, next year I'm joining Sweden's only private club - simply because of slow play and lack of respect at my current course (which has hosted European Tour events).

[hybrid25]

Played two Saturdays ago...the group in front of my group wouldn't tee off until the group in front of them was at least 300 yards out...and these guys couldn't drive the ball farther than 200 yards. On par fives, I watched them wait for greens to clear before taking their second shots, when they were at times 300 yards out. That's the kind of stuff that's causing long rounds.

It sounds like their pace-of-play was keeping up with the group in front of them, although.

[om18v]

Some insight from another part of the world:

 

I've been playing golf all over Europe for 20 years and in Sweden, where I live, pace of play is becoming a real problem. Funny, because number of golfers is steadily decreasing and number of courses is constant.

 

A couple of years ago the national golf federation changed the entry process into golf; in order to simplify and get more people to play. Apparently, it wasn't all that great, and, in my opinion, new golfers haven't gotten the education needed entering the sport. There has been a significant change for the worse when it comes to etiquette on the course; especially in respecting your fellow golfers and how to behave on the course. Not letting faster golfers play through, not being ready when it's their turn, leaving their bags in the wrong places etc.

 

Pace of play has taken a serious toll, and in a country where we really don't have the setup with private and muni courses, next year I'm joining Sweden's only private club - simply because of slow play and lack of respect at my current course (which has hosted European Tour events).

 

I found your post very interesting. Fortunately I deleted what I was about to post since it starting to read like political commentary. Still, I found your post enlightening.

[joker2]

Played two Saturdays ago...the group in front of my group wouldn't tee off until the group in front of them was at least 300 yards out...and these guys couldn't drive the ball farther than 200 yards. On par fives, I watched them wait for greens to clear before taking their second shots, when they were at times 300 yards out. That's the kind of stuff that's causing long rounds.

 

Sounds like you would have finished 1/2 a hole faster if they hit when they could....

[nsxguy]

Played two Saturdays ago...the group in front of my group wouldn't tee off until the group in front of them was at least 300 yards out...and these guys couldn't drive the ball farther than 200 yards. On par fives, I watched them wait for greens to clear before taking their second shots, when they were at times 300 yards out. That's the kind of stuff that's causing long rounds.

 

Sounds like you would have finished 1/2 a hole faster if they when they could....

 

:taunt:

 

Yep. 7 whole minutes gone forever. :D

[radiman]

Just got done playing today. Two tee times. Two guys flaked out. So, looking like 2 threesomes. Course looked dead so we played as a six. Told them we'd split up as needed. We waited on the twosome ahead of us a number of times and never had a group waiting on us. All in all, we finished in under 4 hours. On top of that, one of our guys shot 100, another in the high 90's. We spent time looking for balls and lining up putts. We played true ready golf. If you're at the tee box, tee off. If you're not interfering with anyone else, hit your approach shot. It's not that hard to shave time off your round if you aren't worrying about all the gentlemanly niceties.

 

We didn't make a point of playing fast. It was a relaxed nice paced round. We all had fun and didn't slow anyone else down.

[radiman]

Played two Saturdays ago...the group in front of my group wouldn't tee off until the group in front of them was at least 300 yards out...and these guys couldn't drive the ball farther than 200 yards. On par fives, I watched them wait for greens to clear before taking their second shots, when they were at times 300 yards out. That's the kind of stuff that's causing long rounds.

 

Sounds like you would have finished 1/2 a hole faster if they hit when they could....

 

While, this particular instance it didn't make much difference. I think that if you have 3 or more groups playing this way on a busy day, it compounds the issue. It only takes a few slow groups on the right hole to add a ridiculous amount of time to your round.

[Quasimoto]

The whole keeping up with group in front is fine as long as there are equal players.

Where I get pissed is when a "player ambassador" is wanting a group of 4 to keep pace with a twosome, especially when that 2 is playing a more forward set of tees as the 4 some.

More than once I have had to go to the head pro and ask if this is policy or just a stupid employee.

In each occasion the pro answered in the affirmative - Stupid!

[HatsForBats]

Played two Saturdays ago...the group in front of my group wouldn't tee off until the group in front of them was at least 300 yards out...and these guys couldn't drive the ball farther than 200 yards. On par fives, I watched them wait for greens to clear before taking their second shots, when they were at times 300 yards out. That's the kind of stuff that's causing long rounds.

 

Sounds like you would have finished 1/2 a hole faster if they hit when they could....

 

While, this particular instance it didn't make much difference. I think that if you have 3 or more groups playing this way on a busy day, it compounds the issue. It only takes a few slow groups on the right hole to add a ridiculous amount of time to your round.

 

You could have every group playing this way on a busy day and it wouldn't have to kill the pace of play. It just changes the length they are waiting at any given point. On Par 5's they would wait longer to hit their approaches and then on the next hole they would wait less to tee off. Relatively quickly they are right back waiting the same length of time to tee off or hit their approaches.

[nsxguy]

The whole keeping up with group in front is fine as long as there are equal players.

Where I get pissed is when a "player ambassador" is wanting a group of 4 to keep pace with a twosome, especially when that 2 is playing a more forward set of tees as the 4 some.

More than once I have had to go to the head pro and ask if this is policy or just a stupid employee.

In each occasion the pro answered in the affirmative - Stupid!

 

Welllllllll,,,,,,,,, on the courses I've played the ranger is usually out there only during busy times and if the course is truly busy, there shouldn't BE any 2-somes out there anyway. But, even if there are, the 4-some behind them should be pretty much in place as the 2-some is waiting all the time on the 4-some in front of THEM.

 

Now if the course is truly UNcrowded and the ranger IS out there, in this case the ranger should only be concerned about someone holding up anyone else, NOT with any gaps between one group and another. If a group isn't holding anybody up who cares how long they take ? Certainly not I.

 

So while there is always what I call the "snake effect" (expanding and contracting of groups around the course) due to par 3s and par 5s, which always separates groups to some degree, the rangers, who, BTW, are usually retirees getting paid minimum wage, should have some knowledge as to how groups on the course actually move.

 

Then again, there are still plenty of regular players who can't seem to grasp the concept. We have an easy par 4 (10th hole) after a very difficult par 3 (9th of course) that adjoin each other.

 

Every once in a while a group comes off the 8th green and seems to be a bit exasperated that while the last player is picking his ball out of the hole on 9 the previous group is almost done on 10.

 

After 10 or 20 YEARS of seeing this you'd have thought they'd get it by now,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Go figure.

[tatertot]

The whole keeping up with group in front is fine as long as there are equal players.

Where I get pissed is when a "player ambassador" is wanting a group of 4 to keep pace with a twosome, especially when that 2 is playing a more forward set of tees as the 4 some.

More than once I have had to go to the head pro and ask if this is policy or just a stupid employee.

In each occasion the pro answered in the affirmative - Stupid!

 

You don't have to keep pace ... just wave the group behind you through.

[third-times-a-charm]

Wife and I played a 3:45 round this weekend in Orlando. It was the perfect storm so to speak....tropical storm off the west coast with rain forecast, middle-of-day 1:00 round, AJGA tournament was going on the other 18 course (facility had 36 holes), AND it was memorial day weekend so everyone was too busy drinking!

 

It was fantastic! A 3-some even let us play through. A true summer miracle!

[heavy_hitter]

Slow play and tourists are so bad in Orlando we're joining a private club. It actually annoys my wife more than me.

Florida = 2 too's

Too hot in the summer

and

Too many tourists in the winter

 

Truth. The snowbirds are horrible and feels like they are staying longer and longer. Really tired of it.

[FlyingLaw1]

I played Fossil Creek in Ft. Worth yesterday (Memorial day). 5 and a half hours. Got to the first tee and the started said (we are about 15 minutes behind). Should have just left. Two groups on every single tee box and almost 100 degrees out.

[FlyingLaw1]

Played two Saturdays ago...the group in front of my group wouldn't tee off until the group in front of them was at least 300 yards out...and these guys couldn't drive the ball farther than 200 yards. On par fives, I watched them wait for greens to clear before taking their second shots, when they were at times 300 yards out. That's the kind of stuff that's causing long rounds.

 

I was playing a while back and had about 280 to a par 5. Hit an iron that ended up at least 40 yards short of the green. The group on the green called the pro shop and said I had hit into them. Maybe golfers are trying to avoid that??