The 5 hour round

[tsecor]

On 11/27/2020 at 8:23 PM, platgof said:

Two weeks in a row and I have had the luck to get behind large groups, that could care less how long they take to play. Today it was the get drunk and play golf group. They were playing best ball and getting smashed. The drunker they got, the worse they played. Yeah, I called the marshal and complained, then they started picking up the pace. As I was leaving one of them flipped me off, so I confronted him, and he said he confused me with someone else, sure he did. The course said they were having a hard time getting carts for players, so the marshal was busy. Then after my call I guess he had a talk with them, as they started to pick it up. This group had their own beer cart girl, and she had hard liquor in the cooler as well. 

what is a "large group"? a 4some?   so they had 5 people in the group including the girl who wasnt playing, just serving alcohol? this makes no sense

Edited April 21, 2021 by tsecor

[HyzerFlipDG]

On 4/12/2021 at 11:48 PM, @_the_crook said:

 

when was the last time you saw a ranger?
 

 

 

 

Fixed that for you!

Edited April 22, 2021 by HyzerFlipDG

[Hougz79]

I had a 5 hour round this weekend.  It was made much better as I was playing with a good friend that I have not seen in quite a long time.  So it gave us quite a bit of time to catch up.

 

That said, I wanted to ensure the A-Pro knew what was going on out there, as I only saw a Marshall once.  

 

Me: "So I just had a 5 hour round out there."

A-Pro: "No you didn't, you had a 4 hour and 53 minute round."

Me: "I think you're missing the point...."

 

 

[Argonne69]

My round was 4:40 yesterday, and it felt like an eternity given that pretty much every round this spring was 3 hours or less. The ranger was sitting in his cart near the 16th tee while the par 4 15th was wide open. A few holes later I noticed that the par 5 14th was wide open. He should have been out getting the slowpokes back into position, but apparently sitting in a cart with a clipboard while groups fall behind is "doing one's job".

 

[ThinkingPlus]

56 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

My round was 4:40 yesterday, and it felt like an eternity given that pretty much every round this spring was 3 hours or less. The ranger was sitting in his cart near the 16th tee while the par 4 15th was wide open. A few holes later I noticed that the par 5 14th was wide open. He should have been out getting the slowpokes back into position, but apparently sitting in a cart with a clipboard while groups fall behind is "doing one's job".

 

Documenting just how slow things are is very important. 😉

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

20 hours ago, Hougz79 said:

I had a 5 hour round this weekend.  It was made much better as I was playing with a good friend that I have not seen in quite a long time.  So it gave us quite a bit of time to catch up.

 

That said, I wanted to ensure the A-Pro knew what was going on out there, as I only saw a Marshall once.  

 

Me: "So I just had a 5 hour round out there."

A-Pro: "No you didn't, you had a 4 hour and 53 minute round."

Me: "I think you're missing the point...."

 

 

Please tell me that conversation didn't really happen...😆

[Hougz79]

1 hour ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

Please tell me that conversation didn't really happen...😆

Cue the Metallica song….. sad but true.

 

 My buddy even commented “it’s like he was prepared for that”.  I assume I wasn’t the first guy to complain that afternoon on the pace of play.  Sounds like it was due to a group of twosomes that refused to pair up that was to blame.  At least that was the answer I was given.  It might even check out initially; but the group I was behind was noticeably slow and falling off the even slow pace.  

[Argonne69]

46 minutes ago, Hougz79 said:

Cue the Metallica song….. sad but true.

 

 My buddy even commented “it’s like he was prepared for that”.  I assume I wasn’t the first guy to complain that afternoon on the pace of play.  Sounds like it was due to a group of twosomes that refused to pair up that was to blame.  At least that was the answer I was given.  It might even check out initially; but the group I was behind was noticeably slow and falling off the even slow pace.  

 

Huh? A pair of twosomes should be able to play in under three hours. I routinely play in twosomes that take 2:45 or less. Joining together as a foursome is going to add 45 minutes to an hour. 

 

It ain't the twosomes that are slowing the pace unless they're completely clueless hacks.

 

[Hougz79]

Yeah, I'm not 100% sure.  I also didn't specify, the pro said it was a group indicating at least 4 groups of twosomes.  As it was later in the day on a weekend it's entirely possible they were hacks.  The course I play is a bit unforgiving for new/not good players as it has a lot of forced carries, OB, and water.  

 

Mythbusters would probably chalk up the pro's excuse as "plausible".  I still maintain they should have had more aggressive marshalling on the course, especially if they saw a problem.  

[Gsea]

21 minutes ago, Hougz79 said:

aggressive marshalling

This is an oxymoron lol

[Greenie]

 I'll tell you my story. I'm not making this up.

 

A few weeks ago my buddy and I were playing. We started around 1 and we lucked out the course was wide open. We finshed the front in 1hr and 20 mins. We head over to 10 to see 5 guys in their early 20's teeing off playing out of three bags, two of them looked like they were in pajamas and the other three wearing sweat pants and tee shirts and to top it off they had their music turned way up.  I don't know how they were even allowed on the course because there is a dress code. 

 

We asked to play through several times but they kept saying we'll let you through on the next hole. Even when we were sitting behind them on the tee box. I'm not one for skipping a hole but in hindsight we should have. 

I called the clubhouse and complained. It got bruttally slow. I counted eight carts waiting on a par three behind us with the group behind us waiting with us. Finally the ranger shows up on seventeen after we had called him on 13. I told him the situation and he said he would say something to them. 

 

What I found amusing was they ranger said the reason he was delayed was he was taking care of a fivesome on the front nine. He said there were five guys with one bag and the fifth guy was standing on back of one cart riding on the bag platform of the cart. 

 

I replied what is going on here? We have been playing here for yrs and nothing like this. He said they were short staffed which I knew about and it was hard to keep track. He said so many Covid players are out playing now and have no idea. 

 

What pissed me off is we watched him ride up to them , say something to them and rode off never doing anything about it. In response they turned their music up even louder not that you couldn't already hear it from several fairways over. 

 

Anyway the back took 3:45. 

 

We played a different course down the road this past week. I was telling the golf pro about what happened and he told me the course probably allowed it. He said they call here too. They are from the local college and they ask if it would be ok if they make a time for late in the day if it would be ok if they played with 5 or 6. The pro said I tell them they can't play like that here but they still call and ask.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

6 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Huh? A pair of twosomes should be able to play in under three hours. I routinely play in twosomes that take 2:45 or less. Joining together as a foursome is going to add 45 minutes to an hour. 

 

It ain't the twosomes that are slowing the pace unless they're completely clueless hacks.

 

 

A twosome can't play any faster than the foursome in front of them. 

 

But two twosomes that refuse to join up stack up the holes as much as two foursomes. 

 

[wjdpar1]

Slow play.  Don't get me started.  I once thought I had seen it all, but no one ever see it all when it comes to slow play.

 

There is a misconception that bad players are slow players.  Not true, a bad player can play fast if they under stand golf etiquette, granted these types are few and far between.

 

I play four different courses in a seniors development.  I hate slow play and it ruins the day for me.  I have wondered how these slow pokes can enjoy golf when they can't hit a tee shot more than 125 yards (yet wait for the group 300 yards a away), or putt out even the 6 inchers. 

 

Drive the cart forward 10 yards, get out, select club based on range finder, 25 second set up routine, hit, drive cart forward 10 yards, do it all over again.

 

How can there be any enjoyment is swinging a golf club 100+ times playing a 6,000 yard golf course?

 

My friend has a word for these folks - "donkeys".  We always seem to get behind the donkeys.  I have yet to see it all,  I know that.

[rkodavey]

Thought I'd join in and share my COVID slow play story.

 

A couple weeks ago I'm playing with a friend. The round is going painfully slow. We get to a 600 plus yard par 5. There is a twosome in front of us (young guys who appear to be beginners) and a foursome in front of them, both on this same hole. I look up to see this foursome stopped in the middle of the fairway having a long conversation with a group from another hole. The conversation goes on for roughly eight or nine minutes--not sure if they're arguing or what's going on. Finally the conversation ends and the foursome proceeds to play out the hole. This twosome of beginners, who are at least 350 yards away from the green, proceeds to wait until the foursome finishes the hole before they hit their next shot. I could see them both on their phones while they're waiting for the group to finish. After the foursome putts out, the first player shanks his shot about 50 yards right, after which the other stays looking at his phone for another minute or two before topping his shot a few yards in front of him.

 

This whole time, my buddy and I are just fuming, wondering out loud what the f--- is going through these guys' minds, if they have any awareness of where they are or consideration for people who have families and other responsibilities and don't want to spend their afternoon just standing around on the golf course for six plus hours. We finally decide that we've had enough and hop in our carts and head back to the parking lot to call it quits. It's without question the most frustrating and mind-boggling experience I've ever had on a golf course.

[MelloYello]

I try not to focus on pace of play as it's often out of one's control.

 

On the upside, you can often make it fun. I played in a 9-hole work tourney the other week that took nearly 3 hours to make it around 9 holes (5:30pm to 8:30pm). TBH, it was fun as heck and I never even thought about what time it was until I realized it was getting dark. I showed up the next week and it took 3 hours again. But as before, I never really noticed. 

 

I think that if a group is super slow (or just really large), it's fair to just pass them. You don't have to sit there behind them being ignored. What are they going to do, beat you up? They're not going to care if you drive past them. 

 

You don't even really need to ask permission in 2021. It's just kind of assumed that it's there for the taking (assuming there's room ahead of them, of course). 

 

What's the course going to say about it, that you're not allowed to pass someone who's slow, LOL? Yeah, right. 

 

I will say though, it sounds like some of you guys down golf holes like my buddies downed Natty Light in college, thinking "the more I get in, the better." 

Edited May 8, 2021 by MelloYello

[BNGL]

I played a five hour round yesterday afternoon and it was quite nice to be out playing golf on a glorious spring day.

[me05501]

I’ve seen some of the weirdest stuff on the course during the pandemic. 
 

One day we played behind a slow SINGLE. He could have payed faster, but he was FaceTiming with someone during the entire round. On the green he’d lean his phone against the flagstick and continue his conversation. We caught up to him on the seventh hole and had to wait on every shot til the turn. 
 

Last week it was a mis-matched foursome, apparently a twosome that got paired with two singles. One of the singles would hit his shot and then drive immediately to his ball no matter where it was. It might be in the middle of the fairway and he’d drive out there and wait with his ball while the other three hit. Then he’d hopscotch ahead all the way through the green...but never tried to go through the people ahead of his group. Weirdest thing I’ve seen in a while. 

[smashdn]

On 4/28/2021 at 12:06 PM, Hougz79 said:

Yeah, I'm not 100% sure.  I also didn't specify, the pro said it was a group indicating at least 4 groups of twosomes.  As it was later in the day on a weekend it's entirely possible they were hacks.  The course I play is a bit unforgiving for new/not good players as it has a lot of forced carries, OB, and water.  

 

Mythbusters would probably chalk up the pro's excuse as "plausible".  I still maintain they should have had more aggressive marshalling on the course, especially if they saw a problem.  

 

Get your pro this as a gift.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/OUT-TIME-shows-ultimate-experience/dp/0578639815/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Bill+yates+Out+of+Time&qid=1620824609&sr=8-1

 

[me05501]

We have one muni that is sort of wide open and flat and inexpensive, so it is a popular place for beginning players. They squeeze on something close to 70,000 rounds per year. It's nearly always crowded, and there's not a lot to be done about it. 

OTOH it's important to have places like that where newbies feel comfortable. A certain percentage of them will eventually feel ready to go play the next better course and so on. Without these "training grounds" the sport eventually dies. 

 

All that said, playing there can still be a test of patience. We were once behind a group so slow that I just couldn't take it anymore. I called the clubhouse to ask about marshaling. 

 

The pro said "What was your tee time? What hole are you on?" 

 

After I gave him that info he said "You're still on pace for a 4:30 round, which is our average. Just relax and have fun."

 

Looking back, he was probably right. I think a lot of us get obsessed with the idea that golf should be played as fast as course conditions allow. Maybe that's not always the case? 

[smashdn]

2 hours ago, me05501 said:

After I gave him that info he said "You're still on pace for a 4:30 round, which is our average. Just relax and have fun."

 

It is not pace, it is flow.

 

Average is no good.  Means there are half the groups going around quicker.  And 4:30 isn't anything to brag about unless you have a really challenging layout from a flow standpoint.

 

What he responded with is a cop-out for doing a bad job of managing the tee sheet and expectations both of the pace of play and the behaviour of golfers on the course.

[me05501]

1 hour ago, smashdn said:

 

It is not pace, it is flow.

 

Average is no good.  Means there are half the groups going around quicker.  And 4:30 isn't anything to brag about unless you have a really challenging layout from a flow standpoint.

 

What he responded with is a cop-out for doing a bad job of managing the tee sheet and expectations both of the pace of play and the behaviour of golfers on the course.

 

 

I totally agree, but sometimes it's venue dependent. The answer we got from the pro would be 100% unacceptable at a private club. At a scraggly muni where a lot of people go to learn the game, it's more understandable.

 

In a way he was telling us a couple of different things, both of which are true. First, if we want to play at a quicker pace than 4:30 we probably should be on a different course. Second, the course is not going to change its expectations of reasonable pace, because they cater to a lot of players who need 6-8 shots to finish a hole. 

 

I didn't like his attitude at the time, but I understand it. 

Edited May 13, 2021 by me05501

[TomRUtah]

I had another interesting experience.  Inclement weather caused most golfers to quit, leaving me with a near deserted course.  That is until I came to the 7th hole, a par 4, where a young couple were playing.  They were walking and had a toddler with them.  Talk about moving slow!  It's as if they were on a Sunday stroll in the park, stopping to smell every rose.

 

I was on the tee box for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for them to hit their approach shots.  They hit and began an exceedingly SLOW stroll toward the green.  Now out of range, I teed up and hit.  I put my club away and began walking toward my ball when I spotted the couple back in the exact same spot they just hit from.  What the...?  At this point, I picked up my ball and jumped to the 8th tee box.  I played 8, 9, 10, and was on my way to the 11th hole when I spotted the couple walking out to their tee shots on the 8th.  This was the slowest play I have ever witnessed.

 

 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

I know nothing but 4.5-5 hour rounds. Southern California Weekend golfer lol. Did make pretty good time at Dos Lagos in Corona a few weekends back, River View in Santa Anata as well both under 4 hours. Early AM tee times though

[rp4golf]

On 11/27/2020 at 6:23 PM, platgof said:

Two weeks in a row and I have had the luck to get behind large groups, that could care less how long they take to play. Today it was the get drunk and play golf group. They were playing best ball and getting smashed. The drunker they got, the worse they played. Yeah, I called the marshal and complained, then they started picking up the pace. As I was leaving one of them flipped me off, so I confronted him, and he said he confused me with someone else, sure he did. The course said they were having a hard time getting carts for players, so the marshal was busy. Then after my call I guess he had a talk with them, as they started to pick it up. This group had their own beer cart girl, and she had hard liquor in the cooler as well. 

 The day after Thanksgiving, a holiday weekend ?

Dude, you did that to yourself.
Anybody with any sense knows to leave the clubs in the garage on holiday weekends, OR be ready to spend all day playing, because it's gonna be packed with the people that only play a couple of times a year.

[fridgey]

On 4/28/2021 at 7:54 PM, Greenie said:

 I'll tell you my story. I'm not making this up.

 

A few weeks ago my buddy and I were playing. We started around 1 and we lucked out the course was wide open. We finshed the front in 1hr and 20 mins. We head over to 10 to see 5 guys in their early 20's teeing off playing out of three bags, two of them looked like they were in pajamas and the other three wearing sweat pants and tee shirts and to top it off they had their music turned way up.  I don't know how they were even allowed on the course because there is a dress code. 

 

We asked to play through several times but they kept saying we'll let you through on the next hole. Even when we were sitting behind them on the tee box. I'm not one for skipping a hole but in hindsight we should have. 

I called the clubhouse and complained. It got bruttally slow. I counted eight carts waiting on a par three behind us with the group behind us waiting with us. Finally the ranger shows up on seventeen after we had called him on 13. I told him the situation and he said he would say something to them. 

 

What I found amusing was they ranger said the reason he was delayed was he was taking care of a fivesome on the front nine. He said there were five guys with one bag and the fifth guy was standing on back of one cart riding on the bag platform of the cart. 

 

I replied what is going on here? We have been playing here for yrs and nothing like this. He said they were short staffed which I knew about and it was hard to keep track. He said so many Covid players are out playing now and have no idea. 

 

What pissed me off is we watched him ride up to them , say something to them and rode off never doing anything about it. In response they turned their music up even louder not that you couldn't already hear it from several fairways over. 

 

Anyway the back took 3:45. 

 

We played a different course down the road this past week. I was telling the golf pro about what happened and he told me the course probably allowed it. He said they call here too. They are from the local college and they ask if it would be ok if they make a time for late in the day if it would be ok if they played with 5 or 6. The pro said I tell them they can't play like that here but they still call and ask.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here in the UK, rarely you have a round over 4 hours, 3 1/2 hours are the norm.

 

No carts, no music, 99.9% of people walk each round.

 

It looks like that if you’re not a member of a private club, 5hrs plus rounds are the norm in the US. 

Feel sorry for people having to endure +5hr rounds.

 

[SlothofDespond]

The worst thing I've seen the past few years was a group which I believe was grandfather, father, and kid. They were slogging along, clearly not playing high level golf, and a few holes were open ahead of them but the mind-blowing moment was when the kid, who seemed to be maybe 10-12, was sent back to the 12th tee to hit another drive. His head was down, shoulders slumped, shuffling his way back to us at the tee box. We knew his dad must have sent him back over a lost ball. That's when we just decided to haul ourselves over to the next hole and cut them off.

 

In the COVID era I'm more tolerant of slow play. More people are out there, including many newer or less skilled golfers. I understand, people are just trying to get by, and we all need to accept more patience may be needed. When things were locked down a bit more I would take a 5 hour round over another day of not being able to really do much of anything. But seriously, groups that don't let faster groups through when they clearly lose pace really need to be drawn and quartered.

[fronesis]

On 5/11/2021 at 5:45 PM, me05501 said:

I’ve seen some of the weirdest stuff on the course during the pandemic. 
 

One day we played behind a slow SINGLE. He could have payed faster, but he was FaceTiming with someone during the entire round. On the green he’d lean his phone against the flagstick and continue his conversation. We caught up to him on the seventh hole and had to wait on every shot til the turn. 
 

Last week it was a mis-matched foursome, apparently a twosome that got paired with two singles. One of the singles would hit his shot and then drive immediately to his ball no matter where it was. It might be in the middle of the fairway and he’d drive out there and wait with his ball while the other three hit. Then he’d hopscotch ahead all the way through the green...but never tried to go through the people ahead of his group. Weirdest thing I’ve seen in a while. 

 

Wow! I thought I had seen it all over the past 9 months, but these two examples win. Just awful

 

On 5/27/2021 at 8:46 AM, fridgey said:

Here in the UK, rarely you have a round over 4 hours, 3 1/2 hours are the norm.

 

No carts, no music, 99.9% of people walk each round.

 

 

Lived in the UK for 3 years and it was the best golf of my life. I was a good, young (early 30s), fast player when I started there, but the first round I played with the club captain (63) and two other older guys, and I swear I had to RUN to keep up with them. Our four ball played in 3 hours. In the summer competition rounds on the weekend would all be 3 1/2 or less. Returning to the US the slow play has been so hard. The worst part of or me is the guys shooting 110 who insist on putting everything out. At my course in the UK, if you wanted to putt your 2-footers, that was fine, but you better be shooting mid-70s or better. 

[Showtime9]

If you think joining a private club is the answer think again. Here in Manitoba every Tom Dick and Harry have joined clubs and the tee sheet is packed. Problem is that the newcomers have no idea about etiquette in the sense that maybe is a good idea to pick up after your 12th shot. Its frustrating and the clubs are not doing anything to educate them about course etiquette.

IMO they should be catering to the individuals who were members before and not to the new Johnny come lately who will most likely bolt once the travel restrictions are lifted.

 

[Gsea]

6 hours ago, Showtime9 said:

If you think joining a private club is the answer think again. Here in Manitoba every Tom Dick and Harry have joined clubs and the tee sheet is packed. Problem is that the newcomers have no idea about etiquette in the sense that maybe is a good idea to pick up after your 12th shot. Its frustrating and the clubs are not doing anything to educate them about course etiquette.

IMO they should be catering to the individuals who were members before and not to the new Johnny come lately who will most likely bolt once the travel restrictions are lifted.

 

Worst part is COVID saved a ton of courses that were financially strapped. They will take anyone as a member to keep above water.

[RSinSG]

After league play today my foursome was sitting on the balcony overlooking a couple of greens. We were enjoying the free drinks courtesy of a HIO from one of the guys. We finished on hole 11, walked to our cars and loaded our bags, drove the 1/4 mile to the parking lot and went in and got the drinks.  While sitting down, the group on 12B (who teed off right after us) was walking past the clubhouse to hole 10. After we were sitting for a while another group sat next to us and went on a rant about slow play. Sadly they didn't check the sign up sheet and started on hole 10. We look for two foursomes and make sure we are in front of them as they are the worst. We've mentioned it to the pro before but I'm guessing that the group that was complaining to us were spun up enough to compel the pro to actually do something. 

 

I've played directly behind the worst offenders one time and one reason they are slow (one of many) is two of the players really  suck. In the league championship one guy shot 130+ and the other 120+. Brutal.