Anybody considering not playing this year? Crazy talk I know...

[A.Princey]

On 4/23/2021 at 9:23 PM, Quasimoto said:

I always read and hear about pace of play. There is no 1 pace for everyone.

 

Example: today 4 of us played in 3 hr 15 mins. The foursome behind us were antsy on a few tee boxes and on a par 3 hit one of our carts and the 75 yo man in the cart in the foot. I mean, come on, where do you think you are going to go at that pace? Run up the asses of the next group? No, there is a fundamental level of acceptance for pace that people need to realize is average for a course. I view anything at around the 4 hr to 4:20 as acceptable. if it is quicker then good. But going to a course in heavy use and expecting to get around in 3 hrs is not only unrealistic, but extremely rude imo.

This exactly, especially on routinely busy days. Nobody should be going to the course with anything less than 4h 30m to spare. If you have prior engagements in less time, than you run the risk of arriving late or cutting out early, plain and simple.

 

Case and point, my friend and I as a twosome once made it around in 3:20, but a foursome of old bags ran up our asses on hole 12 and rudely skipped past us on hole 15. I can still hear him in my head, “...you ladies late for a rummage sale!?!?” They must have literally been walking up to their balls with no intent and just hacking away, then raking them in on the greens. For 4 women over 70, hellbent on a 3hr Thursday, noon round, they surely had some other commitments to tend to after their round. Yikes!

[Monstermack]

I played my first 9 of the season last night. Weather easily would have allowed golfing all through May if I wanted.

I have a brand new set of irons I bought over the winter.

I am completely stocked up on balls.

I'm a solo player so I only play for my enjoyment and exercise. 

But my mind/mood just hasn't been into it. I figure my round count will be down this year from last year.

[RCGA]

I'm in Canada. Courses around me oversold their memberships and it's impossible to get a tee time other than 5:30am or 6:00pm, even 7 days out. 

 

For years, even during the Tiger wave in the early to mid 2000s, that was unheard of unless it was a holiday or prime weekend. For the most part, four people could show up to a course and they'd be able to get you on within an hour on the weekend and within 30min on a weekday. Now you it's a fight just to get a stall on the range.

 

I also hate putting with the flagstick in. Just doesn't feel like golf to me. 

 

Glad I didn't get a membership this year. 

[BlackDiamondPar5]

I'm about 6 weeks into golf season here in the Western NY Finger lakes region and golf seems about normal. A bit more busy but otherwise back to normal. Pro shops open, 19th hole open, rakes in bunkers, no more spacers in cups. What I'm really happy about is that the everyone seems to have embraced keeping the pin in for most putts. 

[TeeJeff]

On 6/9/2021 at 9:34 AM, BlackDiamondPar5 said:

I'm about 6 weeks into golf season here in the Western NY Finger lakes region and golf seems about normal. A bit more busy but otherwise back to normal. Pro shops open, 19th hole open, rakes in bunkers, no more spacers in cups. What I'm really happy about is that the everyone seems to have embraced keeping the pin in for most putts. 

Syracuse here.  Mostly normal. Ball washers are back in but still no water coolers or operational water fountains.  Sucks on a hot humid day.  

[braincramp52]

6 hours ago, TeeJeff said:

Syracuse here.  Mostly normal. Ball washers are back in but still no water coolers or operational water fountains.  Sucks on a hot humid day.  

I feel very lucky. About the only thing that has changed since all this bs started is we had to leave the flags in last year. 2021 has been about as normal as any other year except no water on the course to drink. 

[diddy2]

I fish bass tournaments every weekend, I thought about not doing golf because both hobbies are VERY expensive, fishing much more than golf. I have budget between the two.

[Showtime9]

On 6/9/2021 at 6:12 AM, RCGA said:

I'm in Canada. Courses around me oversold their memberships and it's impossible to get a tee time other than 5:30am or 6:00pm, even 7 days out. 

 

For years, even during the Tiger wave in the early to mid 2000s, that was unheard of unless it was a holiday or prime weekend. For the most part, four people could show up to a course and they'd be able to get you on within an hour on the weekend and within 30min on a weekday. Now you it's a fight just to get a stall on the range.

 

I also hate putting with the flagstick in. Just doesn't feel like golf to me. 

 

Glad I didn't get a membership this year. 

Western Canada here. I agree with the oversold membership point. It is a pain in the butt trying to book for 4:30 after work and then getting a 6:00 tee time (If that happens I usually just move it to 7PM and play 9). I am finding myself playing more 9 hole rounds at my course than 18 because I can never get an earlier tee time which is annoying because the club market's themselves for the "private advantage".

 

It just seems that they have forgotten about the members who were there pre-pandemic and they seem to be catering to every Tom Dick and Larry who just came off the street this year. 

[Showtime9]

On 7/10/2021 at 12:30 PM, diddy2 said:

I fish bass tournaments every weekend, I thought about not doing golf because both hobbies are VERY expensive, fishing much more than golf. I have budget between the two.

I was having the golf vs fishing conversation with a coworker of my wife's the other night. How much more is the fishing hobby than golf? I understand buying a boat and gas must be costly but other than that, what is the most expensive part of fishing?

[triplecorgi]

On 7/13/2021 at 10:44 AM, Showtime9 said:

I was having the golf vs fishing conversation with a coworker of my wife's the other night. How much more is the fishing hobby than golf? I understand buying a boat and gas must be costly but other than that, what is the most expensive part of fishing?

do fishers go out, have a bad day and not catch a lot of fish, decide that it was the rod's fault so they buy a new state-of-the-art rod? 

[diddy2]

On 7/13/2021 at 7:44 AM, Showtime9 said:

I was having the golf vs fishing conversation with a coworker of my wife's the other night. How much more is the fishing hobby than golf? I understand buying a boat and gas must be costly but other than that, what is the most expensive part of fishing?

Fishing is extremely expensive, at least tournaments Bass fishing is: rods, reels, line, baits, plastics, weights, hooks, tournament entry fees, electronics for the boat, THE BOAT, gas, oil, maintenance, storage for the boat, a truck big enough to pull it, yearly lake passes...on and on and on

[OscarBravoLeft]

Times are nuts for sure. Several months ago I joined the oldest club in FL, knowing I was on the waitlist for full golf for a max of 1.5 years. Prior to the pandemic, 0 wait. 
 

A few weeks after I joined it was already up to a 3 year wait. Crazy…
 

I’m just glad I have the club that I joined for myself and my employees to play in the meantime. 

[caeye0710]

My wife and I were members of a 54-hole private club leading up to the pandemic. 
 

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that a partial reason we didn’t renew is that we had a child and just ended up not spending as much time at the club anymore. 
 

A major reason is that in the beginning, the staff / ownership promised to cap the membership at 300, which for a 54-hole track is extremely low (but the pricey dues made up for it - luckily we are paying the legacy rate). 
 

I guess when the pandemic hit and they realized they could make some serious cash off initiation fees and new member dues, it became a zoo out there. Not too sure how many new members signed up, but it got to the point where it was a guaranteed 5-hour round. It was also almost impossible to get a tee time because everyone had to have their own cart due to covid, and the course only had somewhere around 80-90 carts total. 
 

Said goodbye last year. Don’t really miss the place. Joined a new club where you have to be recommended by a member to get in. Considerably cheaper and they value the 3.5-4 hour rounds even though most folks walk. 

[Low Diamond Phillips]

My best friend and pretty much my only consistent golfing buddy decided to sell his clubs and quit golf for good last month. His reasons for quitting:

 

1.) Golf courses where we live (Sacramento area) are jam-packed with many new golfers, making pace of play so slow that it's just not fun anymore. 

 

2.) A ridiculous California heatwave with temperatures regularly nearing 110 making it way too hot to play most days. 

 

3.) Greens fees have gone way up, almost doubling at some of the courses we normally play at. 

 

4.) Wildfires are causing very bad air quality in the region (right now we are in the "red" classification most days, which means unhealthy air quality and recommended that you avoid any outdoor activities).

 

I tried talking him into not quitting but it was tough to argue against any of his points. For me, I've definitely played less golf this year than in probably all of the 20+ years I've been playing due to the exact reasons mentioned above. I could never quit though; golf is too much of an obsession for me and I'll only stop playing when I physically can't play anymore. Still, I haven't played in over a month and I'm sitting here wondering when the heck I'll have the chance to get back out on the golf course. 

[dugue4]

On 7/14/2021 at 12:56 PM, triplecorgi said:

do fishers go out, have a bad day and not catch a lot of fish, decide that it was the rod's fault so they buy a new state-of-the-art rod? 

No, it’s the reel, line and lure’s fault.  That’s what we buy!

[Blindsided]

i just feel like everyone starts somewhere.. try to not let noobies get you down and enjoy just being out there in nature and playing a sport you love. In arizona you can pretty much walk on any time any day during the summer if you can brave the heat though and you'll probably be relatively alone all day lol

[madchens]

Absolutely not. I just do a little extra while I am out there, play ready golf, repair ball marks and generally just try to be an example.

 

To be quite frank, it has nothing to do with the influx of casual golfers IMO other than tee times booking out a bit earlier. I see plenty of golfers, who have clearly been playing for years or tell me as such, who contribute to the slow play problem. Frankly, it seems to me that, most novice or new players are pretty anxious about slowing down the groups behind them so try to play a little quicker. The slowest players, in my experience, are the unaware mid-handicap that has been playing for awhile and doesn't under stand ready golf.

 

I noticed the trend moving to slower and slower so started booking the first or second tee time of the day. I no longer have to deal with any of this. I find that very few "casual" golfers are willing to go off that early and it is usually die hards who want to play fast. That is my cup of tea.

 

It is concerning that it isn't managed properly though. Good example, played this weekend at 6:00AM as the first group off. The 6:10AM group was 4 holes behind us. That is on the golf course to ask that group to pick it up a bit. Anyone going off, the rest of the day, is guaranteed a 5 hour round if it is already that slow in the morning.

Edited August 9, 2021 by madchens

[Baitkiller]

Wrapping up a mini tour of NW Michigan with my son. Played 7 rounds at 7 courses in 5 days. Most rounds were between 315 and 330 with the longest being 425 when we got caught in the middle of a league scramble.  Never paid over $60. Played some damn nice courses and the weather was about 79 degrees all week. 

Zero suck. I will be back.

Edited August 10, 2021 by Baitkiller