Splitting Up a Foursome due to Slow Pace of Play

[Chunkitgood]

If you let a gap develop between you and the group ahead, there might not be a delay you can see now to those behind, but there will be sooner or later.  If you are slower than the group ahead, you are probably slower than the group behind you.

 

 

[Greenie]

With my foursome we usually play around 3:30 without being held up. I feel that is on the fast side by what I see on the course.  95% of the time we wait on the group ahead. There have been times there are groups that play faster than our pace. It is these times there is some space between us and the group in front.. Since we aren't being held up we can move at our pace without delay. This usually creates space behind us as a lot of groups play slower. Yes we are aware since the group behind are not keeping up they may be holding up the course behind them. That should be an issue with them not us. I don't understand if there is space between us and the group in front of us that somehow we need to pick up the pace when the group behind can't keep up. If the group behind us catches up and are waiting on us then I would look at us as the hold up. Until that happens which usually never does I don't see the need to tell us to close the gap. We are not holding up the course. We had one round last year we finished in 3:12. Should the group behind us be told to close the gap?

[Mr. Bean]

1 hour ago, Greenie said:

I don't understand if there is space between us and the group in front of us that somehow we need to pick up the pace when the group behind can't keep up. If the group behind us catches up and are waiting on us then I would look at us as the hold up. Until that happens which usually never does I don't see the need to tell us to close the gap. We are not holding up the course. We had one round last year we finished in 3:12. Should the group behind us be told to close the gap?

 

Maybe I can shed som light to this wondering of yours.

 

There may be various reasons why a gap between two groups may be created. The group may simply be slower than other groups and normally there is no way they can or want to play faster. That battle is lost. But other reasons may be of temporary nature, such as searching for balls, multiple shots on one or two holes, etc. Those slowly played holes may be followed by a couple of faster played holes and surprise, the gap has disappeared.

 

It is certainly good behaviour on the course to acknowledge what is happening behind your own group in order to be ready to react if necessary. However, such players / groups are very scarce in my own experience. Thus it is far easier to teach people to look forward and keep up with the group in front of you. Also it is not a poor idea to be proactive instead of reactive. If you can keep up with the group in front of you why should you not do it? And if you cannot there may be a chance the group behind you will catch you up and you will be holding them back.

 

There is also a possibility that a fast group will be invited to play through and suddenly the group you had behind you is a different one and that group plays much faster than the other group and maybe also faster than your group.

 

All in all, there is no good reason not to keep up with the group in front of you whenever that is possible without overwhelming efforts. It is better to learn to play quickly than not.

[Marcia K]

I want to Thank everyone who have given me ideas to try and speed up play and not have to split up.  I have sent some of them to my league President and board.  Last week again the group i was playing with believed they were getting behind and mentioned splitting up. Believe me it is not me.  I am sitting in the cart waiting for the other 3 to finish or holding the flag stick so one person who waited to make her 3 inch putt last, instead of putting out.  Threesome in front.  Couldn't see them and since Covid 4 players behind each in their own carts on our tail. We were playing in less then 4 hours.  I am beginning this is a golf course problem in allowing 4 carts out on one hole.  This has become crazy.

 

Again Thank you.  Time to find a new league and course.  I am signing off.  Enjoyed the discussion.

[nsxguy]

On 4/5/2023 at 11:34 AM, Marcia K said:

I want to Thank everyone who have given me ideas to try and speed up play and not have to split up.  I have sent some of them to my league President and board.  Last week again the group i was playing with believed they were getting behind and mentioned splitting up. Believe me it is not me.  I am sitting in the cart waiting for the other 3 to finish or holding the flag stick so one person who waited to make her 3 inch putt last, instead of putting out.  Threesome in front.  Couldn't see them and since Covid 4 players behind each in their own carts on our tail. We were playing in less then 4 hours.  I am beginning this is a golf course problem in allowing 4 carts out on one hole.  This has become crazy.

 

Again Thank you.  Time to find a new league and course.  I am signing off.  Enjoyed the discussion.

 

You're in a town that still has 1 person to a cart due to Covid ?

 

Here in SoFla they've discontinued single ridership for almost 2(?) years now.

[charliebrown]

On 4/1/2023 at 5:45 AM, Marcia K said:

It seems to be a Florida thing.  I have played in many other leagues across the eastern coast and have never seen this before. Example:  You have an ABCD player.  The B players says we must split up, we can't see the group in front. So the AB player tee off and continue their game.  The issue at least with me was, I am already a fast ready golf player (16 HDCP).  So i have now tried to compensate.  My fault.  But now I am holding up play.  Lost ball out of bounds, water.  And still after 2 bad holes.  We come upon the following: 

4 people on the green

4 people in the fairway

the 4 people we needed to catch up and us on the t box.

I was not a happy camper.

When it was our turn to tee off here came the the BC players. 

The BC player were oblivious to why there was any need to catch up and continued to play their game slow.

 

Got to be a better way. Feel better being able to vent.  Guess I need to find away to continue play and not lose my rhythm.   Thank you for all your thoughts on this issue.

 

We had a Marshall out here that was great at keeping things moving along. Many times it was explaining to new players to do their best to keep up with the group in front...even if it meant picking up after too many shots on a hole. "You don't deserve a 9 on your card. Pick it up." He was great. Sadly, he passed. Miss him a lot. Nice guy and always kept his sense of humor. 

[MountainKing]

On 4/2/2023 at 3:34 PM, Carl Spackler3 said:

I will never tire of giving the solution, as it is easy and 100% effective. Slow play requires 1 warning, then a 1 hole observation by staff, then simple direction  to pick up your ball(s) in play , bypass the open area and drop the appropriate distance behind the group in front. Even if this means bypassing the next green or tee box. 

 

When I worked at a course in the 90's this is how it was, and if you fell out of place a 2nd time you were removed from the course.  With tee sheets being as full as they are these days, it would be nice to see this make a return.

 

On 4/1/2023 at 9:51 AM, nsxguy said:

 

THANK YOU !!!

 

Do you realize that me, you, and possibly @Argonne69, are the only 3 players on this entire board that realize think like that ?

 

Almost to a (wo)man, all the others (who comment) think that a group MUST keep pace with the group in front of them.

 

Hard NO. Your group's ONLY responsibility is to NOT hold up players behind you; with the possible exception of late day players needing to get off the course by a time set by the course (not all courses are "open til dusk").

 

Nobody I've seen has yet posted a good enough reason (IMO of course) for why a group MUST "keep up".

 

I don't disagree with this, I'm onboard with most things Arg throws out there, but on a full tee sheet basing your pace of play on the group behind you could result in your group and the group behind you ending up out of place.  Now there's two groups that need to play catch up instead of of one.   If the course is empty enough this method is fine, but on a full course you need to make sure you're keeping up with the people in front of you.