I cant stand golfing when I have to wait

[Illinilocal92]

I dont know if it's just me, but I get insanely aggravated if I'm waiting on people outside my group on a golf course. I'm not interested in 5-6 hour rounds of golf, especially when it's because the group in front of me lollygaging.

 

Just today I was playing on a simple 9 hole par 3 course and 3 old ladies were playing, walking, and going very slow. I was on hole 2 when they teed on hole 1, by the time I got to hole 4 on my second playthrough (hole 13 equivalent) they were only on hole 6. I caught up to them on hole 7, they just looked at me and continued playing didn't offer to let me play through (as a single). They then spent a good 10 minutes + on this 90 yard downhill par 3, and then stood right on the side of the green talking, tallying, and not moving along. By the time I finished the hole they weren't done teeing on 8 and finally I got to play through.

 

This is mostly just a rant about slow play but I honestly can't stand playing golf when I'm waiting on groups in front of me and have just ragequit rounds because of it before. It makes the game seriously unenjoyable, because I like to have a decent pace and not get cold between holes. Thoughts, tips, experiences, solutions? 

Edited September 14, 2023 by Illinilocal92

[tatertot]

So you own a pair of asbestos underwear?

[Lobby]

“Damn this traffic jam!

How I hate to be late

It burns my motor to go so slow 

Damn this traffic jam”

[black bnr32]

I dunno man, I think a simple 9 hole par 3 courses is where little old ladies should be enjoying golf.  You picked the wrong course.

[PJE]

 

3 minutes ago, black bnr32 said:

I dunno man, I think a simple 9 hole par 3 courses is where little old ladies should be enjoying golf.  You picked the wrong course.

I don’t like waiting either but this is perceptive.   

[NoTalentLefty]

I quit today because of a golf outing that played was so stupid slow. Played thru 10 and drove off with 3 members in our senior traveling group and picked up one more. Sometimes you got to walk off

[LBB]

So you're playing as a single, and obviously caught up to a group of 3 in front of you.  You caught them on hole 7, and they let you play through on hole 8?

 

What exactly is the problem?

 

I hate slow play just as much as anyone, but I'm not sure what the point of your specific story is.  While it seems these 3 ladies were playing slow, other than you waiting 10 minutes on one hole (which I feel is a reasonable ask for a person or group wishing to play through), you got to finish your 18 hole round in say 2 hours instead of 1:50?

 

A couple weeks ago I was playing in a 4some and a single came up behind us out of nowhere.  He had hit his tee shot as soon as all of us hit our second shot we were out of his landing zone.  While we were driving up to the green he was waiting in the fairway as a couple of guys in our group were still 40-60 yards from the hole after hitting a bad second shot and continued to fumble the hole by hitting poor pitch shots over the green.  He probably waited in the fairway about 10 minutes while we all got on the green and eventually putted out.  As we walked off the back of the green to our carts, his approach shot was already incoming.  And by the time we drove to the next tee box, we saw he was already on the green putting before our first guy even putt his tee in the ground on the next hole.  He probably would have been right up to the tee box with us  by the time our 3rd guy was getting ready to tee off if he was in a rush, so we waived to him from the tee box letting him know we'd let him play through.

 

I dunno...the guy seemed pretty chill about it and was thankful we let him play through even though he had to wait for us to finish the previous hole.  But who knows, maybe he went onto a golf forum to complain about us and the 10 minutes we cost him.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2023 by LBB

[BHI 99]

Single’s are a nuisance and have no standing. 

[Colin L]

I suggest you reflect  on how you will be in the years to come (and I wish you many of them) when a 9 hole par 3 course is all you can manage and some young hothead wants to use your golfing sanctuary as a racetrack.

 

 

[caniac6]

Should have played Putt-Putt.

[st1800e]

8 hours ago, BHI 99 said:

Single’s are a nuisance and have no standing. 

Pretty sure that long standing guidance by the ruling bodies  was changed years ago, a single has the same status as any other group.  

[kmay__]

Man I like driving but I don't like sitting in traffic... I think I'll just stop going to work. 

 

Sometimes in life things suck, and are frustrating.... nothin new. How you respond to it is the only thing in your control, so you either let it get to you, or you learn not to. 

[sui generis]

8 hours ago, BHI 99 said:

Single’s are a nuisance and have no standing. 

You need a new Rule book. 🙄

[BHI 99]

1 hour ago, sui generis said:

You need a new Rule book. 🙄

Singles do nothing to decrease pace of play. 

Edited September 14, 2023 by BHI 99

[MattM97]

Don't like waiting on people be the first tee time of the day then. 

[tatertot]

19 minutes ago, BHI 99 said:

Singles do nothing to increase pace of play. 

You are just droppin pearls of wisdom ... 

 

 

That was sarcasm ... You're droppin somethin, though.

[Jeff58]

Couple of things maybe.

 

Be prepared to leave. If conditions aren’t acceptable, the likelihood of any substantial change in the groups ahead is low. Being frustrated removes any enjoyment. It helps to be a member, as the economic sting and the likelihood of social play are reduced.

 

Discuss slow players with the pro shop, starter, or Marshall. They’re the only ones who might take action, and they won’t unless enough people complain. Also, social groups like this tend to repeatedly start at the same day and time. The employees can help you avoid them.

[North Texas]

38 minutes ago, BHI 99 said:

Singles do nothing to decrease pace of play. 

 

I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to say here but I will say this.

 

All things being equal, any single can play 27 holes almost as fast as a foursome can play 18 holes. 

[Jeri6gt]

Playing a 9 hole par 3 and having to wait for the people in front is a common occurrence.

Especially if you are a single.

Try playing multiple balls so you do not catch up too fast and work on your game some more.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Jeri6gt

[aramirez24]

I play a lot as a single and don't get me wrong I absolutely love getting my round done in under 2 hours, but I've come to understand that's the exception and not the norm. You can't control what other people do on the course and you can't let it get to you. I have a lot of instances like the one described above where I wait on a group an entire hole and play through on the next box, and if they don't let me play through and I see room in front of them I usually just ask if they are good with me jumping the hole while they play it. I'll never jump ahead if there is no room and make the group wait on me. I've also left or played the front 9 twice if just playing is my goal. Gotta be flexible when you are out as a single. 

[596]

I enjoy walking and playing alone. But I can't stand waiting for people to fiddle around like they are playing for a million dollars and putting for an 8.

 

I've walked off after 9 plenty of times and head to the chipping green instead.  But I play 4 days a week, so I don't care.

 

I don't mind a 4 hour round as long as we're moving and not waiting for 1 slow group that won't let anyone play through with 3 open holes ahead of them. 

[dfeldss]

Nobody likes slow play, but its just part of the deal sometimes. And sometimes you have to be an adult and use your words!

 

I've never had someone tell me no if you just ask to play through. I'm sure there are some #%#$heads out there that won't, but generally people are reasonable.

 

All that being said, you waited on one hole and then got to play through? That's how it goes man. You caught up to them and they let you play through when they were finished with the hole. Not sure what the gripe is here

[mshills]

Expecting to be waived through on a 9 hole par 3 course is silly, and you're trying to do laps on the course?  Play two balls, practice your short game, whatever.  That is what those courses are for.

 

[Warrior42111]

So you caught up to them and they let you through the next hole?

 

Seems like standard procedure to me. I know when my group is going to let someone/ some group through we usually finish the hole we are on, hit tee shots on the next hole while they hit their approach and putt, then let them through. 

 

If 5-10 min over 18 is that big of a deal do you may I recommend a Xanax, alcohol, perhaps a lady of the night to easy your rage.

[Fuscinator]

Slow play, I'm afraid, is an unfortunate reality. You just have to find a way to distract yourself from fuming over it, like writing limericks, maybe...

 

Hello, my name is Rolf

I came over here to play golf

It's taking too long

For my poor little *******
And what the heck rhymes with golf?!?🤬

[shankasaurus rex]

1. Be a big brave dog and ask a group of old ladies to play through. It's amazing how often this simple act resolves the problem. But, more important:

 

2. Learn patience. It ain't about you, and most of the folks out there aren't trying to set speed records. 

[Putter Addict]

14 hours ago, black bnr32 said:

I dunno man, I think a simple 9 hole par 3 courses is where little old ladies should be enjoying golf.  You picked the wrong course.

Yep. I hate slow play as much as anyone, but I don't go to what would essentially be considered a beginner's course and expect to play fast. People have to start somewhere and I actually respect the fact that people go to courses like this to learn and enjoy themselves vs. clogging up 18 hole championship level courses.

[Maine Golfer]

I play single a lot, im nice to other people and 9 times out 10 it ends up with me joining the group or letting me play through. I'm just suggesting you're not a nice person. But one if its public course not early AM or sunset, thats life peak season. I'm saying you have to accept it and just be friendly to the others and it will make it better. 

[CTG77]

4 hours ago, aramirez24 said:

I play a lot as a single and don't get me wrong I absolutely love getting my round done in under 2 hours, but I've come to understand that's the exception and not the norm. You can't control what other people do on the course and you can't let it get to you. I have a lot of instances like the one described above where I wait on a group an entire hole and play through on the next box, and if they don't let me play through and I see room in front of them I usually just ask if they are good with me jumping the hole while they play it. I'll never jump ahead if there is no room and make the group wait on me. I've also left or played the front 9 twice if just playing is my goal. Gotta be flexible when you are out as a single. 

 

Sorry, this is never the right attitude.  There's a reason that there is a 5-group backup, and it's because the 1st group is up front thinking they're going to reach par 5s in 2 when they barely cleared the front tees because their egos won't let them play the 2nd set of tees...even though they average 155 with their fairway wood, they have to wait because "that one time" they hit it 225 off a cart path.  Too many delusional people that make things worse by being grumpy drunks who can't be bothered to ever use any form of golf etiquette if it means possibly acknowledging they should move up to the 5600 yard red tees to maybe occasionally break 100.  Nope, instead, they'll be back off the blue tees (2nd from the back) at 6600 yards and shooting 110 every round.

 

So, no, I will never be ok with slow play, if there's any chance that people could move faster by playing reasonable ready golf.  These wannabe "tour pros" who have a 5-some with 5 carts and STILL wait on everyone to hit EVERY shot before going to their ball (because that's what they see on TV), and the do it over and over again on each hole are what causes the incessant backups.  Between that and the guys who don't have the hands to drop their ball in the hole with their hands from 6" away, much less make a 6' putt with any regularity taking the flagsticks out to putt, I have little tolerance for slow play that could be fixed with a little hands-on management from the pro.  Instead, the pro wants to sit in his office and send emails about all the special events he's holding that block normal members from using the club to let more of the "special" groups (who probably funnel him money under the table) to hog the course even further.

 

I can't stomach the slow play when I can walk 18 in the time it takes most of these 5 cart 5-somes to play 9 because they are A) terrible golfers, B) drunk by the 6th hole, C) have no clue whatsoever how to play ready golf, and D) are just generally just entitled jerks who'd rather take a club to the groin than let someone play through because "they had the 1st tee time."  In the meantime, I can play 3-4 different balls off the tee, hunt for unlimited balls in every water hazard, and still be sitting waiting on every tee box for these guys to hit their 3rd and 4th shots so I can even hope to tee off without hitting into them.

 

Maybe I'm just jaded from the entitled jerks at our club and their drunk 5-somes making it hard for someone to enjoy a nice, peaceful round of golf with a semblance of reasonable pace.  Even when walking, it's mega-frustrating to wait on every shot, so I am just very much over giving people a pass for slow play.  It's selfish and unnecessary, especially for amateur golfers on a weekend morning.

[aramirez24]

I feel you @CTG77. I was more referring to being a single behind a group of 3-4 on a course. Maybe I've been lucky, but I just don't run into the group of 5 taking forever to play out holes that often. Probably why I prefer playing during the week over peak weekend times as well. Any round over 4.5 hours to me turns into a chore instead of fun.