Controversial Solution To Slow Play

First topic message reminder :

After being stuck behind the slowest 4 ball if the year so far, the closet Tory in me came up with the following solution...

Seniors should not be allowed out in 4 balls...


Discuss

I wonder if some blame should also be put on teaching pros

Last medal I played in I had a 25 handicapper with me. He was young(ish) and to be brutally frank, couldn't hit a cow's backside with a banjo

However, apart from all the other reasons for slow play (not being ready etc) he had a painfully slow pre-shot routine and it looked to me as if he was going through everything he'd had in a lesson, before every shot.

Mac

I think your 5 points are pretty much correct but yesterday I was playing in a county event with so called accomplished players. These guys SHOULD know better. They are going to hit fewer stray shots and therefore we should get round quicker.

It was quite simply down to dicking around which is inexcusable.

I said something similar on D4S facebook page yesterday. These academies have a lot to answer for in the routines they teach. It's a <ProfanityFilterBreakingAbusiveStatementWhichGoesOnForAges> joke.

Incidentally. There is no smiley which sufficiently expresses my rage at these places!

ah screw it. I'm off to the golf course to hold up some juniors.

Can I add a couple of other suggestions?

Know your limitations - don't wait for the green to clear when it is obvious you won't reach it.

Anticipate - have your ball and tee in your hand ready to tee up, walk to your ball thinking about what shot/club you need to play, fill in your scorecard on the next tee while your partner(s) is teeing off (or after you have gone if you have the honour)

Don't be too anal about who has the honour, unless it is a formal competition or a match. If it's a friendly, play "ready golf".

Sorry, that's 3! Anyone else got any ideas? We could all be playing 3 hour rounds at this rate (I don't think).

Ladyputt

I totally agree with knowing your limitations and it is very closely tied to my point about being realistic. The number of times you see someone about 220 from the green having only driven it 200 or less waiting for the green to clear. Madness.


I am in no way someone who likes to race around the course but there is no need for excessively slow play.

there was a society outing playing at our club on sunday afternoon. i was just coming off the range and watched a group playing our 8th hole, a par 5 which has a wee burn at about 260yards and the green another 270, slightly uphill at the end. anyhow, all four members of the group were approx 30-40 yards back from the burn and waited for the green to clear before playing. first guy shanked his 3-wood. i didn't wait to see the rest.

Just a minor point, but if someone's waiting for a green to clear, even if they're beiing wildly optimistic surely they're not guilty of slow play - by definition they're keeping up with the group in front?

SmithersJones wrote:Just a minor point, but if someone's waiting for a green to clear, even if they're beiing wildly optimistic surely they're not guilty of slow play - by definition they're keeping up with the group in front?

You are assuming that the group in front of them is playing at a reasonable pace. You cannot argue with the notion that all groups should try and play as efficiently as possible, can you?

McLaren wrote:

SmithersJones wrote:Just a minor point, but if someone's waiting for a green to clear, even if they're beiing wildly optimistic surely they're not guilty of slow play - by definition they're keeping up with the group in front?

You are assuming that the group in front of them is playing at a reasonable pace. You cannot argue with the notion that all groups should try and play as efficiently as possible, can you?

Not arguing at all, Mac, just pointing out that the very fact they're waiting means they're at least as quick as the group in front. Given the multitude of sins possible in the realm of slow play, this may be most obvious to someone in the group behind but is in itself not exactly the worst thing someone can do.

And no, I'm not making any such assumption about the group in front - do you mean to say that if I'm in a group that's being held up by golfers who have lost a clear hole then I too am guilty of slow play?

i have a problem with the situation you're discussing. for a 12 handicapper, i hit the ball a very long way, just not always in the direction i'm planning! 2 small kids and running our own business means i just don't get the time to play/ practice as often as i would like.

as a result, i can quite often knock a 300yd drive, leaving myself 200 or so to the green on a par 5 which is perfectly achievable with a 5 or even 6 iron if i catch it right/ got a tailwind. however, i can't guarantee that all the time, so i get the dilemma of should i just lay up and chip on (thus moving things along) or have a go at it and give myself an eagle or more likely a good birdie chance (but hold things up for a few minutes)?

percentage golf says play the lay up but the confidence boost of nailing a mid-iron to the green can often spur me on. i've done it 3 or 4 times so far this year, a couple of them with my 19deg rescue into a bit of a head/cross wind.

graeme wrote:i have a problem with the situation you're discussing. for a 12 handicapper, i hit the ball a very long way, just not always in the direction i'm planning! 2 small kids and running our own business means i just don't get the time to play/ practice as often as i would like.

as a result, i can quite often knock a 300yd drive, leaving myself 200 or so to the green on a par 5 which is perfectly achievable with a 5 or even 6 iron if i catch it right/ got a tailwind. however, i can't guarantee that all the time, so i get the dilemma of should i just lay up and chip on (thus moving things along) or have a go at it and give myself an eagle or more likely a good birdie chance (but hold things up for a few minutes)?

percentage golf says play the lay up but the confidence boost of nailing a mid-iron to the green can often spur me on. i've done it 3 or 4 times so far this year, a couple of them with my 19deg rescue into a bit of a head/cross wind.

Wow 200 yard mid irons. I think this coupled with the current yardages quoted on the 606 driver thread are enough to drive a man to steroids.

if your discussing the situation i was describing then none of them had a chance to get home in two. 300-310 yards from the hole the shot was simply not on. don't think they were members so that explains why. had they had a skycaddie with them i doubt they'd have waited. they should have all layed up, then been waiting / approching the next stretch of fairway while the group were finishing up on the green rather than holding up the group behind them who were waiting on the tee. lack of course knowledge rather than anything else.

graeme plays links doesn't he. a 5 iron 200 yards isn't impossible in hard summer conditions when your getting plenty run. i often find i get an extra 10-20 yards on my irons when playing links.

oh i wouldn't go so far as steroids, mac! i honestly don't know what it is i do to generate the distance but it's been like that for 25 years. on the days when the driving all (mostly) goes where it's supposed to, like saturday, it's insanely frustrating to then make a complete bum of the rest of it.

i've had grief before when the discussion has turned to distances hit and i'd love to get a game with one or two of the guys on here to have it verified! verified that one, i do hit the ball a very long way and 2, i am remarkably inconsistent and that my short game isn't up to scratch which causes my relatively high handicap!

i've offered super_realist a game on craighead to see if i can convince him that it's not the total pile of pish he thinks it is ;-) and if anyone else would like to play either balcomie or craighead for £12 as my guest, i'd be delighted. the greens at the mo are in terrific nick, in fact both courses are looking great and beginning to get really quiet summery given the complete lack of rain for seemingly weeks (helps keep the spring cabbage down at least ;-))

ban_bam wrote:if your discussing the situation i was describing then none of them had a chance to get home in two. 300-310 yards from the hole the shot was simply not on. don't think they were members so that explains why. had they had a skycaddie with them i doubt they'd have waited. they should have all layed up, then been waiting / approching the next stretch of fairway while the group were finishing up on the green rather than holding up the group behind them who were waiting on the tee. lack of course knowledge rather than anything else.

graeme plays links doesn't he. a 5 iron 200 yards isn't impossible in hard summer conditions when your getting plenty run. i often find i get an extra 10-20 yards on my irons when playing links.

As you say, they probably didn't know the actual distance so thought it best to wait. The point I was trying to make is I'd rather know that the group in front of me is keeping up with the pace of play, even if at times it's apparent they are waiting unnecessarily. It is frustrating when you can tell they're not going to get there if you in turn are waiting, but if you're being wound up by the pace of play, it's not really likely to be their fault if they too are waiting.

I was playing such a load of tosh on the outward half this morning that my playing partner said 'you know you should shorten your clubs from 5 iron to driver by 4 inches'
'Why' said I
'Easier to fit them in the wheelie bin when you get home' the jackass replied!

no probs smjo, it was more a response to earlier posts discussing 'knowing your own limitations' - highlighting that a lack of local knowledge can be another possible factor.

I got held up for 15 Mins at the 4th on saturday, playing myself i got to the tee and there was a 3 ball waiting to tee off, a couple of minutes later they tee off, and off they go (which i had no problems with as they were obviously being held up) 10 mins later they take the second shot after looking for their ball for way to long, and the group in front were half way down the next fairway.

This continued all the way to the 9th when i just walked off.

A similar thing happened on sunday, so have taken the advice of some one above and booked a tee off time for 7.30ish saturday morning

graeme wrote:oh i wouldn't go so far as steroids, mac! i honestly don't know what it is i do to generate the distance but it's been like that for 25 years. on the days when the driving all (mostly) goes where it's supposed to, like saturday, it's insanely frustrating to then make a complete bum of the rest of it.

i've had grief before when the discussion has turned to distances hit and i'd love to get a game with one or two of the guys on here to have it verified! verified that one, i do hit the ball a very long way and 2, i am remarkably inconsistent and that my short game isn't up to scratch which causes my relatively high handicap!

i've offered super_realist a game on craighead to see if i can convince him that it's not the total pile of pish he thinks it is ;-) and if anyone else would like to play either balcomie or craighead for £12 as my guest, i'd be delighted. the greens at the mo are in terrific nick, in fact both courses are looking great and beginning to get really quiet summery given the complete lack of rain for seemingly weeks (helps keep the spring cabbage down at least ;-))

Dont worry I believe you, that is the problem it reminds me of my lack of power.

McLaren wrote:

graeme wrote:oh i wouldn't go so far as steroids, mac! i honestly don't know what it is i do to generate the distance but it's been like that for 25 years. on the days when the driving all (mostly) goes where it's supposed to, like saturday, it's insanely frustrating to then make a complete bum of the rest of it.

i've had grief before when the discussion has turned to distances hit and i'd love to get a game with one or two of the guys on here to have it verified! verified that one, i do hit the ball a very long way and 2, i am remarkably inconsistent and that my short game isn't up to scratch which causes my relatively high handicap!

i've offered super_realist a game on craighead to see if i can convince him that it's not the total pile of pish he thinks it is ;-) and if anyone else would like to play either balcomie or craighead for £12 as my guest, i'd be delighted. the greens at the mo are in terrific nick, in fact both courses are looking great and beginning to get really quiet summery given the complete lack of rain for seemingly weeks (helps keep the spring cabbage down at least ;-))

Dont worry I believe you, that is the problem it reminds me of my lack of power.

The solution however is clear. Drink more irnbru

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