BUNKER-TO-BUNKER…. Inside Golf writers have their say!
By Peter Owen
OUT of control? How can it be out of control? There isn’t any control. That’s the problem.
A round in a club competition at my club takes about 4 hours and 45 minutes – maybe five hours if it’s a stroke event. That’s far too long, but no longer, in my experience, than at other courses in my region.
It’s as if slow play is considered normal – or, at best, something we must learn to live with.
No! Slow play is a disgrace. Nothing annoys a golfer – well, this golfer, anyway – more than waiting to play every single stroke in a round.
The reasons for slow play are obvious: groups of four who gather while one plays a shot, then march in unison to the next ball, wait until it’s played, and so on; players who wait in the fairway for a straggler to play his shot because he’s furthest away; nuisances who spend endless time trying to find lost balls; people who, for unfathomable reasons, decline the opportunity to hit up on par-3s when it’s ‘compulsory’ to do so; traditionalists who insist on following the outdated ‘honour’ system when teeing off.
Weed out these, and other, time-wasting habits and we’d get around in three and a half hours.
But wishing for it won’t work. We need course rangers to chip slow players, report habitual time-wasters, and punish those who are serial offenders. We need conduct committees prepared to suspend slow players and make an example of the dawdlers.
Instead, we do nothing. We need to unite to remove this nuisance from the game.
By David Newbery
NO question, a round of golf has become horribly slow.
Typically, it can take more than four-and-a-half hours to complete 18 holes – oftentimes close to five hours – and that tells me pace of play has become intractable.
And in a time-poor world it enrages many club golfers. It’s hasn’t quite become the equivalent of ‘road rage’, but I have witnessed golfers lose control of their emotions when held up by the group in front.
Over-crowding, poorly designed layouts, unclear signage and technology play a role in slow play. All levels of golfers rely on having the correct yardage before hitting their next shot.
So, they are using measuring devices (rangefinders) and they spend more time on pre-shot routines because they have been educated to do this.
Once upon a time, golfers would walk up to their ball, look at it and think, ‘it’s about 100m’, pull out the club that hits it 100m and hit the shot. Now golfers arrive at their ball, pull out a rangefinder, check the yardage, go through a pre-shot routine and then fire away.
You multiply that by 70-80 shots and add to it lost balls, which, even in short rough, can take many minutes to find. And if it’s not found it’s back to the tee – more time wasted.
Clubs, too, have a role to play in managing pace of play. Maybe a course marshal should have the power to slap two-shot penalties on slowpokes or even escort them from the course.
By Larry Canning
I BELIEVE slow play is pretty much out of control at all levels.
I know the Jack Newton Junior Golf administration are constantly monitoring it during junior events and you’d have to think that’s coming from youngsters watching the stars on television.
That’s unless their favourite player is Brooks Koepka or Matt Jones of course. Jones is that quick, it’s not uncommon for him to finish his round in a totally different group. It seems the old “pre-shot routine” is a common cause of imitation but without the all-important time frame used by the tour players to avoid costing themselves a fortune in penalties.
Whilst that’s an influence, there are some golfers who really just don’t get it, isn’t there?
When it’s your turn to hit you must be ready. Golf cart users are sometimes the worst of all. Get out of the cart folks and walk to your pill.
Take a few clubs and your rangefinder and fire away when ready. In fact, it’s called “Ready Golf” and it’s the perfect cure for those of us who sometimes fear their car rego may have run out sometime during the back nine.
The best explanation of Ready Golf I could find on the internet was from a somewhat obscure golf club in Virginia, USA. I just couldn’t find a better description anywhere else – below is the link. https://stonehousegolfclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Ready-Golf-Rules.pdf
Mind you, unless an offending snail is not prepared to think beyond themselves then it’s all a bit academic, isn’t it?
By Michael Davis
I DON’T think the pace of play is out of control at club level.
But this view comes from a straw poll of members I know who play at golf clubs where the presence of a roving marshal in a golf cart has the desired effect of gently reminding players of their obligation to retain their place in the field.
This is done by simply keeping up with the group ahead.
Having said that, I think the pace of play is more likely to be an issue on ‘pay-for-play’ golf courses where, golfers who have shelled out their hard-earned – sometimes as much as $200 with a cart – understandably decide to get their money’s worth by not having their game rushed.
But I digress.
Most players want to enjoy their game.
So, if you are surrounded by like-minded golfers who want to complete a round in the suggested four-and-a-bit hours, then it’s mostly achievable.
Other factors that can affect the pace of play are the number of players in a group; the gap between tee times (10 minutes is ideal); the difficulty of the first couple of holes; and a par-three in the first few holes – especially when tee times are too close.
But overall, it seems to me that slow play is not the vexed issue many perceive it to be.
Thank goodness for that.
What do you think? Email comments to david@insidegolf.com.au
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