After watching an hour of the Ladies Masters this morning, it went straight into the WM Open at Phoenix.

I noticed a HUGE difference in the pace of play and only from being slightly observant. The difference is pretty simple:

SENSE OF URGENCY!

Not like the ladies are rushing but on the greens they putt, walk briskly to their ball and 9 times out of 10 they tap it in. Whereas the men 9 times out of 10 will putt, dawdle down to their ball after blaming the break or a spike mark then proceed to mark their ball even if they are within 2ft and on the ‘through line’ of a partners putt.

This is where the most time is lost I believe, and where most time can be picked up especially in the amateur game.

I distinctly remember last weekend watching Brian Fritsch and Eric Compton do the same thing on every single putt even though they were at one stage 10 shots out of the lead. Fritsch being a rookie and Compton a 2nd year player this should be alarming to the tour and as most of us know it is all to often “monkey see-monkey do” in our weekly games.

It isn’t surprising that Fritsch came out saying “it wasn’t me” as more often than not slow players don’t know that they are slow, until someone has the impetus to tell them to their face.

Back to the original point, simply having a sense of urgency without rushing could probably save us all 30-45 minutes and in a stroke round or medal event could result in the last starters not having to finish in the dark.

Even at our club the threat of penalties and being put at the back of the field are starting to introduce themselves as a measure of trying to fix the problem, along with being at the tee 5 minutes early and stopping at halfway for longer than 5 the problem is attempting to be addressed.

I just think some urgency will go along way rather than reinventing the wheel.

I know this subject is brought up pretty often so what are some ideas that your groups/clubs are implementing to speed up the pace of play?

I know in the tournaments held here they have someone in a cart driving around to keep an eye on groups and hurry up any group/s that are lagging behind.i played in one tournament and a visitor to the club pulled out his gps on every tee to check the distance and also see how far the bunker was away, mind you he had no chance of reaching the bunker but this soon added up and we did get asked o hurry up but we soon slowed again the worse bit was the 2 visitors were lower handicaps than us but had no sense of urgency. Our mixed comps are a bit slow at times but some of the men are as bad or if not worse than women and its a never ending problem to keep play at a reasonable pace

The solution in the men’s professional game is already available, 2 shot penalties and the subsequent money lost will speed play up.

In the amateur game bench marked times to complete 6/12/18 holes has some effect as do confronting course marshalls. Problem is everybody has a different idea what the benchmark should be. I like playing in 3.5 hours, my club prefers 4 hours but will tolerate 4.5 hours. For social rounds I will often play in a group of 4 in 3 hours. Most only seem to complain when rounds are 4.5 hours or above.

Two tee situations (1 and 9 ) dictate pace of play if the field is full.

I would tackle the issue differently via etiquette, if you want to play slowly or are incapable of keeping up with the group ahead (skill/age/health issues) call groups through. It seems to be a lost art, people don’t like giving up there place.

The sense of urgency argument (ready golf) seems to be a lost cause, many have decided long ago in order to relax, urgency will not be in the equation.

I generally find that women are more conscious of their place in the field and are more likely to move at a quicker pace simply because they believe they will be blamed rightly or wrongly for any slow play issues. They seem to do what is required to keep pace. On the other hand, the men (some, not all) believe they should do what the pros do.

If you have a pre shot routine, fine…. go through it while your waiting to hit your shot, NOT after you’ve just waited 2 mins to have your shot, then you step up to address the ball start your routine. Annoying….. This will save 15 to 20 seconds each and every shot.

Marking the ball and assessing your putt when it missed by 2’ or less is a joke, unless the hole is on the side of a bloody hill. The only reason you missed on the first occassion is because you hit the ball on the wrong line, too soft or too hard. Inside 2’ bang it in the middle. The ball aint going to move that much with a little bit of pace on it. Different I suppose if you are going to be standing on a playing partners line or through line, but if not, marking the ball and going through a full read again is a waste of time and bloody annoying.

I would like to see a significant reduction in the time spent looking for lost balls. Not individually per hole, but a player should get a maximum of 3 by 5 mins, ie. 15 mins, per round, and after that only 1 minute per subsequent lost ball.

Older ladies will never hit as far as the guys, but invariably they do stay on the fairways. Whereas older guys think they are Jack/Tiger/Sebe – trying to drive 300 metres, and hooking and slicing into the rough/parallel fairways on every hole.

Incredibly rare to be looking for a ladies lost golf ball in a comp, but seems to happen very often in mixed comps looking for the guys lost golf ball. Sometimes every second tee shot goes haywire.

The difference in the pro stakes I believe is that the officials on the women’s tour have proven themselves willing to actually hand out penalties for slow play. I am just watching the women’s golf ATM and the commentators were mentioning that play became slow late in the day due to the lifting and cleaning as a result of the bogged course. They mentioned this had pushed the later rounds over 5 hours for a threesome. That sort of time seems to be positively flying on the PGA tour.

The woman are faster on the pro tours cause they get their caddy to do all their lining up and stuff for them, so they don’t need to think about anything…...

The men have to line themselves up and make sure they are aiming at the right spot by themselves, their caddys don’t help!!

It’s as simple as that really…... ;)

Isn’t that the men’s choice liptout?

Probably an ego issue! :-)

A pro golfer with an ego problem Weety??

Nooooooo…....... ;)

I would mark and line up a 2 or 3 footer too if it may be worth thousands of dollars, especially if i was new on tour and the extra spot up the rankings would mean a lot.
Slowest round for me ever at my home club today, was the medal and we were close to the back of the field, took us close to 5 hours.
We held our place in the field and i would have liked to get around in 4 hours, but after working before the game this morning i was happy to be on the course. its important to put things into perspective, there is worse places to be stuck for an extra 30-60 mins.

They are all snails (although only the ladies leave trails).

The woman are faster on the pro tours cause they get their caddy to do all their lining up and stuff for them, so they don’t need to think about anything……

The men have to line themselves up and make sure they are aiming at the right spot by themselves, their caddys don’t help!!

It’s as simple as that really…… ;)

“He who’s tired of Weird Al, is tired of life!!”
-Homer Simpson

Can someone tell Jim Furyk that :)

There are plenty of men pro’s that check their putt line AND get their caddy to assist with /check the intended line as well. Just as there are many female pro’s that don’t get the caddy to assist.

I would mark and line up a 2 or 3 footer too if it may be worth thousands of dollars, especially if i was new on tour and the extra spot up the rankings would mean a lot.

We are talking Mr & Mrs Joe Average L-Chop. Can you imagine how long it would take if the Pro’s played in groups of 4.. God forbid, they would be on course for close to 6 hrs. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of 3 finish in less than 5 and a 1/4.

They are all snails (although only the ladies leave trails).

Not neskacerrily….

Obviously I made that comment in regard to the Fritsch and Compton comment made earlier commish. I haven’t noticed many average Joes marking a 2 footer without good reason at my home club.

The woman are faster on the pro tours cause they get their caddy to do all their lining up and stuff for them, so they don’t need to think about anything……

The men have to line themselves up and make sure they are aiming at the right spot by themselves, their caddys don’t help!!

It’s as simple as that really…… ;)

“He who’s tired of Weird Al, is tired of life!!”
-Homer Simpson

No not really.
The Women are faster because the LPGA officials are willing to deal with the problem. Have a look back at last years competitions & you wil find at least 2 highly ranked women players that were DQd from a competition for breeches of the LPGA slow play guidelines.
That is 2 shot penalty for first infringement & disqualification for the second.
The mens Associations seem unwilling to go to the same lengths to deal with the problem.
As I posted in another thread , there are many reasons for slow play. Some solutions are- Play ready golf. Walk reasonably quickly between shots. Line up your putts on the green whilst others are putting if possible without disturbing the other players in the group.
Walk quickly to the next tee, First player Tee off before marking card & discussing how unlucky you were on previous hole.
And most of all. Be aware Where the group in front of you is & where the group behind you is.If you cannot find a lost ball Quickly , call up the group behind. In my experience many players will not do this.

give them permission to use range finders. they duck about with ancient yardage books for a couple of minutes when the answer can be found in twenty seconds.

ban caddies from assisting on greens. there is only one player. don’t need a committee to decide the line.

simply having a sense of urgency without rushing could probably save us all 30-45 minutes

A quick game’s a good game. I always try and move quickly without rushing. Especially being a high handicapper, I’m conscious of the number of additional strokes I take so I try and keep it moving between shots, and having the right club ready to go while waiting for my playing partner to complete their shot.

If you have a pre shot routine, fine…. go through it while your waiting to hit your shot, NOT after you’ve just waited 2 mins to have your shot, then you step up to address the ball start your routine. Annoying….. This will save 15 to 20 seconds each and every shot.

This drives me nuts. It’s like the guy at a restaurant who’s been in line for 5 minutes waiting to order, but waits until he’s at the front before he reads the menu. $&#@%!!

The woman are faster on the pro tours cause they get their caddy to do all their lining up and stuff for them, so they don’t need to think about anything……

The men have to line themselves up and make sure they are aiming at the right spot by themselves, their caddys don’t help!!

It’s as simple as that really…… ;)

“He who’s tired of Weird Al, is tired of life!!”
-Homer Simpson

Jeezzz boys, I was only joking when I said this ^^
No need to get all serious on me!!

But after watching the golf today, i think the woman are faster cause they don’t hit the ball as far. meaning they get to their ball and play their shot quicker than the men. ;)

and they play shorter courses!