I had a serious run in with the committee of my previous club over slow play – average round of 5+ hours on a short, flat 9 hole course where most of the members were in carts. The President was the slowest and the Treasurer was a close 2nd. I had no hope so joined The Willows – a course where there is way too much distance between tees but at least a four hour comp round is often achieved without marshalls. Mantra: “hit when ready!”.

I was watching the Ladies Masters over the week end, and the commentator(either Jane Crafter or Kate Burton) was commenting on how the pros walk from the bunker to the hole before playing the shot, and how ALL amateurs should do it too!!!

I laughed out loud when Crafter suggested this. Cause it would be just one more piece of information which added zero to my shot selection – I know how far I hit my wedges with a half swing APPROXIMATELY – anything other than that exact distance and I am going on feel. It’s not like there is going to be any difference in how I approach a shot if I know that it is actually 25 metres instead of the 20 metres that I thought.

Ladies par round today. Although playing in the early groups, we were able to complete our round in UNDER four hours… everyone picked up when they should, and moved well between shots… It is possible.

I was watching the Ladies Masters over the week end, and the commentator(either Jane Crafter or Kate Burton) was commenting on how the pros walk from the bunker to the hole before playing the shot, and how ALL amateurs should do it too!!!

I laughed out loud when Crafter suggested this. Cause it would be just one more piece of information which added zero to my shot selection – I know how far I hit my wedges with a half swing APPROXIMATELY – anything other than that exact distance and I am going on feel. It’s not like there is going to be any difference in how I approach a shot if I know that it is actually 25 metres instead of the 20 metres that I thought.

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http://www.golflink.com.au/...

Spot on, I laughed just as loud.

Why do members on their home course during a comp round feel the need to continually check distance on GPS?

Surely you should have a fair understanding of what you can hit and what the correct distance is on your home course.

Its something that can be used on practice rounds to gauge acurate distance but should be banned in comps.

Yes, also I think gloves should be banned. Along with head covers for your clubs. Also flags in the holes is a waste of time. Surely you should know the usual pin locations at your home course.

And don’t even get me started on the waste of time that is “tees”.

http://www.golflink.com.au/…

You’ve taken your argument to silly levels here. if you play your home course weekly and you don’t have a rough idea of what your hitting when you get to your ball your holding up play.

If every player in the 4 ball “just looks at a screen” then has a think about all the other conditions it is going to hold up play.

Then again i’m sure with your GPS your hitting it to within a couple of feet of every pin and holding up no one

I have an idea

NOW this might seem mad

In stroke play yup monthly mug is our biggest issue

ONCE you are 10 shots over you cap YOU are automatically DQ’d (if you have completed 9 holes) if your 10 over your cap after more 9 holes you are DQ’d – you then have to play stableford for the rest of the round…..NO provisonal shots allowed!!

NOW before you all start laughing and think I’m nuts think about it

I reckon this would have a positve effect – keep the ball in play as you know you cant flay driver on every hole

the reason our stroke rounds are slow is that guys that are 15 shots over their cap keep slapping driver and slicing it (our course is windy!!) they then expect to spend 5 minutes looking for it – yet thier scorcard is shot

I annoyed one guy 2 weeks ago

after 16 holes hes like 13 or 14 shots over his cap and he was annoyed I wouldnt look for his ball – (I had a quick look) but seriously what is the point?

If My cap is shot I hit provisional and spend NO time looking for the bush ball…

maybe same in stableford – if youre down by say hmm 8 or 6 (thats down on your cap) points after 9 holes you are DQ’d

this means you can play out the round but you can hit provisionals

Like a mery rule..think I’m nuts well nuts id doing the same thing we are doing now for the next 100 years!!

the defenition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result …

we need to do something really radical to change player behaviour

a mercy rule isnt mad at all

Mad is what we are currently doing!

Why do members on their home course during a comp round feel the need to continually check distance on GPS?

Surely you should have a fair understanding of what you can hit and what the correct distance is on your home course.

Its something that can be used on practice rounds to gauge acurate distance but should be banned in comps.

Yes, also I think gloves should be banned. Along with head covers for your clubs. Also flags in the holes is a waste of time. Surely you should know the usual pin locations at your home course.

And don’t even get me started on the waste of time that is “tees”.

http://www.golflink.com.au/…

You’ve taken your argument to silly levels here. if you play your home course weekly and you don’t have a rough idea of what your hitting when you get to your ball your holding up play.

If every player in the 4 ball “just looks at a screen” then has a think about all the other conditions it is going to hold up play.

Then again i’m sure with your GPS your hitting it to within a couple of feet of every pin and holding up no one

Well I use a rangefinder…. and test the wind…. and clean my clubs after every shot yet i’m always at my ball before anyone else has hit and usually first to the green and waiting for others to catch up….

I did take the argument to silly levels but only to point out how silly yours was. Not everyone has laser eyes like you and can tell the distance to the pin, especially outside of 120m.

If there is a front pin and I guess it’s 145m to the flag when really it’s 153 and I’ve hit an 8 iron which I carry 145 instead of a 7, that could easily cost me a couple shots for the round.

If you actually think DMD’s are a factor in slow play you are kidding yourself.

I fail to see how my argument is silly. The only person kidding themselves that GPS etc dont hold up play is you. You may be profeciaent in their use and be a fairly quick player. Most people i have seen using them take an unreasonable amount of time over 2nd shots they think they will get to the green with. They’re usually way off regardless.

Im sure these devices are of value to low handicappers who are trying to take their game to the next level and are hitting just about every fairway and GIR.

I havent got laser eyes. I am able to make a reasonable assumption on what club i need to hit. Based on the fact that i played the same course every week i should have a fair idea of what i need to hit, what the green is like etc etc.

Im not a single figure handicapper. Im happy to get GIR regulation and 2 putt if possible.

Nah, sorry, but the use of GPS helps speed up play. The vast majority of players I see get their GPS out and have a quick check of the distance, which is much better than them searching around for a sprinkler head etc.

It is ridiculous to suggest that only low markers need to have a good idea of the distance to a green.

Bizarre thinking.

On the couple of occasions that my GPS has run out of batteries, it takes me longer to play because I have to spend more time figuring out how long it takes. With the GPS, I have a quick look when I park my buggy and I am ready to go – like Crrack, I am ready to play my shot with club in hand before it is my turn and the only thing that I do when I am ready to go is do a short pre-shot routine and go.

St J, i never said only low markers need a good idea of distance.

I have said all along that members who play the same club everyweek should have a fair idea of what club they need simply from experience.

Im sorry but i dont believe that GPS, range finders etc speed up play. Those that use them will get quicker with their use over time but some wont.

Again those that are quick would have been fairly quick players regardless. Not all players are quick on the up take with new technology.Thus play is slowed imo.

I fail to see how my argument is silly. The only person kidding themselves that GPS etc dont hold up play is you.

facepalm Most people who don’t have a GPS/rangefinder will look for sprinkler heads/distance markers… Having a GPS takes out this step of walking away from your ball and back again…. Increasing the speed of play. When I see someone looking for a sprinkler head and im near by, I’ll usually just laser in the flag for them, tell them the distance and then continue to my ball. That has just sped up play.

It’s not like you have to calibrate the thing each time. The number is there ready for you as soon as you arrive. You look at and see [129m] – within 1 second I know I’m hitting a 9 iron. How can that be anything other than an improvement on a more conventional method of pacing steps or guessing.

Most people i have seen using them take an unreasonable amount of time over 2nd shots they think they will get to the green with. They’re usually way off regardless.

I don’t see what your point is here… If a GPS says it’s 200m to the green and they know they are capable of hitting it 200m then they should wait for the green to clear. It doesn’t matter if it’s only occasionally they can hit it that far – they should ALWAYS wait. I’d rather a slower round than being hit up on, endangering myself and others.

All that aside, that situation can not be put down to the GPS causing the slow play… Regardless of a GPS or not, they would of walked to a marker and seen they were 200 out and waited anyway…

No matter which way you look at it, DMD’s are not an issue of slow play. There’s just no normal situation where this is the case.

Not all players are quick on the up take with new technology.

Seriously mate, are you like 95 years old? This is how most new GPS’s work. Turn it on.

It finds the course on its own. It finds the hole on its own and switches the next hole on its own.

Seriously complex stuff that.

Crrack we will agree to disagree. I bet however that you are a young golfer and a low marker.

Andy I am not a Young player. nor do I use a GPS when playing my home course. However the only players that are going to be slow using a GPS for distance measuring are those that are already slow. There are several reasons for slow play. The biggest one though is .:
I have paid my membership, I am not about to rush for anyone.”
I actually had that said to me when I was the Club Captain.
Some players do not give a damn about other groups on the course. They play in their own little world & do not even think about other players on the course. There may not be many with this attitude But they certainly seem to be at every club in the land.

Crrack, I actually agree with Andy. On a course you play every week you should be able to get to within 30m of your ball and know withing a couple of meters how far out you are. If you don’t you need to pay more attention and do a course to improve memory.

I do not agree that GPS make the game slower and on courses that you don’t know (or play infrequently) can in fact be a serious time saver.

Forgive me if I’m wrong Andy, but wasn’t that the point you were trying to make, that on a course you play week in week out you should know your distances well before you get to your ball?

I would actually be a big fan of banning range finders, GPS AND distances on sprinkler heads. Walk to your ball, look at it, pick a club and go. Bring back the advantage to those that pay attention and learn from past plays…...

Crrack, I actually agree with Andy. On a course you play every week you should be able to get to within 30m of your ball and know withing a couple of meters how far out you are. If you don’t you need to pay more attention and do a course to improve memory.

I do not agree that GPS make the game slower and on courses that you don’t know (or play infrequently) can in fact be a serious time saver.

Forgive me if I’m wrong Andy, but wasn’t that the point you were trying to make, that on a course you play week in week out you should know your distances well before you get to your ball?

I would actually be a big fan of banning range finders, GPS AND distances on sprinkler heads. Walk to your ball, look at it, pick a club and go. Bring back the advantage to those that pay attention and learn from past plays……

Golf is not a game of perfect!

Have to disagree. Is it a memory competition or a golf game? Golf is a target game, a range finder or gos takes 20seconds. Then you execute.

I play the same course most weeks. Don’t know what club I am hitting when I am 30 meters away, that’s ridiculous. You could be easily 2 clubs out. What does that prove, that you can’t play golf or you have a crap memory? It ain’t the former…

And if people think that it is quicker without a measuring device, how long does t take when because you have chosen the wrong club you have to then play an extra chip or a bunker shot instead an easy putt?

Crrack, I actually agree with Andy. On a course you play every week you should be able to get to within 30m of your ball and know withing a couple of meters how far out you are. If you don’t you need to pay more attention and do a course to improve memory.

I do not agree that GPS make the game slower and on courses that you don’t know (or play infrequently) can in fact be a serious time saver.

Forgive me if I’m wrong Andy, but wasn’t that the point you were trying to make, that on a course you play week in week out you should know your distances well before you get to your ball?

I would actually be a big fan of banning range finders, GPS AND distances on sprinkler heads. Walk to your ball, look at it, pick a club and go. Bring back the advantage to those that pay attention and learn from past plays……

Golf is not a game of perfect!

That was my main point Yub. A GPS on a course you are unfamiliar with will improve your club selection and no doubt make it quicker.

Playing a course you are a member of should mean that by the time you have got to your ball you will know from experience that from here you normally hit club x. Of course conditions on the day may affect that club selection but its unlikely that you have never played a ball from a couple of meters of where you are.

Happy it made sense to more than just me

On the couple of occasions that my GPS has run out of batteries, it takes me longer to play because I have to spend more time figuring out how long it takes. With the GPS, I have a quick look when I park my buggy and I am ready to go – like Crrack, I am ready to play my shot with club in hand before it is my turn and the only thing that I do when I am ready to go is do a short pre-shot routine and go.

Same here. GPS clipped on to handle of buggy, and easily visible as I walk up to my ball. Select club based on distance to centre and any enviromental factors – height difference, wind, etc. and then go through pre-shot routine. Non-GPS equipped players get to their ball, attempt to judge distance and then spend minutes staring at clubs trying to decide which to use. No contest – GPS equipped player much quicker.

Further to previous. Believe that a distance measuring device should be made compulsory for all players. Whether they choose to use it or not is their choice. The time taken to assess distances on approach shots does take significant time, for each player times 18 shots equals slower play.

I have the GPS watch, and it takes bugger all time just to glance and know what iron I need.

Further to previous. Believe that a distance measuring device should be made compulsory for all players. Whether they choose to use it or not is their choice. The time taken to assess distances on approach shots does take significant time, for each player times 18 shots equals slower play.

Callaway Diablo Edge kit – magic. 11deg driver, 3 & 5 woods, 3,4,5 hybrids, 4 through SW irons plus GW, all with senior flex graphite shafts, and Odyssey White Ice #9 putter. 4 and 5 irons tend to get left behind.

Why make GPS compulsory???? That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard! Soon you will have to use a trolley ‘because it’s quicker’. Golf is a walking sport, should be played with just the bare necessities!

Why not ban all distance measuring devices including distances on sprinklers? Surely the result on pace of play would be better…..see it and hit it!

The discussion is about how to speed up the rate of play.

Surely the result on pace of play would be better…..see it and hit it!

Some of us actually think about what we are doing – like visualise the shot and having a pre-shot routine.

See it and hit it !!!! You would have to be kidding.

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Alison, people have actually thought about what they were doing on a golf course for centuries, but slow play is an issue of increasing importance only in the last 20-30 years.

In your words:
“Some of us actually think about what we are doing – like visualise the shot and having a pre-shot routine.”

You have hit the nail on the head there for the major reason for slow play and you have just admitted you are guilty of it! Pre-shot routines & visualisations!

See it and hit it…..like people have done for centuries!!!!!

I still stand by my comment that “Why make GPS compulsory???? That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard!”