The whole attitude towards golf needs a rethink, 5hr rounds, a year to look at information. It’s no wonder the game is suffering.

It seems like an eternity.
I am impatient because I know I do not have many years of play ahead of me, particularly.
Potentially the final result will be excellent for handicaping here in Oz.
Slow play is an issue with many angles.
The Rules are not major factors.
Clubs can do much to accelerate pace of play. Few do a good job in this area.
Here are just a few of the problems.
High handicappers bunched early in the field.
Players unaware of how to shave minutes off their own play every hole.
Cramming the course with less than 10 minutes between groups leads to frustration.
The walkers and cart riders mix is frustrating too.
Poor course architecture. There is a rich vein here. Think interference in the play between 2 and even 3 holes. Obstructions and other things such as gardens forcing players to take relief dropping and placing.
Too many stroke/medal rounds but I think Stroke is the best test.
For what it is worth I stopped playing in early groups with some of best friends because of their inability to maintain a reasonable pace of play and that is riding carts!
I just couldn’t stand being tarred with the same brush.
Now I play later have learnt
to cope with slower rounds knowing it is not my fault.
The never ending story!

It seems like an eternity.
I am impatient because I know I do not have many years of play ahead of me, particularly.
Potentially the final result will be excellent for handicaping here in Oz.
Slow play is an issue with many angles.
The Rules are not major factors.
Clubs can do much to accelerate pace of play. Few do a good job in this area.
Here are just a few of the problems.
High handicappers bunched early in the field.
Players unaware of how to shave minutes off their own play every hole.
Cramming the course with less than 10 minutes between groups leads to frustration.
The walkers and cart riders mix is frustrating too.
Poor course architecture. There is a rich vein here. Think interference in the play between 2 and even 3 holes. Obstructions and other things such as gardens forcing players to take relief dropping and placing.
Too many stroke/medal rounds but I think Stroke is the best test.
For what it is worth I stopped playing in early groups with some of best friends because of their inability to maintain a reasonable pace of play and that is riding carts!
I just couldn’t stand being tarred with the same brush.
Now I play later have learnt
to cope with slower rounds knowing it is not my fault.
The never ending story!

Replace medal rounds with stableford.

It seems like an eternity.
I am impatient because I know I do not have many years of play ahead of me, particularly.
Potentially the final result will be excellent for handicaping here in Oz.
Slow play is an issue with many angles.
The Rules are not major factors.
Clubs can do much to accelerate pace of play. Few do a good job in this area.
Here are just a few of the problems.
High handicappers bunched early in the field.
Players unaware of how to shave minutes off their own play every hole.
Cramming the course with less than 10 minutes between groups leads to frustration.
The walkers and cart riders mix is frustrating too.
Poor course architecture. There is a rich vein here. Think interference in the play between 2 and even 3 holes. Obstructions and other things such as gardens forcing players to take relief dropping and placing.
Too many stroke/medal rounds but I think Stroke is the best test.
For what it is worth I stopped playing in early groups with some of best friends because of their inability to maintain a reasonable pace of play and that is riding carts!
I just couldn’t stand being tarred with the same brush.
Now I play later have learnt
to cope with slower rounds knowing it is not my fault.
The never ending story!

Love playing the game and interested in the Rules

Stopped playing comps altogether, know how you feel.

The rules could be changed to help speed play. Such as reducing penalties for having wayward balls would limit any incentive to keep searching and, instead, just get on with playing.

Of course, that would go against long standing traditions on playing the game and would incur much opposition. So perhaps an ‘easy play’ version of the rules might be adopted for other than elite level play.

Courses could be changed so that balls are less likely to be hidden from view. The rough need not hide balls, just make it a little more difficult to play them. Areas under trees could be kept reasonably clear so balls can be found and played with just the trees impeding ball flight.

The problem is that rules and course setup are for highly skilled players. But ‘speed of play’ issues are a problem for weekend hackers. Perhaps we should have ‘amateur’ courses and rules for the majority of golfers and reserve more difficult circumstances for the elite level.

Rounds could readily be reduced to 3.5 hours if players rarely need to search for balls.

The rules could be changed to help speed play. Such as reducing penalties for having wayward balls would limit any incentive to keep searching and, instead, just get on with playing.

Of course, that would go against long standing traditions on playing the game and would incur much opposition. So perhaps an ‘easy play’ version of the rules might be adopted for other than elite level play.

Courses could be changed so that balls are less likely to be hidden from view. The rough need not hide balls, just make it a little more difficult to play them. Areas under trees could be kept reasonably clear so balls can be found and played with just the trees impeding ball flight.

The problem is that rules and course setup are for highly skilled players. But ‘speed of play’ issues are a problem for weekend hackers. Perhaps we should have ‘amateur’ courses and rules for the majority of golfers and reserve more difficult circumstances for the elite level.

Rounds could readily be reduced to 3.5 hours if players rarely need to search for balls.

OldBogey

GolfLink

OlindaGolfClub

The problem is golf was never meant to be a speed game, I’ve been around golf coarses for 50 years and it seems most modern players who whinge the most about slow rounds, they are usually time poor and are always in a hurry to be somewhere else be it the kids football or cricket or whatever,if they can’t play in under 4 hrs then every one is playing too slow, .Slow play has always been a problem whether it is caused by penal rough, slow players, lost balls or as happens with some coarses crammed tee times.
All of these problems do have fixes, some easy some not so.

Golf used to be a gentlemen’s game, now it’s for the time poor masses.

So, should we leave golf the way it has always been so that only those with a spare day can play? Or should we adjust the old game to modern society so that more people can enjoy ‘our’ game?

The problem with changing the game to suit the time poor is they are never satisfied and want more and more changes and before long you end up with a train wreck like that in golf in the US.

Golf is not an elite sport anymore, by treating it as if it is will only result in courses being closed leaving it once again a sport for the rich and stupid.

If I was rich, I could handle a bit of stupidity.

Maybe not.

“Time Poor”
An interesting concept.
It is about how people manage their lives.
Example “no time to practice!”
If you are keen you make the time available rearranging your priorities. I didthat many years ago getting up at dawn making time for 30 minutes practice before work. It was a choice which I made happily.
I know a group of retired guys who get their names for first group on the tee. They literally race around the course in carts proud of setting amazing times to play. They then race off somewhere not doing what most do. no socialising after the game.
They rarely have good scores by the way.
Apparently by doing this they make time for things important to them.
I rationalise that a slower round is more time being in the open air at a delightful place with friends.
One way of looking at it.

If you are keen you make the time available rearranging your priorities.

That’s an easy thing to say. Until the start of this year I had a 2 hour trip onto work and back each day which meant I had “no time to practise”. Left for work at 5.30am and was home at 7.00pm. Played golf on Saturday morning and then spent the rest of my weekend with my family.

Although if you do have the time, as I do now, there’s no excuse. I now work 10 mins from home so once a week I can get out at 6.30am and play nine holes.

Understand.
Everyone has 24 hours each day.
Some things we have little control over. Work and family can be hard to manage and have time over for choice of things to do.
The less controlyou have over what you do the more you sre stressed even to serious health issues.
Some people need to find a way to change theirjob and lifestyle or be miserable and sick.
It is good to read you are getting your life back and not commuting so much.
I was not inferring you were miserable and sick. Just being philosophical about life and choices.

http://tinyurl.com/9ozz2hl

This just hit my email from Golf Australia.

Pertinent to the headline topic.

My two cents regarding slow play.

I’ve been in Australia for a year and unfortunately not played a lot of gold yet. In the UK though I players 3 times a week and observed the same issues that everyone has worldwide with slow play.

1. Bags on the wrong sides of greens
2. Lack of playing a provisional on the insistence that “I saw where it went”
3. Spending over 5 minutes searching for a lost ball
4. Too many practice swings!
5. No repeatable pre-shot routine
6. Not walking to/near your ball whilst your partner is taking his shot (within reason obviously)

these are just a few things that I have seen even these “time hungry” people do. In reality no golf round should take more than 4 hours even for a four ball. I have played in plenty of usb 4 hour 4 balls that have always felt relaxed and not rushed…

Getting back on topic. The handicapping system I am interested to see how it will work in practice once I have a handicap here. The concept of playing to a CSS (Competition Scratch) for HC Qualifying rounds and only gaining 0.1 for a round is engrained into me being from the UK.

Expecting a handicap anywhere between 17 and 20 when I finally sort it out.

Chris

6. Not walking to/near your ball whilst your partner is taking his shot (within reason obviously)

I hate this one. I know I’m in for a long day when we all walk down the first fairway and everyone stops to watch the first shot, then the second…

7- the honor system ,normally the worst player is the shortest hitter ,so they tee off ,you have to wait for them to put their club away ,grab their bag ,walk to the ball ,get their club out mishit 10 foot and do it all again.If they teed off 1st then they could put their club away ,grab their buggy or whatever and be ready to head towards their ball.

Waiting round the greens for the furthest player to hit, if your by your ball and off the green make your shot, it’s not rocket science.

Watched one group last week using a cart, parked off the fairway, walked to ball, back to cart, picked club, wrong club, back to cart, new club.

All four in the group were doing the same, it was taking them 20 mins to play a hole, they also would not let anyone play through. After 2 holes I walked round them and missed out a hole, was a practice round but everyone was getting pissed off. Eventually someone phoned the shop and they were spoken to, given some advice.

7- the honor system ,normally the worst player is the shortest hitter ,so they tee off ,you have to wait for them to put their club away ,grab their bag ,walk to the ball ,get their club out mishit 10 foot and do it all again.If they teed off 1st then they could put their club away ,grab their buggy or whatever and be ready to head towards their ball.

bthesilverfox

What an enlightening first post, gather you where never a learner or just naturally blessed golfer were we…....

I have played with some real slow golfers and learners in my time, I don’t hit the flocking there were I want to either, but if I stuff up I am always ready to hit the next one ASAP and if I have managed to hit a decent shot then be aware of what the newbie/high handicapper is up to. Help them to help themselves, try and point out to them what they are doing to slow play up, if needed help them out. Move their buggy for them, help find their ball etc…. Not rocket science and it helps the pace of play.

7- the honor system ,normally the worst player is the shortest hitter ,so they tee off ,you have to wait for them to put their club away ,grab their bag ,walk to the ball ,get their club out mishit 10 foot and do it all again.If they teed off 1st then they could put their club away ,grab their buggy or whatever and be ready to head towards their ball.

In my usual Saturday group we have a 22 handicpper who is also the shortest hitter. We do not bother with the honour system.
This along with a few other measures means that we rarely loose touch with the group in front.
There is little excuse for a round of 18 holes taking more than 4 1/2 hours.

The major factor is the course.
Length, terrain, green to tee distances, hazards, trees, OOB, soft ground, wind.
Every Saturday we have the same group of 4 mid handicap players who are first off. They have reported that from one extreme to the other their times over the year can vary by upto 3/4 hour. They have never been accused by following groups of being slow.

We play “ready” golf. Who ever is “ready” on a tee hits. If we drop behind the group in front, then who ever is the first to putt out, then starts walking towards the next tee without waiting for the last person to complete the hole. Marking your card whilst another member of your group is on the tee. Little things like this make a difference.

Why isn’t the person in your group who has the honour ready to hit off first?

We play “ready” golf. Who ever is “ready” on a tee hits. If we drop behind the group in front, then who ever is the first to putt out, then starts walking towards the next tee without waiting for the last person to complete the hole. Marking your card whilst another member of your group is on the tee. Little things like this make a difference.

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.

This is standard female fare but i think its lazy golf. Person with honor needs to hurry up, all putters need to be on the job and stay to end otherwise this leads to distractions and more time wasting.

Being ready to hit as soon as other players ball has stopped will sort it mostly and not looking for balls over 5 min. Shortest hitter also needs to be sharp and youll be fine.