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Slow/Fast Play - Marshalling

Fourputt

Littleton, Colorado
Sep 5, 2006
973
0
I don't see anyway a 4some could finish 18 in that time frame. I have played as single & have managed a 2 hr 20 minute rd. That was nailing just about every fairway & no screwing around.

Agreed.... whether or not it's possible, I don't know why anyone would want to play that fast, aside from being able to come in here and brag about it. I really don't see how how can enjoy a round when you are racing around the course. We always play ready golf, but we still play by the order of play rules when it doesn't seriously affect our pace of play. We are playing golf, not running a race, and within reason, there should be a certain structure to your play.

There is also a social aspect to the game too. That doesn't mean that you hold a meeting on every tee or green, but it also doesn't mean that you can't walk side by side with your playing companions down the fairway and talk for 3/4 of the distance to your ball before diverging to play your shot.

The key is that when the course is busy, you keep up with the group in front of you. That is absolutely necessary to keep the course playing at a reasonable pace for the entire day. When it isn't busy, you still keep moving within the parameters of what the course considers proper pace of play, and if there is room ahead of you, then you let faster groups play through.

And for the faster players.... I don't care what you think, but when the course is full, I'm not going to stand aside and let you play through group after group. All that does is jam up the course behind you... you aren't any more special than I am. I've seen singles try to do that on my home course when they get a rare tee time alone on a full golf course. You may not realize it, but every time you play through a foursome, they have to wait for you to get out of the way, and that slows everything behind them just that much more. You don't have any more rights than anyone else, and as long as they are playing on the heels of the players in front of them, then you can just wait your turn.

(That rant ought to make me popular :dead:)
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
Agreed.... whether or not it's possible, I don't know why anyone would want to play that fast, aside from being able to come in here and brag about it. I really don't see how how can enjoy a round when you are racing around the course. We always play ready golf, but we still play by the order of play rules when it doesn't seriously affect our pace of play. We are playing golf, not running a race, and within reason, there should be a certain structure to your play.

There is also a social aspect to the game too. That doesn't mean that you hold a meeting on every tee or green, but it also doesn't mean that you can't walk side by side with your playing companions down the fairway and talk for 3/4 of the distance to your ball before diverging to play your shot.

The key is that when the course is busy, you keep up with the group in front of you. That is absolutely necessary to keep the course playing at a reasonable pace for the entire day. When it isn't busy, you still keep moving within the parameters of what the course considers proper pace of play, and if there is room ahead of you, then you let faster groups play through.

And for the faster players.... I don't care what you think, but when the course is full, I'm not going to stand aside and let you play through group after group. All that does is jam up the course behind you... you aren't any more special than I am. I've seen singles try to do that on my home course when they get a rare tee time alone on a full golf course. You may not realize it, but every time you play through a foursome, they have to wait for you to get out of the way, and that slows everything behind them just that much more. You don't have any more rights than anyone else, and as long as they are playing on the heels of the players in front of them, then you can just wait your turn.

(That rant ought to make me popular :dead:)
I agree 100% with everything you just said.
 

Fourputt

Littleton, Colorado
Sep 5, 2006
973
0
I hate this concept.

It's helpful to a degree, but I've been cautioned by rangers who thought we should be two holes further along than we were, even though we were waiting on the group ahead of us, who was wating on a group ahead of them, and so on.

The key is for groups to keep up with the group ahead, pick up after triple-bogey, and, move with a purpose. There's no need to rush. And rangers need to use "situational awareness," and not a strict adherence to some bean-counter's idea of how many groups need to be crammed through the course each day.

Marshalls:

Don't admonish my group because we've spent three minutes together looking for a ball, and the group ahead has moved off the green. We've been keeping up all day, and you haven't been paying attention to that fact. I have five minutes to look - by the rules of golf.

Don't ever tell my foursome to "keep up" with the twosome ahead of us, especially when there's nobody pushing us from behind.

Be firm with slow players. You control the way the course flows. I know you have a tough job, since course management wants to pack groups in right on top of each other. Spend your day driving the course, getting a feel for overall ebb and flow of play, and control the choke points. And give people a little slack if they have to slow down for a hole due to a lost ball, or extra chips - whatever. If you know they've been keeping up all day, give them a hole or two to catch back up before you bitch at them.

Our rangers actually use their judgment before going up to a group and advising them. Or they might just mention that a group that has fallen behind because of a ball search just hustle a bit to catch back up. YOU might realize that you have that responsibility, but many players don't seem to understand that they should make every effort to catch back up after such an incident.

Most players seem to have a rather fanciful idea of what a ranger is. He either isn't doing his job when the course is playing slow, or he is harassing you because you lost a few minutes in a ball search, and he didn't give you a chance to get caught up again. First, he doesn't know how or why you lost pace, all he sees is the gap, and it's his job to close that space up. He doesn't know that you are trying to catch up (maybe he just drove up from 3 holes away), again all he sees is the gap. A good ranger doesn't "bitch", he advises, and he allows the group to make it's case. The rangers on my course do so with a smile. When the course is busy and playing fairly well, they will position themselves on holes where players commonly hit balls in the native rough, and will help them search for their balls. The job is called "Course Assistant" and that is how they are trained to behave. Their primary job is to assist the players in maintaining pace of play, and then in any other way that they can while keeping that primary duty in mind.

People who complain about the rangers need to try working the job for a month... that will usually shut off the snide complaints. Most golfers really haven't a clue what the job entails, all they want to do is bitch. :confused:
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
Our rangers actually use their judgment before going up to a group and advising them. Or they might just mention that a group that has fallen behind because of a ball search just hustle a bit to catch back up. YOU might realize that you have that responsibility, but many players don't seem to understand that they should make every effort to catch back up after such an incident.

Most players seem to have a rather fanciful idea of what a ranger is. He either isn't doing his job when the course is playing slow, or he is harassing you because you lost a few minutes in a ball search, and he didn't give you a chance to get caught up again. First, he doesn't know how or why you lost pace, all he sees is the gap, and it's his job to close that space up. He doesn't know that you are trying to catch up (maybe he just drove up from 3 holes away), again all he sees is the gap. A good ranger doesn't "bitch", he advises, and he allows the group to make it's case. The rangers on my course do so with a smile. When the course is busy and playing fairly well, they will position themselves on holes where players commonly hit balls in the native rough, and will help them search for their balls. The job is called "Course Assistant" and that is how they are trained to behave. Their primary job is to assist the players in maintaining pace of play, and then in any other way that they can while keeping that primary duty in mind.

People who complain about the rangers need to try working the job for a month... that will usually shut off the snide complaints. Most golfers really haven't a clue what the job entails, all they want to do is bitch. :confused:
And if the rangers who "advise me" to catch up would actually listen to our explanation, and not adopt an "I don't want to hear your excuse" attitude, I might be more inclined to have a generally positive attitude about them. There are some good rangers out there, and I'm grateful for them. I enjoy chatting with the good ones. Nothing throws me off my game worse than a ranger who treats his job as a position of authority, and not as a pace of play facilitator. For the fascists, I reserve the right to bitch.
 

swingsmooth

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2008
32
0
4 hr.s is about right

Four hours is right on the money for a foursome. Anything under four hours is awesome. There's nothing worse than having a good round going and then having your rhythm broken by having to wait. Tournament play is always a problem, without fail. You may as well resign yourself to a 5 hour round if your in a tournament or following one. I think part of the problem with slow play, in general, is beginners or people who play infrequently taking their score too seriously. If you're hacking around the course, pick up and move on or drop your ball next to your buddy who's playing well and hit from there. If you're just learning to hit the ball, who really cares about score??!!
 

swingsmooth

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2008
32
0
Faster players

I agree about the faster players when the course is full. If there's no place to go, playing through just slows things down more. It's so typical for players to be impatient and blame the slow play on the foursome in front of them. And for the record, hitting into the group ahead is, unfortunately, common, and never, ever appropriate.
 

trumb1mj

Well-Known Member
Dec 19, 2007
551
97
Chicago, IL
Country
United States United States
5 hours

minimum for me these days. It was brutal at first but now I am starting to get use to it.

Eracer - i think you meant the former.
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
minimum for me these days. It was brutal at first but now I am starting to get use to it.

Eracer - i think you meant the former.
I was referring to the "good rangers," but yeah, I can see the problem with my wording. I fixed it.
 

Pa Jayhawk

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2005
7,196
62
Country
United States United States
Agreed.... whether or not it's possible, I don't know why anyone would want to play that fast, aside from being able to come in here and brag about it. I really don't see how how can enjoy a round when you are racing around the course.
While I agree with the majority of what you mention, I just don't understand this concept of wanting to "come in here and brag about it"

What is there to brag about, I personally don't see how this would make me special even though I can knock a round out in an hour when I want to. I also am not always on the golf course to "Enjoy the round". Sometimes I am out there to practice, which I personally make due but while it is not as fun as playing it is necessary. Sometimes I am on the course by myself simply to score. These are usually fast rounds that I play on my own, and if you blink you will not even see me. And sometimes I am on the course to enjoy the scenery, the company of a foursome and the nature of the round. In which case up here can easily last 5-6 hours.

So while I personally don't care what someone thinks about me being able to complete a round and in the process shoot well under my handicap in 1 hour, in the same sense I don't really care if someone understands that I spent 5 hours on the course Tuesday, only played 3 holes, and never got within 150 yards of a green. Again, it is not slowing anyone down. When I play fast, I really don't expect anyone to let me play through. Although I "gained" alot in both cases, I am not sure either one was for the sole intent on having fun. Even though both likely made me a better golfer in their own way. Personally it is all about making due with what I have and being able to gain something out of it in the end. The 5 hours on three holes was invaluable, the 18 holes in one hour was the same. Does it make me a heathen to only play 3 holes in 5 hours? I really don't care because I didn't get in anyones way.
 

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