Playing Through in North America

[thunderbolt]

Re: Playing Through in North America

That makes more sense than just labelling a group as slow because there is a gap. There are many factors that will affect this but some "rabbits" expect everyone to get out of their way so they can finish in no more than 3.5 hrs even on a crowded course.

[Ignatius Reilly]

Re: Playing Through in North America

Agreed, or they ask the group behind the slow group to keep on their tail. Wrong approach. If they are behind by a hole and a half, make them pick up and move to the next tee. There is nothing more frustrating on a golf course than being stuck behind a group that has open space in front of them and the rest of the course is backed up behind them.

The marshal should facilitate playing through in that case, rather than having them pick up, don't you think?

[Galted]

Re: Playing Through in North America

Then maybe the 3.5 hour players are the real problem

Funny that all my partners compliment on the excellent pace of play when with me. No rushing just playing efficiently having a nice brisk walk. Playing efficiently is contagious and easy to emulate!

p.s. 3.5 hours is quite a slow day for us.

[Galted]

Re: Playing Through in North America

The marshal should facilitate playing through in that case, rather than having them pick up, don't you think?

If they are slow enough to fall way behind group in front, then the whole course will probably need to play through them. What I have seen is that the slow ones pick up the pace after being told to pick up balls and go to next tee. They don't want to be told again. It is far more effective than playing through.

[Pingnut]

Re: Playing Through in North America

Ran into a threesome today with 4 holes to go and no one in front of them. They could have invited me to join or waved me through, but they just walked off.. I can understand if they were good, or fast. They were neither

[Ignatius Reilly]

Re: Playing Through in North America

If they are slow enough to fall way behind group in front, then the whole course will probably need to play through them. What I have seen is that the slow ones pick up the pace after being told to pick up balls and go to next tee. They don't want to be told again. It is far more effective than playing through.

Most people don't want to let groups through - it's embarrassing and you've got to stand around waiting while they go through.

If they've got the ability to speed up, they generally will.

If they don't, then another group can go through them.

I don't think you'll get beginners to come in to the sport if they have to pick up all the time. They might not ever putt!

[Galted]

Re: Playing Through in North America

Most people don't want to let groups through - it's embarrassing and you've got to stand around waiting while they go through.

If they've got the ability to speed up, they generally will.

If they don't, then another group can go through them.

I don't think you'll get beginners to come in to the sport if they have to pick up all the time. They might not ever putt!

That is a perspective I also agree is a concern. However, there are times when the only solution is to force the slow group to move forward. Slow players are very few in actuality. They don't care about anybody else and only their playing partners know they are causing a course to back up. Often their playing partners are as bad because who else would accept playing with them. They are the reason the rest of the course cannot play in under 3.5 hours. They are the reason everybody has accepted that 4.5 hours is "normal". A zero tolerance approach is the only way to tackle that rare group that ruins everybody else's enjoyment. There was a marshall at Don Valley years ago who used zero tolerance on those he determined are the rare self-centered type. He moved only those to next tee and kept even a public course pretty close to 3.5 hours back then. I hear without him it is no longer a good pace. Playing through is fine for the majority, but some derserve to be singled out for harsher treatment.

[TeeItHi]

Re: Playing Through in North America

Ran into a threesome today with 4 holes to go and no one in front of them. They could have invited me to join or waved me through, but they just walked off.. I can understand if they were good, or fast. They were neither

It doesn't really matter if they're good or not. Actually maybe, cuz most good golfers I've come across would also know to let a single play through or invite to join them so that they can show off how good they are lol. these guys are just AH or doesn't know the unwritten rule of letting singles or faster golfers thru. Its simply just some people will not let singles or faster golfers to play through even if they know they're playing slower than the group in front of them...

I've played in other country where golf could take over 5 hrs. But these courses are private and has a lot halfway house to get food and drinks so people would stop more than 3 times during the round. people would just know that if the group is still getting food its automatic that they loose their spot on the next hole.

Last year I was playing by myself and the first 3 holes was wide open (according to the starter) and on the 4th hole I had to wait on a foursome to putt out and after they finished and I finished the hole they were still teeing off on the 5th hole so I looked on the fairway and green to see if they following anyone but they weren't, so i ask if i could play thru and 1 guy asked me if i'm gonna play fast with the tone that i would... I just said sure and teed off and was on my way... It's just this person had no clue that I caught up to them in less than 30 mins playing 4 holes....

[WestendStew]

Re: Playing Through in North America

Ran into a threesome today with 4 holes to go and no one in front of them. They could have invited me to join or waved me through, but they just walked off.. I can understand if they were good, or fast. They were neither

Some groups are just anti-social.

I played on Easter Sunday. Front nine I was paired up with a 3-ball that was playing their back nine, so that went ok, around 2 hours.

Back nine the course was all but deserted so I set off on my own. After 4 holes I was only about 33 minutes in and was now 1 shot back from another 3-ball. Paired up with them on the 7th and played the last 3 holes together.

It's always a gamble when you come up behind a group ahead whether they'll acknowledge your existence, wave you through, wave you up to join or get hostile that you're on their heels which is the absolute worst, and it's happened to me a couple times.

I catch up to a 2 or 3-ball with a good gap ahead of them, they won't wave me up or through but stare daggers back at me when I'm on their heels. C'mon, guys, I play quickly and I'm now playing 2 balls here - how much more do you want me to pull back fer chrissake? Or do you expect me to skip a hole and play 17 when I paid for 18?

[Hankster]

Re: Playing Through in North America

what are people's thoughts of just skipping a hole ?
Its pretty obvious the bottleneck group isn't thinking about etiquette of waving anyone through, so they won't complain seeing you ahead of them on the next hole You're only frustrating yourself with the expectation that people will behave the way you want them to...just like a marriage

btw, give yourself a par for the skipped hole of course

[Pingnut]

Re: Playing Through in North America

what are people's thoughts of just skipping a hole ?
Its pretty obvious the bottleneck group isn't thinking about etiquette of waving anyone through, so they won't complain seeing you ahead of them on the next hole You're only frustrating yourself with the expectation that people will behave the way you want them to...just like a marriage

btw, give yourself a par for the skipped hole of course

I don't like the idea of just skipping a hole, but I have on many occasions when playing twillight, skiped a section of holes (and hit them later) or go back and replay a section of holes when I hit a log jam..

[Ignatius Reilly]

Re: Playing Through in North America

I don't like the idea of just skipping a hole, but I have on many occasions when playing twillight, skiped a section of holes (and hit them later) or go back and replay a section of holes when I hit a log jam..

I'm pretty adamant about playing 18 if that's what I've paid for.

BUT, I'll skip a hole and get it later, or play a number of holes out of sequence, or skip a couple of holes and play some different-but-similar ones to fill out the round.

I've pretty much only done this at OV where there's almost always a way of making it work, and I know the layout and shortcuts pretty well. I'm not a cart guy, but it's much easier when in a cart... And I've only done it on solo rounds...

[WDM1980]

Re: Playing Through in North America

what are people's thoughts of just skipping a hole ?
Its pretty obvious the bottleneck group isn't thinking about etiquette of waving anyone through, so they won't complain seeing you ahead of them on the next hole You're only frustrating yourself with the expectation that people will behave the way you want them to...just like a marriage

btw, give yourself a par for the skipped hole of course

I did that with a buddy once - we were on the fairway and had been waiting on these guys to let us through for three holes. We decided on a "good-good" - gave each other the par. That was the 4th on the Middle 9 at Westview. I think I have only legitimately parred it once.

[Nosechug]

Re: Playing Through in North America

The marshal should facilitate playing through in that case, rather than having them pick up, don't you think?

Playing through won't help in this case because the course is still backed up behind them. It will help the group directly behind, but the rest of the course still suffers. If they are moved up, the groups behind can start to get things moving, which is the goal. To keep things moving on the course and avoid too many long waits in between shots. The odd back up, especially on weekends or in prime time can be expected. What we are trying to eliminate is a backed up course due to one slow group.

[blackhawk]

Re: Playing Through in North America

The main issue is probably that no golf course wants to risk losing business from these slow/selfish golfers, as their dollar counts as much as anyone else's.

Its either short-sighted business approach (if they put in the effort to make a course where golfers would be able to regularly play in 4 hrs or less, more would come!), or there are a hell of a lot more "leisure golfers" out there and we are the minority that actually want golf to be played in a reasonable amount of time.

The marshals typically do not have power to move slow groups up a hole, at least I've never seen it on a public course. At my private course I have definitely seen it and thankfully so.

The WORST is when the slow people take up the early AM times!! ugh. Usually unspoken rule that if you play early, you should play fast. I played at Remington the other day, 8:24 tee, and the 8:15 group was 2 holes behind the group in front by hole 4. No joke. THey wouldn't let us through (they were a 4, we were 3, and 2 holes open in front of them behind another 3). Agonizing day...waited on every. single. shot.