I totally understand why the younger generations don't take up golf. In NY, a round of golf averages 4 1/2 to 5 hours for a round.
In reality, it takes about an hour to play 18 holes of golf. The other 3-4 hours is the time spent getting to the ball, choosing a club, cursing, throwing your club, and retrieving it!
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| Golfers don't need to be as slow as turtles |
Calculate in travel time, warm up, cool down, (drinks?) and you're talking about a 6 to 7 hour commitment for a round of golf (average).
This gets very frustrating to the average golfer. Waiting at every hole/shot, creates stiffness, and also doesn't allow you get get "into a grove".
Or, if you eventually get that groove on, you'll lose it waiting 15-20 minutes until your next shot.
Memorial day weekend is notorious for slow rounds of golf (much like Father's day). It's a day when people that don't normally play, go out and hack around.
Now, don't get me wrong – it's not the level of a person's play that makes the round slow. A high handicapper can play 18 holes in 4 hours, and a single digit handicapper can play in 5 hours – It's the little things that add on 30 to 60 seconds a shot (at least!).
Here's an example: On Friday afternoon, I met Richie at the course and we teed off at 2:20-ish. Having played late afternoon rounds in the past, I was expecting a 4 1/2 hour round.
This round was very slow. The group in front of us was a foursome, and we were a threesome. This creates a slow "Feel" to the round, as only three players are hitting into a group of four – so you're waiting an extra 1-2 minutes per hole.
Additionally, we rode in a golf cart – meaning we got our balls faster than if we walked – so it felt slow.
And, this group in front of us had no clue how to play golf at a decent pace.
The group consisted of 4 golfers. One walker and three riders (in carts).
They were taking about 15 minutes per hole.
The course puts out groups at an 8 minute interval – so this starts to back up the groups.
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| Bored as Hell waiting to hit |
In relative contrast, playing Saturday was different – and not.
The round still took 5 hours – but on Saturday I walked. So, I wasn't standing over the ball as long.
The round "Felt" faster, even though it was not.
The Saturday issue was my tee time was 9:30am – already "late" in the golf world – and so it became slow.
Sunday's tee time (8am) was earlier, and we played in 4 1/2 hours. What I consider "Normal" for this area.
There has been a lot of discussion, articles, and effort put into the ideas on how to speed up the game. Some ideas like:
- Make the number of holes less (12-14) – which I feel is just stupid
- Make the size of the cup larger to make putting easier/faster (cool for beginners)
Personally, I think both ideas suck! The problem is that most golfers don't know the etiquette of play, keeping the pace going. There should be a free training course available (by the USGA?) that teaches new golfers how to keep the pace moving.
Since many of you are golfers, I'll share my top hits on how to play faster:
- Choose the right tee box. You probably are not a great golfer (statistically speaking). If you are a 12 handicap or better, play the Blue tees. If you are a senior, play the yellow tees. Ladies play the Red tees. All others play White.
There is nothing more frustrating that seeing a group hit from the BLUE tees and ground a ball just past the white tees!! - Every player goes to their ball and sets up separately, waiting for the group in front to clear. Choose your club, set yourself up. This way, a foursome should be able to hit their shots in under 2 minutes.
- Play "READY GOLF". If a player in your foursome is further away than you, but he's not ready – HIT THE GOD DAMN BALL! No need to wait.
- Courses should space the times of each group 10 minutes apart. (8 minutes per hole means a 2 1/2 hour round). This will never happen, as courses want to cram as many golfers onto the course as possible (think seats on a 737)
Rules 2 and 3 go for putting as well.
Just doing the above, could cut anywhere from 4 to 5 minutes off of the time it takes to complete a single hole of play. This translates to over an hour saved across 18 holes.
Maybe the clubhouse could put remote cow-prods on every golfer. When their group slows down,
Bzzzzzzzz
I'd apply for that job!
But, for now – we'll just have to deal with slow play.
Perhaps bring a bottle of scotch to pass the time.
Until next time,
Keep it in the Short Hairs
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