Pace of Play

Typhoon · 2020-05-16T13:48:45+00:00

Little fun fact with NO CARTS. Since we’ve opened back up every tee time from 5:15 am until close has been booked. Pace of place is faster without carts....

mulegolf

When I originally bought a cart it was partly/mostly because I got sick of letting people play through when they had carts. The second reason was that I could play more golf and faster on the cart. Without the cart I usually played 18 but with the cart I usually played at least 27 or sometimes 36 or more.

Mattyv

fatshot

I could not play with that person. I would lose my shit on him after 5-6 holes. I don't care how good a golfer he is.

Rickochet

Slow play doesn't matter if you're alone on the course. When I'm out alone with nobody behind me, all bets are off. Hunt for balls, play several balls, practice chips and putts. On-course practice.

Slow play matters more as you get older and have to sit doing nothing waiting on others in cool weather. The body parts start locking up.

Typhoon

Gotta revisit this because its now nearing the end of the season. It was crazy, nobody walks...even the pro's here are amazed. He always brings up the day 4 17 year olds came in and when we told them they had to walk they turned around and went home.

Big reason though for the thread revival is what has happened now since May. Pace of play is now out of control. First off, we don't have a ranger but ( better late than never) they realize especially on weekends that we need one. Pace of play is now over 5 hours. Hey, its great with all the new people that COVID has introduced to the game. The PROBLEM is these people have no concept of etiquette, rules, pace etc... They don't play with anyone that actually " Plays" the game and explains what to do on the course. every year we have ' on the course" lessons... what that is, and we fill up every year, is taking people out and showing them what to do, where to stand, rules, speeding up play etc... This year they cancelled both sessions both weekends...nobody signed up.

Pete, Al and a few others work on courses. Probably not a muni like mine where you have a ranger and I bet he has stories. The few times I've had to go out on the course, I can't believe what I see. One BIG problem is beer. I got a phone call the other day because of a back up. Group on the 6th and the next one in front of them half way down #9. 2 guys with girlfriends. Girls never played and they're out on a Sunday. Hitting the ball 5 feet, the guy is relaxed in the cart drinking a beer. he says to me, oh the group in front of us must be fast. I said no, you guys are holding up the whole course. The group behimd them is hitting it 10 feet and giving each other lessons... WTF... I go back by the slow group and the guy is putting out from 1 foot. I said something, made them skip a hole...

Its just not so much the shit golf thats out there, you can play crappy but move and be done in 4 hours but people hitting 3-4 balls.... no clue. AND theyre in carts. " oh we move faster in carts" they say... really??? 5-6 hours in a cart.

I mentioned to our place how about the guy who came as a single today, got paired up online with a 3 some that brought their grandkid along. Kid apparently was hitting 4-5 tee balls and shouldn't have been playing. The others in the group doing the same thing. Then this is the guy who almost had his cart and clubs stolen on #8. He came in after 12 holes for a raincheck... couldn't take it anymore. Nice guy, I apologized and actually gave him a full refund...nobody should have to put up with that bullshit. Do you think this guy is going to recommend us to anyone? What is wrong with people playing golf these days????

Rickochet

Typhoon What is wrong with people playing golf these days????

They don't know any better. Unless someone tells them what is appropriate it will never change. The course has to take some responsibility. They are apparently cramming as many players as they can (mo money) but not willing to hire enough personnel to properly manage it. I am guessing these people are also tearing up the course in the process. I would think management would want to be more active in preventing damage. I could be totally out of line here as I have never worked for a course but have been playing since 1962.

Typhoon

Rickochet

I agree 100% and because I never worked at a golf course before this year I feel the same way. I go out to play and there are divots everywhere, looks like skunks looking for grubs. I fix countless ball marks. It’s a mess and YET... people come in saying the course is in great shape!!

I talked about it when I first started and some here thought I should work somewhere else... it was just a fresh perspective from someone who hasn’t been in a rut for 20 years.

We can’t educate people unless someone is out there full time micromanaging every group. I’d be more than glad to do it... there needs to be some kind of decorum. We put people out every 10 minutes but by the 4 th or 5 th hole all hell has broken loose. Yesterday I went out after those kids and there was nobody on the third hole or second green. The group on the second tee and the group behind them came together at 7. They were waiting for them, talk for a while, then separate... then wait again on 3....

Typhoon

Rickochet They don't know any better. Unless someone tells them what is appropriate it will never change.

Had to revisit this after yesterday 🙄. One of older guys in the proshop took the ranger cart out to drive around amd see how things were going. Mind you the groups go out every 10 minutes and nobody had come in off of 18 in almost an hour. The last guy that DID come in was alone in a cart. He left his group out there, jumped ahead and whatever🙄.

So he goes out there and comes back in shaking his head. Group is on 15…. (Guy and his girlfriend and another guy plus a single random guy. All riding of course. They are the next ones to finish. Jack says to them, how are you all doing?…. They said good . Jack says,”you’ve been out here for over 5 hours.” They said, oh, is that good?

People have NO idea how long a round is supposed to take.

Par4QC

You have to have at least 2 rangers out, every day. Not just weekends, if you are as full as you say every day. They have to do their job, AND management has to let them do their job.....speed up, stand aside, or get the fuck out, no refunds. You got one hell of a set up there. I must say. Our courses have been full daily and I've not seen 1 ranger at any of them all summer! And, I do see the 'beginners' out there, the ones that stopped at Goodwill for clubs/bags on the way.

Typhoon

Par4QC

Also 100% right. It bothers me but it doesn’t bother me if you know what I mean. I tell people, “ I get you out on time, you guys can blame yourselves after that.”

They fuck up the turn at 10 royally. They run in to get beer and food or drive to their cars for another suitcase of Bud Light and before you know it there are 6 carts on the 10th tee. They look out the window of the shop and shake their heads.

As I mentioned months ago, very few people complain because they don’t know any better. If I had a fuckin nickel for every group that came in where I said, “ man you were out there a long time I’m sorry it was so slow” and they said, “ naw, it was fine, we had plenty of beer and nothing to do all day anyway, it was awesome!”

LBlack14

I've never played 18 in a 4some in under 4 hours, EVER.

🤣

Typhoon

LBlack14

Yeah, I think I saw you out there with 15 crushed bud light cans in the cart basket, legs cut up and bleeding from chasing your ball in the thicket, cart that had more mud on it than El Toro in the bog and to top it off... wearing a pair of “slides “. 👍

LBlack14

Typhoon I wear FJ sandals, have enough nuts to not worry about Easter egg hunting and I rarely drank unless it's a scramble. 😁

garyt1957

Typhoon If I had a fuckin nickel for every group that came in where I said, “ man you were out there a long time I’m sorry it was so slow” and they said, “ naw, it was fine, we had plenty of beer and nothing to do all day anyway, it was awesome!”

This seems to becoming a scary norm. I'm on a local golfers FB page, there's 25,000 members so it's a pretty big sample and when anyone complains about slow play at a course the vast majority response is "Who cares, you're on the golf course, drinking beers with your buds, I don't care how long it takes" And this is when someone's complaining about a 5 or 5 and a half hour round! Seems to be mostly 20-35 year olds with that opinion. So glad I don't have to play on weekends any more.

Typhoon

Last week I’m washing carts while working the shop. Not paying too close attention to who is finishing up but it’s the end of the night... getting dark. We finish washing carts and notice 2 are missing but I see them coming down 9. I look up the numbers, 5 groups that Started after them finished ahead of them.

Wjen they came in I asked them about the 5 groups, they had no idea what I was talking about. I asked how many holes they played, one guy said I dunno, maybe 10?. The other guy in the cart was paired up with th and has mental problems. I grilled him and he was mumbling like rain man...”I was trying to get away from them”. I said to him, you didn’t do a great fuckin job did you??? You’re still with them!” He offered to give me more money, says he didn’t know what happened... this is why I call our “Twilight” the “Twilight Zone”

fatshot

Typhoon Many times when I play I thank my lucky stars that I'm NOT working in the golf business any more. Since I'm retired, I have the time to play on weekday mornings, as early as daylight (and now weather!) permits.
I've often said that if I had to play only on weekends that I wouldn't play golf much at all. We've all got stuck
behind groups like you are describing, and they ruin it for the guys who take their golf seriously. Later on....when
you're out of the golf business and just playing for fun again....you'll look back on your experience this year,
smile and shake your head. I'm SURE you've seen a LOT that you'd rather forget!!! Hang in there....season's
almost over....

Typhoon

fatshot

What doesn’t bother me is the fact that they do it to themselves. When I play, I go out when it’s not shitty like that and get my 9 in under 2 and 18 at or under 4. The other nite my wife said why don’t you go down and play. It was after 5 pm. I said no thanks....

KCee

Thank you for re-affirming my decision to spend the money to join a semi-private club lol.

colej

Typhoon

when she said that did you ask her if she was feeling ok?? 🤣😁🤪

ode

I stopped reading at 5 hour+ pace of play. From an avid golfer who plays with two other guys regularly and we walk the course in 3 hours to 3h 10m (when we have a 4th it slows to 3h 30m), this is sad to hear. From what you've said the course is bringing in a lot of revenue but it seems to me they could bring in even more if they held to a 4h 30m pace......could get even more folks playing at the end of the day. The good news is people are out playing and if a course is open they are doing good business given the current climate, but it's the same ol same ol re pace of play. I never thought I'd be a member of a club but the more I think about it the more it appeals to me to avoid this kinda scenario!

sdandrea1

The pandemic seems to have attracted newbies to the game. Dicks is almost out of box sets. My local venue has seen a marked increase in business. This could worsen the uneducated masses clogging the courses up with slow play.

LBlack14

Golf wise and new membership wise, they say we've had the best year since they opened in 2001. I can't speak about the F&B side, especially since dine in was shut down for a while. I do wonder if they've lowered cost of membership as I see alot of new, younger faces than I had seen in my previous 2 years there.

KCee

Courses around here are definitely a LOT busier. At my home course, the single guys would head out for another 9 after the Saturday round and they usually can't do that anymore. The course is semi-private and these days the tee times after 10am are booked solid pretty much EVERY day. It's also mostly eliminated us sneaking out after work for 3-6 holes. Annoying, but I'm just happy I still get to play.

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