DM
I also see allotted time as as a maximum. As long as a group does not exceed the established time, they are not in the wrong.
You come close to being correct here. Of course, if in the act of taking the full allottment, they fell a hole behind the group in front, they are in the wrong. fullstop. As far as the allottment is the rule, so is the rule of keeping up with the group in front. There would be nothing worse than playing at around 3hrs 40min pace, being held up by a group a hole and a half behind, only to have them not give a darn because they are still within allotted time. Fortunately, most golfing nations are those where this group's attitude won't float, and shouldn't.
With apologies, as I have said before, this does not apply when a group ahead bolts around in super fast time and even 3hrs 30mins in your group means you can't keep up.
My enormous dismay is that there are people who believe that once they conform to the allotted time at worst, they cannot be perceived to be in the wrong. Sorry. That is not true.
stavros,
If nobody else is on the course and you are holding nobody up, I don't see any problem in your group taking 12 hours, including pulling out a card table and playing a few hands along the way.
I couldn't agree with you more about your point of rushing what is supposed to be a recreational game. As I have said before, the problem lies in people not realising that some time well under 3hrs can be rushing. But that most golfers who claim to be "rushed" or don't want to rush aren't doing so at all. They are the ones who resent being "sped up" to within four hours.
I play with people who can sleep walk a course, stop and tell jokes, line up their putts from everywhere, get the others to drop a ball in a cool spot around a green and still leisurely walk off the 18th green in anything between 3hrs and 3hrs 40mins on an average walking course. Age or disability issues aside, what are 4hr groups of able bodied golfers actually doing out there?!?!