This all sounds such a pity. I can't recall the last time I saw really rowdy behaviour on a golf course, but I guarantee it was in the States. That said, most of my slowest rounds of recent years were at publics in the States with the notable exception of Hillside. It seems if anything "unusual" (such as The Road and Lederach) is thrown at people then its deemed as a license to play in 5 hours - with or without a cart. All in all, I am happy to take the UK system of visiting private courses even if it costs more. What I find really wierd is the idea of folks wanting clubs/owners to clamp down on behaviour and slow play, but as soon at it becomes apparent that all will be treated equally and for instance, playing the tees of the day is to be enforced, folks get uppity.
I scored a major victory while playing at Carne. The wind was noticeable, 20-30 mph, so I suggested we all play three tees up (the course allows folks to go all the way back with no problem) - a course of less than 6000 yards, but still plenty to handle imo. All agreed on both days. It was nice to know that folks could keep their egos in check. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for a society from England in front of us - they were a load of wan_ _ _ _ playing at something.
Ciao