Pace of play and enjoyment of the course

[Jim Jackson]

Despite my love for public golf, I reached the threshold about a year ago that a round of golf at my local public facility became inaccessible - not financially, but in terms of time commitment: 6 hours a pop.  However, on the flip side, I hear a lot of DG members talking (bragging, really) about finishing their 2-ball in 2 hours, or a 36 hole day in 5 hours.  That blows my mind.

I find that my typical 4 ball, walking, at my home course is finished in 3 - 3.5 hours, and anything less compromises the quality of my play and enjoyment of the course.  For a new course, it's a bit more, but never more than 4 hours for a 4 ball.  I've found that to be my threshold, and that anything less compromises my enjoyment and any more is a drag and delays play around me.   But last week, someone here mentioned finishing a 36 hole 2-ball in 5 hours, lunch included. That blows my mind. 

What say ye re: pace of play, balanced with appreciating the features of the course, and not compromising your own quality of play?  I realize this is in large part contingent on whether you walk/ride, or where you play i.e. it's always faster at your home course and a bit slower at a new course.  I'd be especially interested in you "speedy gonzalez'" out there who can finish up in 2 hours.  Are you serious with that?

[Jim Jackson]

sorry bout the double "blows my mind" comment.  Just picked that up!

[David_Elvins]

I enjoy a course most when the pace of play is what I want it to be on that particular day.  Sometimes I like ot play fast, sometimes I like to take my time.  Whatever pace I want to  play at, the rest of the field should try to fit in.  Nothing worse than having to wait behind groups or having a group hitting up on you and put pressure on from behind. 

[Jeff Shelman]

I think that there is a happy medium in there between too fast and too slow.

I guess I could put a time on it, but is more about not having to wait on every shot AND not feeling like you are pushed from behind.

Time is so dependent upon the kind of golf course, how many guys you have and sometimes the quality of those players.

If a course is walkable and without long treks from green to tee, I love a pace of 3:45-4:05. I'm good to about 4:20. At that point, I probably start to lose patience.

I have also become less interested in racing around as quickly as possible. Golf is an escape from reality and I'm not as interested in playing 18 holes in 2:20 or so unless it is to beat the sunset.

[Tim Bert]

I enjoy a course most when the pace of play is what I want it to be on that particular day.  Sometimes I like ot play fast, sometimes I like to take my time.  Whatever pace I want to  play at, the rest of the field should try to fit in.  Nothing worse than having to wait behind groups or having a group hitting up on you and put pressure on from behind. 

I agree completely. Nothing beats a day where you wait on no one, no one waits on you, and you finish in the exact time you desired, whether that desired pace is 2.5 hours or 4.5 hours, which also happens to be the lower and upper bound on amount of time that I would ever want a walking round of golf to take, depending upon course, circumstances, and conditions.

[Carl Rogers]

The dreaded cart may come into this equation.

On courses with longish green to tee distances it will speed up play.  Riverfront is at least 30 minutes longer when you walk.

[JNC Lyon]

I think fast play and enjoyment of the golf course are directly related.  If I am playing as a single or a twosome, it is always painful to wait on every shot, and a four-hour round feels like an eternity.  If I play by myself and with no holdup, I can play 18 holes in 2 hours on a good walking course.  This rate requires a brisk pace, but it does not require me to rush shots or pick up.

All of that being said, I do like to take a bit more time on great courses, especially when I am seeing them for the first time.  I usually do not spend extra time tee to green, but I like to take some time around the greens, examining the green contours and trying different shots.  When I played Prestwick, I spent 10 minutes around several greens, especially 15, 16 and 17.  I tried a bunch of different bank shots, bump and runs, pitch shots, and putts around each of these greens.  This time revealed just how interesting these greens are, and I got to see how fun they could be on a daily basis.  If one is looking to analyze a golf course after one play, this sort of exercise is vital.

[Cliff Hamm]

I enjoy a course most when the pace of play is what I want it to be on that particular day.  Sometimes I like ot play fast, sometimes I like to take my time.  Whatever pace I want to  play at, the rest of the field should try to fit in.  Nothing worse than having to wait behind groups or having a group hitting up on you and put pressure on from behind. 

Shouldn't you let the group behind you play thru?  If there is a gap don't they have the right to put some pressure on you?  Hit into you - no;  put some pressure on you - yes.  Too many times a group has a hole open and does not have the etiquette to allow others to play through.  Frankly, you do not have the right to set the pace of play.  

[JNC Lyon]

I enjoy a course most when the pace of play is what I want it to be on that particular day.  Sometimes I like ot play fast, sometimes I like to take my time.  Whatever pace I want to  play at, the rest of the field should try to fit in.  Nothing worse than having to wait behind groups or having a group hitting up on you and put pressure on from behind. 

Shouldn't you let the group behind you play thru?  If there is a gap don't they have the right to put some pressure on you?  Hit into you - no;  put some pressure on you - yes.  Too many times a group has a hole open and does not have the etiquette to allow others to play through.  Frankly, you do not have the right to set the pace of play.  

I agree completely.  The problem is that the slowest players usually set the pace of play by not letting anyone through and holding up the entire golf course.  Shouldn't the fastest players set the pace of play?

[Jim Jackson]

That's been one of the beauties of playing at a club over the past year - pace is different day-by-day but never, ever will a round take more than 4 hours.  For me, there came a point where I needed to choose: either join a club (play at a reasonable pace), or cut my number of rounds by at least half.   The "suck it up" moment.

I just don't see the sustainability of a 6 hour round of golf at a public course.

[Jeff Dawson]

That was me playing at Chechessee..... 36 holes and lunch in under 5.  I have also played 36 before noon at Pine Valley.  Most of the golf I play in the UK is almost always less than 3 hours.  I couldn't imagine playing a 6 hour round.  I have always thought about the possibility of public courses charging a refundable pace of play deposit.  Finish in under 4:05 and you get your deposit back.  I know of a few private clubs that dealt with slow play by suspending privileges for the second offense of over 4 hours. 

[Tim Martin]

I think fast play and enjoyment of the golf course are directly related.  If I am playing as a single or a twosome, it is always painful to wait on every shot, and a four-hour round feels like an eternity.  If I play by myself and with no holdup, I can play 18 holes in 2 hours on a good walking course.  This rate requires a brisk pace, but it does not require me to rush shots or pick up.

All of that being said, I do like to take a bit more time on great courses, especially when I am seeing them for the first time.  I usually do not spend extra time tee to green, but I like to take some time around the greens, examining the green contours and trying different shots.  When I played Prestwick, I spent 10 minutes around several greens, especially 15, 16 and 17.  I tried a bunch of different bank shots, bump and runs, pitch shots, and putts around each of these greens.  This time revealed just how interesting these greens are, and I got to see how fun they could be on a daily basis.  If one is looking to analyze a golf course after one play, this sort of exercise is vital.

You always take your chances as a single for pace and should pick an appropriate time of the day when play is light.

[David_Elvins]

Frankly, you do not have the right to set the pace of play.  

I believe that I have the right to set the pace of play and believe the majority of golfers agree wit hthis point of view.    

[Forrest Richardson]

Someone needs to wake Bill Yates up.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I am not sure I would ever want a slower round over a faster round. Maybe I just like the faster pace too much.  Although I have often said that golf should never admit a slow play problem.  They should really just advertise a chance to spend 5 hours in beautiful surroundings.  Who would want to rush away from that?

[Jason Topp]

It would be interesting to compare the distance you walk playing a course such as Prestwick compared to a modern course such as Hazeltine.  The walks on the modern courses seem twice as long.

[Sean_A]

For sure there is a happy balance somewhere between 2.5 and 4 hours for a game depending on the course and # of players.  To me, if a course requires more than 4 hours walking for a 4 ball (moving reasonably - my pace is probably just about okay - not fast, not terribly slow) than there is something less than ideal (wrong?) with the design and/or terrain.  When this is the case I start to call these sorts of places cart ball courses and they are most certainly ticked down for it in my estimation. That doesn't mean I will never return (there are a few cart courses I think highly of - Tobacco Road, Bulls Bay, Lederach), but it makes it more difficult for a course like this to endear itself to me and I would not consider playing them on a regular basis or joining them.     

I must admit that as I get older I appreciate 2 ball play much more than previously - especially on tough courses.  It is much more fun nt to look for balls on every hole. 

Ciao

[PCCraig]

If I'm a single I can play a course with no one else in front of me around 2 hours (obviously depending on the course) by just being an efficient golfer...walking quick, not losing golf balls, little or no practice swings, not pacing off every single yardage, not reading each putt from four angles, etc... Sorry for "bragging"

Once you get 3-5 players in a group there obviously becomes a much higher chance a slower golfer will be apart of the group and the round will be slower with more players hitting shots.

I don't have to play fast, but it sure helps my enjoyment of a course vs. playing a 5+ hour slog of a round.