Our guys play fast , even though most of our games are stroke play with no gimmes allowed. A normal round in season is 3 1/2 and this time of year it can often be closer to 3 hours. We have all levels of players but handicaps doesn't necessarily dictate who moves the best.
The other day we had one of our slower players in our group . He's a good player , solid 6 , but really likes to take his time. He's a good guy , but isn't necessarily a fan of what he surely considers "racing around". We rode together , I walked a lot , often grabbing two or three clubs to let him go to his ball first all the time. Yet many times I would walk to the other side of the fairway and still be ready well ahead of my playing partner. He would hit first but invariably after I hit he was still fiddling with his equipment and I arrived at the green first walking.
It's interesting but some people just can't changer their routine. Don't know where their heads are when driving to the ball but it's obviously not about the next shot. Why players can't figure out their distance and shot without going thru a long routine is beyond me. Sometimes you can work with a slowpoke to embrace pace of play , and they actually enjoy it over time......but for some its just against their nature. Slow players don't realize it many times , they tend to be fiddlers . Cleaning clubs constantly , taking forever to get their distance , etc etc . It's just their nature so try to help them save a few steps when you can .
Watching the tour gives a little insight as its almost as if the players need to take a at least a minute and a long dialogue with their caddy / coach to convince themselves totally about even the simplest of shots . Given few of us have ever played at anywhere near their level, maybe its a necessity for total commitment to the shot . Most of us just couldn't do it without blowing a gasket .
My buddy obviously doesn't enjoy playing at our pace , he often appears to be rushing to keep up , even though we can't imagine what the hell he's doing fiddling around with his clubs , glove , cart ,glasses whatever. I felt bad Friday knowing he wasn't enjoying the game as much as the rest of us , because we were just going too fast for him to play comfortably. We played in 3:15, and it seemed leisurely to me. However , there are some folks who just don't enjoy it the same way.