It is incredibly common for people to conflate "pace of play" with "no waiting".
I'd be curious to know if they have records of how long rounds actually took, rather than anecdotal reports of less hold ups.
12 minute tee times are wonderful and no doubt reduce "waiting" and leave a great amount of wiggle room for management.
BUT, sometimes the lack of immediate pressure from behind, or the loss of sight of the group in front, leads a group to play a bit more slowly, especially at a once in a lifetime destination.
They simply lose track of time.
Our slowest rounds occur on our slowest(as in least amount of play) days-usually in the fall or early spring.
On a busy July/August day, pace is brisk as awareness of peer pressure from behind, and sight of the group in front keeps people moving.
Jeff:
All true, but isn't that a "distinction without a difference?" Pace of play is important when you have a lot of people out there, but not so much otherwise.
I can assure you they are keeping track of how long the rounds are taking. The only number I've heard [from three sources now] is "four hours," which is vague enough that I haven't taken it literally.
It can be a distinction without a difference yes, and of course rounds without backups are a joyous thing.
How long the rounds take in real time would seem essential at a resort, where time for lunch has to be taken into account, to make sure the player can comfortably arrive for his second tee time of the day.
In our slowest shoulder season times, we still need a reasonable pace of play as we are trying to run lean on caddies, to convince the few that stick around in the shoulder season, to continue to stick around.
An 8:30 shoulder season visiting fourball, enjoying their day out, under minimal stress from groups behind, that returns at 1:45 due to an uncrowded morning can throw a wrench into scheduling for caddies when trying to run lean and spin them into what might be a busy afternoon.
Of course that's simply (mis) management on our part
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There is no question that the fastest rounds by walking 4 balls on a large hilly property(3:45-4 hours) occur on busy days with pressure and visibility from behind, and ever present staff assisting with pace.