[Adrian_Stiff]

I think the game could be quickened up by:

Only marking your ball once on the green. It strikes me that up to 30 minutes is lost/wasted by each player of a fourball marking, re-marking, aligning the ball to the hole with a pointer.

Just mark it once, repair your pitchmark, the ball is not going to gather mud whilst it is on the green.

No penalty for hitting anothers ball. Only in the event a ball is in direct alignment with another, it could be marked.

[Brent Hutto]

When I play by myself I never mark the ball at all. Unless I have reason to believe there is mud on it.

When playing with others I never mark my ball unless it's somewhere close to another player's line (or if someone asks me to mark).

The people I play with or observe playing could *easily* play 10 minutes or more per round faster (for a threesome or foursome) if the Rules of Golf were to outlaw the ridiculous practice of aiming an line on your ball at the hole before each putt. I don't think people realize how much time they take aligning, realigning, checking, backing off and generally futzing around trying to get that mark pointed exactly where they want it. It would be comical if it weren't repeated dozens of times per round in a typical foursome.

[JESII]

Brent - all we really need is to show those people that the cheater line doesn't actually help them putt better and they'll stop.

Regarding marking the ball...agreed. How about just continuous putting until you hole out?

[Brent Hutto]

Jim,

I even see some who aim the line at the hole on breaking putts. That's a sure sign it is a brainless habit and nothing to do with the actual act of putting.

[Pete Lavallee]

I think the game could be quickened up

Adrian,

What would it take to motivate Rules Makers to quicken the game? They seem to be very happy with the status quo, especially for televised professional golf.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Many take an inordinate amount of time in the green.  Some get to green in good order and at a decent pace, but never seem to be ready to play when it is their turn to putt.  Many do not line up their putt until it is their turn. Their is no need to obsess over every putt.

[Philip Hensley]

You have to break the chain somewhere in the habits of youth golfers. And it can't be some kind of top-down "while we're young" campaign (even if they were funny).

Last month we were stuck behind a Jr. Amateur tourney for 2 days. 5+ hour rounds. One of the dads told us that the real young kids (10-12) pick up the habits not from watching the pros on TV, but from the kids that are in the older age groups in the same Jr. tournaments and leagues that they play with all the time.

[D_Malley]

It seems to me soo much time is wasted between holes with slow players.
The time from when the last putt is holed to the time the first shot is struck from the next tee.
Could be almost 30 minutes difference over 18 holes between fast players vs. slow.

If you are playing with a slow group, try to hit first on every tee, it will probably be very easy to accomplish.
You will be amased at how much quicker the round takes.

[Dean Stokes]

It seems to me soo much time is wasted between holes with slow players.
The time from when the last putt is holed to the time the first shot is struck from the next tee.
Could be almost 30 minutes difference over 18 holes between fast players vs. slow.

If you are playing with a slow group, try to hit first on every tee, it will probably be very easy to accomplish.
You will be amased at how much quicker the round takes.

That is 100% the tournament organizers fault and shows zero understanding of golf. On the first tee it should be explained that 3hrs 45mins is the time they WILL finish in or there will be a 5 shot penalty. We always played tournament golf at that speed as kids. The world has gone soft!

[Adrian_Stiff]

It seems to me soo much time is wasted between holes with slow players.
The time from when the last putt is holed to the time the first shot is struck from the next tee.
Could be almost 30 minutes difference over 18 holes between fast players vs. slow.

If you are playing with a slow group, try to hit first on every tee, it will probably be very easy to accomplish.
You will be amased at how much quicker the round takes.

I dont really notice many groups that are slow in this regard. The slowest players are the often the better players and are often the younger players. Some of the fastest are the older ones and ones that score 100.
It takes about 1 hour to walk a normal golf course.
It takes about 20 seconds to actually play a shot x 60 = 30 minutes but say 40 seconds to think about it so another hour

The rest is made up from A WHOLE LOT OF TIME ON THE PUTTING GREEN.
Always exceptions to the rule, but we have groups that can still play in 3 hours if its quiet and they are not so bothered about their score.
Add the word MEDAL into the game and you can PLUS 30 MINUTES

Changing rules needs thought, you can change the whole history and dynamics of the game...a six inch hole is going to get a lot of resistance to a rule change, but a MARK IT ONCE  stops a whole load of faffing around. Some 4 balls are on the green for 5 minutes, thats the same time it takes to play the shots to the green and do the walking. You cant save much time in the walking, but you can on the green and the pre-shot stuff.

[Niall C]

I think the game could be made quicker by slow buggers getting a bloody move on.

Niall

[Marty Bonnar]

I think the game could be made quicker by slow buggers getting a bloody move on.

Niall

Sorry mate, I'll try and speed up next time!
;0)
F.

[john_stiles]

No one rides in the Sunday group I often join.

In the usual Sunday game,  we often only mark when needed, either on the line or reasonably close so as to be "in the eye" of the other players.  The ritual of always marking,  and then putting down your ball only upon your turn,  seems to be ingrained in the USA.

As another speed up,  we also try to walk ahead after we hit.  We only stop if our walk is near the next player to hit.  Do not think you could do this in a cart game.  Might be too disruptive to speed along on the side.

One player in the group, older, will never walk ahead of another player about to hit, even if very far to the side. It is amazing how much that slows down a walking group.

[Colin Macqueen]

Gentlemen,

Whenever I am the low marker in the group (and thus responsible for pace of play within the foursome) I always, on the first green, ask that once the ball is marked and cleaned it does not get picked up again until holed out. So continuous putting.

This then means that, from time to time, one player may be standing on another player's line. I ask that this piece of "etiquette" be ignored and to push on as we are not so good that this infraction will make the slightest bit of difference.

I reckon that I can tell that over time there is disquiet in about half the players who are subjected to this regime. But to be honest they come around. They realise that with no other change in pace of play we never lose our position relative to the group in front. The pressure of "keeping up" is relieved and hurrying to play a shot is much reduced.

I don't think my popularity has suffered but that's relative I guess!!!

Cheers Colin

[Sean_A]

Its interesting that folks want to poo poo putting when we all take more strokes with the flatstick than any other club.  Sorry, I am not buying any stories about me slowing the game by lining up putts.  Its just as slow hitting any other shot its just that folks are basically stood around twiddling their thumbs on greens rather than when in the fairway planning their next shot...or spending time looking for balls 

Ciao

[J.D. Griffith]

Leave the flagstick in--get tired of all the time taken on who should pull it, tend it, etc etc...here's a good article on the subject:

http://www.linksmagazine.com/best_of_golf/dogged-victim-let-s-get-on-the-stick

[jeffwarne]

Just mark it once, repair your pitchmark, the ball is not going to gather mud whilst it is on the green.

would go a long way to speeding up the game, and reduce cheater line fumbling

[Carl Rogers]

I, too, would like the option of leaving the flagstick in (eliminate tending the flag) on long putts.

Adrian, look at Tommy's thread on course width.  A wide course with one mowing height would speed up the game.  Narrow tree lined courses in the fall with high rough really slow things down.

[Jud_T]

Play matches and pick up when you're out of the hole.  Nothing drives me crazier than waiting for a guy to line up a putt that doesn't matter because medal play has been so ingrained and he wants to "see what he really shot"... 

[BCowan]

Stroke play is great, a person actually posts a real score and it can be done in 3-3.5 hours.  ''Getting the ball into the hole with the least amount of shots'' is the Game of Golf.  Length of the course has nothing to do with pace of play.  My dad is a 25 handicap and would shoot the same on a 7200 yard as he would his 6300 yard home course.  100 plus bunkers on a course, forced carries, and greens running over 9 have slowed the game down immensely.  People remarking 2 ft putts due to green speeds.  What makes someone a fast player, is playing ready golf, walking ahead, having your head out of your ass, not plum bobbing on the greens, knowing when its your turn, playing ready golf, walking with a purpose.  NOT DICKING AROUND.   it really is common sense, but the ME GENERATION has been such a poor leader. 

[John Kavanaugh]

Why don't the people who are pissed off about waiting change their behavior.  A great place to practice is on the highway.  You never hear the good stories so I will mention that at Pinehurst this past week we had a twosome in a cart let our walking threesome through without ever having held us up.  Later in the round I was waiting on a group to putt on 16 when I had 215 to the green on my second shot.  16 is a par 5.  Rather than make them uncomfortable and the rest of my group wait on me to hit I bumped the ball down to the 70 yd mark.  That one small sacrifice improved the experience for me and possibly 10 other golfers.

Communication, patience and sacrifice can improve the game far more than a change in the rules.

[Dan Kelly]

it really is common sense, but the ME GENERATION has been such a poor leader.  

Which generation is that?

I don't think this is a generational issue (I've seen plenty of slow players of every generation), and I don't think it's "common sense," either -- UNLESS everyone understands that one of the primary goals of the game is to play expeditiously, albeit not hurriedly. There's no need to rush. There's no need to abandon patience.

Use your damned cheater line -- but use it quickly! You're not good enough to line it up to within a micron of square!

Don't just stand around watching your partners. Go to your ball, if it's not in the line of fire. Figure out what club you're going to hit before it's your turn to hit!

Between shots, walk (or drive) as though a thunderstorm is approaching sometime in the next millennium!

We need to teach players of every generation that expeditious play should be -- MUST be -- one of the primary goals of the game, along with scoring well.

This is one of those cases where it really does take a village...

[Rich Goodale]

Adrian

I fully agree with you re: the need for more speedy play on the green, particularly casual play, but.....

1.  In the USA, EVERY SINGLE ROUND must be reported, stroke by stroke, for handicap purposes.  There is an allowance for "gimmies" and "equitable stroke control" (aka don't count any stroke above couble bogie), but
2.  In the UK, only competition rounds count for handicap purposes, but the number of "competitions" has been growing exponentially over the past 10-20 years (for various reasons, but mostly member demand, due to changes in the handicapping system 20+ years ago).  While there used to be only  a monthly medal, there is now a weekly medal and various bi-weekly medals and special competition medals, and now even 23 handicappers agonise over 5-footers in every game and on every green.

Bob Jones famously noted: "There is golf and there is competition golf."  Far too many of us too often play competition golf rather than golf.

Od course, this is a VERY OT thread, which has absolutely nothing to do with GCA.  Time for the Web Police SWAT team to get into action.....

Rich

[John Kavanaugh]

I have never heard a good explanation why a golfer should never wait on a golf course.  Waiting is common in every other sport.

[Carl Johnson]

Adrian

I fully agree with you re: the need for more speedy play on the green, particularly casual play, but.....

 . . . Of course, this is a VERY OT thread, which has absolutely nothing to do with GCA.  Time for the Web Police SWAT team to get into action.....
Rich

More to the point, it's the zillionth thread on pace of play.  I started one about a month ago that played out.  Beyond that, I argue that pace of play does have to do with architecture, since it is a well known fact that golf course architects pay attention (more or less) to pace of play issues in laying out a course.  See, e.g.,  http://www.usga.org/MicroSiteContent.aspx?id=21474854841 and http://www.usga.org/MicroSiteContent.aspx?id=21474873872 for some USGA materials on course design and pace of play, and on pace of play issues generally.

So, if players were generally better about efficient play, would golf course architects have less need to build pace of play considerations into designs, or not?  My position is that they'd still have to consider pace of play issues, but they may be a little different from now.

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