Yes, absolutely… I was trying to point out that miserably slow rounds on public courses would only become worse.
If you are playing on a municipal golf course on a weekend I feel sorry for you, but the failure to obey the rules is not what causes slow play (with the lost ball exception, which can usually be avoided by the playing of a provisional.)
The greatest detriments to finishing in an acceptable amount of time are:
- Playing additional shots from anywhere on the course because you were unhappy with the first one;
- Playing from the wrong tees; if you don’t routinely break 85 play from the whites when it is crowded;
- Not being ready to hit when it is your turn;
3a: Golfers in carts sitting and watching their partner play before they find the second ball;
3b: Golfers stopping to record the score before they get to the next tee - Failing to continue putting when you are on the green; keep putting until you are through unless you are in someone’s line and even then if his putt is meaningless he should tell you to continue;
- Failure to recognize that you are not Tiger Woods; if you are in a hazard 240 from the green, hit a nice lofted club back to the fairway, not your 3 wood.
- Failure to play a provisional ball when yours may be OB or lost; if you are on the tee and you announce OHMYGOD I never saw it and noone tells you they have it spotted, play a provisional.
- If your partners or opponents have conceded your putt, do not putt it.
- Learn the local rules; in some cases all wooded areas adjacent to the boundary of the course are presumed to be a hazard; many times water hazards have a drop area for balls landing in the hazard;
- Failure to watch your partner’s shot (and your opponents’);
- The biggest cause of slow play - playing for money and not playing by the rules.
These other “rules” that are intended to speed up play have no effect other than to lower your score and make it impossible to get a handicap and play in tournaments.
If you play mulligans you are not speeding up play, you are always entitled to declare a ball unplayable and hit another (it just costs you a penalty stroke.)
Limiting score on a hole does not speed up play unless you do not belong on the course in the first place.
Conceding putts does not speed up play unless the person picks his ball up after the concession.
You are always entitled to move the ball 6 feet from an unplayable lie (anywhere you prefer not to play from) as long as it is not closer to the hole. Not taking a penalty stroke though is not a time saver.
Failure to count a whiff does not save time.
What saves time is limiting all practice swings to one and playing “ready” golf.
There is only a one shot penalty for these situations. Where many golfers go wrong is what they do next. Lose a ball, it’s a one shot penalty, but you hit your next shot from the same spot as the previous one, not on the fairway somewhere within 30 yards of where you thought the first one went.
The bigger reason for slow play is not the rules of golf, but rather people playing from the wrong tees. Most golfer’s egos will not allow them to play from the “ladies” or “seniors” tees even when they should. People should just stop calling them the seniors and ladies tees and offer suggested teeboxes based on handicap.
Agreed. I was out playing today with some friends, and after a few frustrating holes, my playing partner (who was also frustrated by the tees that our single-digit handicapper insisted we all use) decided that he was going to use a different set of tees. I decided to join him on the easier tees. That made the difference, and the game stopped being frustrating and started being fun.
The “conveniently hidden” and “wet bushes… when it hasn’t rained” is a pointer, but in England we have far more wild blackberries than raspberries. 
5a. When you are 180 yds from the hole and you duff it 10 yards, you are not required to return to your cart (which you left on the cart path!) and change clubs before hitting another shot. I’ve been watching you all day and it ain’t the club selection that’s the problem brother.
Maybe not, but if I am standing there knowing I have the wrong club in my hand, I am much more liekly to duff the next one also.
I’m not sure I agree on this. But then again I am a different player then most. I tend to play from whatever the guys tees are, but I don’t take many practice swings, only if it’s a strange lie. I also always carry a spare ball in my pocket so if I lose one I’m ready. I will carry a couple of clubs if I don’t know the distance.
I will look for my ball for a minute or two if it’s in the ruff, if it’s in the trees I don’t care. I also buy balls that cost about 50 cents each, so unlike the guys who pay 3-4 bucks per ball I really don’t care if they get lost. I’ve had more people try and look for my balls then I do.
I’ve also stopped caring about my score. I don’t even keep score a lot of times any more. I’m not a pro, never going to be and I feel much better now that I just get out and enjoy hitting the ball.
I don’t think the time happens to be because of the tees, it’s because a lot of people think that each shot needs to be perfect. They get down and try and figure out the exact yardage, they try and figure out exactly how the putt will roll, even though they miss the green and miss the putt by a few feet.
I can play a round by myself in two hours or so. I can also play a round in almost the same time if I play with guys who are like me, which I haven’t found too many of lately. Besides the cost, the time is one of the reasons I’ve stopped playing as much as I used to.
No, it’s just saying lots of golfers like to piss in the bushes.
Agreed. It sped up play at my course when they changed the colour of the tees a couple of years ago and the whites are now set at the original ladies tees. They even added more forward tees. They put up signs explaining which tees are for which handicap ranges and if you are not single digits you aren’t allowed to play the back tees. It’s amazing how much difference 5% less yardage makes on a round.
If I am posting a score for handicap, I am putting out a 18 foot conceded birdie putt.
I don’t care if my opponent has hit two balls OB
This. The heat this summer has helped, but even in the 1st cut you can barely see the ball.
Now I understand the significance of your name.
Excuse me?
Why should take I take 4 on a hole when I probably would have made a 5 or 6? that could mean the difference between a 8 or 9 handicap.
Why not concede the second shot after you have already knocked two balls OB? and go right to the next tee?
I get laughed at a lot but I lose far fewer balls since I started playing orange balls. Plus it very unlikely I’d hit someone elses ball by mistake.
Noone, least of all me, is saying anything like that. What seems obvious to me is obviously not obvious to you. I am referring only to situations where both (all)parties are playing gimmes, but some people insist on putting out even though after missing they want the putt given to them. This is so common among people I play with, that I thought it was universal. Frankly if I am playing a match I never concede a putt and prefer to putt everything out, but if someone is crazy enough to concede a putt for the win, I take it.
Maybe the situations you encounter are different; you should think about playing total stroke matches.
I don’t know how many sixes you cant take and maintain a 9, but it sounds to me as if you have no trouble maintaining the pacxe of play.
Golf.
Oh boy.
Whadda game that is (game, not sport).
I like golf and stockcar racing so much I think they should be combined.
Some PGA/NASCAR events should take place, simultaneously, on NASCAR tracks, with the pavement serving the golfers as both Fairway and Green (any golfer who sets foot off the pavement gets disqualified). We can use green paint to simulate golf course conditions, and a few little holes on the track shouldn’t bother the driving any. For added excitement half the driving/golfing field can go clockwise, and the other half counterclockwise. And please, none of those wuss caution flags unless someone is seriously hurt, OK?
Other PGA/NASCAR events should take place, simultaneously, on golf courses, with the (previously unpaved, pristine) fairways and greens serving as playing venue for both the Pettys and the Nicklauses of the world (OK, so I haven’t stayed current on who’s who in either sport). The pit stop area will be in the roughs, but any car which breaks down is just going to have to stay put until competition is over. I know this is liable to significantly increase course maintenance costs, but that shouldn’t bother anyone who can afford to belong to one one those PGA-caliber golf clubs.
Attrition us sure to be high among both golfers and racecar drivers, but hey, that way the ones who survive will be the best per natural selection, so the quality of the play should accordingly be greater, and more of a pleasure to watch. It is of course possible that the customers will get bored and go away if they aren’t treated to sufficient constant crashes, ambulances and assorted mayhem, but we can wait and see on that note, and enjoy the increased fun in the meantime.
Nice threadshit. Glad to hear you don’t like golf and NASCAR. I’m sure whatever “sport” you like is the epitomy of manliness and virtue. God, I wish I could be more like you. I’m sorry I can’t be - my good manners keep getting in the way.