Etiquette & Slow Play

[HackinNut]

What was the first thing you learned (or should have) before you started playing golf?? Etiquette right?! Let me just say, for the past few weeks I have played with some real winners out there that didn't learn one D**N thing about it before they teed it up. Last week I joined a 3 some after just 3 holes because they were that slow. I knew it was a bad idea and should have gone through them but that would have meant skipping a few holes and I didn't have anywhere to be so why not.

First thing is they have a radio (boombox) in the back of their cart! Mind you, it wasn't that loud but it can definitely be heard if you are within earshot of them in the fairway and especially on tee boxes. What's the best way to say "hey, do you mind turning that off?" I mean, I joined them. I couldn't say that. What is a man to do? Are we out here to play golf or dance a jig??

Next .... be aware of where your fellow players are! Whether they are in the fairway, behind you, or on the green. And be ready to hit ... play ready golf .... NOT TV golf. "I think he is away" .... REALLY?? Your a freakin 20+ handicap and you really want to be playing by the rules?? (which you don't anyway) DON'T spend 10 minutes looking for a ball .... drop one ... you are going to make a 12 on the hole anyway ... is it really going to matter?? Are you playing for that much $$ that one hole is going to make or break the round?? On the green .... be aware of where your fellow players are. Whether you see the ball on the green or not ... that is why I mark with a large coin (as long as I am not in someone's line .... then I use a dime) so that everyone can see it. I know that in this day and age with the use of soft spikes it doesn't matter as much .... but I grew up playing when they didn't have those and you were taught to NOT walk in someone else's line. This one bugs me the most .... no one ever pays attention to where they are on the green. Also .... DO NOT mark your 2 foot putt for an 8!! Putt the D**N thing out! Speed up play!! TV is great but too many people try to be like the guys on TV when they are no where even close to that caliber. So do not try to put yourself in that category. Slow play is not only a problem on the PGA Tour but it is on all of your municipal golf courses as well. A round of golf should not take you any more than 4 1/2 hours to play. I have done it in less than 3 so it is possible if you don't mess around and hit it when your ready. If you suck at it ... great ... just suck at it FAST! I would rather play with someone who sucks at the game but plays it fast than a guy who plays like he is TIGER and marks everything, goes back to the tee to play his 3rd after not finding his drive (play a D**N provisional), and is just plain slow!

And finally, the guys that sit there and have to use an abacus or a calculator to add up their scores .... while STILL on the green! "one, two, three in, four out hitting five, on the green, 3 putt ... nice 8) Seriously!!?? Why does this go on?? I know some people might need a little assistance finding their ball but adding their scores?? C'mon! "No George ... you got a 9 ... you missed the short putt and I didn't give it to you."

 

There .... I have said my peace and I feel better. Now get out there and hit'em straight .... but at a fast pace! And .... learn the Rules of Etiquette!

[breadhead]

There are many threads like this and I don't think you are going to find many people that will disagree that slow play and poor etiquette are major problems.

I sometimes wonder if it is down to the way people are exposed to the game. I started playing young and was taught etiquette by my father, and by playing with other more experienced golfers.

Golfers that just pick the game up later in life never have that exposure. If no one has ever told you that certain behaviours are unacceptable, how are you to know?

Of course there are just some inconsiderate people who couldn't care less, they paid their money and that somehow entitles them to behave in any way they please.

A big issue is that the people that have good etiquette and are aware of slow play are posting on golf forums about it. But, people that have poor etiquette and play slowly aren't reading golf forums.
How do you get the message of etiquette and slow play across to people who aren't interested enough to find it out for themselves?

[HackinNut]

They should be able to pick up on it after a while don't you think? If you are told countless times "hey watch my line there" or "could you pick up the pace" .... you may start to think, if you have any common sense, that maybe I am not supposed to do that if everyone I play with is telling me so. Or just maybe I could not spend 10 minutes looking for my ball when its clearly OB. If they play enough, they should be picking these things up as they play more and more. Even the simplest things like raking the bunker and smoothing it out for the next guy ... I don't know how many times I have been playing on your local muni and I end up in a footprint (and not just a print, we are talking a canyon like a 300 lb man dug his feet as far in the sand that he could) So instead of landing in the smooth part of the other side of the bunker, I get the worst possible lie in Sasquatch's footprint just because he couldn't take the time to rake the bunker.
The moral of the story is that slow play will always exist and we just have to deal with it. Maybe some people should have to take a golf etiquette class and pass a test before they are allowed to play. Just like at the DMV ... you have to carry a card with you that says you are certified in golf etiquette. Otherwise, get golf courses and marshals to enforce it and police it .... just because you pay your money doesn't entitle you to act like an a** on the course.

[RecreationalHacker]

Nobody is gonna disagree.

My cousin and I played yesterday. We were in no hurry and the course was a little busy so we expected some waiting as a two-some. We played behind another two-some where one of the guys could barely walk. They were moving along pretty well and easily keeping up with two 4-somes that were in front of them so we declined their invitation to play through. Nice of them to ask but what's the point...the course was stacked in front. At the turn, we lost them and the two 4-somes and the course opened up.

We could see another pair of golfers that were 3 holes ahead of us and it appears they were the cause of the congestion. But they are so far ahead, it shouldn't matter....right? My driver cooled off putting me in trouble a few time on the back 9 and we were not rushing. We were surprised to be waiting for them at 17. But even at our leisurely pace, we were playing twice as fast as the pair in front of us. Watching them closely for the last couple of holes and it was obvious that...
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[*]They just walked slow....from the cart to their ball and back again. The distance was short but it was amazing how long it took them to cover that distance. I could have strapped a cracker to their golf ball and my 15 month nephew could cover the distance from the cart to the ball faster going after his cracker.
[*]Pulling and replacing clubs was slow.
[*]Taking aim and practice swings was slow. Just hit the damn ball already!
[*]Putting took for F#%$ing ever
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Nevertheless, we had an enjoyable round with great weather (finally) but we were thankful we didn't have to follow these two the entire day.

[4Wedges]

I always expect to play slow on a holiday. That's when a lot of people that aren't regulars or are even new to the game get out to play with their family, so I don't mind. We were behind a slow group yesterday, relativley speaking, but we still finished 18 in 4.5 hours. Had some lunch and went back out for another nine and did that in under 2 hours with a group ahead that weren't in any hurry.