Should Golf Clubs Start Publicly Outing Slow Players?

three golfers waiting on the tee because of slow play, with one sitting on the ground, one looking at their phone and one looking at their watch — (Image credit: Kevin Murray)

The issue of slow play is one of the most talked about problems in golf. It seems that pretty much nobody enjoys slow play and almost everybody likes to complain about it and to point the finger at others for holding up the course.

But it can’t always be someone else. Some of those who bemoan five-hour rounds must be responsible for causing them. There are clearly slow players out there who create the problems.

I don’t think public shaming is a particularly good strategy to be honest. It’s unnecessary and embarrassing for all involved – both the shamed and the shamer.

One might as well set up stocks in the club car park and give everyone rotten vegetables to throw at the guilty parties. I’d like to think there are more civilised ways to resolve a non-criminal issue.

It’s quite easy with modern technology, GPS tracking or simply sign in and completion times, to monitor traffic on a golf course. The tech is available to check the pace of play through a day and to see which groups fall out of place.

We’ve all played rounds where we’ve taken longer because of a playing partner who is overly "deliberate." We wouldn’t want to be accused of slow play because of another player’s sluggishness.

two golfers sitting on their golf bags because of slow play — Slow play can be extremely frustrating

Gentle nudges to suspensions

If the data shows a player to be consistently behind the expected pace and to have consistently fallen behind the group in front, no matter who they are playing with, then they should be approached by the committee or club secretary.

If a particular group that always plays together is always slower than the target pace, that entire group should be approached.

At first, the information should simply be provided to the individual or the group: “The data shows us that you are consistently playing rounds that take 30 minutes more than the average, or the expected pace of play and that you have been consistently failing to keep up with the group in front.”

That information might well be enough to spur a player or a group into changing their ways and a gentle nudge could be all that’s needed to rectify a problem. That would be the best result for addressing a slow-play problem without creating an embarrassing scene.

If, however, the problem were to persist and that player or those players continued to fall behind the expected pace, perhaps stronger action could be taken.

There’s no Rule on pace of play, but committees could adopt a local rule for competition on maximum time for a round – that’s model local rule K-1.

"If a group finishes the round [or specify number of holes] more than the starting interval behind the group in front and over [specify time, for example, 3 hours 45 minutes] from the time of starting [or specify as required], all players in the group are subject to one penalty stroke [or specify as required]."

That could be a harsh punishment for a group if it was one specific player in that group responsible for the slow round. But, if it happened, all in that group would, or at least should, be aware of the responsible party (including the responsible party.)

That would be an embarrassing situation that one would think they would be keen to avoid happening again!

Alternatively, if it was purely based on data and an individual was shown to be consistently responsible for holding up the course, they could be given a warning that they will face a one-round suspension from competition if they get another bad round time.

That, again, might be all the encouragement they need to step up the pace.

I don’t think any of this needs to be made public, but I do think clubs could work a little harder to identify and educate slow players. Everyone will be happier and enjoy their golf more as a result.

Being a golf club member has many highs and lows. We all have opinions on hot topics like the general state of the game, dress codes, slow play and the World Handicap System, and so does the Secret Club Golfer. Documenting every aspect of golf club life, the Secret Club Golfer opines on the themes that dominate discussions on fairways and in clubhouses all around the world. The Secret Club Golfer is one of us.

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