Slow Play Is Often A Product Of Unrealistic Expectations, Not Bad Etiquette

A golfer in the foreground waiting for another golfer behind him on the fairway to hit his shot, with two other golfers also watching — (Image credit: Tom Miles)

Slow play remains a scourge of the modern game. There’s no worse feeling on the golf course than being stuck behind a four-ball playing at a leisurely pace and showing a flagrant disregard for the rest of the golfers on the course.

It’s a topic we’ve written about at length at Golf Monthly. From a 12-point action plan to solve slow play to articles on why players aren’t necessarily the problem and musings on whether fast play is equally as annoying, it’s a subject we’ve covered extensively.

Most recently, our Secret Club Golfer penned an article entitled: ‘Slow play isn’t just rude… it’s pure arrogance,’ thoughts that mirror how many feel about the issue. It attracted a number of comments, which provided some food for thought.

One of them suggested unrealistic expectations might be at the heart of the problem, which is certainly something I’ve felt before. Think about how many people are on the golf course at one time. If a third of them believe rounds should never take longer than four hours because that’s what’s been drilled into them, they are probably going to leave annoyed. Golfers who think three-and-a-half hours definitely will.

The pace of play could be objectively reasonable, but some will still find it unacceptable. That’s the nature of the beast when people with different views, motives and skill sets share the same recreational space.

Of course, if anyone is disregarding etiquette and best practice – leaving their bag on the wrong side of the green, standing around marking a scorecard after the hole is finished or spending a minute lining up a short putt, for example – ire is justified.

Sometimes, however, people do nothing wrong and still attract criticism. Golf is hard and if you’re having a bad day, you will take longer by virtue of the fact you’ll hit more shots.

'Often overloaded beyond capacity'

This is a point haohughes made in the comments underneath the Secret Club Golfer’s article:

“I recommend reading the R&A Manual on Pace of Play. A formula for anticipating game time can be expressed as no. of players x par = minutes of game. If a two-ball, three-ball or a four-ball played nine holes of par 35, predicted average times would be 70 mins, 105 mins and 140 mins.

“An average four-ball will not complete a round in four hours unless each player plays faster than average. In reality, a population of golfers includes those who play slower than average (tortoises) and those who play faster than average (greyhounds). If the greyhounds play after the tortoises then they will become frustrated by the pace of play.

“Courses are often overloaded beyond capacity, often by setting a ten-minute starting sheet for a four-ball medal competition. A calculation shows that congestion will occur from the third hole! A 12-minute starting sheet eases this overload issue.

“Club golfers also mimic the behaviours they see from the pros, e.g. the penguin waddle before missing a 12ft putt, the use of a laser rangefinder as if they are an architect’s assistant or a GPS watch as if they were setting GMT for the national news.”

four golfers walking down the fairway with two heading in the direction of the trees — Not all shots find their intended target!

Overcrowding: the key issue

There’s a lot to unpack there, but there are some interesting observations. While I can’t see evidence of the no. of players x par = minutes of game calculation in the R&A’s Pace of Play Manual, it does recommend each course sets a time par.

Naturally, each course is different, but as per the example layout in the manual, 10 minutes for a par 3, 13 minutes for a par 4 and 16 minutes for a par 5 – not including walks between tees and so on – is about right for a four-ball. That’s roughly four hours.

The manual lists an interesting example about how tee-time intervals can impact pace of play and says “overcrowding is the most common cause of longer-than-necessary rounds”. It continues:

“There have been many studies into flow around the course but, at its most basic level, the following example demonstrates the problem that arises from having narrow intervals:

“The course starts with two mid-length par 4s, followed by a mid-length par 3. When play is in three-balls, the allotted time for completion of the holes is as follows: 1st hole in 12 minutes, 2nd hole in 12 minutes and 3rd hole in nine minutes. The committee has adopted eight-minute starting intervals.

“If all groups play the holes in the allotted time, by the time the second group reaches the 3rd tee, it will wait for one minute on the 3rd tee and the third group will wait for two minutes on the 3rd tee.”

The biggest problem as it relates to slow play is course spacing and overcrowding. It’s certainly an issue at my local pay-and-play, where it’s virtually impossible to get around in less than five hours on a Saturday afternoon. It should be more manageable at members’ clubs, but so many persist with 10-minute tee intervals instead of 12.

This leaves no slack in the system. Your average four-ball probably includes at least two players with handicaps in the teens or 20s, and even single-figure players often have bad days. In my standard four-ball, we’re looking for balls in the trees on virtually every hole.

Yes, everyone should do the right thing, conduct themselves appropriately and show respect to others on the course, but you should never feel like you have to sprint around because of unrealistic expectations or mismanagement from the club.

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, writing, commissioning and coordinating all features across print and online. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x

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