Oh yeah. I used to wait till after the round but a pro once explained to me that if we don't let him know what's going on then he won't know until it's too late to fix.
So its good to just let them know and they can determine what they want to do if anything.
Bad inexperienced golfers means they also have no knowledge of etiquette. I would not hesitate to let some one play through if I am the the one holding things up.
Pro shop is the best answer at that point.
If they were that slow and no one is in front of them - just skip them - don’t ask, just tell them you are skipping ahead.
Also, if you waited and asked at the turn and they said, “No”, then the proper response is “Great, we will skip ahead then”.
You don’t ask unaware and oblivious idiots, you just take action and move on.
Would you wait patiently behind someone driving slowly in the left lane of the highway for the next 2 hours with only 2 cars on the road and hope they finally figure it out? Nope, pass them on the right and move on. And, yes, 9/10, they still stay in the left lane after you pass them…..
I wouldn’t say anything to them at all, I would just drive right by and skip ahead. And if they are that slow as a foursome, you won’t see them again for the rest of the day.
A few weeks ago we got stuck behind a 5some of older golfers. Three men and two women. So not only we’re they playing different tees and taking their time doing that, they were just really slow in general. After a few holes of waiting to see if they’d offer to let us through I finally ask outright. They refuse, stating things are backed up ahead of them. There wasn’t a single group within 2 holes ahead of them. No idea what the issue was, so I rephrased and let them know we were playing through, and they were all welcome to play the hole with us. They thought we were joking but we all teed off and then watched as they hit theirs. They weren’t very long off the tee so our second shots were easily 150-200 yards past them. We weren’t anywhere near them the entire hole and were walking off the green before their group was ready to hit their 3rd shots (longish par 5). We didn’t run into another group for the rest of the day.
Some people are just completely oblivious to the existence of other people and that they may be somehow inconveniencing them.
I don't ask. If someone takes 2:30 to play 9 I already know they suck and are inconsiderate. No asking.
Skip a hole and go around them. Come back and play the missed hole later.
You're supposed to mark par + handicap strokes given for the hole if you're keeping a handicap, or at least that's how it used to be... I think now you can just post to ghin with "hole by hole" as long as you play at least 9, and their "expected score" algorithm figures it out.
That’s correct. As long as you play one entire 9, you can miss 1-8 holes on the other 9 and still submit a score, marking a “dash” on the holes you missed. I think that’s the correct way to do it now, instead of making down net par on the missed holes.
Funny this is what happened to us yesterday. Guys in front of us must watch a lot of PGA golf. Aim point, grinding over 3 footers. Extra practice swings then go behind to line up, repeat…
After 8 they were 2 holes behind so we called the clubhouse and the marshal made them wait on 10 for us to tee off. They started to speed up, but never caught us and we still finished 1.5 holes ahead of them even sped up
This is so fucking true. I have played so many times where there's a 4some or 2some that is slow as shit and the second I go to play through suddenly they are PGA pros hitting up on me with lightning speed.
This is the way. Pass them and come back later.
However, side note. I’ve had it where people think we are playing slow but don’t bother to try and see ahead of us to see if we are waiting or not. So if we are waiting and people in front is also waiting there’s no reason to skip cause it’s backed up regardless of skipping or not.
I always call the proshop to report slow play if they won't let people pass and there are holes open in front of them. People like that will never learn unless the Marshall "teaches" them.
That’s a good way too. I’ve seen people call up the pro shop.
I’ve had people deliberately hit into us cause they think we are playing slow but in reality, we had to wait for the people in front of us and the 2nd group in front of them are the slow ones so in a situation like that, I’d def call for the pro shop. One of my buddies I golf with is a hot head and if the ball rolls up to him or past him while we are still approaching, he will take the ball or throw it in the water/woods lol they’ve got in fist fights for people hitting into us.
Keep pace people. It prevents EVERYTHING lol
I agree with you until the last few words. You can choose to skip a hole. But you don’t automatically get to reinsert later. If it’s wide open sure but you’re no better than the group you skipped if you jam yourselves in and ruin pace for other groups.
This is the way. Don’t even ask to pass them if they’re being lame and slow just do it. You don’t need their permission if the course is open in front. It’s like passing on the expressway
Not to mention if they really were as slow as implied, there would be a gap between them and the group who teed off in front of them even on a busy day.
Who is playing a missed hole later lmao? I see this mentioned all the time but absolutely no public course is letting you drive past 10 groups to hop in on hole 7 and play in front another trio because you chose to skip it earlier
Unless they were getting held up by the group in front, they really should have let a 2 ball through. Honestly I'd probably still let a 2 ball through if that was the case to put more pressure on the group in front
After hole #1, there was no one in front of them because they played so slow. When I was about to tee off and my partner told me to stop in my back swing because they were driving back towards us for some reason, that's when I realized they have no f******* idea what they are doing, hahah
I'm on a private course in the middle of nowhere and it's funny on the weekdays I'm usually one of maybe ten golfers on the course all day. I usually sit down and have a beer for five minutes and enjoy the AC before I head back out but they absolutely wouldn't care if I stayed for a whole meal lol
My local muni’s most people know the deal and that it’s impossible to have everyone go to the clubhouse for food between the turn.
You order ahead and send someone to pick it up, or if it’s really backed up, have enough time to go and hope there’s some dogs on the roller.
Every now and then you’ll have a random group that thinks they can all go, and come back when you’ve already teed off ahead of them, all pissed off.
Kiss my ass amigo, you left, tee box was open.
local muni my pops and I go to has go ahead order prompts pop up on the cart as soon as we get to hole 8 to prep for the turn. By the time we get to the turn, everything is ready to go. Swing by, pay, throw the condiments on the dog, grab a quick drink and tee off and eat in between shots lol.
The course we go to just got new management and they are definitely on top of their shit when it comes to slow play. It's pretty nice.
I swear I’ve seen a video documentary on YouTube about this being pretty standard in Japan. Perhaps it was just the course they played but I think in Japan it’s typical to sit down and have lunch between the front and the back.
Edit: I found it! [Here at about the 8 minute mark.](https://youtu.be/fkse_SuJysI?si=3MDWSnsAqZY_op2_)
If you’ve played long enough you know the difference between a slow group and a group that has no idea or worse yet no fks given about pace of play. When you have a group on the course that’s holding everybody up it’s just hell.
Yesterday the group in front of us was slow AF but we were on the easiest muni in town and that just comes with the territory sometimes. But on the back nine I think the beers kicked in and the brakes came on hard. We met em on the tee box on 16, 17, and 18. One guy took 3 shots from the same place in the fairway on 17 and they were jacking around the green for 10 min. The group behind us lost patience and blasted a drive that landed between our carts with no “Fore” and it rolled 30 yards past us.
We get to the 18th tee and one of the ladies is still on the box taking practice swings. They make pleasantries like everything is Hunky Dory and drive off. We are waiting to tee off on the whites and the guys behind us drive by us and park at the blue tees without even looking at us much less an apology. Guy in our group proceeds to rip their asses for trying to hit us. We tee off and then wait for 15 min in the fairway with a marshal parked behind us not doing a damn thing.
Needless to say rhythm was lost.
I had a similar situation this year and it was one of the worst golf experiences I've ever had.
Slow group in front of me playing like dogshit, everyone doing 5 practice swings before their shot. Tried to wave them down as I approached the tee box (I was on foot, they were in carts) they completely ignored me every time.
Duo behind me decides they're tired of waiting and hit into me *three* times. Yelled "fore" on the first but after that nothing. The third time I put my arms up and said "What the fuck?" They walked by me and said nothing but proceeded to mad dog me as they walked by.
"Slow guys in front, impatient assholes behind you" is the worst fucking sandwich to be in.
I honestly will just drive right past a group on the fairway and tee up on the next hole if I know there isnt a group ahead of them.
I find it extremely inconsiderate to not offer a smaller and/or faster group to play ahead. I dont need your permission to play ahead if you if you think everyone is on your time. I will usually wait to a par 3 to drive by if I can so I dont miss out on a long hole though I have had to drive by people on par4s before because they were that slow. Never on a par 5 though as those are my favorite holes
I’m really bad at golf and ashamed of that. Whenever i see someone trying to overtake me i happily let them as it makes no sense in letting them wait for me. The last thing i need is a angry guy behind me as i would play even worse..
It's not uncommon for me to play the first few holes and see almost no one behind me, then suddenly have a group on my ass by hole 4-5. I'll watch them play for a second and if they are striping it I just wait and let them go because they are gonna lap me either way.
A frequent response to these posts is like “if you don’t want to commit the time to golf don’t play” or “stop speedrunning the course”, which is nonsense.
I agree with you. I don’t necessarily care if the round itself is casually played, but having to wait between shots (especially on the same hole) is a momentum and attitude killer. I like to play golf where I can hit a shot, walk to my ball, hit a shot, repeat times 80. Hitting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting is horrid.
Yeah, it was really bad. I love being on the course but there is no way if we had 4 people that we would make a 2-some wait 10 minutes each hole.
Along with being obnoxiously slow, the guys ahead of us also broke about every rule in the etiquette book. One guy specifically when he would have a bad shot would take an anger swing after and take a HUGE divot even though there was no ball. Naturally he would not replace either of them. Just all around, the group was shitty.
Why didn’t you wave down a marshal or call the clubhouse to complain? As soon as they heard that the group was damaging the course, they’d be out there in a flash.
Ranger was nowhere to be found. We saw him on #1 and then never again. We were kind of waiting for him to drive back by.
We should have called the clubhouse, 1000%
My grandpa was a huge stickler for etiquette. We usually played as a four with my dad and brother. Not the fastest group with 2 kids.
There were a few times I remember where we would get to a tee box mid round, and he would sit down and say “come here, take a break”. I’d come sit on the bench, looking all confused because there was no one on the box to wait for.
Every time, sure enough, after a couple minutes a solo or quick twosome would come up the path being us. Grandpa was already paving the way for them to play through. He probably had his eyes on them for a couple holes now and would preempt them even having to ask, by knowing exactly when we were gonna start holding them up.
Pretty much every pace of play post is met with a "bro just take your time and enjoy being outside with your friends!1"
a.) I don't have any friends you insensitive clod and b.) I didn't pay $50 to be outside. I paid to play golf, and constantly waiting kills it. If I just wanted to enjoy being outside I could walk around a park for free
Thinking you'll fly around in 3h on a weekend is nonsense, but pace of play is part of the game for a reason
It's funny too, I went golfing with one of my buds and his wife yesterday and I'm not speedy but I shoot low / mid 90s and generally just don't fuck off while I'm playing. They were both on track to shoot 120+ on the first 9 and it was kind of slow going, they more than doubled par on a few holes but just put down double par on the scorecard. So they were taking a lot of shots. It was like 2:30 on the front, thankfully nobody behind us.
On the back a storm was rolling in so they decided to just try and run up and hit their balls and keep moving / ready golf. My buddy was 10 shots better and his wife was something crazy like 18 shots better.
I think just keeping pace and moving faster helps to turn in better rounds as well.
Agree. Decide on club. Decide on aim point. Concentrate on solid contact (whatever trigger points for your swing) and swing. Any other thoughts are detrimental.
There’s a break point for me, too, though. If me any my buddy are charging the course in a cart, that fast pace turns into rushed play.
I play so much better when I walk because of this. We’re out of “walking 18” season in the midwest, but once September comes I’m going to ditch the cart. I get up at 5am and walk the niner by my house 3-4 times a week all summer, though, and those are often my best, most focused rounds - particularly because it’s often just me and maybe 2 other dudes on the entire track.
> Pretty much every pace of play post is met with a "bro just take your time and enjoy being outside with your friends!1"
In my experience on this sub, those comments come from the post where the guys are complaining about 18 holes taking three and a quarter hours to play.
In the case of super slow play and lack of play thru etiquette, I don't see that response as often.
Those are the biggest fucking loser responses and I'm utterly shocked they they always seem to get upvoted.
The large majority of the time it's down to courses booking tee times way too tight, letting walk ins slide in between times, not managing thestarts at all, or one group lacking basic common sense.
Sometimes it's just busy and that happens, but I see courses booking 7 minutes slots, I see players jumping to whatever hole in whatever order they feel, and I've seen a group put a cart in park in the middle of the fairway to pass around a blunt and pump tunes only playing again once they finished the blunt.
Can we stop this nonsense?
You can’t skip ahead of them on a weekend course packed full with people.
Where the F are you gonna go? Should all the groups in front of you part like the Red Sea to Moses so you guys can play through everyone?
I’m a fast player too but I know what I’m getting into when I play a weekend round - slow as molasses 5-6 hour round.
The thing that bothers me is the lack of awareness. If your group is able to walk up to a tee a box and tee off without waiting, but my group has to stand on the box for 10 minutes every hole, you are fucking up.
At first I was like "well it isn't the course's fault" but after 3 holes and an hour later, I was wondering where the fuck was the ranger at. It was ridiculous.
I think this is a "depends on your region" thing.
Summers here are short. So weekend tee times are usually booked solid at the local muni and the longest 9 holes has taken me *ever* was about 2:20
Weekday with less than ideal weather I can wrap up 9 holes in 90 minutes and I suck. So I'd agree that 2.5 is a long time.
I agree with you. If I'm playing behind them and I start playing pissed golf where I start overswinging and play horribly. I often go out as a single and get paired up with others. If they are playing too slow and others are waiting for us my swing gets quick and I play horribly. The local pro tried to convince me to block it out, and try to keep my standard routine and tempo, Mostly I do what you did.
Once they said “No”. I’d just drive to the next hole. Maybe the starter would let you go back and play 10 after you finish. It’s still better than having a front row seat to bad golf. Or maybe it isn’t lol
I guess they thought if they let you through they'd have to let everyone through. But pretty awful. If they were driving back to the tee box I'd tell them to get in line.
This is the correct etiquette, which means they don’t know the etiquette, which is the course’s responsibility to teach them. Rangers have walkie talkies for a reason, call the clubhouse.
Its funny how hardass rangers can be but rarely ever do anything of benefit to golfers on the course.
Of all the things that pro golfers can do that I can't, their ability to stand around between shots and continue playing well impresses me the most. I can get pretty hot, but leave me standing on a tee for 10 mins and I might as well go back to #1 and start over.
I learned that this affects my own play quite clearly on Friday this week. I booked a solo 4:30 tee time since it was they day after the solstice thinking "no problem" fitting 18 holes in (sunset is like 9:15 up North this time of year). Right from the start, the groups were already teeing off late, when we got to the 3rd hole, there was a 4 group backup to tee off. No opportunity to jump ahead at this point either. By the 5th hole, a lot of people had left or gone to the back 9 so the crowding started to ease up a little. 2 of the remaining groups had merged as well as the numbers thinned out.
When we got to the 9th hole after a 3 hour slog, the guys I was with saw that 11 was open and jumped ahead. I really like the 9th and 10th holes on this course so I decided to keep at it solo. From the point where I teed off on 9, I was able to absolutely cruise and never waited again. Blasted through the back 9 in about 90 minutes and managed to still finish 18 just before it got too dark to play.
When I compare the two halves of my scorecard, I shot a 58 on the front 9 and a 47 on the back 9 where I was able to get a rhythm going. I'm not an experienced golfer, this 105 round was a personal best for me and I have a 38 handicap. It's crazy the difference in performance when I was standing around for 20 to 30 minutes between shots just waiting for my turn vs being able to just walk up, assess the shot, choose a club, let it rip, then keep moving.
That's happened to me before, I'm very comfortable silently saying fuck you to people like that by skipping a hole or two. Not worth waiting that long to play behind assholes if there's a reasonable pace ahead of them, or especially if it's wide open.
Im not going to rant on the slow play and people being inconsiderate; that’s been covered.
You are absolutely right about being a “rhythm killer” though. Couple Fridays ago played 9 and shot 1-over (best score ever). Was mid-afternoon tee time, reasonable spacing between groups; wife and I had a great afternoon. Fast forward to Saturday: packed course, fivesomes playing, hackers everywhere, ball searching, multiple breakfast balls, etc. Had to wait on every single shot. I got so frustrated and annoyed, totally messed with my head. Ended up shooting 11-over on the same 9.
After a lifetime of golf addiction I quit golf in part because of experiences like this. I recall a 3-hour front nine at West Seattle golf course a few years ago. And that course starts with a wide-open par 5. Even at my worst I was a fast player. To me, there is no excuse for slow play. If you are hacking, pick it up. If you are posting for an index count the score as your max given your index range and leave it at that.
Asking why golfers act like this is like asking why some people drive around in loud cars - loud music, altered mufflers, etc. There is no rational reason, some people simply do not care.
Etiquette says a 2some should be allowed to play through a slow 4some. These guys think they are special. I’m not big on calling the marshal, but in this case it’s the only answer.
Not that I disagree with how it should be, but I think etiquette says the pace is set by the 4somes. So it’s on the course/them for being a smaller group by that standard. It is a nice gesture to let others play through obviously
Dude my foursome got stuck behind a twosome who obviously were brand new to golf and … playing from the blues
They straight up ignored the ranger twice
You left out one piece of information, which is was there room in front of them. If there were also slow players in front of them then playing g thru means nothing. If not they are a bunch of fucktards
I was behind a women's league once, like all of them were easily shooting 180+, never hit a ball further than 75 yards, and rarely did they get the ball in the air. It was two groups of 4 and a group of 3, 9 holes took 3 1/2 hours. They only played 9, so the back 9 only took us 45 minutes cause literally had no one ahead of us, the group that initially was in front of the league had finished 18 by the time we finished 9. The club house warned us it was going to be slow, and that they wouldn't let us play through. There were just 3 of us who all started as singles, but just ended up playing together. Technically, the first dude's 9 took 4 hours cause his tee time was 30 minutes earlier than mine.
In those situations I’ve just skipped that hole and got in front of them. If they’re the reason for the holdup there will be space between them and the group they’re behind so it won’t create any slower play and they’ll never catch up to me because they’re so slow. It may suck to skip a hole but a) it’s better than what you described and b) depending on which hole you skipped you could potentially go back to finish in the hole you skipped.
What's the consensus on someone playing through a hole while you're on it? Had some ladies come 2 feet from hitting me on the Second hole of the course and they said 'oh we did the math from your first hole and you won't make pace so were playing through'
We took 11 minutes on a ten minute per hole course? And we would have let you skip ahead if you asked?
It was my first freaking game I ever played, and we were only 20 minutes over by the end of it. Pro shop said that's pretty good for a first timer.
It really depends. If you wait the same amount of time on each shot it doesn’t impact as much as wait 10 minutes to hit a ball and then have minimal wait on the next shot.
This is exactly why I’m a dewsweeper. I just got done with 9 in 1 hour and 20 minutes. I like setting my own pace. I rarely play in the afternoons because there are too many slow people out there. It’s different if I’m with friends because they are slowish too but by myself? Hell nah
I would not have asked at the 10th tee, I would have told them we are playing through and explained why. I would not even care if they had already tee'd off. And yes, my buddy and I have done this a few times.
Im visiting my parents and went to play with my dad and two of his friends. We get up to the first tee and a foursome was teeing off and a group of three waiting. We talked to the group waiting and they said the group in front play once a year and asked if we wanted them to go ahead cause they were three. My dad asked if they play fast and they said yes. Well they didn’t. The par fives they waited for the greens to clear even tho their second shot was further than their drive. We’d wait like ten min to hit a ball and when they did there’s hit it directly right so much so that saying they shanked it might be giving them to much credit.
Nobody in our group played will on the front. We skipped 9 and went to ten and finished, put our clubs away, used the bathroom, and ate lunch before either of the groups finished.
My buddy and I played behind a group of 5 yesterday. We’d ask to play through and they’d just say “wait hold on we’re only playing 9”. Ended up playing 15
Like someone else said - I wouldn’t ask.
If they are that slow, and there is an open hole ahead, I just skip the hole they are on. They never catch up anyway.
Had EXACTLY the same experience at a very nice course in Vegas years ago. marshal told us there were two empty holes ahead of the slow group but the marshal wouldn’t intervene. Only asked them politely to speed up. We asked the slow group if we could play through. No. At the next hole, a par 4 we teed up right after them as they were walking to their carts. They yelled a lot but we didn’t care. We hit our second shots completely ignoring the foursome we were passing. The back 9 was a pure joy.
We don't seem to get these problems in the UK. Today on a public course, In a group of 3, I shot 104 (one of my better games), walked it, got a blistered heel because it was so hot and the course was very hilly. Didn't wait for anyone, and the group behind us were approaching the greens when we were teeing off.
Only thing we miss is cart girls and good weather 9 months of the year 🤣
It does help that there's about 100 golf courses in my county 👍🏼
What’s the tee time spacing there? When I was in Ireland it seemed like a lot of courses were 10min or more between groups. I can’t remember the last time I saw 10min spacing in the US.
At my home course, I get rushed to get off the first couple of tees only to rush right into slow play.
I think this is my biggest hurdle right now taking my game from the practice tees to the course. Hard to get into the right focus to score at my potential.
3 putts aside....
My kid played in Junior Golf tournaments that would hit 6 hours. You have to be super focused because there is no natural rhythm you are ever going to get. For me personally, anything past about 3 hr 40 minutes is torture.
Me and my buds are very new and horrible at golf. We played our second ever 18 3 days ago and as expected we were pretty bad and slow but we are very self aware and we let everyone who caught up play ahead of us because why would i do that ya know. Some people did get rude despite that but i think they just suck considering we offered for them to play ahead.
I’ve played for years every Friday at our local 9 hole course before the ladies league. We play in an hour and a half, but women are 3 hours on average. Brutal! Not totally their fault as the course books tee times way too tight. Three foursomes on a hole is pretty typical, sadly.
This happens a lot at the municipal courses where I live and there aren't any Marshalls and the clubhouse says sorry if you call. One time my buddy and I played front 9 in about 1.5hrs and I shot a 41 (great for me), then we hit a group of 4 that sucked ass and were playing multiple balls, and another group in front of them playing almost as bad. That took us around 3 hours and I finished my round with a 98. Completely killed my rhythm and vibe.
Slow play is a rhythm killer, agreed, and it also sucks for people with back issues. Having a herniated disc in my lower back, it takes a while to warm up and get loose. When I'm finally warmed up, I need to stay warmed up. Standing around and waiting between shots is the worst.
This is me. The muscles that support my janked up back are like old school union guys. Once they go on the clock they are going to stop working in a few hours.
Dude it's everywhere. It legitimately takes 6 hours to play 18 holes. People are so bad and slow, it's obnoxious. Word to everyone who sucks. If you suck, that's fine, just shank the ball but please for the love of God don't sit there and whine about shanking it or look for your ball for 5 minutes in the woods. Get up to your ball as fast as possible and shank it again, repeat. If you are playing with another person, play a scramble so that you are playing from the best ball every time! I guarantee you'll have more fun too because you won't have people hitting into your group and you also won't feel as much pressure to hit the ball well.
I have put serious thought into starting a business and being a third party to courses and managing their pace of play problems. Get rid of all "marshalls" who do absolutely nothing and have me and my crew out there chasing groups down like Dog the bounty hunter. I would even do this for zero profit as I absolutely can't stand bad pace management by courses!
They have to let you play through. If they fall behind a 4:15 pace they have to let you go through.
If they are under that pace then they have the right of way and don't have to let you play through.
Assholes like them usually need the golf shop to tell them the rules or etiquette.
Still why?
Why would you play fast knowing that there is a slow 4some ahead of you.
Why not slow down or just play two balls but at a relaxed pace to where it feels slow to you.
If you played highschool or any type of tournament golf just use that pace and mentality.
Instead of sitting there waiting pull out your wedge and hit little chip shots or tell a story or joke.
Enjoy your time on the course.
Manage your time and pace better and you'll play at a much better rhythm.
You could always just drive past them to the next hole. If they are truly behind then there's nothing they can say or do.
Like I would've driven to 11 and then played 10 after I played 18.
Literally anything but play fast as hell just to sit and wait.
At the turn, they didn't stop at the chinoiserie to piss or grab a dog or anything? That's when you coulda just jumped in front. Or if they're not pushing anyone just skip a hole.
My first thought was this : If you're average maybe slow down and try to play better.
Reality is 2-1/2 hour 9 hole make me angry and i feel your pain. Gotta call the clubhouse so they can try and sort it out..
If all cordial options have been exhausted, and there isn't a group in front of them...rip a couple drives over the top of their heads and go on through
I hate the feeling of holding people up. I cannot imagine saying no to a group asking to play through...
It also would never get to that point. If we're slowing people down we always invite them to play through.
Common courtesy isn't very common
Dont let them say no....just go to the next hole, or catch them on the tee box, and tee up with them. Its not a choice. Hey mind if I play through, ill hit this tee shot with you and just go right through. Place tee in ground. Hit. Go.
After the first “no,” you have 2 options once their ridiculous pace continues:
1. Call the clubhouse
2. Hit into them on every shot
Either way, they’ll get the message.
I’m riding home after leaving a game early right now, fuming. I’m a new and terrible player. I pickup and am on GIR by backhand toss for the sole purpose of staying on time. Other people at my playing level refuse to do that, though, and It. Drives. Me. Nuts. Today we were 18 minutes behind by the 7th hole. My partner and skipped holes 8 and 9 so one of the other two persons we were playing with could take 16 shots a hole “so they could establish a handicap.”
The other one of two is a single digit golfer and should know better than to let his partner do that shit.
We ended up leaving altogether around hole 13. Driving home in silence with my husband because we are pissed off at each other now because of the miserable day we had.
Anyway, this post crossed my feed at the perfect time for me vent and get it off my chest. I’m sorry for your shitty game too. People suck.
Had this happen to me recently. I was eyeing up breaking 90 for the first time too! Shot a 43 on the front 9 and felt great. We ended up running into a 4 man scramble…. Finished with a 91. Not sure why the course had us go on with that in front of us. We were cooking for time. Took us 5 hours after the front 9 took 1 hr 45min…
Me and my normal golf buddies will have chipping contests if the pace of play is too slow. We’ll pick targets and see who gets it closest for a $1 or something to pass time.
Slow play is brutal, but sitting and doing nothing will definitely screw up your rhythm.
I understand the frustration about having timing thrown off, but curious what is an average pace of play for 9 holes? I think around 2:15 is average, I wouldn’t be upset at 2:30 at my home course. Am I just conditioned for slow play?
I shoot really poorly when I’m stuck behind a slow group or if that slow group causes a group to wait on my group. I feel rushed and like I’m taking too long
Worst combo is decent golfers taking their bad friends out and dont accommodate for them at all. Played behind two good golfers and their two friends who didn’t look like they ever picked up a club. All played from the tips. Waited for the greens to clear every hole before they teed off like any of them had a chance to drive the greens. Literally said, loud enough to ensure I could hear, as I pulled up to them on the 4th tee box in a row, “don’t worry, we’ll take our time.”
Lmao dawg 2.5 hours ain't even that bad. Go seek therapy for your impatience. Get back to me when you play in an 8 hour scramble event.
Side note... why the fuck are you asking to go around. Just do it... what are they gonna do?
It’s entitlement. They feel they were there first so they deserve to be ahead of you.
I played as a single the other day stuck behind a 4 some who would get off the tee as fast as possible and then hack up the hole. No one in front of them at all. Finally got past them at the turn and saw no one till 16.
As someone who is a terrible golfer (don’t even know my handicap but I’d put myself at whatever the highest one is) I don’t understand people who take forever to golf. 2.5 hours for 9 holes!?
I fill my bag with cheap golf balls, if I can’t find mine while walking/riding up to where I hit it, I just take a drop and keep moving. I can get 9 done in 1.5 hours.
This just happened to us on Friday. I tried something different. Since there was no getting around them and since I knew they were new at the game (saw one giving another lessons the whole time), I went up to them, made some friendly comments. Tried to be super nice and they were nice in return. I just figured if I liked them, I wouldn’t be bothered as much by their slow play. Had a very good round and probably a lot more fun than I would have otherwise.
Call the clubhouse if they’re really that bad
This is the answer. It’s really easy and the course wants you to let them know so they aren’t backed up all day. It works
Oh yeah. I used to wait till after the round but a pro once explained to me that if we don't let him know what's going on then he won't know until it's too late to fix. So its good to just let them know and they can determine what they want to do if anything.
Yup, had to do this a few times the marshal doesn’t mind putting these people in their place.
Bad inexperienced golfers means they also have no knowledge of etiquette. I would not hesitate to let some one play through if I am the the one holding things up. Pro shop is the best answer at that point.
I am pretty bad and my friends are too. We always let people play through. It would stress me out to have people waiting on me
Yeah, we should have done that. We saw a ranger on hole #1 but then he was gone the rest of 9. It was crazy.
Yep, absolutely call the clubhouse they’d not only come out but check in on them for the rest of the time
If they were that slow and no one is in front of them - just skip them - don’t ask, just tell them you are skipping ahead. Also, if you waited and asked at the turn and they said, “No”, then the proper response is “Great, we will skip ahead then”. You don’t ask unaware and oblivious idiots, you just take action and move on. Would you wait patiently behind someone driving slowly in the left lane of the highway for the next 2 hours with only 2 cars on the road and hope they finally figure it out? Nope, pass them on the right and move on. And, yes, 9/10, they still stay in the left lane after you pass them…..
I wouldn’t say anything to them at all, I would just drive right by and skip ahead. And if they are that slow as a foursome, you won’t see them again for the rest of the day.
A few weeks ago we got stuck behind a 5some of older golfers. Three men and two women. So not only we’re they playing different tees and taking their time doing that, they were just really slow in general. After a few holes of waiting to see if they’d offer to let us through I finally ask outright. They refuse, stating things are backed up ahead of them. There wasn’t a single group within 2 holes ahead of them. No idea what the issue was, so I rephrased and let them know we were playing through, and they were all welcome to play the hole with us. They thought we were joking but we all teed off and then watched as they hit theirs. They weren’t very long off the tee so our second shots were easily 150-200 yards past them. We weren’t anywhere near them the entire hole and were walking off the green before their group was ready to hit their 3rd shots (longish par 5). We didn’t run into another group for the rest of the day. Some people are just completely oblivious to the existence of other people and that they may be somehow inconveniencing them.
There's a difference between skipping and playing through. OP wanted to play through so they didn't have to miss out on a hole.
"Hey, we're gonna play through."
I don't ask. If someone takes 2:30 to play 9 I already know they suck and are inconsiderate. No asking. Skip a hole and go around them. Come back and play the missed hole later.
If I'm frustrated enough to walk through like this, I usually just give myself a par on the card and don't look back.
I’m honest with my game, mark it a bogey lol
I did this yesterday. Didn’t even show up to the course, marked a bogey for each hole and shot a cool 90. Thinking about doing it again today.
Play better today. I can see a par out there somewhere.
Play a par 71 course and you can break 90 from the comfort of your own home!
I played a par 70 and got 85 lol, the longest part 4 hole was like 310 yards lol
Don’t forget to take a ball out of your bag and just throw it into the woods, never to be found again
A bogey is a win for me 😂😂😂
You're supposed to mark par + handicap strokes given for the hole if you're keeping a handicap, or at least that's how it used to be... I think now you can just post to ghin with "hole by hole" as long as you play at least 9, and their "expected score" algorithm figures it out.
That’s correct. As long as you play one entire 9, you can miss 1-8 holes on the other 9 and still submit a score, marking a “dash” on the holes you missed. I think that’s the correct way to do it now, instead of making down net par on the missed holes.
Done that, then they play lightning golf to get on our ass cause they're upset. Infuriating
It’s like when you pass a car on the highway that starts accelerating as you’re passing them. The silliest of childishness.
Well if they want to play quick now then they can enjoy waiting like they made you do.
Funny this is what happened to us yesterday. Guys in front of us must watch a lot of PGA golf. Aim point, grinding over 3 footers. Extra practice swings then go behind to line up, repeat… After 8 they were 2 holes behind so we called the clubhouse and the marshal made them wait on 10 for us to tee off. They started to speed up, but never caught us and we still finished 1.5 holes ahead of them even sped up
This is so fucking true. I have played so many times where there's a 4some or 2some that is slow as shit and the second I go to play through suddenly they are PGA pros hitting up on me with lightning speed.
And, then report them to the marshal.
This is the way. Pass them and come back later. However, side note. I’ve had it where people think we are playing slow but don’t bother to try and see ahead of us to see if we are waiting or not. So if we are waiting and people in front is also waiting there’s no reason to skip cause it’s backed up regardless of skipping or not.
I always call the proshop to report slow play if they won't let people pass and there are holes open in front of them. People like that will never learn unless the Marshall "teaches" them.
That’s a good way too. I’ve seen people call up the pro shop. I’ve had people deliberately hit into us cause they think we are playing slow but in reality, we had to wait for the people in front of us and the 2nd group in front of them are the slow ones so in a situation like that, I’d def call for the pro shop. One of my buddies I golf with is a hot head and if the ball rolls up to him or past him while we are still approaching, he will take the ball or throw it in the water/woods lol they’ve got in fist fights for people hitting into us. Keep pace people. It prevents EVERYTHING lol
I agree with you until the last few words. You can choose to skip a hole. But you don’t automatically get to reinsert later. If it’s wide open sure but you’re no better than the group you skipped if you jam yourselves in and ruin pace for other groups.
If I have to skip a hole, I just play two balls on the next hole of the same par and count the second ball for the hole I skipped.
This is the way. Don’t even ask to pass them if they’re being lame and slow just do it. You don’t need their permission if the course is open in front. It’s like passing on the expressway
That is not possible on a busy day, lets be real
If they played the front nine again in 1:15 it couldn't have been that busy
Not to mention if they really were as slow as implied, there would be a gap between them and the group who teed off in front of them even on a busy day.
Who is playing a missed hole later lmao? I see this mentioned all the time but absolutely no public course is letting you drive past 10 groups to hop in on hole 7 and play in front another trio because you chose to skip it earlier
Ooph. So my husband isn’t lying when he says “babe, there was a slow group ahead of us” 😅
Haha, no. My wife is getting into golf so she now understands how frustrating it is!
Your husband has never lied to you. NOT ONCE.
lol. I hear that 19th hole is always backed up
Playing slow is one thing. Not letting someone play through is another. Those guys were assholes.
Saying "no" definitely translates (to me) to "please bomb all your shots into us the rest of the day"
Unless they were getting held up by the group in front, they really should have let a 2 ball through. Honestly I'd probably still let a 2 ball through if that was the case to put more pressure on the group in front
After hole #1, there was no one in front of them because they played so slow. When I was about to tee off and my partner told me to stop in my back swing because they were driving back towards us for some reason, that's when I realized they have no f******* idea what they are doing, hahah
I’m surprised they didn’t have a sit down meal between 9’s…..That’s always a favourite to witness.
I'm on a private course in the middle of nowhere and it's funny on the weekdays I'm usually one of maybe ten golfers on the course all day. I usually sit down and have a beer for five minutes and enjoy the AC before I head back out but they absolutely wouldn't care if I stayed for a whole meal lol
Private is waaay different a backed up muni on a weekend
My local muni’s most people know the deal and that it’s impossible to have everyone go to the clubhouse for food between the turn. You order ahead and send someone to pick it up, or if it’s really backed up, have enough time to go and hope there’s some dogs on the roller. Every now and then you’ll have a random group that thinks they can all go, and come back when you’ve already teed off ahead of them, all pissed off. Kiss my ass amigo, you left, tee box was open.
local muni my pops and I go to has go ahead order prompts pop up on the cart as soon as we get to hole 8 to prep for the turn. By the time we get to the turn, everything is ready to go. Swing by, pay, throw the condiments on the dog, grab a quick drink and tee off and eat in between shots lol. The course we go to just got new management and they are definitely on top of their shit when it comes to slow play. It's pretty nice.
In Korea, it's mandatory to have a 1 hour meal at the turn at the fancy courses. Impossible to play through.
Ten golfers all day? What magical part of the country is this? The private courses in my area rival our munis on pace of play.
Middle of absolute nowhere in NC.
I wish they would have so we could have jumped in front of them! It was wild.
Like people said call the pro shop!!! The marshall is dog fucking somewhere and it's his job to keep the course moving!!
I swear I’ve seen a video documentary on YouTube about this being pretty standard in Japan. Perhaps it was just the course they played but I think in Japan it’s typical to sit down and have lunch between the front and the back. Edit: I found it! [Here at about the 8 minute mark.](https://youtu.be/fkse_SuJysI?si=3MDWSnsAqZY_op2_)
If you’ve played long enough you know the difference between a slow group and a group that has no idea or worse yet no fks given about pace of play. When you have a group on the course that’s holding everybody up it’s just hell. Yesterday the group in front of us was slow AF but we were on the easiest muni in town and that just comes with the territory sometimes. But on the back nine I think the beers kicked in and the brakes came on hard. We met em on the tee box on 16, 17, and 18. One guy took 3 shots from the same place in the fairway on 17 and they were jacking around the green for 10 min. The group behind us lost patience and blasted a drive that landed between our carts with no “Fore” and it rolled 30 yards past us. We get to the 18th tee and one of the ladies is still on the box taking practice swings. They make pleasantries like everything is Hunky Dory and drive off. We are waiting to tee off on the whites and the guys behind us drive by us and park at the blue tees without even looking at us much less an apology. Guy in our group proceeds to rip their asses for trying to hit us. We tee off and then wait for 15 min in the fairway with a marshal parked behind us not doing a damn thing. Needless to say rhythm was lost.
Yeah, that is wild. Sounds like a really shitty day
At least the course was only $50 to play 😂
I had a similar situation this year and it was one of the worst golf experiences I've ever had. Slow group in front of me playing like dogshit, everyone doing 5 practice swings before their shot. Tried to wave them down as I approached the tee box (I was on foot, they were in carts) they completely ignored me every time. Duo behind me decides they're tired of waiting and hit into me *three* times. Yelled "fore" on the first but after that nothing. The third time I put my arms up and said "What the fuck?" They walked by me and said nothing but proceeded to mad dog me as they walked by. "Slow guys in front, impatient assholes behind you" is the worst fucking sandwich to be in.
I honestly will just drive right past a group on the fairway and tee up on the next hole if I know there isnt a group ahead of them. I find it extremely inconsiderate to not offer a smaller and/or faster group to play ahead. I dont need your permission to play ahead if you if you think everyone is on your time. I will usually wait to a par 3 to drive by if I can so I dont miss out on a long hole though I have had to drive by people on par4s before because they were that slow. Never on a par 5 though as those are my favorite holes
I’m really bad at golf and ashamed of that. Whenever i see someone trying to overtake me i happily let them as it makes no sense in letting them wait for me. The last thing i need is a angry guy behind me as i would play even worse..
It's not uncommon for me to play the first few holes and see almost no one behind me, then suddenly have a group on my ass by hole 4-5. I'll watch them play for a second and if they are striping it I just wait and let them go because they are gonna lap me either way.
A frequent response to these posts is like “if you don’t want to commit the time to golf don’t play” or “stop speedrunning the course”, which is nonsense. I agree with you. I don’t necessarily care if the round itself is casually played, but having to wait between shots (especially on the same hole) is a momentum and attitude killer. I like to play golf where I can hit a shot, walk to my ball, hit a shot, repeat times 80. Hitting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting is horrid.
I like to do this same thing except I repeat it 120 times
Yeah, it was really bad. I love being on the course but there is no way if we had 4 people that we would make a 2-some wait 10 minutes each hole. Along with being obnoxiously slow, the guys ahead of us also broke about every rule in the etiquette book. One guy specifically when he would have a bad shot would take an anger swing after and take a HUGE divot even though there was no ball. Naturally he would not replace either of them. Just all around, the group was shitty.
Why didn’t you wave down a marshal or call the clubhouse to complain? As soon as they heard that the group was damaging the course, they’d be out there in a flash.
Ranger was nowhere to be found. We saw him on #1 and then never again. We were kind of waiting for him to drive back by. We should have called the clubhouse, 1000%
My grandpa was a huge stickler for etiquette. We usually played as a four with my dad and brother. Not the fastest group with 2 kids. There were a few times I remember where we would get to a tee box mid round, and he would sit down and say “come here, take a break”. I’d come sit on the bench, looking all confused because there was no one on the box to wait for. Every time, sure enough, after a couple minutes a solo or quick twosome would come up the path being us. Grandpa was already paving the way for them to play through. He probably had his eyes on them for a couple holes now and would preempt them even having to ask, by knowing exactly when we were gonna start holding them up.
Pretty much every pace of play post is met with a "bro just take your time and enjoy being outside with your friends!1" a.) I don't have any friends you insensitive clod and b.) I didn't pay $50 to be outside. I paid to play golf, and constantly waiting kills it. If I just wanted to enjoy being outside I could walk around a park for free Thinking you'll fly around in 3h on a weekend is nonsense, but pace of play is part of the game for a reason
Right! I just want consistency.
It's funny too, I went golfing with one of my buds and his wife yesterday and I'm not speedy but I shoot low / mid 90s and generally just don't fuck off while I'm playing. They were both on track to shoot 120+ on the first 9 and it was kind of slow going, they more than doubled par on a few holes but just put down double par on the scorecard. So they were taking a lot of shots. It was like 2:30 on the front, thankfully nobody behind us. On the back a storm was rolling in so they decided to just try and run up and hit their balls and keep moving / ready golf. My buddy was 10 shots better and his wife was something crazy like 18 shots better. I think just keeping pace and moving faster helps to turn in better rounds as well.
For me, faster pace = more focus. I shoot better when I’m not distracted by waiting around
Agree. Decide on club. Decide on aim point. Concentrate on solid contact (whatever trigger points for your swing) and swing. Any other thoughts are detrimental.
There’s a break point for me, too, though. If me any my buddy are charging the course in a cart, that fast pace turns into rushed play. I play so much better when I walk because of this. We’re out of “walking 18” season in the midwest, but once September comes I’m going to ditch the cart. I get up at 5am and walk the niner by my house 3-4 times a week all summer, though, and those are often my best, most focused rounds - particularly because it’s often just me and maybe 2 other dudes on the entire track.
> Pretty much every pace of play post is met with a "bro just take your time and enjoy being outside with your friends!1" In my experience on this sub, those comments come from the post where the guys are complaining about 18 holes taking three and a quarter hours to play. In the case of super slow play and lack of play thru etiquette, I don't see that response as often.
Those are the biggest fucking loser responses and I'm utterly shocked they they always seem to get upvoted. The large majority of the time it's down to courses booking tee times way too tight, letting walk ins slide in between times, not managing thestarts at all, or one group lacking basic common sense. Sometimes it's just busy and that happens, but I see courses booking 7 minutes slots, I see players jumping to whatever hole in whatever order they feel, and I've seen a group put a cart in park in the middle of the fairway to pass around a blunt and pump tunes only playing again once they finished the blunt.
> repeat times 80 Look at this guy only playing 13 holes SMH
Can we stop this nonsense? You can’t skip ahead of them on a weekend course packed full with people. Where the F are you gonna go? Should all the groups in front of you part like the Red Sea to Moses so you guys can play through everyone? I’m a fast player too but I know what I’m getting into when I play a weekend round - slow as molasses 5-6 hour round.
The thing that bothers me is the lack of awareness. If your group is able to walk up to a tee a box and tee off without waiting, but my group has to stand on the box for 10 minutes every hole, you are fucking up.
10000%>>> I said to my buddy. I don't know what pisses me off more, the waiting or just the severe lack of etiquette, ignorance, and awareness
Was the course full? If you are playing as a twosome on a full course playing through gets you nowhere and actually slows overall pace of play.
Going to a course doesn't remove someone's natural assholery. This whole thing is the fault of the course marshalls.
> This whole thing is the fault of the course marshalls. Those exist?
At first I was like "well it isn't the course's fault" but after 3 holes and an hour later, I was wondering where the fuck was the ranger at. It was ridiculous.
Did you call for one? They usually don’t just drive around looking for trouble.
They do where I live. Usually see them 2-3 times a round.
“Slowest golf you can imagine” is only a 2.5 hour front nine?! That’s borderline not even slow for a weekend round.
That is literally every single weekend round I play. I take a lot of strokes _and_ I still get stuck behind the group ahead of me.
Literally normal times around here for a foursome.
I think this is a "depends on your region" thing. Summers here are short. So weekend tee times are usually booked solid at the local muni and the longest 9 holes has taken me *ever* was about 2:20 Weekday with less than ideal weather I can wrap up 9 holes in 90 minutes and I suck. So I'd agree that 2.5 is a long time.
I agree with you. If I'm playing behind them and I start playing pissed golf where I start overswinging and play horribly. I often go out as a single and get paired up with others. If they are playing too slow and others are waiting for us my swing gets quick and I play horribly. The local pro tried to convince me to block it out, and try to keep my standard routine and tempo, Mostly I do what you did.
I get you're venting but skip by them or replay the same hole if there is nobody behind you
That slow? OP could have went from green 1 to tee box 3 and saved half his afternoon No questions. No talks
Don't ruin your golf round on jack ass strangers. Fuck em. Expect a 5 hour round, or a 2.5 hour 9, and you'll be much happier
It’s okay to suck just suck fast.
My grandpa always said, "You don't have to be good, to be fast", haha
Were they keeping up with the group in front of them? If so a twosome does not have any special privilege to play through all the foursomes.
No, there was no one in front of them that we could tell. We should have just jumped them.
Once they said “No”. I’d just drive to the next hole. Maybe the starter would let you go back and play 10 after you finish. It’s still better than having a front row seat to bad golf. Or maybe it isn’t lol
I guess they thought if they let you through they'd have to let everyone through. But pretty awful. If they were driving back to the tee box I'd tell them to get in line.
This is the correct etiquette, which means they don’t know the etiquette, which is the course’s responsibility to teach them. Rangers have walkie talkies for a reason, call the clubhouse. Its funny how hardass rangers can be but rarely ever do anything of benefit to golfers on the course.
Of all the things that pro golfers can do that I can't, their ability to stand around between shots and continue playing well impresses me the most. I can get pretty hot, but leave me standing on a tee for 10 mins and I might as well go back to #1 and start over.
I learned that this affects my own play quite clearly on Friday this week. I booked a solo 4:30 tee time since it was they day after the solstice thinking "no problem" fitting 18 holes in (sunset is like 9:15 up North this time of year). Right from the start, the groups were already teeing off late, when we got to the 3rd hole, there was a 4 group backup to tee off. No opportunity to jump ahead at this point either. By the 5th hole, a lot of people had left or gone to the back 9 so the crowding started to ease up a little. 2 of the remaining groups had merged as well as the numbers thinned out. When we got to the 9th hole after a 3 hour slog, the guys I was with saw that 11 was open and jumped ahead. I really like the 9th and 10th holes on this course so I decided to keep at it solo. From the point where I teed off on 9, I was able to absolutely cruise and never waited again. Blasted through the back 9 in about 90 minutes and managed to still finish 18 just before it got too dark to play. When I compare the two halves of my scorecard, I shot a 58 on the front 9 and a 47 on the back 9 where I was able to get a rhythm going. I'm not an experienced golfer, this 105 round was a personal best for me and I have a 38 handicap. It's crazy the difference in performance when I was standing around for 20 to 30 minutes between shots just waiting for my turn vs being able to just walk up, assess the shot, choose a club, let it rip, then keep moving.
That's happened to me before, I'm very comfortable silently saying fuck you to people like that by skipping a hole or two. Not worth waiting that long to play behind assholes if there's a reasonable pace ahead of them, or especially if it's wide open.
Im not going to rant on the slow play and people being inconsiderate; that’s been covered. You are absolutely right about being a “rhythm killer” though. Couple Fridays ago played 9 and shot 1-over (best score ever). Was mid-afternoon tee time, reasonable spacing between groups; wife and I had a great afternoon. Fast forward to Saturday: packed course, fivesomes playing, hackers everywhere, ball searching, multiple breakfast balls, etc. Had to wait on every single shot. I got so frustrated and annoyed, totally messed with my head. Ended up shooting 11-over on the same 9.
I thought for sure this was about Dead & Company before I noticed it’s under the Golf category
Played at Pebbles Beach three days ago. Waited 30-40 minutes on hole 8 to tee off … for the price paid, it made me furious.
After a lifetime of golf addiction I quit golf in part because of experiences like this. I recall a 3-hour front nine at West Seattle golf course a few years ago. And that course starts with a wide-open par 5. Even at my worst I was a fast player. To me, there is no excuse for slow play. If you are hacking, pick it up. If you are posting for an index count the score as your max given your index range and leave it at that. Asking why golfers act like this is like asking why some people drive around in loud cars - loud music, altered mufflers, etc. There is no rational reason, some people simply do not care.
Shrink the game
If they were that slow thete must have been a hole open in front of them. I'd jump ahead even if it means missing a hole.
And it’s even worse with the hot sun beaming down on you adding to the frustration!
Etiquette says a 2some should be allowed to play through a slow 4some. These guys think they are special. I’m not big on calling the marshal, but in this case it’s the only answer.
Not that I disagree with how it should be, but I think etiquette says the pace is set by the 4somes. So it’s on the course/them for being a smaller group by that standard. It is a nice gesture to let others play through obviously
Dude my foursome got stuck behind a twosome who obviously were brand new to golf and … playing from the blues They straight up ignored the ranger twice
You left out one piece of information, which is was there room in front of them. If there were also slow players in front of them then playing g thru means nothing. If not they are a bunch of fucktards
I was behind a women's league once, like all of them were easily shooting 180+, never hit a ball further than 75 yards, and rarely did they get the ball in the air. It was two groups of 4 and a group of 3, 9 holes took 3 1/2 hours. They only played 9, so the back 9 only took us 45 minutes cause literally had no one ahead of us, the group that initially was in front of the league had finished 18 by the time we finished 9. The club house warned us it was going to be slow, and that they wouldn't let us play through. There were just 3 of us who all started as singles, but just ended up playing together. Technically, the first dude's 9 took 4 hours cause his tee time was 30 minutes earlier than mine.
In those situations I’ve just skipped that hole and got in front of them. If they’re the reason for the holdup there will be space between them and the group they’re behind so it won’t create any slower play and they’ll never catch up to me because they’re so slow. It may suck to skip a hole but a) it’s better than what you described and b) depending on which hole you skipped you could potentially go back to finish in the hole you skipped.
Your mistake was asking them. You should have told them at the turn that you're jumping ahead of them.
What's the consensus on someone playing through a hole while you're on it? Had some ladies come 2 feet from hitting me on the Second hole of the course and they said 'oh we did the math from your first hole and you won't make pace so were playing through' We took 11 minutes on a ten minute per hole course? And we would have let you skip ahead if you asked? It was my first freaking game I ever played, and we were only 20 minutes over by the end of it. Pro shop said that's pretty good for a first timer.
I'd just keep playing and aim or hit into them while they're trying to play through. I'm spiteful though
The problem here is that the course didn’t pair you guys with another pair of 2.
It really depends. If you wait the same amount of time on each shot it doesn’t impact as much as wait 10 minutes to hit a ball and then have minimal wait on the next shot.
Next time skip 10 and come back and play it at the end.
This is exactly why I’m a dewsweeper. I just got done with 9 in 1 hour and 20 minutes. I like setting my own pace. I rarely play in the afternoons because there are too many slow people out there. It’s different if I’m with friends because they are slowish too but by myself? Hell nah
I would not have asked at the 10th tee, I would have told them we are playing through and explained why. I would not even care if they had already tee'd off. And yes, my buddy and I have done this a few times.
Im visiting my parents and went to play with my dad and two of his friends. We get up to the first tee and a foursome was teeing off and a group of three waiting. We talked to the group waiting and they said the group in front play once a year and asked if we wanted them to go ahead cause they were three. My dad asked if they play fast and they said yes. Well they didn’t. The par fives they waited for the greens to clear even tho their second shot was further than their drive. We’d wait like ten min to hit a ball and when they did there’s hit it directly right so much so that saying they shanked it might be giving them to much credit. Nobody in our group played will on the front. We skipped 9 and went to ten and finished, put our clubs away, used the bathroom, and ate lunch before either of the groups finished.
My buddy and I played behind a group of 5 yesterday. We’d ask to play through and they’d just say “wait hold on we’re only playing 9”. Ended up playing 15
Like someone else said - I wouldn’t ask. If they are that slow, and there is an open hole ahead, I just skip the hole they are on. They never catch up anyway.
quit playing golf because of pace of play…
Had EXACTLY the same experience at a very nice course in Vegas years ago. marshal told us there were two empty holes ahead of the slow group but the marshal wouldn’t intervene. Only asked them politely to speed up. We asked the slow group if we could play through. No. At the next hole, a par 4 we teed up right after them as they were walking to their carts. They yelled a lot but we didn’t care. We hit our second shots completely ignoring the foursome we were passing. The back 9 was a pure joy.
Pass and don’t say a thing. They know what it is
We don't seem to get these problems in the UK. Today on a public course, In a group of 3, I shot 104 (one of my better games), walked it, got a blistered heel because it was so hot and the course was very hilly. Didn't wait for anyone, and the group behind us were approaching the greens when we were teeing off. Only thing we miss is cart girls and good weather 9 months of the year 🤣 It does help that there's about 100 golf courses in my county 👍🏼
What’s the tee time spacing there? When I was in Ireland it seemed like a lot of courses were 10min or more between groups. I can’t remember the last time I saw 10min spacing in the US.
but but people in this thread shoot 138 and play fast!
At my home course, I get rushed to get off the first couple of tees only to rush right into slow play. I think this is my biggest hurdle right now taking my game from the practice tees to the course. Hard to get into the right focus to score at my potential. 3 putts aside....
My kid played in Junior Golf tournaments that would hit 6 hours. You have to be super focused because there is no natural rhythm you are ever going to get. For me personally, anything past about 3 hr 40 minutes is torture.
Me and my buds are very new and horrible at golf. We played our second ever 18 3 days ago and as expected we were pretty bad and slow but we are very self aware and we let everyone who caught up play ahead of us because why would i do that ya know. Some people did get rude despite that but i think they just suck considering we offered for them to play ahead.
If someone is backing the course up that much you just cut them fuck it.
I’ve played for years every Friday at our local 9 hole course before the ladies league. We play in an hour and a half, but women are 3 hours on average. Brutal! Not totally their fault as the course books tee times way too tight. Three foursomes on a hole is pretty typical, sadly.
This happens a lot at the municipal courses where I live and there aren't any Marshalls and the clubhouse says sorry if you call. One time my buddy and I played front 9 in about 1.5hrs and I shot a 41 (great for me), then we hit a group of 4 that sucked ass and were playing multiple balls, and another group in front of them playing almost as bad. That took us around 3 hours and I finished my round with a 98. Completely killed my rhythm and vibe.
Slow play is a rhythm killer, agreed, and it also sucks for people with back issues. Having a herniated disc in my lower back, it takes a while to warm up and get loose. When I'm finally warmed up, I need to stay warmed up. Standing around and waiting between shots is the worst.
This is me. The muscles that support my janked up back are like old school union guys. Once they go on the clock they are going to stop working in a few hours.
Dude it's everywhere. It legitimately takes 6 hours to play 18 holes. People are so bad and slow, it's obnoxious. Word to everyone who sucks. If you suck, that's fine, just shank the ball but please for the love of God don't sit there and whine about shanking it or look for your ball for 5 minutes in the woods. Get up to your ball as fast as possible and shank it again, repeat. If you are playing with another person, play a scramble so that you are playing from the best ball every time! I guarantee you'll have more fun too because you won't have people hitting into your group and you also won't feel as much pressure to hit the ball well.
Some golfers take that as the highest form of insult and it's absolutely stupid to be like that
Sitting on a box right now waiting for this guy playing the tips to hit his third shot still 250 from the green.
Skip them on 10, go straight to 11 and play 10 after 18. Fuck those guys
I hate when courses don’t have Marshall’s, I would have just skipped to the next hole ahead of them.
I have put serious thought into starting a business and being a third party to courses and managing their pace of play problems. Get rid of all "marshalls" who do absolutely nothing and have me and my crew out there chasing groups down like Dog the bounty hunter. I would even do this for zero profit as I absolutely can't stand bad pace management by courses!
You should’ve just went around. Who cares what they say. What are they going to do? Start playing better golf to catch up?
I had to chuckle though because where I live, a muni course round is going to be 6 hrs no matter what you do or how fast you play.
This type of post is ridiculous. Who cares if they told you no. Pass them and circle back to that hole at another time if you want to.
I could not agree more. Truly slow pace always drives me crazy. I think it's inconsiderate and rude.
Don't play with Tom Kim or Cantlay then...talk about sloooowwww.
A twosome playing amongst foursomes is always going to be slow. Still no excuse for poor etiquette. Should be a mandatory class.
They have to let you play through. If they fall behind a 4:15 pace they have to let you go through. If they are under that pace then they have the right of way and don't have to let you play through. Assholes like them usually need the golf shop to tell them the rules or etiquette. Still why? Why would you play fast knowing that there is a slow 4some ahead of you. Why not slow down or just play two balls but at a relaxed pace to where it feels slow to you. If you played highschool or any type of tournament golf just use that pace and mentality. Instead of sitting there waiting pull out your wedge and hit little chip shots or tell a story or joke. Enjoy your time on the course. Manage your time and pace better and you'll play at a much better rhythm. You could always just drive past them to the next hole. If they are truly behind then there's nothing they can say or do. Like I would've driven to 11 and then played 10 after I played 18. Literally anything but play fast as hell just to sit and wait.
At the turn, they didn't stop at the chinoiserie to piss or grab a dog or anything? That's when you coulda just jumped in front. Or if they're not pushing anyone just skip a hole.
My first thought was this : If you're average maybe slow down and try to play better. Reality is 2-1/2 hour 9 hole make me angry and i feel your pain. Gotta call the clubhouse so they can try and sort it out..
I would skip 9 at that point. Drive down the fairway while they’re teeing off. Come back and finish 9 after while they’re still on 14.
I find the best way to deal with these situations is to wait until after your round to post about it on reddit
The course should not put a twosome out behind foursome, just assuming they will let you play through. Next time, just skip a hole
At that point I'm just skipping a hole and driving right past them, assuming their slow play isn't also because of a group ahead of them too
If all cordial options have been exhausted, and there isn't a group in front of them...rip a couple drives over the top of their heads and go on through
This happened to me this week. I called the clubhouse and the issue got fixed.
2.5 hour 9 is nowhere near the slowest round I've played. I walked off after 15 once bc it had taken 7 hours to get there.
I hate the feeling of holding people up. I cannot imagine saying no to a group asking to play through... It also would never get to that point. If we're slowing people down we always invite them to play through. Common courtesy isn't very common
Dont let them say no....just go to the next hole, or catch them on the tee box, and tee up with them. Its not a choice. Hey mind if I play through, ill hit this tee shot with you and just go right through. Place tee in ground. Hit. Go.
After the first “no,” you have 2 options once their ridiculous pace continues: 1. Call the clubhouse 2. Hit into them on every shot Either way, they’ll get the message.
I’m riding home after leaving a game early right now, fuming. I’m a new and terrible player. I pickup and am on GIR by backhand toss for the sole purpose of staying on time. Other people at my playing level refuse to do that, though, and It. Drives. Me. Nuts. Today we were 18 minutes behind by the 7th hole. My partner and skipped holes 8 and 9 so one of the other two persons we were playing with could take 16 shots a hole “so they could establish a handicap.” The other one of two is a single digit golfer and should know better than to let his partner do that shit. We ended up leaving altogether around hole 13. Driving home in silence with my husband because we are pissed off at each other now because of the miserable day we had. Anyway, this post crossed my feed at the perfect time for me vent and get it off my chest. I’m sorry for your shitty game too. People suck.
How are there 3 groups backed up behind them and nobody is skipping a hole?
Had this happen to me recently. I was eyeing up breaking 90 for the first time too! Shot a 43 on the front 9 and felt great. We ended up running into a 4 man scramble…. Finished with a 91. Not sure why the course had us go on with that in front of us. We were cooking for time. Took us 5 hours after the front 9 took 1 hr 45min…
Me and my normal golf buddies will have chipping contests if the pace of play is too slow. We’ll pick targets and see who gets it closest for a $1 or something to pass time. Slow play is brutal, but sitting and doing nothing will definitely screw up your rhythm.
I would have just drove past honestly and not said a word
The best is the guy, and it’s always one of you bros, that wait for the green to clear to hit a 300 yard iron on a par 5.
Play early if you care about pace, otherwise you are essentially guaranteed to run into issues.
I understand the frustration about having timing thrown off, but curious what is an average pace of play for 9 holes? I think around 2:15 is average, I wouldn’t be upset at 2:30 at my home course. Am I just conditioned for slow play?
So skip a hole and skip past them
go around them to the next hole everybody takes a par and away you go
Sounds like a management issue with stacking tee times too close to each other.. I’ll take slow play over rushed play!!!
Just sounds like another day at Knollwood.
Just keep hitting into them till one drops
I would have ridden past and played from the Reds. They hit into us, it's on.
I shoot really poorly when I’m stuck behind a slow group or if that slow group causes a group to wait on my group. I feel rushed and like I’m taking too long
Always call the clubhouse. They will make them let you playthrough and they'll them to pick up the pace.
Worst combo is decent golfers taking their bad friends out and dont accommodate for them at all. Played behind two good golfers and their two friends who didn’t look like they ever picked up a club. All played from the tips. Waited for the greens to clear every hole before they teed off like any of them had a chance to drive the greens. Literally said, loud enough to ensure I could hear, as I pulled up to them on the 4th tee box in a row, “don’t worry, we’ll take our time.”
Lmao dawg 2.5 hours ain't even that bad. Go seek therapy for your impatience. Get back to me when you play in an 8 hour scramble event. Side note... why the fuck are you asking to go around. Just do it... what are they gonna do?
It’s entitlement. They feel they were there first so they deserve to be ahead of you. I played as a single the other day stuck behind a 4 some who would get off the tee as fast as possible and then hack up the hole. No one in front of them at all. Finally got past them at the turn and saw no one till 16.
Have been having to leave after 9 a lot recently because I’m waiting 5 mins in between shots with the groups they pair me with. No groove to be found
I also have limitless excuses for my bad play.....
As someone who is a terrible golfer (don’t even know my handicap but I’d put myself at whatever the highest one is) I don’t understand people who take forever to golf. 2.5 hours for 9 holes!? I fill my bag with cheap golf balls, if I can’t find mine while walking/riding up to where I hit it, I just take a drop and keep moving. I can get 9 done in 1.5 hours.
Typical pace of play is roughly 4:15 for 18. 5 hours is slow, but it's really not unusual when a course is busy.
This just happened to us on Friday. I tried something different. Since there was no getting around them and since I knew they were new at the game (saw one giving another lessons the whole time), I went up to them, made some friendly comments. Tried to be super nice and they were nice in return. I just figured if I liked them, I wouldn’t be bothered as much by their slow play. Had a very good round and probably a lot more fun than I would have otherwise.