Not Too Fast and Not Too Slow... Just Right
Greetings Golfers,
The other day, I had a guy playing behind us who was making it clear that he thought we were playing slow. In fact, we were waiting on every shot … though the people in front of us were playing at a 4 hour pace.
Waiting doesn’t mean slow.
The golf course is a one-lane freeway that we want everyone going 60mph (4 hour round). If you want to drive 75mph … it might feel slow. However, we aren’t going to make people play faster than 4 hours to appease people who want to play faster. No one has the right to drive 50mph … and no one has the right to drive 75mph.
We’re sharing the golf course with each other. Slow play is not fair to the people playing behind dawdlers. However, some people don’t realize that they’re slow … and/or why they’re slow. Golf shouldn’t be a race track - that’s not enjoyable. But a 4 hour pace isn’t fast or hard to do. It’s just a reasonable speed. The link below is to a recent article about 8 ways to play faster. It’s sane … makes sense … and is fun to read. Enjoy!
https://www.golfpass.com/travel-advisor/articles/miss-it-quick-8-ways-to-play-faster-golf?utm_source=GOLFPASS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GA_Weekly-Newsletter_20230905&mi_u=CE46841C-9468-4844-8F10-D1085E3E0B60
A lot of slow play happens on the greens. People not ready to putt … or reading every putt as if it’s complicated puzzle. And some greens are just too fast.
This super fast green thing is fairly recent. I remember when tournament golf had reasonably paced greens. Then it became cool to ramp up the speed for tournaments. So if it was cool for tournaments … it must be really cool for everyday play.
Really? So faster is better? Hmmmm. If I like seasoning on my steak … then pouring the whole bottle of seasoning on my steak will make it really good! Obviously that’s idiotic.
I think we all know the right speed of a green. If I’m just rolling a ball with my hand … I have an instinctive sense of how far it should roll. If it stops to soon … it’s too slow. But if it doesn’t stop rolling - it’s obviously way too fast. Why isn’t the right speed the goal?
The right speed. It works for both pace-of-play … and greens. Too fast isn’t fun or funny … and too slow is frustrating.
Maybe we should ask Goldilocks. Rumor has it that she went out to play golf after eating the bear family’s porridge. She knew what speed was “just right”.
Cheers!
Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com