are member rounds quicker than social rounds

[dwayne]

I haven't been a member anywhere for a number of years ( wife, kids = no dollars ) but of late social rounds seem to be taking longer and longer. Some days at Pacific are a nightmare in excess of 5 hours. My question is - do member comp rounds take as long to play?

[Webster]

maybe

[Jarro]

Most comp rounds would be quicker i'd imagine

[PeteyD]

Your social rounds are probably on after a members comp. Draw your own conclusion.

[razaar]

IMO the condition of the course contributes to playing time. In recent years clubs have favoured defined fairways with bordering rough of a mix of grasses and weeds which make finding the pill a real chore at times. It is always worse during the wet season which is also the growing season. I have never been an advocate of this arrangement particularly on courses which have lots of trees for obvious reasons. I feel that Club Committees should try to make the game enjoyable for the members instead of competing on who has the toughest test.

[dwayne]

it seems that many social players can't play that well, that is why I thought surely members would be able to get around the course better hence quicker

[TheTrueReview]

Good post Dwayne. I haven't played comp yet but the day draws near when I will be doing so. I've had similar frustrations recently. It's not just the slow rounds but also cowboy like behaviour with lunkheads trying to cut holes just so they can finish their round before dark. That last incident occurred recently at Indooroopilly (of all places) when my golf partner & I were about to tee off on what was the 18th (as dusk was about 15 mins away), when all of a sudden two cart loads of knuckleheads turned up out of nowhere & definitely weren't players from the 17th or the 16th. As my playing partner & I are mid-fairway after teeing off, all of a sudden we hear the sound of one of the knuckleheads teeing off. Yes, we were still in range. It was a short par 4. Obviously, they were hell bent on playing the final hole, no matter who was in front of them.

That incident really blew apart my theory that knuckleheads can be avoided by playing at the better courses. My theory has changed to at least playing comp will avoid the last scenario.

[razaar]

Most social golfers play using motorized buggies...which is a great source of revenue for clubs. It is a known fact that motorized carts are much slower than push buggies, particularly with social players who have never been educated in golf ettiquette as it relates to cart use.

[PeteyD]

Haha. Knuckleheads!

You'll still get em, but the last scenario should be able to be avoided.

It is not a known fact that carts are much slower than push buggies. However it is definately possible that incorrect use of carts can cause a slower round.

[Andrew]

Dwayne,

I'm a member of Newcastle GC. I've played a few of the 'Black Marker' challenges we hold that attract a lot of golfers from other clubs. On each occasion rounds have taken over 5 hours even though the visitors are members (& probably regular golfers) from other clubs.

When we play medal days with the course set up the same, the longest round I have had is 4:15 & mostly only 4 hours. The rounds are shorter simply because only Newcastle members are playing. We know our way around the course, when & where to look for errant shots & so on.

[sms316]

Razaar's post is interesting. I always thought having thickish rough made sounds easier as it stopped semi-bad shots from finding the trees.

[Eag's]

I haven't been a member anywhere for a number of years ( wife, kids = no dollars ) but of late social rounds seem to be taking longer and longer. Some days at Pacific are a nightmare in excess of 5 hours. My question is - do member comp rounds take as long to play?

With or without Titleist Gear??

[BrisVegas]

We know our way around the course, when & where to look for errant shots & so on.

very much the same at my course. The members generally get around pretty quickly, even in monthly medal.

[dwayne]

With or without Titleist Gear??

with actually, although most of it is a bit dated and I'd like to update.

are you offering?

[Eag's]

with actually, although most of it is a bit dated and I'd like to update.

are you offering?

You can keep your Titleist gear, Ping all the way here.

[dwayne]

You can keep your Titleist gear, Ping all the way here.

don't say that out loud some people on this forum will bag you

[Eag's]

don't say that out loud some people on this forum will bag you

No they won't because I am a angry **** and will belt them.
Haven't you heard, I am a Rum drinker

[idgolfguy]

I haven't been a member anywhere for a number of years ( wife, kids = no dollars ) but of late social rounds seem to be taking longer and longer. Some days at Pacific are a nightmare in excess of 5 hours. My question is - do member comp rounds take as long to play?

Depends on how much side betting is happening.

[PeteyD]

No they won't because I am a angry **** and will belt them.
Haven't you heard, I am a Rum drinker

Haha you ping wanker!!

[markTHEblake]

You can keep your Titleist gear, Ping all the way here.

Good to see you have your own religion, yet remain tolerant of those who believe in other gods.

[LarryLong]

Most social golfers play using motorized buggies...which is a great source of revenue for clubs. It is a known fact that motorized carts are much slower than push buggies, particularly with social players who have never been educated in golf ettiquette as it relates to cart use.

Interesting. I've never really enjoyed having a round in a cart because I enjoy the walk and I hate taking 2 wedges and a putter with me every time I miss a green, but I didn't think they would slow the game down.

Good points about home course knowledge - at my old home course that I grew up in I knew where my misses went even if I didn't get a good look at the ball coming down.

Choppers sometimes take longer, although some serious golfer types can take a ridiculous amount of time around the greens up against Sunday golfers who just walk up and hit (miss) it.

One course where it all comes together is Eynesbury, West of Melbourne. Really nice course. Completely public, so hardly anybody there has local knowledge. The cabbage is ridiculous, so every shot you hit off the fairway is either a lost ball or a hold-up at the very least. It's set up for carts, with big stretches of walking between holes, so everybody tends to take carts. Even on a quiet day, it takes more than 4 hours to get around. On a busy day, it's 5 hours plus. Very frustrating.

Best bet is quiet country courses where you can actually get around quicker at non-comp times, but that's not an option for everybody.

[rodders]

Absolutely taking longer than private club. I used to belong to clubs in my late teens and twenties and golf was always 4 - 4.5 hours. Never seemed rushed and no dikheads to deal with.

I have taken up golf after a 13 year lay off in dec last year. Played heaps of public courses and have ran into more knuckleheads in 5 months than I did in years at clubs.

Last week played 5 courses over easter. The surprise was a great course at Sunshine in Mlb. Seriously a fantastic layout and great facilities but after two holes, no way I'd go back. Group of 2 teenagers in front sharing bag and clubs. Held up everyone. When I saw a marshall go by I mentioned this and he said he would deal with it. Came back and told me it's ok because they had both paid? WTF?

I left after 2hr 40 mins of 9 holes.

Maybe the desperation of clubs has seen a reducing of standards and they really dont care about speed. Bottom line is they need the fee payers to stay in existence as short sighted that may be.

[dwayne]

No they won't because I am a angry **** and will belt them.
Haven't you heard, I am a Rum drinker

i also enjoy a rum. heading to bundaberg today for work so will probably sample some of the local produce tonight

[razaar]

Razaar's post is interesting. I always thought having thickish rough made sounds easier as it stopped semi-bad shots from finding the trees.

Ball hits tree/s...wtf did it go? Bloody long grass..if the grass was shorter we might be able to see the bloody pill..what was the line again. Mate have you got it yet? No mate....don't worry about my ball go and hit yours.

Does this sound familiar to anybody?

[sms316]

Ball hits tree/s...wtf did it go? Bloody long grass..if the grass was shorter we might be able to see the bloody pill..what was the line again. Mate have you got it yet? No mate....don't worry about my ball go and hit yours.

Does this sound familiar to anybody?

True. I was talking about thickish rough, not tall rough.