A few weeks back the group in front of us (we Tee off at 06:52 on Sunday) complained to the ranger that we were playing too fast. The Ranger knows us and busted out laughing when he told us. We never hit into them but we might just have put a few about 30 yards away.Just far enough that you can hear them land. They ride and play the whites while we walk and play the blues. Playing too fast. Is there a rule I missed that says the front nine is to be completed in between 1:45 and 2:15. They back up the course for the whole day.

where I come from we don't have Course Rangers.

If a group behind are quite obviously quicker than us, we let them through.

It's a dying art, seemingly...

I actually have. I finished a round in just under two hours and the people in front of me told me after finishing that they played poorly because they felt rushed by me being right behind them, but they wouldn't let me play through, so I'm not sure why he would get mad at me.

The guys in front of me always play too slow, but the guys behind me usually play too fast. Go figure!

now everyone should have the common courtesy of allowing your group to go pass. IF there are no group immediately in front of them or slow down ahead. doesn't make sense to let you pass them you have to wait again & again...
do it all the time when i am in a group & there is a single or 2-some behind me.
fastest i've completed a round by myself was about 2.5 hours - riding a cart.

As far as I am concerned. And that is just my thoughts on this subject. The only reason to play golf for 5 and half hours. IS that way you can get in 27. LOL 18 holes in any longer than 3hours 20 min at tops is to long.

I actually had a situation this past Sunday in which after me and my playing partner made the turn and started the back nine we ran into a group who started play on the back nine and they were hitting like three balls a piece off each tee and there were three of them. Well, on the 12th hole both me and my partner nailed drives that landed about 30 or 40 yards from them. We had no intention of hitting them, but maybe encouraging them to either play faster or let us play through.

They let us play through on 13, but complained about us hitting into them. I just shrugged it off and hit my longest drive on the 13th hole and put it about 40 yards from the green. Needless to say they shut up once I hit that.

Spot on!

I had this happen to me and it gets my blood up. Usually I'll see if they are keeping up by looking up the course. Some courses have the holes running parallel, like say 7&8. If they are a slow group, and they see my group coming up, they usually will tell us if they are keeping up or will let us pass. That's in a considerate world.

In the real world, when someone won't let you play though -and- you can reach a par 5 in 2, take it to the hole. Airmail it over the heads and land your ball on the green. They get the message and you can say something clever like, "Oops, got a hold of that one. Can we play through?" Works everytime. The courses I play the rangers are pretty good, except for one-nobody's perfect!

I also had this happen to me, it was last Sunday, and 4 guys in front of me and some friends were taking way way too long. They actually had 3 groups past them up, so when it got time for us to come up, they said no it was too busy in front of them that we would go nowhere and play slow anyways. Well, we looked at the next hole, and not for a par 4 or a Par 5 was anyone on the holes. I was like, ok whatever. So they finished a Par 3, we finished that Par 3 before they all teed off a Par 4! They teed off, and took them 30 min to play it, so we went in front, and the groups they let play through were 2 holes ahead of them! That is some of the dumbest guys that play. They are hacks that think they can play......I dont get it. I dont see why they didnt let us throw...sorry.......too long

There will always be people who are inconsiderate of your time. I've got to deal with it too and it stinks.

My brother and I actually had a guy ask us if we wanted to "play through with him?" Do you have any idea how to answer that? We just kept playing ans slowly pulled ahead then away from him. I still feel a little bad about it.

Yesterday my brother and I were playing behind a group of three that were terrible. Holes 2 and 3 run parallel, so we both just hit into the fairway on three and then hit our approach shots back to three green. They got skipped and never even knew we were there. We saw them making the turn when we were playing up sixteen.

Happened not too long ago. My dad and I were playing together and the marshall told us when setting out on the back he hadn't sent anyone out in a while so we think, great we can play at a decent pace for once. Around 14 we catch up to a group of three and we are a bit better/quicker then them and only a twosome, and keep getting piled in behind them. On 15 we wait to chip onto to the green while they line up puts like its the masters. On 16th the par three they waited for us to tell us that they would let us play through but they were on pace to finish under 2:30. I 'politely' ask us if we can play through anyways and they plainly say no. We wait and watch them hit the par three and then we wait a minute and use the restrooms(noone close to behind us) and tee off and play the par three pretty slowly actually. We get to the 17th teebox, and they are on the 2nd person. Noone on the 17th whole or 18th(you can see it coming back) at all. So we play behind them. Then on the 18th we are about 225 out and I hit my 5 iron which sprinkler heads it to about 10 yards off the green and they try and report that we hit into them. I hate slow golfers. I'm friends with the pros so they just laughed when they told us that they complained we were too fast and pressured them into playing slowly.

Here is a cool trick you might want to try.

When you get to the first tee, get there kinda early-say 5 to 10 minutes and start chatting up the starter. (This is key for it to work) Talk loud enough so that the other 4'somes/other groups can hear your conversation. Of course, don't be rude when people are teeing off. Say things like:
- how is the play today?
- are you guys on time?
- did you get to play today? (boy, this can open a lot of info)
- your course looks great, can't wait to play it. (a lil' kiss a** goes a long way)
...........and the big one that can't be left out, How do you guys handle slow play?

Get the idea? Now the other groups hear you talk with the starter and they are on guard because now they know what the ranger will do if they slow play. Want to play ahead? No problem, the group knows you from the first tee. The course is on guard too. If the ranger is napping, he's gotta wipe the sleep from his eyes because his starter promised some guy that the course is on time.

It works like a charm. No starter,No problem- do it when you pay your greens fee. I've used this at a public muni and at a private GC with no problems. You can't put everyone on guard, but you can atleast do it with the first two groups you play behind.

Always be polite, not rude. If you are dealing with idiots remember that your dealing with mental midgets. Try it, you'll like it.

i caddied in an outing the other day...6 hour round 90* w/ 60-70%+ humidity... the best player in my group was a 25. playing too fast is no big deal. but consistently playing slow is when you should consider taking up bowling.

I hate slow play. My friend and I usually walk and play from the blues in around 3 hours for 18 holes. Slow play tends to throw me off my game. Tournaments are on thing, and you expect them to be a little slower, but when you're plainyg on any given day, and the people in front of you are on pace for a 5 hour round, that completely throws me off my game and infuriates me...... unless they do the right thing and let me through.

The other day my friend and I actually hit over people on a downhill par 3, 190 yards. It was a guy "teaching" his wife how to golf. Note.... he was "teaching" her. We watched him completely miss a ball teeing off on the par 3, then duff two about 30 feet in front of him. Then the wife hit a couple balls. We watched all this from the previous green. We got up they, we figured they were at the bottom of the hill but couldn't see them, so we just hit over them. Luckily we all landed on the green, then gave them the, "oh sorry we didn't know you were still on this hole". They were actually pretty nice about it and said they were just screwing around and told us we should play thorugh. It was pretty funny though, since I've never hit over people on a par 3 before.

I’m new to the forum (and a pretty new golfer too) and I have a question about slow play. I completely understand letting others play through if the pace is slow, but what I can’t stand are impatient singles who think the seas should part because they are ready. Last Friday I played at a course that had 3 singles (in carts) in a row behind us. My group was prepared and watching to see where the first single was, prepared to hold up and let him play through. This guy was playing the back tees and should not have been… waiting to tee off until we got off the green on long 4s and 5s. He ended up crying to the ranger and we were asked if we would mind letting him through (we didn’t care).

My problem with this is that I’m not going to wait 15 min at the next tee for you to catch up and play through. Courtesy extends both directions. I have a feeling that the guy behind us Friday is the kind of guy who gets right on your rear end when driving in bumper to bumper traffic and honking his horn just so he can get 1 car length in front of you.

I think everyone should just relax a little and enjoy the round

So on to my question… what is the appropriate way to handle a fast player? If he/they are no where near the green when my group is ready to tee off, should we wait for them or go ahead?

Slow Play is standard on weekends here in Thailand - And that is not due to the warm and humid wether.
1) You can bump into flights of 5 people, on some courses even 6.
2) Even worse. They dont offer to let you play through. If you ask to play through most commonly they will say no (if they understand the language)

Exactly, I do this all the time when I walk 9 during the week. The 9 hole courses nearby are plagued by slow play and inconsiderate golfers so I'll just skip a group if the hole is open. I like to walk 9 in an under 90 minutes, not wait for you to look 5 minutes on every hole for the ball you gacked in the woods.

And just to add, slow play has nothing to do with being a bad player. I played last week with two guys neither of whom broke 100 and we played 18 in 3.5 hours. There is absolutely no correlation between skill level and how fast you can play.

Why didn't your ranger tell them to let you play through? Seems logical to me.

I can't believe someone actually complained about this? There certainly are precednces set for these instances, you just let them play through.

So on to my question… what is the appropriate way to handle a fast player? If he/they are no where near the green when my group is ready to tee off, should we wait for them or go ahead?
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If it is a single, I'll always let him/her go on.

No, don't wait if they are not on the green and your on the teebox. If they are on the same tee box, then make the call. Sometimes letting impatient golfers go ahead takes less stress off you and your playing partners.

I was playing a round with my mom (7 handicap). We were in the fairway on the 18th green when these 3 old guys, 60+ with the black socks and white golf shoes, hit their tee shots into us. I thought the first one was lucky, but the hitter never said "fore" . The next two guys hit into us and one almost clocked my mom. I should preface that this course is made for billy goats and not for golfers.
Imagine 18 is a 400 yard hole, the landing area is 230-260 all flat and to a pond with the second shot almost 3 clubs in elevation-like hitting up a mountain wall.
I digress. I never saw these 3 guys come up behind us. Back to the story. My mom was pretty mad and I got upset that these guys who never said fore on any of their tee shots. While checking up on mom, I started to picked up their balls. When they came up to hit on, they never said a peep, no sorry, nothing. Then they couldn't find there balls. For a minute, I thought they were blind, but they weren't. I went over and dropped their balls at their feet and told them that they have better not go for the green when we hit on. During this exchange, there was a 4some on the green putting out. Dumb founded, they just stood there.
When I got back to the clubhouse, I told the starter and he began telling me that these guys hate women golfers and do this kinda thing every time they play. I told the starter what I did and he said that they had it coming. I'm a guy and these guys where picking a fight with my mom. It gets better.
I told my mom before we left and she was hopping mad. She's a 5'0 Filipino. She got out of the car and went over to them and gave her a piece of her mind. After that, she hasn't had any problems with those guys.

If the person behind has not even came to the green yet, and you are going to let him play through, go ahead and tee off. If after your group gets done teeing off, and he is on the green, just wait a bit and let him hit. I have even hit went down the fairway and while the group found there ball motioned back to the golfer behind to hit, and took cover. If you are keeping up with the group ahead of you then just tell him that it is slow in front of you, most should understand that it is just going to be a long day.

The problem was he essentially wanted us to wait at the tee for him. The ranger was pretty apologetic and we just held up… like I said before easier to just relax and enjoy my round than fret about that stuff.

I’ve pick up a guys ball like bammerz59 described. I put it in my pocket and turned back around. I could hear the guy screaming and coming on his cart. I thought it was funny, he never came all the way up stopped short and went back to the tee. About the only time being 6’6” ever helped me out playing golf LOL. I left his ball in the hole and played on.

I go out first on sundy at my club i play at. If i am playing 18 that day and they see me on 9 and a group is getting ready on 10( to play 9 holes) they will tell them to wait till i get there and let me go first. They ask why and the strater tells then you will never catch or see him after hole 11. I usually play in 1hour 15 to 20 mins. I tee of at 6:15am and i am done at 7:30am with 9 holes. course opens at 7am, but i am permitted on earlier by the owners.

Last weekend at a short (6,000 yard par 70) course here, I was playing the back tees (if you can call them that at 6,000 yards) while my partners were playing shorter tees. We had a twosome in front of us playing painfully slow. Yes, a twosome playing slower than a 4 some. There was a fsome behind us of fairly decent golfers. Being a short course, there are a number of short par 4s. They often were waiting for us to clear the green before teeing off so clearly they hit a decent length ball (I never paused to see if their waiting was ever warranted). However, they consistently were hitting par 3 shots as soon as we had cleared the green but sometime not even at our carts. Worse, due to teh layout of the course, the carts were beside the green, not past them. So if they pushed or pulled their shots, we would have been hit. They gave a afew of our group members dirty looks as if we were playing slow. The odd hole, we struggled but alwasy caught back up by the next hole. There was clearly nowhere to go ahead of us. The slow twosome in front of us periodically were caught up to teh group ahead of them but more often remained about a hole behind.

After about 3 par 3s where this group behind us did their magic thing of hitting when we were just leaving, around 12th hole, I think, there was a downhill par 4, around 390 yds or so. I hit a big drive, about 300-315 (do not remember) in the right rough. The hole is wide open so you can see everyone unless you climb the tree and hide behind the leaves.

So a ball comes sialing into the fairway beside us. I look back but figure 'ok, maybe they did not realize the yardage or caugth a big one'. However, no 'FORE' or anything. Whatever. Then another guy hits. Not as along but closer than anyone should have been. I should mention at this point that only 2 of us had hit our 2nd shots on this hole so far. Then one comes flying by me, sailing down the fairway about even to wehere mine was in the rougfh. Since these guys had been waiting on other short par 4s, clearly they know (or think) they hit a long ball. This was the last straw for me. # players hitting before we had even finished hittign our second shots is ridiculous. I ran over to his ball with my wedge (Which was was about to hit with for my 2nd shot) and made my most solid strike of the day straight back up the fairway. Obviously never putting them in danger since they were on the tee and I, not being a long drive champ, only hit my wedge about 115 yards. The guy throws his club and yells ' what the h*** are you doing?' I stood there incredulous that he would ask this and yell the exact same question back. There was some loud verbal exchanges while they were on the tee and I was standing there after hitting his ball. The best was the Marshall was there to witness the aftermath of the guy's poor judgement in hitting. I was so mad that I was literally shaking. Needless to say, I did not hit a good second shot of my own and ended with a bogey when I should have had a birdie opportunity from where I was. I met the Marshall as he was driving towards me and was really mad as I explained what had been ahppenign all day and this was their 3rd tee shot of the group. Knowing they would give soem BS excuse, I said there was no way 'they did not know they could hit that far' after they kept waiting for us to clear par 4 greens before teeing off. Seeing there was nowhere to go ahead of us, he said nothing about them playing through or us playing slow. The marshall talked to them then came back to us on the green and said exactly what I knew the guy would say 'gee, didn't know I could hit that far' and that he was going to apologize. I told teh marshall that was 'horse hockey'. Needless to say, they never apologized. The marshal just said to tryt o enjoy the rest of the round and was sure they would not do it again.

On the 17th hole, a par 3, we hit, I pushed mine rigth of teh green beside a cart path about 10 paces from teh edge of the green. The layout of the course is such that after finishing 16, you have to drive along this path to get back to teh 17th teebox. As we appraoched the 17th green, these same guys behind us were driving past it to get back to the teebox. One guys leans over and picks up my ball. Helllllllooooo, ever thoguht that maybe, just maybe, a ball less than 10 paces from a green just might belong to someone from that hole? I said 'excuse me, you just picked up my ball'. They guy that hit the infamous drive a few holes back ignored me and kept driving. By the third time I said it, each time gettign louder. He stopped, his cart mate ran back with the ball with a shocked look on his face 'oh, a titleist with 2 red dots...i am sorry'. I just smiled and said 'thank you very much' (Actually said it sincerely and not sarcastically since I was trying to be bold and give a benefit of teh doubt though I knew exactly what they were doing). Of course, before we even stepped into our carts, the first shot of their group landed on the green. Unbelieveable.

The other members of my foursome said my wedge shot back up the fairway was without a doubt the best shot of the day. None of them had ever seen that before and I had never been in a foursome that hit a ball back since I was 15. I am a lot older than that now. They just made me THAT mad that I lost it. I was not so mad as to do something stupid and hit driver back, as tempting as it would have been. Some rationality still held.

If we're being held up by a slow group (with nobody ahead of them) and they won't let us play through, I'll call the pro shop on the cell phone to get the marshal out there - they need to be doing their job.

If it's still slow by the time we reach the turn, I'll just ask for a rain check and walk off. If you are playing a decent course, the guys at the pro shop usually understand.

Hit the nail right on the head...My great-grandfather taught me the game of golf but before I was ever allowed to pick up a club and take a swing I caddied, learned etiquette, rules and most importantly that you can play any course with anyone, your handicap notwithstanding, as long as you can keep up a consistent pace of play. Of course the one absolute truth is carts have done more to slow the game down than any other single factor, besides ignorance of etiquette and the rules...the only plus side is that you have someplace comfortable to sit while you watch the "Ballet of the Idiots" playout before you. If this old axiom has already been posted on this thread I apologize, even if it has it bears reapeating..."Your group's place on the course is to be directly behind the group in front of you not directly in front of the group behind you...J

I go out a lot as a single at the College course where I belong. Since it's also a muni, you run into a fair share of golfers who take a lot of time. A lot of times I get frustrated, because I'm very impatient by nature. But at the same time, I'd be reticent to call up the pro shop and complain. Of course, I'm also the type who wouldn't send food back at a restaraunt. I may politely tell the waiter/waitress that something is incorrect, but it seems like a lot of the responses on here take the stance that the only correct pace is the one that doesn't interfere with them, which on a shared resource like a golf course, seems a bit illogical.

Does anyone feel that you sometimes play WORSE because of painfully slow play?

I don't mind players wanting to complete the round in a fast manner, but I hate players who are impatient. Our group was almost hit half a dozen times last weekend by an individual who would not wait until we had cleared the green (and the surrounding area). We would hole out, place the pin back, go to our bags and hear "FORE!" seconds later. This is unacceptable, as it puts other players in danger. It was lucky he was around 70 years old, as one of the guys in our group was about ready to start something.

Absolutly!!!

I've not been accused of it but did get a few dirty looks I feel. I always wait for players to be well clear though.

You know what really gets me? When I play fast but a player in my group is playing painfully slow. I feel like I rush my routine to make up for them, especially around the green where I need to take a few extra seconds.

How do you tell someone you normally play with that they are slow? My buddy does all the things that piss us all off, he's a decent player, around 10-11 but has no clue. His routine is just way to long to begin with but aside from that... Last weekend we play a par 5 and he pitches on from the right side, now 2nd closest to the hole. He leaves his bag on the opposite side of where we will be exiting the green. Then he takes forever on about a 3footer for his 2nd putt, walks across the green to get his bag, pulls out his scorecard and walks slowly back across the entire green, pausing twice to recall something. I said "You know those guys were waiting to hit behind you." . I actually tried to speed his putting up by suggesting that the more he thinks, the more likely he is to miss, trust the 1st line you see and knock it in. I don't even really believe that advice from an improvement in putting standpoint but it did speed him up slightly, 1:30 over the ball vs. the old 2:45. lol.

My dad is the same. Just start by joking around but be serious. I told my dad that his pre shot routine was more of a pre shot ritual. Trust me use the preshot ritual one. If he doesnt pick it up, totally be serious with him and tell him

Me and a buddy of mine were playing, we are about 8's, we were having a good day but there was a 4 behind us, 4 in front of us, 3 in front of them and 4 in front of them. We didn't mind, we just played our games. We came up to the 8th hole in about 2 hours, which is actually pretty good for that many people in front of us. We tee off and are both in the fairway. While waiting for the green to clear I see a ball whizz past my head. I turn around and they are all teeing off. I throw my arms up and give them the "what's up" gesture. The 2nd guy tees off and it goes to the right. The 3rd and 4th guys tee off and almost hit us.

As they are driving up in their cart they don't apologize or anything. I jokingly say, wow, almost got me in the head with that one. He says and I quote "if you wouldn't have been playing so slow, you wouldn't have been standing there". Like I was just playing slowly on purpose? I was waiting for the foursome in front of me all day. I tell him that and he and his buddies don't give a s***. They start getting all bent and i could tell some hostility was about to go down.

The guy in the group in front of us somehow sees what is going on and drives back to us to let us know that they are sorry it's taking so long to finish up. The guy that hit past me acted all "oh it's no problem, play your game". I looked at him and asked him basically, "wtf?". He said, let us play through and there won't be a problem. I had no idea what to even think about this. We didn't want any problems, so we did. The Marshall came around and asked how they got ahead of us. I told them the story and he had all 4 of them ejected from the course. The craziest thing I've ever encountered.

I have no problems with people that play a little slow. It gives me time to relax.

I also have one problem with some of you people on this board, about "lining up putts like they are at Augusta". Everybody has a routine when they putt, or hit a shot, why should they have to play faster for you, you wouldn't play faster for them would you? It's almost the same premise as "everybody else drives like s***". Everybody but you.

I personally don't have a problem when people are a little bit fastidious with their pre-shot routine.

It's people who aren't ready to play when it's their turn, or people who leave their bag at the opposite side of the green that gall me.

I play with a guy regularly who is very deliberate. He's not a brilliant player - he's off 8 - but he's steady and takes his game seriously and likes to do his best. And why not?

He knows he's slow, but he takes all his looks at a shot whilst someone else is doing the same, gets his yardage while others are playing and uses other time-savers which mean that despite his Langer-like preparations to hit the shot, he isn't actually that slow overall.

Personally, I'm pretty tolerant of slow play and unless someone is really taking the mick I try and ignore and play my own game.

Many people I see holding up play don't even consider the shot until it's their turn to play, and mess around leaving bags in the wrong place etc. and that seems to hold up play more than any pre-shot routine.

And anyone who marks a card standing on the green whilst the group behind are waiting should be eligible for target practice with a .303 rifle... That sort of pig-ignorance actually does get me riled.

Are you serious? I agree that slow play sucks but are you seriously proposing that "in the real world" hitting balls over the group in front of you is a reasonable option. You have to be kidding, right? I hope I am misunderstanding something-- if you were to accidentally catch it thin then, instead of airmailing it "over the [sic] heads", you could kill someone.

Did they complain that you fixed your divot, ball marks, and raked all the traps too?

Landing 30-40 yards behind someone is hardly hitting "into" them. Rolling it to 10 yards is hitting into them.

Every situtation is different. When I've had players come up on our group and I know there's a par 3 on the next hole, I tell them that they can play through on the next hole if they like.

In your case, I would wonder why the 3 singles didn't join together? Also seems pretty stupid that the course wouldn't group players together either.

It depends on how many players are behind you. If it's a single, hopefully it'll just take a minute for them to finish. You usually can tell if a single is playing a "real" round, or if he's just out there knocking it around playing a bunch of balls.

I think there's two kinds of slow play. One where the player is completely oblivious to his surroundings, has no idea it's his turn, screws around getting out of the cart or the club out of his bag. Just crap that has no excuse. In fact, just the other night on my league I must have told this one guy it was his turn to putt 3 or 4 times. I swear he would have stood there for 5 minutes looking at the birds if nobody said anything. One must be aware of their surroundings and other players when playing.

Then you've got the guy that has a slow preshot routine. That doesn't bother me as much as long as he's ready to go.

I take it back, there are 3 kinds of slow play. The 3rd is the inconsiderate a****** who knows he screws around, but just doesn't give a damn.

My buddy used to have a painfully slow preshot routine, especially on the greens. On top of that, he wasn't very good at the time and our group was always quite slow. It nearly got to the point that I didn't want to play with him anymore. There's only so much I can say on the course to get the other guys moving, and when the ranger is telling you to get your a** moving, and you're the only one who makes an effort, your game suffers.

I'm not sure what happened, but a light switch went off in his head and now he plays at a fairly average to faster than average pace. He doesn't look over every putt from 8 directions, he's ready to hit, etc.

Between tournament golf (which is slow) and going out and playing as a single, I seem to have developed the ability to adapt to whatever pace the round is going. As long as I'm not sitting still for 10 minutes at a time, nothing really bothers me.