I found this story on drudgereport.com Check it out and voice your opinion.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article...oles/article.do

I have no problem with anyone playing the game....so long as they can maintain a decent pace of play.

No.

Yes...especially the ones I went to school with.

YES!

Since I live in AZ with a bunch of snowbirds who drive the cost of golf up between October and May and force me to play crappy cheap courses, they take ALL of the Saturday tee times and make rounds last 5+ hours. It drives me nuts!

I live in florida, you shouldn't have a problem playing. I deal with it all the time but you just got to find a right course and treat others with respect, we're all gonnna be old some day...

There is a 'normal age distribution' when it comes to poor playing practices.

Slow play is not just a problem with senior golfers. It comes down to the simple fact that courses say that they encourage keeping pace, but I have never seen a marshall ever tell a foursome to pick up and skip a hole. Nobody wants to be the "bad" guy that enforces the rules.

"Older golfers" is too general. Some older golfers I play golf with are the nicest, best players out there. Others have to be pointed in the direction of the hole.

I'm only 29, but to be honest, young golfers who have no concept of rules, ettiquette or pace of play annoy me more.

I walked-on this last Sunday for a quick 9 holes. Joined another 2 younger guys (early 20's) on the 1st tee (they had a tee time). One of these guys was already late for his tee time (his partner apologized), took an additional 5 minutes at his car getting ready (we were waiting on the tee box), slowly walked up to the tee box and asked his friend if he had to pay. So this guy slowly walked to the clubhouse and I asked his partner if he and I should tee off to get things going. The clubhouse called out and stated they would have a 4th guy joining us (older guy). The young guy who was late, got up to the tee box and fiddle around looking for crap in his bag when the old guy arrived at the tee box. The old guy hit his tee shot before the young guy even had his club out of the bag. The young guy didn't say any word of apology for holding us up and proceeded to hit a thin shot 100 yards into the rough. He must of had 6 shots before he even got to the putting green.

I figured this was going to be a long, frustrating 9 holes. When we arrived at the green, the young guy (who arrived on time) asked if the old guy and I would like to putt-out so we could move on to the next hole which we were glad to do. This was one case where I was more than happy to be paired with an older golfer.

In general slow play annoys me. Some older guys play fast, some play slow. I have been behind some groups of older golfers on weekday mornings, and they do tend to play a little slower. Usually it's extra time spent on the green more than anything else.

No, older golfers are absolutely no bother to me on the course.

These older golfers are for the most part the same people who taught me the game and allowed me to play when I was a kid.

These older golfers are mostly the same people who played and nurtured the game for yet another generation...so that I and others my age can play golf...and hopefully my generation will play and nurture the game for the next generation.

I find most older golfers to be much more aware of etiquette and rules of play, and many of them golf for ENJOYMENT as a recreational pursuit, so they are often a bit more laid back about a bad shot or game. Many older golfers were once competitive but now may have lost a bit of their game due to age...but they generally haven't lost their enjoyment of the sport.

Anyone is of course entitled to their opinion and generalization, there are nice and great golfers out there of all ages, just as there are slow and bad apple golfers of all ages. I suppose that this posting and article are mostly directed at a pace of play problem, but frankly I play a lot of golf and almost never have longer than a 4 hour round (at worst) anywhere that I play...just lucky, I guess. And I have certainly seen my share of slow golfers below the age of 70, 60, 50 ,40 and 30.

I dont know , but i am 50 am i play with regular weekday groups that are mostly older than i am and walk a 6500 yrd golf course regularly in under 3 and 1/2 hours or less so not all older players play slow , be carefull who you steriotype as "slow"

Actually, it's the senior golfers that still shoot well that drive me NUTS!! You know the kind...Driver 190 yards, Hybrid 3i 150 yards, PW 45 yards...1 putt...PAR! GODDAMN OL FART%^$!&$

OK, where I play a links course you can jump on practically any time play in a 1 ball, 2, 3 or 4. During the summer time booking tee times is advised however, sometimes not always necessary! A 1 ball has no prority over a 2 ball! When a 2 ball is a husband and wife, couple of guys going out for a "knock and they are rumaging around for lost balls or they can see there is a golfer with reasonable ability pushing to get through they'll probably do one of the following :

1) Let the guy behind through

2) Ask the guy if he would like to join them

3) Ignore the guy and carry on

Common sense should prevail all this business about 2 balls having no priority over 3 balls/ 4 balls is rubbish. Have a word on your selves next time this happens!

My biggest problem is the guy who watches too much golf on tv and lines up his putts from the behind the hole, from the side of the hole and then from behind again. He'll take a few more practice strokes and then maybe spot something on the line of his putt, maybe a loose impediment, then it's through the routine again............ and he misses the putt. Great what a real winner! This sort of guy is so selfish and every club will have one or two of them, hey he may even play in the same fourball as you. And just to fit him in the sterotype bracket, he'll be the guy that has to tell everyone about his round shot for shot until your frothing at the mouth and losing the will to live! If you know this guy, tell him to sort himself out! http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/style_emotic...lt/clapping.gif

Yes..i had to leave my home club last year because they were so discriminative to juniours.

Juniors! Yes, if senior golfers start off as juinors themselves they are definately less envious of juniors. I've seen it so many times, they are harsh to them for no apparant reason although the following scenario might help:

A junior at our club was on the start of his summer holidays, shoots 1 over par off 14 handicap and ends up with 47 points to beat one of my playing partners for 1st place who shoots 4 under par gross off 3. I was on the competition committee at the time. I wanted to put the kid off 9 or 8, as he was clearly good enough, he was a youngster who was easily going to play off very low figures at some stage in his life and also had the whole of the summer holiday to play / practice and improve. What did the handicap secreatary drop him to, 12, well done! The kid shoots another great lap the following week comes 2nd and the seniors are furious that hes taken a prize again.

Possibly the most embarassing moment for me was a couple of years ago when our company sponsored a big event during a clubs week of golf. After handing out the prizes and listening to the winners speach I later find out that a Junior playing in the competition actually bettered the winning score by a shot playing off 15, but as the comittee deemed him not old enough he had to forgo the main prize and pick up a best juniors award instead. I went out and bought a voucher for the kid and presented it to him 2 days later so at least he got something better than 6 pinnacles! The really important lesson is that like them or not junior members are the future of every golf club around the world and should be encouraged not persecuted the sooner small minded seniors realise this less misunderstood junior members will become. Over and Out!

I find that MOST of the time, older golfers do not care about the pace of play, which is OK, as long as they my group play through. MOST of the time they never allow anyone to play through. I have skipped ahead holes, went back and played the skipped holes and still came out ahead, saving me over 1 hour playing time.

I wish golf courses would really push pace of play and playing through.

slow play is a problem across the board.....men, women, young, old.....it happens.




i occasionally play with a group of gentlemen who are all over the age of 70. they play 18 holes in 3 hours and 15 minutes most days. they play the game well (shoot their age every damn day) and don't take it too seriously when they miss a shot.



i think slow play comes from lack of knowledge. but there are the select few who either A) take the game too seriously or B) just don't give a crap about anyone else around them.

I don't care if slow older people play because I've seen slow younger people just as often (mostly slow middle-aged people actually). I'll be an old golfer some day (if I'm lucky) and I'll pick up the pace as best I can when that happens, but I think it's actually best that slow people play during peak times because then they aren't the only ones holding people up, it's more of a group effort. It's terrible to get out for 18 during a summer evening and not get it in because of some slow play.

There are a couple of groups of older players at my club that REFUSE to let quicker groups through, even with open holes in front of them. Drives me nuts!

I live in Florida as well and find older golfers (snow birds) easier to deal with than most of the locals.

I know some golfers over the years of 65 that could play with anyone and not slowing down a bit.
Some of the younger golfers that ride golf carts, whom did not know or care for the golf etiquettes are the ones that may take 10-20 practice swing before hit it O.B.
This is the only country in the world that have no respect for their own elders.
But that's the culture.

I go on the non-peak hours-which is, of course, when all of the elderly golfers go. it can get very slow and it seems they never let you play through. some are good and play at my speed which is fine, i just dont like waiting 10 minutes every hole when there's no one in front of them.

i agree totally.

I have a lot of respect for my elders or anyone who is elderly. That said, I am still gonna be pissed when I am looking at a 6+ hour round because someone, of any age BTW, wont allow my group to play on through.

By the same token, it has been my experience that slow playing women are the very first to invite you play through. If I am alone, I usually ask to join them.....

I played almost 70 rounds so far this season and the only people who never offered to allow us to play through were OLDER golfers.

Lets get a couple of things straight here. 1. Regardless of your present age, you will, if God allows you to live long enough, become a Senior. Take that to the bank. 2. If you are young, and have no education, no common sense, no manners, no style, no class......You will be that way when you become a Senior. When you observe "Older Golfers" on the course, and derive great pleasure in ridiculing them because of their demeanor, what you are ridiculing is NOT a Senior, rather an individual who has been this way their entire life. As has been stated here, some of the most dignified, well mannered, and great Golfers you will encounter on the course will be Seniors! Just had to get this out there for perusal!

How are they able to get ALL Saturday tee times? Do they dial the phone faster than you?

We have a few of those groups too. I was behind one of them today as a twosome. They had three holes open in front of them. On a hole with water in front of the green two of the group started fishing golf balls out of the water, neither hit in in there, and didn't care we were patiently waiting. The other two finished and then waited for the fishermen to clean their bounty and putt out. Crazy...

I have no problem with older/retired players. As far as I am concerned. They earned their way. Many are either WWII or Korean War era vets. They have a right to take it easy and enjoy their lives. For every older person I see holding the pace of play up, I see just the same amount my age and younger causing the same problems, just doing other annoying things.

I have no problems with older golfers at all, and I have found age doesn't necessarilly translate into pace of play. As another said, they have earned their way. They are putting money into a sport I enjoy too. I appreciate seeing older gentleman on the course, actually. I actually find it kind of cool when I see them out there, putting with 20yr old Karsten putters, smoking cigars, and enjoying their golden years.

I look forward to retirement someday, I will have more time to be one of those older guys playing golf.

Never had a problem with older golfers whatsover. I often play with a lot of older guys, retired. In my experience they've been nothing but considerate and aware of other players and pace of play. They play within their means and usually simply hit it, get to it and hit it again. It's the younger guys that try to hit a driver on a 322yd. hole, hit a "mulligan" then still go looking for a ball that even a troop of eagle scouts couldn't track down for 10minutes. So it's not so much older golfers but golfers that suck and have no clue as to etiquitte in my experience.

I play a lot of pick up games with seniors. I enjoy playing with them. They are some of the most enjoyable people to play golf with. There's no pressure and these are the guys that play the game for fun and enjoyment. They've got some really entertaining stories, some very interesting (usually funny) sayings, they usually know every nick and cranny on the course, and they don't get mad about to much. Also, if you give it a chance, their patience will start rubbing off on you.

Did anyone bother to actually read the article in the original post? It had nothing to do with slow play. The problem was that there are too many seniors now and they are hogging up all of the memberships. Not only that, but the senior memberships cost less than regular ones, and they are out there all day because they are retired. Thus they are paying less and using the club more. This seemed to be turning off younger members. Not just the juniors, but anyone who is still working. I don't belong to a private club, but I can see someone being turned off when they have to pay more to join a club, and then when they try to play on the weekend there is little space for them because of all of the old-timers, who aren't even paying as much. I don't mean to engage in senior bashing, it's just that I can see the point the article was making.

On a totally different note, I think it's ridiculous to state that this culture doesn't respect seniors. Seniors have it better here than anywhere else in the world.

Keep in mind the seniors today would be the biggest spending force in the history of this country, not just by numbers ( baby boomer generation), but because of the wealth accumulated through the last few decades of go-go 80's and prosperous 90's.
By saying the culture doesn't respect their seniors comparing to the other cultures, all you need to do is by observing, even within this forum you could find topic ridicule seniors just because of their age, and the different values they hold, or the attire they wear.
Of course the seniors here have it better with material means than most others in the world, but that is not the equivalent of the respect from theyounger generation for their contribution to their famil and society.
It shows through our reaction on the golf course, on the roadway and many places where the generations would have a chance to clash.

Sorry, I just don't buy it. I've been to several other countries, and I haven't seen older people treated any better than they are here. Do we make jokes about them? Of course we do, that's human nature. I haven't seen any threads here that reach the level of ridicule. There are threads that joke about women golfers and men who wear pink shirts. Does that mean our culture has no respect for women or men in pink? I don't think so. No culture has a better respect for women than ours. (As far as men in pink, we could probably do better) And you'll never convince me that there are cultures on this planet that don't ever make the same jokes.

I think that saying our culture has no respect for the elderly is just one of those things that people say without really thinking about it. It's the same thing as saying "Kids today have no respect for authority anymore". My dad said it, his dad said it, and so on. I'll probably say it one day. But kids are the same as they've always been.

I sencerely wish I were wrong and you're right.

Bingo! - end of story in my opinion.

Just by coincidence, I received this email today. It was sent to me by someone in their 60's, so don't accuse me of being disrespectful or ridiculing seniors:

The AARP Negotiates with the USGA to Modify the Rules of Golf for Seniors!



Rule 1.a.5 A ball sliced or hooked into the rough shall be lifted and placed on the fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or rolled into the rough with no penalty. The senior should not be penalized for tall grass which groundskeepers failed to mow.

Rule 2.d.6 (b) A ball hitting a tree shall be deemed not to have hit the tree. This is simply bad luck and luck has no place in a scientific game. The senior player must estimate the distance the ball would have traveled if it had not hit the tree and play the ball from there.



Rule 3.b.3 (g) There shall be no such thing as a lost ball; the missing ball is on or near the course and will eventually is found and pocketed by someone else, making it a stolen ball. The player is not to compound the felony by charging himself or herself with a penalty.



Rule 4.c.7 (h) If a putt passes over a hole without dropping, it is deemed to have dropped. The law of gravity supersedes the Rules of Golf.

Rule 5 Putts that stop close enough to the cup that could have blown in, may be blown in. This does not apply to balls more than three inches from the hole. No one wants to make a travesty of the game. That would be a "gimmee" and should not count as a stroke.



Rule 6.a.9 (k) There is no penalty for so-called "out of bounds." If penny-pinching golf course owners bought sufficient land, this would not occur. The senior golfer deserves an apology, not a penalty.



Rule 7.g.15 (z) There is no penalty for a ball in a water hazard, as golf balls should float. Senior golfers should not be penalized for manufacturers' shortcomings.



Rule 8.k.9(s) Advertisements claim that golf scores can be improved by purchasing new golf equipment. Since this is financially impracticable for many senior golfers, one-half stroke per hole may be subtracted for using old equipment.



Please advise all your Senior friends of these important rule changes!

For real? I'll check with my senior friends who play golf on this matter.
Even if so, this probably was not a representation from any true golfer's point of view.
It would be interesting to have another type of game ( not called golf of course, never ) to be played on the golf course, with these kind of relaxed rules for those that wish to play but don't want to or could not physically follow the rules.
It might speed up the play.

We had a few like that also, and we had the proshop send someone to speed them up, and one time told them they'll have let groups through they had fallen behind too much.

I live in AZ and have experience with older golfers. I'm not sure it's fair to pin slow problems on some of them. The worst are the older "social golfers". They have no clue about pace of play and how they can enjoy themselves on a regulation course is a mystery to me. I think there is a feeling of entitlement on their part - they're retired and time is of no consequence. Skill in the game is not their objective - as they say they "just want to be in the sunshine".

A small percentage of older golfers are very aware of pace of play and play pretty well here in AZ. But, that's the exception. I've seen some of the most God-awful swings on the plant - some funny and some so brutal one has to look away. Not not everyone can play well, but everyone should be able to keep a steady pace and know golf etiquette if they're going to play the game.

Observations by an older golfer.

old men are hot.

Once bit by the golf bug your done. Let everyone play, just keep up the pace. Most older players generally play during the week, which doesn't effect me at all. If they pay less thats ok w/me too, they earned it. They had to put up with the seniors before them, LOL.

In recent times my only issue has been with younger golfers who A.) hoot and holler like a bunch of loudmouth drunks, or B.) think it's ok to hit into people when the course gets backed up.


Bring on the seniors as I have *never* seen this kind of behavior with them.

last winter I walked on to a local executive course and got paired with a 3-some of older folks. . .snowbirds as we call them here in florida. one of them could barely walk or lift a club, and for some reason his wife was helping him over the ball and pointing down to the ground. come to find out the man had recieved EYE SURGERY the DAY BEFORE. he couldn't see a damn thing.

I asked them if I could move on. . .I was already on the green and he was on something like his 6th shot.

I've played with awsome elderly people, and not because they were good golfers. wrather, they were interesting people who had lived awsome lives. this dude needed to put it up, and thats all I'm saying.

In addition to the normal distribution of flaws, faults and personality disorders that hold up the game super seniors - as a group - have more physical limitations and are never in a rush. I'm retired, usually play the local muni and dread playing behind them but since nature herself takes an interest in speeding up play, I'll make the best of things until it's my turn to annoy others.

Hold on, let me edit this to my circumstances.

YES!

Since I live in SC with a bunch of snowbirds who drive the cost of golf up between October and May and force me to play crappy cheap courses, despite being a member at my course, they take ALL of the Saturday tee times and make rounds last 5+ hours. It drives me nuts!

Plus, most of the snowbirds (in general) SUCK!

I played behind an elderly gentlemen one day who left every pin laying on the green because he couldnt bend over to pick them up. I was guessing on the pin placement every hole.

jlww3

Old ladies kill me!!!!!!!

i'm totally not touching this thread.

good to read though.