Opinion & Analysis
Golf course rangers talk about rangering
They call him a ranger, a players’ host or a course ambassador, but usually, the marshal is just an older guy who spends a couple of days a week riding around in a cart trying not to do any harm so that he can play golf for free later in the week.
When they’re first engaged (hired seems like too strong a word for a job that generally offers no wage) new marshals are told their job is to facilitate the normal pace of play at a course while assisting golfers as needed.
There are days when the pace of play can be glacial, and that’s when the course ambassador needs to have all of his diplomatic abilities available. Rodney, a marshal at a high-end daily-fee course in the Coachella Valley, says the crew there is well-trained in social skills.
“We want our guests to have a pleasant experience,” he said, and I wanted to ask him why then was the pin placement on hole No. 3 located on the side-hill of the green, approachable from only one direction. “Golfers pay good money and we’re not going to antagonize anyone. Our job is to help them enjoy their day at the course.”
Sometimes that means helping a foursome look for golf balls hit into the trees, rough or bushes.
“My trick,” said Michael, who didn’t want to be identified so we’re saying the marshals at Pokenhope Park, “is to look about 20 or 30 yards behind where everyone else is looking. You’d be surprised how often people think they hit the ball farther than they really do. If I find it, I tell him it must have hit a tree and bounced back.”
It’s the backups that cause the most angst for both players and marshals.
[quote_box_center]“During the season, when we’re crowded and there are more ‘infrequent players’ on the course, it can be slower than we like,” said Rodney, a master of understatement.[/quote_box_center]
At a public course in LA County, Ranger Dave – that’s how he introduced himself – said weekend mornings are always a test for the marshals.
[quote_box_center]“The worst is men’s club tournament days. Even when they tee off at dawn, we’ll have five-hour rounds because they all have to plumb-bob their two-footers for double.”[/quote_box_center]
“The marshals need to manage the flow,” said Murray, a Canadian playing in the crowded spring sunshine of Palm Desert. “There’s no reason a round of golf should ever take more than four hours.” He said that right before suggesting that I abandon the two-minute search for my errant Callaway, “and just drop one over there, somewhere.”
“At one course I used to work at, the marshals had to enforce a ‘keep your shirt tucked in’ rule,” Paul, a retired fire captain, told me in La Quinta. “Then a few years ago they noticed that nobody under 30 was playing the course anymore so they relaxed that rule.”
That makes you realize how far we’ve come since the day when golfers routinely wore their ties tucked into their dress shirts.
“I had to require a gentleman to play barefoot on the front nine one time,” Gary told me when I rode the circuit backwards with him at a course in the Inland Empire. “If you can believe it, he was wearing baseball spikes! He said he’d forgotten his golf shoes. He borrowed somebody’s tennis shoes for the back nine, but when I saw him on No. 15, he was barefoot again because he said he liked the feel.”
When I played one high-end course a few years ago, a marshal warned our group on the first tee where the restrooms were located that if a patron were seen urinating in public on the course he’d be asked to leave with no refund. For the next four holes my bladder strained with every swing. I never did see a marshal, but I felt like there was one watching me from behind every tree.
I called the course a few days ago to ask if this rule was still in effect. The assistant pro said that was never the official policy as far as he knew, and that it must have just been something the “first-tee host” added on his own. Now they tell me.
Most of the time, marshals work two or three days a week and then can play for free the other days, though sometimes not on Saturday or Sunday morning primetime.
[quote_box_center]“When we’re not working,” Gary said, “we’re still making sure that no one is tearing the course up — driving too close to the greens in their carts, for instance.”[/quote_box_center]
“I’m always fixing people’s ball marks on the greens,” Bob told me at an LA County public course. “I’ll rake a trap if I see someone didn’t and pour sand in divots in the fairway. You have to care about the course if you’re going to be a good marshal.”
None of the marshals and none of the players I talked with had a real horror story about the “ranger from hell.”
Murray, the Canadian, said that’s probably because “marshals really don’t have any authority.”
Don’t suggest that to Stan, a white-haired players’ assistant at a public course run by a national golf course management company.
[quote_box_center]“You don’t want somebody on a power trip throwing golfers off the course,” he said. “But I’ve heard of foursomes being told to skip a hole to relieve a backlog. Then, after they finish 18 and the course isn’t so crowded anymore, they can go back and play the hole they skipped.”[/quote_box_center]
The best marshals, according to Michael, are the ones who see where a problem has developed and then try to help out.
[quote_box_center]“I’ll fore-caddy for them a bit, help them find their shots for a hole or two until they catch up.”[/quote_box_center]
Just the marshal being around for a few holes usually speeds players up, he said.
[quote_box_center]“Or I’ll suggest to cart riders that they each go to their balls to prepare to hit rather than watching each other go through their pre-shot routines until they’ve caught back up.”[/quote_box_center]
Personally, I think I usually play a little worse when I know a marshal is monitoring our group. It’s as good an excuse as any for some of the shots I hit.
And if sometime your group catches the watchful eye of a course ambassador, don’t give him a hard time. Ask him which way the greens break, or tell him a joke. He’ll probably tell you a funnier one in return. You never know; that might be you someday when you’re 68 years old and your only cares in the world are getting out of the house for a few hours and playing golf for free.
Do you have any marshal stories, good or bad? Tell us about them in the comments section below.
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Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.
Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.
But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.
To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.
Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.
If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.
In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.
Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.
While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.
So, what about grooves and face texture?
Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.
Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.
But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?
The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.
So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.
And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.
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Golf's Perfect Imperfections
Golf’s Perfect Imperfections: Amazing Session with Performance Coach Savannah Meyer-Clement
In this week’s episode, we spent some time with performance coach Savannah Meyer-Clement who provides many useful insights that you’ll be able to implement on the golf course.
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s 2024 RBC Heritage betting preview: Patrick Cantlay ready to get back inside winner’s circle
Just a two-hour drive from Augusta National, the PGA TOUR heads to Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Hilton Head Island is a golfer’s paradise and Harbour Town is one of the most beautiful and scenic courses on the PGA TOUR.
Harbour Town Golf Links is a par-71 that measures 7,121 yards and features Bermuda grass greens. A Pete Dye design, the course is heavily tree lined and features small greens and many dog legs, protecting it from “bomb-and-gauge” type golfers.
The field is loaded this week with 69 golfers with no cut. Last year was quite possibly the best field in RBC Heritage history and the event this week is yet another designated event, meaning there is a $20 million prize pool.
Most of the big names on the PGA Tour will be in attendance this week with the exceptions of Hideki Matsuyama and Viktor Hovland. Additionally, Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Gary Woodland and Kevin Kisner have been granted sponsors exemptions.
Past Winners at Harbour Town
- 2023: Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)
- 2022: Jordan Spieth (-13)
- 2021: Stewart Cink (-19)
- 2020: Webb Simpson (-22)
- 2019: CT Pan (-12)
- 2018: Sotoshi Kodaira (-12)
- 2017: Wesley Bryan (-13)
- 2016: Branden Grace (-9)
- 2015: Jim Furyk (-18)
In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).
Key Stats For Harbour Town
Let’s take a look at key metrics for Harbour Town Golf Links to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their past 24 rounds.
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes Gained: Approach is exceedingly important this week. The greens at Harbour Town are about half the size of PGA TOUR average and feature the second-smallest greens on the tour. Typical of a Pete Dye design, golfers will pay the price for missed greens.
Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds
- Scottie Scheffler (+1.27)
- Tom Hoge (+1.27)
- Corey Conners (+1.16)
- Austin Eckroat (+0.95)
- Cameron Young (+0.93)
Good Drive %
The fairways at Harbour Town are tree lined and feature many dog legs. Bombers tend to struggle at the course because it forces layups and doesn’t allow long drivers to overpower it. Accuracy is far more important than power.
Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds
- Brice Garnett (88.8%)
- Shane Lowry (+87.2%)
- Akshay Bhatia (+86.0%)
- Si Woo Kim (+85.8%)
- Sepp Straka (+85.1%)
Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye Designs
Pete Dye specialists tend to play very well at Harbour Town. Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk and Webb Simpson are all Pete Dye specialists who have had great success here. It is likely we see some more specialists near the top of the leaderboard this week.
SG: TOT Pete Dye per round over past 36 rounds:
- Xander Schauffele (+2.27)
- Scottie Scheffler (+2.24)
- Ludvig Aberg (+2.11)
- Brian Harman (+1.89)
- Sungjae Im (+1.58)
4. Strokes Gained: Short Game (Bermuda)
Strokes Gained: Short Game factors in both around the green and putting. With many green-side bunkers and tricky green complexes, both statistics will be important. Past winners — such as Jim Furyk, Wes Bryan and Webb Simpson — highlight how crucial the short game skill set is around Harbour Town.
SG: SG Over Past 24 Rounds
- Jordan Spieth (+1.11)
- Taylor Moore (+1.02)
- Wyndham Clark (+0.98)
- Mackenzie Hughes (+0.86)
- Andrew Putnam (+0.83)
5. Greens in Regulation %
The recipe for success at Harbour Town Golf Links is hitting fairways and greens. Missing either will prove to be consequential — golfers must be in total control of the ball to win.
Greens in Regulation % over past 24 rounds:
- Brice Garnett (+75.0%)
- Scottie Scheffler (+69.9%)
- Corey Conners (+69.0%)
- Shane Lowry (+68.3%)
- Patrick Rodgers (+67.6%)
6. Course History
Harbour Town is a course where players who have strong past results at the course always tend to pop up.
Course History over past 24 rounds:
- Patrick Cantlay (+2.34)
- Cam Davis (+2.05)
- J.T. Poston (+1.69)
- Justin Rose (+1.68)
- Tommy Fleetwood (+1.59)
The RBC Heritage Model Rankings
Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (24%), Good Drives (20%), SG: SG (14%), SG: Pete Dye (14%), GIR (14%), and Course History (14%)
- Shane Lowry
- Russell Henley
- Scottie Scheffler
- Xander Schauffele
- Corey Conners
- Wyndham Clark
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Cameron Young
- Ludvig Aberg
2024 RBC Heritage Picks
Patrick Cantlay +2000 (FanDuel)
With the exception of Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour has yet to have any of their star players show peak form during the 2024 season. Last week, Patrick Cantlay, who I believe is a top-5 players on the PGA Tour, took one step closer to regaining the form that’s helped him win eight events on Tour since 2017.
Cantlay limped into the Masters in poor form, but figured it out at Augusta National, finishing in a tie for 20th and ranking 17th for the week in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. The former FedEx Cup champion will now head to one of his favorite golf courses in Harbour Town, where he’s had immaculate results over the years. In his six trips to the course, he’s only finished worse than 7th one time. The other finishes include three third places (2017, 2019, 2023) and one runner-up finish (2022). In his past 36 rounds at Harbour Town, Cantlay ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Total per round at the course by a wide margin (+2.36).
Cantlay is winless since the 2022 BMW Championship, which is far too long for a player of his caliber. With signs pointing to the 32-year-old returning to form, a “signature event” at Harbour Town is just what he needs to get back on the winning track.
Tommy Fleetwood +3000 (FanDuel)
I truly believe Tommy Fleetwood will figure out a way to win on American soil in 2024. It’s certainly been a bugaboo for him throughout his career, but he is simply too talented to go another season without winning a PGA Tour event.
At last week’s Masters Tournament, Fleetwood made a Sunday charge and ended up finishing T3 in the event, which was his best ever finish at The Masters. For the week, the Englishman ranked 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 10th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Harbour Town is a perfect layout for Fleetwood, and he’s had relative success at this Pete Dye design in the past. In his four trips to the course, he’s finished inside of the top 25 three times, with his best finish, T10, coming in 2022. The course is pretty short and can’t be overpowered, which gives an advantage to more accurate players such as Fleetwood. Tommy ranks 8th in the field in Good Drive % and should be able to plot his way along this golf course.
The win is coming for Tommy lad. I believe there’s a chance this treasure of a golf course may be the perfect one for him to finally break through on Tour.
Cameron Young +3300 (FanDuel)
Cameron Young had a solid Masters Tournament last week, which is exactly what I’m looking for in players who I anticipate playing well this week at the RBC Heritage. He finished in a tie for 9th, but never felt the pressure of contending in the event. For the week, Young ranked 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.
Despite being one of the longest players off the tee on the PGA Tour, Young has actually played some really good golf on shorter tracks. He finished T3 at Harbour Town in 2023 and ranks 20th in the field in Good Drive% and 16th in Greens in Regulation in his past 24 rounds. He also has strong finishes at other shorter courses that can take driver out of a players hand such as Copperhead and PGA National.
Young is simply one of the best players on the PGA Tour in 2024, and I strongly believe has what it takes to win a PGA Tour event in the very near future.
Corey Conners +5500 (FanDuel)
Corey Conners has had a disappointing year thus far on the PGA Tour, but absolutely loves Harbour Town.
At last week’s Masters Tournament, the Canadian finished T30 but ranked 20th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. In his past 24 rounds, Conners ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 3rd in Greens in Regulation % and 24th in Good Drive %.
In Conners’ last four trips to Harbour Town, his worst finish was T31, last season. He finished T4 in 2021, T12 in 2022 and ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course over his past 36 rounds.
Conners hasn’t been contending, but his recent finishes have been encouraging as he has finished in the top-25 in each of his past three starts prior to The Masters, including an impressive T13 at The PLAYERS. His recent improvement in ball striking as well as his suitability for Harbour Town makes Conners a high upside bet this week.
Shane Lowry (+7500) (FanDuel)
When these odds were posted after Lowry was announced in the field, I have to admit I was pretty stunned. Despite not offering much win equity on the PGA Tour over the last handful of years, Shane Lowry is still a top caliber player who has the ability to rise to the top of a signature event.
Lowry struggled to score at The Masters last week, but he actually hit the ball really well. The Irishman ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Approach on the week and 7th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. As usual, it was the putter that let him down, as he ranked 60th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Harbour Town is most definitely one of Lowry’s favorite courses on the PGA Tour. In his six starts there, he’s finished in the top 10 three times, including third twice. Lowry is sensational at Pete Dye designs and ranks 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in his past 36 rounds on Dye tracks.
Lowry is perfect for Harbour Town. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 5th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 2nd in Good Drive% and 5th in Green in Regulation %. If he figures it out on the greens, Shane could have his first win in America since 2015.
Lucas Glover +12000 (FanDuel)
This is one of my weekly “bet the number” plays as I strongly believe the odds are just too long for a player of Glover’s caliber. The odds have been too long on Glover for a few weeks now, but this is the first event that I can get behind the veteran being able to actually contend at.
Glover is quietly playing good golf and returning to the form he had after the understandable regression after his two massive victories at the end of 2023. He finished T20 at The Masters, which was his best ever finish at Augusta National. For the week, Lucas ranked 18th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 20th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.
Over his past 24 rounds, Glover ranks 9th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th in Good Drive %. Harbour Town is a short course that the 44-year-old will be able to keep up with the top players on Tour off the tee. He’s played the course more than 20 times, with mixed results. His best finishes at Harbour Town include a T7 in 2008, but recently has a finish of T21 in 2020.
Glover has proven he can contend with the stars of the Tour on any given week, and this number is flat out disrespectful.
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me
Apr 9, 2015 at 9:12 am
I feel like a lot of times the rangers are just unable to identify where the real problems are on a course. I’ve had a few times we were politely told to move it along on a course, when we were actually playing at a good pace. Was playing a nice semi-private course one day and we were a 4some playing in front of a 3some of members. They were up our a$$es the first 5 holes, and we were keeping a good pace. I wanted to let them play through but the course has a “no play through” policy (I guess their view is letting groups play through will just create more backlog behind you, which is true to a certain extent actually). So the ranger approached us as we were approaching the 9th tee box and told us to speed it up. At this point we were at 1:45 in. When I reminded him of that, he just looked dumbfounded. And he just said, “oh….ok….I guess you’re doing alright. I’ll let the members behind you know.” So apparently the members complained and he made a false accusation to us without the facts.
While I agree that no one ever wants to play a 5+ hour round of golf, the main reason we are out there is to relax and have a good time. So if it takes 4:45 to play a round, then so be it. If you are that strained for time, only play 9. And let the rest of us enjoy our round.
jonno
Apr 8, 2015 at 10:16 pm
(i’m not american and don’t live in america – where i live golf participation is up by 8% for men and 6% for women)
last trip i had to the US i played several high-end public golf courses and the over-bearing marshals were awful, pace of play is more important than having a good day out it seems.
The carts which were incredibly slow (health and safety) wouldn’t allow you within 100yards of the green – or made sure you stuck to the cart paths.
So you’ve got an oxymoron right there, you want faster play – give people slow carts and make them walk 100 yards to their ball. Most of my rounds were played with my father who’s 70 years old and has had multiple operations on his knees / ankles, plays off 9 and still drives the ball 250-260yards – it however took a LONG time for him to play rounds of golf having to walk 100 yards to his ball after driving his cart which was only marginally faster than I was walking beside him.
It is hilariously ridiculous if i’m honest.
Then you get these clocks everywhere and marshals pestering you all day, mixed with health and safety slow carts and silly cart parking rules – THIS IS WHY GOLF IN THE US IS DECLINING.
The difference between a 4 hour round and a 4 and a half hour round is NOT the problem. Kids these days can’t spend 4 hours doing anything an extra half an hour is not the thing that stops them playing golf.
JOE
Apr 8, 2015 at 8:58 pm
How do courses determine pace of play? If they use four single-digit handicaps playing, a four hour or less pace of play is very doable. If you have four twenty plus handicaps playing, there is no way they will meet the four hour round for eighteen holes. In my opinion, there are more twenty plus golfers playing than single digit handicappers so the place of play should reflect the longer time to finish eighteen holes…
Geoffrey Holland
Apr 8, 2015 at 6:30 pm
I was a marshal for 5 seasons at one public course. Lots of fun.
Some keys to being a good marshal that I learned the hard way.
Always talk to the entire group at once, or make sure to talk to each member individually. Telling one guy that the group is slow never works.
Never hang around and piss a group off by following them. Talk to them, let them know the situation, be friendly, and then get out of there. Check back on them from a distance, or even forecaddie for a hole or so as suggested. No one likes being watched by the marshal.
The looking for balls 20 yards behind where the group is looking is gold. I just told them that it got caught up in the rough so it didn’t go as far as usual. Lol, as if.
Getting the men’s club and ladies club on your side is huge. Being a public course, they were at risk of losing their times if they were slow, so I had a great relationship with the men and they worked really hard to keep things going. The ladies made their own problems. They’d tee off at 5 minute intervals because they’re all such short hitters, so at the first par 3 there would be 5 groups backed up. Once the starter understood that no, he didn’t have 3 extra tee time after the ladies, things worked out alright.
I found that wearing a stopwatch on a lanyard was useful. People knew I was serious anyways. Knowing the times it should be taking a group to get around was useful as well.
I’ve always felt that early tee times should be reserved for fast players. Getting a slow group out early would be death for the entire round, unless some groups no-showed.
Worst story? One day I worked the afternoon shift, and the front 9 was packed. Waits everywhere. I scooted over to 18, then 17, then 16…nothing. Found a group on 15 green, everything backed up behind them. They were 4 hours in. I told them to hurry up and “miss them quick” and get finished. They weren’t happy. Tough luck. 4:40 with an open course was brutal.
One ladies day it was stormy and nasty out. No one teed off, then finally there was a break so a bunch of them went out. Naturally it started up again, thunder, lightning, the whole works. I drove out to check on them, and they were all huddled under the only tree within 40 yards. “LADIES! Hiding under a tree is not what you do during LIGHTNING!!.” Fortunately none of them got hit.
JD
Apr 8, 2015 at 11:00 am
I start, ranger, pick the range, pull carts up, put ’em up. ALL that good stuff. LOL The best thing to understand, Clint, help me out. A man must know his limitations.. Play the tees that accommodate your skills. Most golfers do this and then there’s the ones who watch way too much TV. TV has ruined golf.. 98% that plumb bob have no idea what the heck they’re doing.. Seen it on TV no doubt. Yes, a good pre shot routine is valuable.. But, Do it and get it done.. There’s no green jacket waiting on you.. Maybe a straight jacket for the groups behind you.. I’ve noticed that cart path only is faster than 90* rule. The golfers will take a club or 2 and hit the ball, then the 90* rule, They’ll look at the distance , then put a club in hand, then a bird may fart and they change clubs, then the wind stops and then change clubs again.. WHY??? oh, WHY?????. Rangers have a job,, move pace along.. Some get it, some don’t. I’ve been cussed, I’ve been ridiculed and I’ve been appreciated. Its all good and sometimes its not worth it.. The players have the best opportunity to help golf and make it enjoyable for all..
TR1PTIK
Apr 8, 2015 at 12:15 pm
I know what you mean about people watching too much golf on TV and pre-shot routines. My pre-shot routine is pretty simple. For most shots, I grip the club from behind the ball, find my target, approach the ball and get into posture, then swing. I might take one more look at my target or fidget a little bit with my setup to make sure I’m comfortable, but two things I NEVER do are waggle or take practice swings. They waste time and do little good for most amateurs. My putting routine is the exact same.
JD
Apr 8, 2015 at 12:36 pm
I’ve actually seen someone line up their ball on the tee as if they’re fixing to putt.. WHAT????
me
Apr 9, 2015 at 9:01 am
Certainly agree on the practice swings….Personally, I stand behind the ball and take one, approach the ball, make sure my feet are square, and hit away. My routine doesn’t take long. What kills me is seeing the guys that will take 3, 4, or even more practice swings, then shank it in the woods. No one should ever take more than 1 practice swing.
Roosterredneck
Apr 8, 2015 at 9:08 am
It’s not easy when people who know better but won’t follow the pace of play rule. I Ranger at a state park course and I have very few problems with few exceptions. I have had a few who think they own the course and just ignore some of the rules like stay on the path while at the green and drive up to the green rather than park 15 feet away on the path . Then there are those who come to drink beer first and play golf second. When their round is over they sit on the cart and drink rather than turn the carts in and finish their beer at the lounging area . Most always players will and do follow the course rules and I thank them . I have a problem with those who come late and stay till dark thirty and believe this is ok. We have to go out and ask them to come in when they know you can’t hit what you can’t see.. All said I still enjoy golf and Rangering .
Jay
Apr 8, 2015 at 5:47 am
When I retired a few years ago I joined a golf course that has memberships and is also open to the public (non-members). The course offers a special price for green fee and cart on Mondays. When I first became a member I did not know that Mondays was nick-named by the members as, Circus Day. I tried to play a few times on Monday’s and soon learned that acupuncture would be fun compared to going through that. Just about everything posted here takes place on the Mondays. Most of the golfers are just wanting to have fun. But there are so many people that it’s impossible to play very fast. If this is what I had to go through all the time to play golf, I know that I’d have to take up another hobby. Oh, one more thing. Texting and talking on Cell phones is very popular on the golf course.
Kelly
Apr 8, 2015 at 3:49 am
Once a year some buddies would come to my house and we would drive about 30-40 mins to a 36 hole facility to play 36. We would make an early tee time in order to finish at a decent time. The starter sent us to the back and we took off without anyone in front. We’re flying through the round when on our 12th or 13th hole the Marshall comes up to me talking about our pace of play and how we need to speed up. At first I thought he was joking but then realized he was serious. I just said that I thought we were moving pretty good and he disagreed. We finished our first 18 in about 3 hours and were back at the clubhouse we see the Marshall and he tells me that he sees we speeded up. I said not really and that we played in about 3 hours and he said nah, you didn’t. To this day I don’t know if he was clueless or had a problem with me.
Ken
Apr 7, 2015 at 11:59 pm
While not an actual, certified, bona fide ranger, I did volunteer as a starter at my local course. It was a 3 month gig, but the free golf didn’t offset my desire to play when I wanted … so I joined. It was an education. Twenty handicappers playing the tips, more beer than clubs, 1st tee shanks. I loved the guys who would ask about the pond at the end of the dogleg on the opening par 5. “Hey, how far is it to the water … can I reach it?” “Eventually, sir…it’s 280-ish.” “Yeah, I should use my three wood.” They generally fell short by 120 yards.
Macca
Apr 7, 2015 at 5:44 pm
I have a marshaled myself just a few times, but here is my take on what I have seen and what I have done.
For the most part, I have seen very few marshals who do much of anything other than ride around in a cart and look completely bored. The BEST marshals I have seen and what I learned from them the few times I marshaled at my local course:
– First and foremost, be courteous and an ambassador for the course. You have no idea, generally, who I am and if this is my first time to this course or even my first time in your city, so make sure I feel WELCOMED.
– HELP ME. If you are watching us drive off the tee box, watch the shots and point out if one of us went offline, where it ended up. Offer to get out and take a quick look if you see us looking for the ball (help the speed of play)
– Ask us how it’s going. Hows the pace of play in front of us or are we being pushed from behind? Lot’s of times guys don’t want to just simply rat out someone, but if you ask like you are willing to help, we will tell you.
– When I was a Marshal and I ran into a slower paced group, I would approach them and watch them tee off and then ask how their day was going as we went down the fairway and then if they were falling behind, I might ask, “Hey, guys can you help me out. I have a full tee sheet today and it’s already backing up a little. You guys are doing pretty good, but if we could make up a little time on this hole, I can get the other groups to move as well. This would really help the flow.” Then if they did agree and they helped out, I would come back and THANK THEM for doing so.
At the end of the day it’s amazing how easy it is to get people to help you if you help them and you are considerate. Everyone wants to have a good round for the money spent, but spending money does not give them the right to make the experience crappy for everyone else.
I play a high end course and I rarely see the marshals out and if they are much less doing anything other than riding around. What’s the point of having a marshal?
other paul
Apr 7, 2015 at 12:22 pm
marshalls usually seem like pretty nice guys go me. I just stopped going to the courses that take 6 hours to play.
Brian
Apr 7, 2015 at 12:16 pm
why do people keep “shanking” the votes on stories like this and the Rory/Nike commercial? How cynical you must be… Hope I’m not in your foursome ever.
Double Mocha Man
Apr 7, 2015 at 12:08 pm
In 2000 I treated an old friend to a round of golf at Pebble Beach. Lodging, caddies, spa, drinks, food… the whole thing. My friend is one of the slowest golfers in the world… so I don’t play with him often. I’m one of the fastest golfers in the world but the default is the speed of the slowest player. On the 9th hole the assistant pro drove a golf cart out to speed us up. My friend just grumbled. On the 10th hole (easily a mile from the clubhouse) the head pro came out to get us to catch up. My friend snarled at the pro, “Hey, I’m paying for this round, I can play at any speed I want.”
Gubment Cheez
Apr 7, 2015 at 1:50 pm
How fast does it take you to play 18…on average??
JD
Apr 8, 2015 at 12:38 pm
IF the course is straightforward. a 4some could play it in 4 hours.. A harder course with hazards, fast, undulated greens, could go to 4 1/2. My opinion,, NO ROUND SHOULD LAST 5 HOURS. PERIOD…
RG
Apr 8, 2015 at 12:04 am
Guys like that are the problem with pace of play. Yeah you paid for it, and so did everyone else that’s behind you. Everyone on the course can only play at the pace of the slowest player/group. Selfish and inconsiderate attitudes cause 5+ hr. rounds.
As a single a can play a round of golf in 1 hr 45 min. hitting every shot, putting every putt. (Okay I don’t pull every flag)
If a round takes more than 3 1/2 hrs. to play it is because there is a selfish hack somewhere in front of you.
If your buddy had done that at my course I would have told him it was time to leave, refunded his money, and on his way out reminded him to never return. Guys like that should be band.
Geoffrey Holland
Apr 8, 2015 at 6:33 pm
The joke was that the OP paid for the whole thing. Buddy Slowplay didn’t pay a cent.
TR1PTIK
Apr 7, 2015 at 11:59 am
My biggest frustration with some of the marshals in my area is when they tell my group to speed up even though we’ve had to wait on the group in front for the past 2 or 3 holes.
Best experience with a marshal was at a local muni. I was playing by myself and walking, but was steadily gaining on a foursome in carts. Before it even became an issue, the marshal requested the group ahead wait at the next tee box and let me play through. I never held them up and their slower pace never messed with my game. Win-Win. Wish more marshals would pay attention like that.
JD
Apr 8, 2015 at 12:40 pm
Thats good, It shouldve been up to the group you were following though.. Thats disrespectful on their part.
Geoffrey Holland
Apr 8, 2015 at 6:14 pm
No, that’s a good marshal doing his job to make sure that there was no problem.
Nate
Apr 7, 2015 at 11:58 am
I decided to play a mid-morning round with my buddy at a local Arnold Palmer course. We had a 9:15am tee time and were going off as a twosome. The course had a number of golfers out on the course but they were by no means busy for a Saturday. The starter warned us ahead of time that the 9:08am tee time directly ahead of us was a fivesome, which were only allowed with special permission. He warned us ahead of time that pace of play would be slower than normal. The starter encouraged us to get to the tee box early because it was open so that we could avoid any pace of play issues. We rolled up to the first tee at about 9:05 and the fivesome was not in sight, so we prepared to tee off. While we were on the back teebox with clubs in hand, the fivesome arrived. They told us that they had the 9:08 tee time and that they had places to go after the round, so they couldn’t wait and let us to tee off. We tried to reason with them but they were persistent. We were shocked at their unreasonableness but let them tee off because we did not want to offend them. They proceeded to stretch, take numerous practice swings, and all hit two off of the first tee (they played from the tips and most of their shots did not clear the women’s tees. They should have been playing from the white or red tees). They did not clear the fairway until almost 9:30am. The 9:23am and 9:30am tee times were already at the teebox with us waiting for the fivesome to clear the fairway. The marshal showed up because he saw the backup and then asked us why we hadn’t teed off yet. We explained to him about the fivesome and his only response was “Well, you were notified by the starter that pace of play would be slow today and they did indeed have the 9:08am tee time. You should have hurried and got to the first tee sooner than you did.” We were incredibly mad at the marshal for not sticking up for us. It took us about 45 mins to play the first two holes. We caught them on the 3rd tee and were again rebuffed and told that they didn’t want us to play through, so we skipped them. The fivesome then complained to the marshal that we passed them. The marshal then caught us on number 5 and told us that we should respect other golfers on the course. We were annoyed, but apologized. We finished 18 in about 4:15 minutes and didn’t run into anyone else on the course. We grabbed lunch after our round and ran into one of the groups that had a tee time right behind us. They too got stuck behind the fivesome and quit after 9 holes because they couldn’t take it any longer. They invited us to join them at the bar for a post round beer, where we proceeded to rip the marshal and the course for not protecting pace of play. I haven’t played at that course since that day and have no desire to go back.
PK
Apr 7, 2015 at 11:34 am
A few years back at Trump National in LA, I got a sudden case of the “shanks” just as the Marshall was passing our group by. I was playing decently, but it just came upon me all of a sudden for a hole and the Marshall drove up to my buddies and suggested that I play a scramble. They never laughed so hard. When they told me what he said, I was so pissed, it ruined me for the rest of the day, and I still get grief about it now and again. It’s funny now that I think about it.
Brian
Apr 7, 2015 at 10:33 am
My brother and I decided to go out and get a quick 18 in on a Wednesday afternoon. We got a cart, and with the front 9 completely empty, we finished our first 9 in about an hour and a half. When we got to the 11th tee box, we were surprised to see a 5some of guys in their 60s still on the tee box. We figured we would be able to play through them pretty quickly, but after watching them drive off the tee box for the next 2 holes, we decided to just skip the par 3 13th. As we were teeing off on the 14th hole, they started yelling at us from the 13th green. We assured them we would be out of their way before they even got to the tee box. As we got to our drives in the 14th fairway, a marshal shows up and starts talking to us. He was very understanding of our frustrations, and said that they have had problems with that group of older guys before. As he was talking to us, a ball came flying through the back of his cart, and hit the front windshield. His face got red, he told us to have a good round, and drove straight back to the tee. We could still hear him yelling at the group behind us as we were leaving the green.