One of the most common complaints about the game of golf is how long it takes to play.
And in most cases, tournament golf takes even longer than a casual round.
Be honest: there is nothing worse in golf than standing hole-after-hole waiting to play each and every shot.
It happens plenty in Northeast Ohio.
But exactly how long does it take to play a tournament round in Greater Cleveland?
Does one tournament or event series handle the issue of slow play better than others?
How does the golf course itself affect that amount of time?
And can we figure out a way to pick up the pace everywhere to make the competitive game even more enjoyable?
Northeast Ohio Golf wants to tackle this subject by putting some facts into the conversation.
Starting this season, in every event we can, we’re going to clock a start time and a finish time and post that time in hours and minutes along with the rest of the tournament results. We’ll also reference the timing group’s position in the field (early, middle, late) and how many total players or teams competed. Of course, the golf course, event format, etc. will already be listed with the rest of the results to give consideration to those factors.
In doing this, the players and the event directors can see exactly how long a tournament round takes, and see how that time compares with other events / courses / formats played in the region.
Then with that information, we can all start thinking about ways to help keep play moving along by using some common-sense, good-natured reminders.
Like…
– every player need to get his ass out of the cart, walk to his ball with a couple clubs in hand, and prepare to play his shot before it’s his turn (no chauffeurs driving Miss Daisy);
– pick a club, pick a target, and swing — stop with the grass-tossing, the plumb-bobbing, the over-thinking, or the story-telling when it’s your turn to hit;
– we all need to watch where every ball goes, to help find the strays;
– and we all need to constantly remind and help each other to keep up with the group in front of us, regardless of where the group behind may be.
A round of tournament golf should take no more than 4 hours each and every time — because 4 hours is already a long time.
More guys will play in events if those events don’t kill of an entire day on a weekend. And big events with big fields are just more fun.
Have any thoughts on the subject of slow play? Weigh in by posting your comment!
