Slow golfers - a rant.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

Argh.

I just played 18 holes with my folks. My mother and I are relative newcomers to the game, but we were fucking Tiger compared to the group who were (naturally) just ahead of us in the queue.

The worst was this one woman who has probably never been to a driving range in her life. I never saw her get more than 30-40 yards, on *any* stroke. On several occasions, she didn't even clear the tee-off mound. Of course, she insisted on playing the ball where it lay, so she would hit the ball, walk 30 yards, hit it again, walk another 30 yards, hit it a third time, walk 60 yards back to her bag, walk 90 yards to the ball...

Her teammates (what looked like a friend, and another pair of older men who'd joined them) weren't much better, and no more considerate. They'd spend forever searching for a lost ball, and on the green, they'd all stand around watching each other putt instead of setting up their own shots.

Our game took just over five hours. And the worst part is, the whole time, that woman was probably thinking about how nice it was to enjoy a slow, relaxing round of golf without her husband nagging her to hurry up.

(I'm trying not to be sexist here, but I'm pretty sure my supposition was right on the money).

I understand that, for any physical activity, it's important to go at your own pace. But if your own pace is much slower than the average, then you should at least be considerate of the people waiting in line behind you. Having to wait ten minutes between holes can seriously throw off a person's game; it breaks your concentration, and makes you lose your adrenalin.

Golf is a difficult sport to learn, but if you play badly, it's an inconvenience, not just for you and your teammates, but to everyone else on the course. That's what instructors and driving ranges are for. Take a few lessons, practice at the driving range, and maybe read up on golf course etiquette. Please.

You don't have to be an expert; even lousy golfers can keep up the pace as long as they know more or less what they're doing. But don't come onto the course without at least some basic fundamental skills, because nobody is going to have a good time, including yourself.

Thank you.

*mumblemumble* five fucking hours... *mumblemumble*

[Droopy]

1. In the states we have something called "playing through"

It's when you ask a slower group in front of you if they don't mind to stand aside for a few minutes while your faster group plays the hole. Most people here are obliging.

[MrScorpio]

2. I don't know to much about golf etiquette

Was it possible for you to ask them to let you guys play through?

I dunnaknow.

:shrug:

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

5. They weren't quite slow enough for that.

Also, the group in front of them was only slightly faster, and there was another fast/impatient group behind us. If it was just us and them, we probably would have asked to play through (not sure what kind of response we would have gotten; they were pretty oblivious), but the entire course was filled to capacity. This is normal for a long weekend around here. The course marshals had put the tee-time slots much too close together, and by that time, they were too swamped to hurry the slow groups along.

[bridgit]

3. bwahaha...

:rofl: hubby considers himself 'a hacker' & says he can make one round last aaallllll day long :rofl:

but i have more faith in him than that, he's just being modest :thumbsup:

[miss_kitty]

4. i thought all golfers were slow

:shrug:

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

7. It's all relative.

On a well-laid-out course, a round of 18 holes should take no more than three, maybe four hours.

There aren't really any other sports you can compare golf to, so let's compare it to driving (pun not intended) on the freeway, instead. You need to match your speed to the flow of the traffic, keeping a safe distance behind the person in front of you, or there's going to be an accident.

For the purposes of this exercise, the highway has only one lane; passing is reserved for those times of true desperation, when the sidewalk starts to look like a viable alternative. On a Labour Day afternoon, most golf courses are heavily packed, so you've got dense traffic, but not a problem so long as everyone obeys the rules, both written and unwritten.

Now, the car in front of you (or possibly the next two or three cars in front of you) is driven by somebody who has apparently never been outside the city in his life, because his idea of a comfortable speed is about 3 mph below the posted limit.

That's what it's like being stuck behind a slow golfer.

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. I can't believe they didn't offer to let you play through

How fucking rude.

And, were it me, I would have ASKED them to play through. That's also within the realm of etiquette, to ask to play through.

It is torture on the course to be stuck behind slow people. And also torture to have the really good golfers, but who also happen to be assholes, right behind me, constantly pushing, like those highway assholes who think you will go faster if they can manage to get within a foot of your bumper.