Plenty of pace discussion on the Pebble thread.

Curious to hear what some of y'all think is ideal pace of play for different circumstances.

Some of the folks on the Pebble thread were taking issue with people who think they're going to set some world speed record out there which I also find annoying.


What's your fastest ever round of golf?
Slowest?
Sweet spot for a great day out there?


I once played 18 by myself in a cart in about 75 minutes. Super easy course and was hitting it pretty well which helped a lot. I got out in front of a couple of old dudes who were worried I was going to hold them up. Turned out to not be a problem.

But to me that's the exception. Three of us walked 18 early in the morning and played in a little under 3.5 hrs without making any extra effort to play fast. That felt about right to me.

so many outside variables.

Yes by myself on an open course I've gone around in an hour and a half.

If it's standard course that has a full slate, with the course managing tee times properly (no 6 person bachelor parties, etc.)...I'd expect a group of 4...walking or riding, to finish somewhere between 3:30 - 4:30.

What's your fastest ever round of golf? 90 minutes alone and first one out. 3:15 with four players.
Slowest? The six hours at Pebble.
Sweet spot for a great day out there? 3:45 - 4:15

Honestly I don't think I've ever really noticed or complained about a regular stroke play round with 3 buddies, unless it's just absolutely stacked on a busy day and not being managed properly.

Now... charity/industry scrambles, different story. In no universe should you play a scramble in over six hours and still not finish, but used to happen annually at an industry event we played in OKC every year.

Woof

Playing alone on a wide open course, I've gotten around in 90 minutes or so a number of times.

The big issue for me is tournaments or MGA events. Since I'm a 14.4 on my GHIN I get grouped with other mid and high handicappers, and all of them don't play with a sense of efficiency. When the rounds start creeping towards the 5 hour mark, it impacts my patience and focus.

What I've observed when it comes to slow play, is that people are less efficient about getting to their next shot and keeping it moving for each hole. Its not always a frozen pre shot routine or something like that. Even when I've had absolutely terrible rounds, I tried to hit those bad shots quick and not just linger.

I try not to take very long because I suck. Get up there, hit the ball and keep moving.

3.5 hours for a group of 4 is perfect IMO.

I used to get around Bryan muni in about 2 hours walking when playing solo.

I'd love for our normal foursome to make it around the course in 3.5 hours but that never happens. And we're all 8-12 HCers that keep things moving.

We've done it before but we were first off on a Sunday morning. Other than that it's usually 4.5-5 hours on a weekend. When you creep toward 5.5 then it's becoming brutal.

Where are yall getting rounds in under 4 hours?

I play with my dad a fair bit. He is 79 and can only move so fast. He does his best to keep up. I find myself rushing my round to keep our overall pace up. Kind of sucks, but still getting to golf with my dad is worth it. I don't know how much longer I will have him.

I said this on the other thread, but back in my competitive days I was in a two day tournament at Grapevine Municipal in the final group with the leaders of the scratch division. The day before we had gone first and played it in four hours. But on day two we drew the last tee times in a tournament with like 150 players. It was going to take a while.

Anyway this playing partner of mine just couldn't handle the 5:30 hour pace. I said it earlier it was on four but now that I think about it we were on the 3rd green and he putted out of turn, including his second putt which was no gimmie, and walked off the green before anyone else putted so he could race to the tee box. By seven he was hitting his approach shots maybe a bit too early, walking to the green, and finishing out before the rest of us even marked our balls. He did the exact opposite of what he should do. And he was cussing up a big storm.

How hard is it to take an extra breath, maybe check the yardage twice, re-read your putts, find a baseball game to follow on your phone if you need an outside distraction. It is not that hard to blend yourself in and accept the pace, fast or slow. Fighting it is completely useless.

Anyway this cat, and I forget his name now, probably shot 70-72 the day before and came into the day with a chance to win four figures in bets and prize money, walked off 9 and to his car shooting something in the mid 40s and losing everything. I felt sorry for him, kind of. I bet his day didn't get any better and he must have been a joy to be around at the casa.


Edit to add- chipotlemonger also played in that tournament.

By myself I'm usually done in under 2 hours. Longest ever was first time I played Lahinch; took over 6 hours. Our group was behind a large tour group from Japan who looked for every ball and counted every stroke. It was miserable and probably why I never want to return to that course. On weekends here anything in the 3-4 hour range is acceptable. We normally play mid afternoon in the heat and can get around fine.

Huge bummer about Lahinch. That was my favorite course we played in Ireland.

4:10-4:20 foursome in a serious match

Alone with no impediment riding 1:30

But there are variable conditions. We have 8 inch rough and tall fescue area suck up balls. This is where a lot of time is spent. And of course in the winter. Leaves and the blower requirement.

Same
Top 5 for sure

Depends on the situation, such as if its cart path only, weekend, morning, etc. The standard for 18 holes is 4 and a half hours. At campus course on a Saturday that would be very fast. At other courses, that's very slow even for a busy weekend day. IMO no matter the circumstances, it should never take a foursome more than 5 hours to play golf.

powerbelly said:

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Quote:

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The standard for 18 holes is 4 and a half hours.

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Since when? Growing up it was always 4 hours.

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4 hours for 18 holes reduces to 13 minutes and 20 seconds per hole, while 4.5 hours for 18 holes reduces to the elegant and stately 15 minutes per hole. Aesthetically speaking, 18 hole rounds should be either 3 hours or 4.5 hours. A 4 hour round would ideally be 16 holes

powerbelly said:

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Quote:

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The standard for 18 holes is 4 and a half hours.

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Since when? Growing up it was always 4 hours.

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Growing up, we had fewer people playing and tee times not stacked on top of each other.

4-some
4 hours

I'm fortunate enough to be at a private course so rounds are never terribly long, sans MGA events. We have a group of 15-20 that play every weekend (course allows 5 somes) and we are never more than 4:30

If I went out on a Wednesday afternoon by myself I could be done in less than 2 hours, easy.

And course familiarity plays a really big role. We've all been playing this course 20+ years, we know every shot out there, we know the greens, etc

DannyDuberstein said:

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And course familiarity plays a really big role. We've all been playing this course 20+ years, we know every shot out there, we know the greens, etc

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Makes a huge difference.

And really not so much for your group but for the groups in front of you.



There are very few courses anywhere, public at least, that can average 3:30 in any kind of busy time. My course is private and we dont.

Can't speak for you, but an extra hour on the golf course doesn't change my life at all. And I have some badass kids too. Can't imagine such a busy life where one hour a week would have such an impact on other people's lives. That's definitely not for me.