Hello friends of Westfield,
Please note the new poll to the right of this posting that is asking for feedback on how to speed up play during Thursday night mens' golf league. Feel free to add anonymous postings to thie blog post as well.
Thank you
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17 comments:
Leagues and tournaments by nature require more concentration and thus more time. No one solution will 100% accomplish the end goal. It is not reasonable to host 8 tee times per hour. I suggest that for the rest of the year Westfield have a system in place to time how long it takes to play each hole start to finish, average wait, and identify the areas on the course which statistically are slowing down play. Once you've acquired that data set you can focus on a smaller area to impact instead of all of Westfield.
Having tee times 10 min apart would help the problem. I understand this would eliminate some teams from the leagues. Having the par 5's back to back does not help the problem. Maybe need to look at going back to the old set up for the holes.
I don't think the par 5's have anything to do with slow play. I believe once the course dries up and the rough can be mowed play will move along a little faster. A little dry weather will eliminate cart paths only
In my experience, when a ranger or starter on the tee is present, things go much more smooth throughout the day. I understand this takes more labor and dollars, but allowing everyone to police themselves off the tee can cause significant delays and create a domino effect.
We all need to realize that after a triple bogey on a hole, you should just pick up. Too many people try to play more than triple bogey-causing delays.
Ask to finish the two footer, instead of marking the ball. Ask to hit first if you are not going to "Drive the water". When the course dries up, a little, this will help looking for balls and getting to the ball (with cart). Yes, a ranger would help, but knowing the problem, can't we police ourself? Play ready golf.
The par 5's back to back isn't an issue in my opinion. We always get backed up on the 3rd hole. Almost always 2 or 3 groups there already and we wait on 2 tee box as well. Once you get past 4 things open up a lot more (same as old set up), but its still slow. I think people are just flat out playing slower and its a problem all over in golf. I've played golf for a long time and never played with anyone who can control their yardage within 2-3 yards. Check the wind, your GPS, and hit the ball. That doesn't take 7 minutes to do. We are not pros. :)
Given the course conditions, the easiest thing to speed up play is make the pins easier and holes shorter(tee markers). No right blue flags on three. No holes on ridges that may result in 3 or 4 putts. I know players will not like it but until the course gets dried out you need to do this.
All I know is the rounds are taking 30-40 minutes longer than previous years and all that wait seems to ALL come on 4. We repeatedly have a 3-4 group wait on that hole that typically lasts 30-40 min. The only difference to me is the new hole arrangement. Par 5's take longer naturally, longer shots lead to more errant shots, which leads to more time searching for lost balls. Stacking the 5's back to back only compounds the issue. I don't believe there is a sense of urgency to keep pace up on 4 when the group ahead of you is not teeing off right in front of your face and when you do see them on the box at the new 5 they are standing there waiting.
I don't understand why less teams is a reasonable solution, did team numbers expand this year? don't believe so. 8 tee times worked just fine in previous years....why not now? to me the likely culprit is the 9/5 switch. The change doesn’t really make sense, 2 slower playing holes back to back sets a slow pace for the rest of the round. Pace and rhythm are important, waiting 45 minutes to 1 hour combined on 2 consecutive holes breaks the rhythm and causes more bad swings. More bad swings means more slow play. Spread out the slow holes and you will see things speed up.
This doesn’t seem to be an issue on just Thursdays either. Often on the weekends the group ahead has not yet even teed off once we finish 3.
shorter holes will make it worse. a big part of the slowness is trying to get the green in 2. longer holes could help though
Maybe 1 Thursday you could play the course in the old layout and see if it helps. Test if the rearrangement is the main issue? I for one believe it is.
Mow the roughs. It appears that the high handicappers are looking for their balls more because of not being able to hit the fairway. (I guess it is not just the high handicappers) sorry!
First off why is everyone Anonymous???
Second off there are a lot of very good points and for me being a long ball hitter, the back to back par 5s kills me. I wait and wait and wait! Every Thursday there are 3-4 groups on 4 waiting to tee off! I think its time to go back to the old setup! My opinion
The poor weather may be some of the problem but that doesnt mean it should take 30 to 40 minutes extra a round. Carts on the path obviously isnt everyones ideal situation but deal with it. Get out of your cart take 4-5 clubs with you (if you dont know how far your clubs go) and quit using it as an excuse as to why its taking 3 hours to play 9 holes on a short course. I play Mondays as well and it never takes 3 hours to play a round!!!
I also think people rely way to much on others to watch their golf balls. Watch your ball and focus on where it goes. Not hard!
One last thing... Maybe mowing the rough the way you are isnt working. The last news letter said it should be easier to find golf balls. So far I find it hard to believe its easier to find them for some. Also if your not going to mow down the hill on the right of 4 then play it as an out of bounds. To many people go down there to look for their golf ball and its a foot of grass!
I agree with Geoff. I also play on Monday for the jailhouse league and we seem to play it in just over 2 hours. The only big change from this year and last year is the hole changes. yes its been wet,I get it but give me a break, 3 hours for 9 holes!!! there are times on Thurday, when they are half an hour or more behind from the start.. and I will clain the second post too. It might be time to look at changing the holes back and see what happens. It sure can't hurt.
Chip Lewison adds...
Here's what our staff will do to improve our part in helping league problems. We play the major role in set-up. First,I will make the effort to have cups in flatter locations on Thursdays. Still challenging, but also thought given to keeping play moving. Second, we will continue to make the effort to get roughs under control. This has been the most incredible year I have witnessed in all my years of course management. This has been like mowing in the tropics during the rainy season. The big difference is that soils are sandy there and drain quickly. We don't and getting in to mow the lower part of our course has been close to impossible, but we have got it done on a weekly basis. Also, the roughs are growing at twice the speed as normal. I like to mow roughs once a week course wide and touch up fast growing areas and higher play areas a second time. We have not been able to do that to date this season because of weekly rain. And third, we will lower the rough another 1/4" to 1 and 3/4." Unfortunately due to weather, cart paths only in my opinion really has a major part in the slowness as well.
Just played a quick 9 this morning around 9 am... I just wanted to say it was nice to see someone out turning the sprinklers on near the greens. They need it! Thanks Doey Lyle Schneider for taking time out of your Sunday morning to water
I see a lot of peopl playing the honor system on thursdays.....and most other days too. If the club enforced ready golf you could have a solution. I always play ready golf. As soon as I know the group ahead of me is out of range I hit. if Im playing with shorter hitters than me I let them hit first. Same rules apply in the fairway and a the way thru the hole. If the club enforces this everyday all day I dont see how it cant speed up play. I also see people looking for a lost ball for way to long. The rules of golf say if u cant find it after 5 minutes its lost. So go back and rehit and deem it lost. I see people looking for well over 5 minutes very often and its frustrating!! course layout has nothing to do with slow play. Keep it the way it is please.i
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