Reasons for Slow Play caused by golfers

There are several types of slow players :

• The oblivious, to whom no one has ever complained, although they are very well known in the club;
• The ones who know they are slow, but no one has ever dared say anything to them, although everyone else also knows they are slow;
• The ones who say they can only play slowly, generally because they have been badly coached when they were beginners.
• The ones who don’t care – the most dangerous because they claim the right to play as they please because they are club members or because they have paid their dues (Captain or President, where are you?).
• The uncompetitive spirits, as if their spirit had something to do anything when they have problems on the course and cause trouble for everybody else.
• The maniacs, who want to prove to their companions and partners that they are motivated; the balls fly everywhere and the minutes pass :it is impossible to reason with them and to calm them without a structured framework.
• The badly coached or the non-coached at all, who launch themselves on 18 holes.
• The ones who are scared of the competition, also generally badly coached when they were beginners.
• The ones who, because of physical problems, cannot advance at the rhythm required, but command respect because of their public spiritedness and golfing etiquette and never complain.

Fortunately, these slow players are not numerous in most clubs, but the damage they cause to competitions makes one think of a release of otters in a fish farm.
It can be seen that players who have been well coached by the pros and well educated by the Marshals blend into the décor of competitions, without causing the slightest problem, except tiredness towards the end of the round, probably near the 14th or 15th holes. But after four or five competitions they no longer think about it.

And it is always the others who are slow.

How do players waste time ?

• They generally arrive at the last minute, bag not ready, etc…
• They profit too easily from the “authorised” five minutes to delay their group, which is not a good sign for the four hours to come.
• They have done no practice, so are not warmed-up when they hit their first ball. They therefore need around four or five holes to arrive at the “right temperature”.

The first shots are regularly hesitant or scattered around the course.

They put rumination in the place of spontaneity of swing, wrong choice of club, bad line, waiting before hitting the ball, wildswing, forget to follow the track of the ball, are incapable of reading a green, have no pitch repairer, use a tee instead of a ball marker – just about everything they shouldn’t do !

This attitude is too individualistic and generally comes from players who are not in sufficiently good physical form and have too many things going on in their head.

On the green, they wait, think about the shots they have already made rather than the putt that is still to come.

When asked why they take so long on the greens, their reference to professional golfers is often a badly chosen justification.

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