In addition to having a father and grandfather who were USGA presidents and serving himself as the original honorary chairman of The First Tee, the 41st president of the United States was honored by golf’s leading organizations, including induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. And his greatest contribution to the game may have…
Can’t We Have It All?
At every club I go to, all I hear about from GMs, golf pros and superintendents is how much success they’ve had in promoting that no one has to play a full round of golf, or use the full course, if they don’t want to. When Jack Nicklaus talks, we all should listen—especially those of…
Study Finds Correlation Between Green Speed, Pace of Play
Findings from an ongoing study by the Science of the Green has found “there is a positive correlation between green speed and pace of play; as greens are managed to play faster, the time it takes to play a round of golf also increases.” Their data found that an increase of one foot in the…
Eagle Golf Launches Pace-of-Play Initiative at 31 Courses
All of the facilities operated by the Dallas-based management firm are advocating faster play through implementation of suggested “Ready Golf” guidelines, promoted through a theme of “Better Pace. Better Game.”.
It’s All About Time
To build on new awareness and momentum created by the USGA’s “While We’re Young” campaign, more clubs and courses are devising player-friendly solutions to help support the need for a faster pace of play.
FarmLinks GC Plans Pace-of-Play Experiment
On November 2, the Sylacauga, Ala., club will host an open-to-the-public day of golf with a goal of keeping all rounds at or around 3.5 hours. Guests will be encouraged to play “ready golf” on every shot, maintain pace with the immediate group ahead, keep lost-ball searches to one minute or less, restrict the use of ball markers on the green and more, while the club records the data.
“Fast Fridays” Help Propel Golfers at Olde Homestead GC
The New Tripoli, Pa., club began asking golfers to shave a half hour from the usual 4 ½-hour play time every Friday, and members are reportedly enjoying the change. Other area clubs are incorporating strategies to encourage a quicker pace, such as employing rangers, eliminating cart-path-only sections, and requiring golfers to sign a form saying they will finish in the course’s recommended time.
North Coast California Courses Address Pace-of-Play Issues
Management at Foxtail GC, Windsor GC and Santa Rose G&CC note that the amount of time to finish rounds is approaching five hours, whereas a four-hour play time used to be customary. To increase speed, the clubs are using techniques like giving golfers a ride to the green, making sure players keep their reserved tee time, and having marshals keep golfers moving.
Troon Launches Pace-of-Play Initiative
“Troon Values Your Time” communicates a pace-of-play standard to guests and members of Troon-managed facilities before the issue becomes a problem on the course. Some essential elements of the initiative include calculating a facility’s “Time Par” for comfortably playing a enjoying the course, and setting “Pacesetter Times,” which are designated morning tee times reserved for players committed to playing at least 20 minutes under the Time Par.
Apologies from C&RB
Due to technical difficulties, C&RB’s industry news may have been difficult to access on June 26. Here again are yesterday’s headlines; click on any of them to read the full story:
C&RB apologizes for the problems that may have been experienced when trying to access these news items on June 26.