P
ace of play has never been
higher up the agenda of those
running golf. With every piece
of research showing that the time
taken to play is one of the biggest
deterrents to more people playing
more golf, working on pace of play is a
priority for almost every golf course—
and also for the golfing authorities.
ASGCA is a key participant in the
USGA’s pace of play initiatives. This
makes perfect sense: course design
has a huge impact of pace, for good
or ill. And, even if rebuilding a course
to make it easier to play more quickly
isn’t on the agenda, there are tweaks
an architect could make to most to
speed golfers on their way.
But pure speed isn’t the only issue.
Research by specialists such as
Bill Yates of California-based Pace
Manager Systems shows clearly that
the absolute pace of a round is not
necessarily golfers’ biggest concern.
Rather, the amount of time spent
waiting to play shots is what causes
people to complain about slowness
on the course. “Bill tells a great story
about his work at Pebble Beach,” says
Forrest Richardson, ASGCA, one of
the three members of the ASGCA
Pace of Play committee. “One of the
biggest issues there was the waiting
on the seventh tee. So the solution
was to slow down play on holes three
through six, to smooth out the flow
of groups arriving on the seventh.”
But what is good practice at Pebble
Beach, a course that for many players
will be a once in a lifetime experience,
and for which they pay one of the
highest greens fees in golf, does not
work for every course. “There are
different types of courses with different
priorities,” says Tripp Davis, ASGCA,
chair of the Pace of Play committee.
“At high end resorts—Pebble Beach
is a great example—golfers are most
concerned about the experience. They
aren’t worried about hurrying round,
but they don’t want to feel as though
they are having to wait all the time. So
flow is most important at such places.
But, at the other extreme, at low-cost
public courses, the financial viability of
the operation is dependent on volume.
Knocking a half hour off the average
time of a round at such places means
you can get more players out on the
golf course and earn more money.
And, as an aside, if the players get
around more quickly, perhaps they’ll
be more inclined to play more golf as it
fits more easily into their lifestyles.”
Private clubs, especially those with
small memberships and relatively
light play, are most likely to have a
strong culture of speed. Many people
have heard of the British clubs where
all play is in two-balls, either as singles
or in alternate shot (foursomes)
format, and taking more than three
hours to play is likely to result in a
rebuke from the secretary or from
other members. But such places
are outliers, even in the UK, and at
most clubs, encouraging quicker and
smoother play is important, both to
improve the experience of golf and to
fit the game more closely with today’s
busy lifestyles—and, ultimately, to
attract more members who use the
club more regularly.
“Because of where we are
positioned in the industry, when
a project comes up, golf architects
are usually the first ones in—before
the pro, before the superintendent,”
says Jeff Blume, ASGCA, the third
member of the committee. “So we
Pace of Play
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ASGCA
Smooth
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EXPERT VIEW
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By Design
ASGCA is playing a leading role in
efforts to make golf quicker.
By Design
spoke to members of the ASGCA Pace
of Play committee to see how design
can influence pace.
