These greens are so fast I have to hold my putter over the ball and hit it with the shadow. Sam Snead
After the discussion of slow play here a few days ago—it is a topic that frequently ignites our readers—I came across this data from a poll we did of superintendents a few years back. "What factors contribute to slow play?" we asked the supers. Their responses:
Increased course traffic 33%
High rough, fast greens 26%
Decline in etiquette 23%
Reduction of monitoring
by course personnel 11%
Cell phone usage 3%
Increased tree growth 2%
And, we asked further, what course grooming techniques had they used to successfully reduce slow play? (The supers were to choose one):
Shortening of rough 46%
Widening of fairways 25%
Slowing of greens 14%
Faster/firmer fairways 7%
Shorter tees 5%
Then, about a year ago, we did a survey of average golfers on what they wanted most in a golf course. Essentially, the response was: Give us a course that is not difficult but well manicured.
Developers, with our ratings and rankings encouraging them, I'm afraid, have been driven to build what they call "country clubs for a day". Judging by these studies, what we really need are munies for a week, well-conditioned courses that you can afford to play more than once a week—afford in terms of money, ego, and, yes, time.
—Bob Carney
