[Indydealmaker]

Originally Posted by mikeod

It is not a "rule" of golf, but is accepted etiquette. Your position on the course is behind the group in front of you rather than in front of the group behind you. If the ambassador tells you your group is 5 minutes ahead of pace, do you sit in the cart for 5 minutes? The stated pace of play is not a minimum, but should be a maximum.

Play on any golf course is a cooperative effort of all players to maximize enjoyment of all. Groups that fall well behind reduce the enjoyment of all who play immediately behind them and for the rest of the day. Groups who push others, hit into them in their haste, also adversely affect the golf experience of others. Nobody is asking anyone to rush their game, just play at a pace that keeps the groups in contact with each other and minimizes delays.

And your analogy is flawed because on the interstate, there is a passing lane to allow faster vehicles to pass. Perhaps another analogy would be the driver on the interstate who rides in the passing lane at the same speed as the vehicle in the right lane and refuses to move over because he/she is going the limit, so no one should be going faster.

I guess I should have used an analogy of a one lane road with a double yellow. So what you are saying is that if a group of pros are ahead of you, you should pick up your ball and keep pace? I still say that if the accepted speed of play is maintained, it is not possible to fall behind just because the group ahead of you plays faster than the norm. Should a foursome be required to keep pace behind a twosome? The reality is that if a foursome observes the general rules of golf with regard to lost ball searches, putting times, etc., there will usually not be a problem with speed of play. But expecting an average golfer to keep pace with a low handicap foursome is just not part of the game. It is no fun for the average guy. If all of the average guys quit playing out of frustration with the stress, then the small percentage of low handicappers will incur much higher costs to play.