People who play with 2,3,& 4 balls on the course

[crummybuttons]

I am getting so frustrated with the people who think they own the golf courses and play up to 4 balls on the course. Here I am trying to get in a relaxing game of golf after an early dinner when I get hung up on the course by 1 golfer who feels he's Tiger Woods and needs to play more than one ball with no concideration for the people waiting on him. This is so frustrating. Then to top everything off they walk so slooooow back to their cart. I am outraged, and I'm not going to take this anymore. In the future to the people who do this I will be the one honking my horn like a mad woman at the tee box.

[tucson]

Unfortunately these kinds of things will keep on happening until the ambassadors begin to speak up to ppl who don't know and/or abide by the rules of the game of golf....

[Tom Hannon]

Next time call the golf course on your cell phone. They will (Should) send an ambassador out to light a fire under their you know what.

[graciegirl]

The Ambassadors here in TV do NOT have the authority to enforce the rules and etiquette breaches and slow play.

They will lose their job if anyone calls in on them.

[Tom Hannon]

The Ambassadors here in TV do NOT have the authority to point out the rules and etiquette breaches and slow play.

They will lose their job if anyone calls in on them.

I find that hard to believe, Gracie. If they aren't driving around to police the course and make thing move ahead...what are they supposed to be doing? Aside from giving out water on a hot day.

[waynet]

Tom,I agree. If they do nothing perhaps the money could be spent elsewhere maybe to get the greens up to speed.

[graciegirl]

I find that hard to believe, Gracie. If they aren't driving around to police the course and make thing move ahead...what are they supposed to be doing? Aside from giving out water on a hot day.

Ask them. I have. They can suggest but they CANNOT eject. They must call a supervisor off the golf course to come to the golf course to tell someone to leave.

"Point out" was bad wording on my part, Tommy. I really meant enforce. They can tell you but they can't eject you.

[Tom Hannon]

I guess I should never apply for a job as a golf ambassador.

[mickey100]

Gracie is right in this instance. I have friends who are ambassadors, and this is what they told me.

[Tom Hannon]

Gracie is right in this instance. I have friends who are ambassadors, and this is what they told me.

Gracie is right in all instances but I can't believe the lack of power the ambassadors have. Why even put them to work then. In NY these guys are like traffic cops and if you play to slow you are asked to leave. It doesn't make sense. Im not talking about the guy who has a blow up hole and causes a backup...but to play many balls and not moving their rear end after finishing a hole.

[Mikeod]

Gracie is right in all instances but I can't believe the lack of power the ambassadors have. Why even put them to work then. In NY these guys are like traffic cops and if you play to slow you are asked to leave. It doesn't make sense. Im not talking about the guy who has a blow up hole and causes a backup...but to play many balls and not moving their rear end after finishing a hole.

They are called ambassadors for a reason. They are supposed to support your round of golf. That's why they carry water and sand. They go through training on customer service, not enforcement. They are also fellow residents and I don't think administration wants the risk of someone taking out frustrations on another resident after the fact. That is why removing someone from the course is left to the facility manager, I.e., the championship course pro who is responsible for that exec.

We have had this discussion in the Executive Golf Group and the response is that by the time someone can get free to go over to the exec and address the situation, the round is likely over or nearly so. In an egregious situation such as the OP describes, I would hope the pro may take the opportunity to educate the offender.

[Irishmen]

I'll hit a couple of balls from the same spot on a Par 3 or within 100 yds if no one is behind us for practice. I'll play only one ball though.

[Jakel]

We are new to the game of golf, so we allow for 2 mulligans per round but only as long as we are keeping up to the group in front of us. A few weeks ago we were screamed at by a golfer behind us because we stopped on the green to repair a ball mark after we replaced the flag. Most if us I thought were retired...where is the fire? If you are keeping up with the group in front of you, and you hit the ball in the water....go ahead and take another shot!

[Irishmen]

Exactly Jakel. Where's the fire? You know the saying about a bad day of golf beats a great day of work. The issue is when you have one foursome of 10 or below handicappers playing behind a group of 30 handicappers when the course is packed. I mean even if the 30 handicappers let the 10 handicappers play through, Where are they going to go?

[Tom Hannon]

We are new to the game of golf, so we allow for 2 mulligans per round but only as long as we are keeping up to the group in front of us. A few weeks ago we were screamed at by a golfer behind us because we stopped on the green to repair a ball mark after we replaced the flag. Most if us I thought were retired...where is the fire? If you are keeping up with the group in front of you, and you hit the ball in the water....go ahead and take another shot!

I agree with you 100% There are certain people who are always in a rush. In a rush to go nowhere. And when there is a backup in front of you...why not take your time. Enjoy the game. The idea of the game is to score the lowest amount of shots...Not by playing the course in the fastest time.

[nitehawk]

Gracie is right in all instances but I can't believe the lack of power the ambassadors have. Why even put them to work then. In NY these guys are like traffic cops and if you play to slow you are asked to leave. It doesn't make sense. Im not talking about the guy who has a blow up hole and causes a backup...but to play many balls and not moving their rear end after finishing a hole.

I hear the ambassadors (rangers) in NY carry guns

[BogeyBoy]

I think we all know that tee times on executive courses are harder to get this time of year.

So lets say you are "taking your time" and "in no rush". So a 9 hole round takes you an extra 15 minutes. No big deal, right? WRONG!

They set up the tee times and expected time to complete the round so the maximum number of players can get out and enjoy a round of golf. If everyone had the "in no rush" attitude the players with tee times at the end of the day would be sitting on the first tee when it gets dark - still waiting to tee off. Be considerate of the groups behind you, they want to finish a round of golf just like you do - and they want to do it today.

Of course, the basic rule is, don't worry about the group behind you, just keep up with the group in front of you.

BTW - the ambassadors can ask you politely to not hit 3 balls, pick up the pace, move up to closer tees, skip a hole because of a large gap, rake the sand trap, etc. A good ambassador can do this effectively. Unfortunately the golfers, rather than admit they are slow, etc., go immediately on the defensive and blame everything but congress for the slow play.

[Tom Hannon]

Maybe not so much on the executive courses but I've seen so called good golfers play from the back tees, when they can't hit a drive more than 220 years. Who are they kidding? Play from the tees that make it comfortable. Don't make the game more difficult than it is and why slow down the pace.

[another Linda]

I don't think anyone is advocating not keeping up. But what are you supposed to do when things slow down, hit into the group ahead of you to hurry them up? Of course not. And what is it they are supposed to do? At the end of the day, many courses do slow down. If you choose to play at the end of the day on an exec, you had better be prepared. If you can't handle it, why not play earlier in the day or on a championship course? In my experience they tend to move along better.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I don't think anyone is advocating not keeping up. But what are you supposed to do when things slow down, hit into the group ahead of you to hurry them up? Of course not. And what is it they are supposed to do? At the end of the day, many courses do slow down. If you choose to play at the end of the day on an exec, you had better be prepared. If you can't handle it, why not play earlier in the day or on a championship course? In my experience they tend to move along better.

In most places in the world a ranger (Ambassador) would see the situation and request that the people causing the backup move along.
I worked at a club in Sarasota in the 80s. The policy was that if a group was out of position, you would give them a warning. You were to check back 15 minutes later. If they hadn't caught up, you then explained to them that if they hadn't caught up on the next hole, they would be required to skip a hole. if they hadn't caught up fifteen minutes later, you were to wait in the fairway for them to drive, then go and pick up their balls and deposit them on the next tee.

I don't understand the way they do things in the Villages. I don't play anymore and don't work in the business any longer. I do know that a PGA professional with over 35 years in the golf business applied for a job as an Ambassador and was rejected. I guess they don't want anyone that has any kind of experience so that they can train them in the Villages way.

[ajbrown]

I don't think anyone is advocating not keeping up. But what are you supposed to do when things slow down, hit into the group ahead of you to hurry them up? Of course not. And what is it they are supposed to do? At the end of the day, many courses do slow down. If you choose to play at the end of the day on an exec, you had better be prepared. If you can't handle it, why not play earlier in the day or on a championship course? In my experience they tend to move along better.

Linda, I agree with your posts on these recent pace of play threads…..

People are always talking about playing faster and this can be taken out of context sometimes. There is a rhythm to a golf course. If the course is running smoothly all groups are in position and each group has the responsibility to stay in position. I think we all can agree on that.

Once a course has gotten into a bad state, for whatever reason, playing as fast as you can does not matter. The exception to this is if you are the reason the course is in a bad state, then you need to move your :censored: and get back in position.

If we stick to a par three course so I can try to explain and not be accused of advocating slow play. On a slow course you still need to stay in position, by that I mean you need to get to the next tee box with plenty of time to spare so that you have selected your club and are ready to play as soon as the group in front of you drives away. If you are ready to hit when they drive off, you are in position on a slow course. Getting there any earlier than that does not help and in fact compresses the course worse. If people behind you do not understand that THEY are in the wrong, not the person who fixes an extra ball mark or plays a provisional ball.

[graciegirl]

Linda, I agree with your posts on these recent pace of play threads…..

People are always talking about playing faster and this can be taken out of context sometimes. There is a rhythm to a golf course. If the course is running smoothly all groups are in position and each group has the responsibility to stay in position. I think we all can agree on that.

Once a course has gotten into a bad state, for whatever reason, playing as fast as you can does not matter. The exception to this is if you are the reason the course is in a bad state, then you need to move your :censored: and get back in position.

If we stick to a par three course so I can try to explain and not be accused of advocating slow play. On a slow course you still need to stay in position, by that I mean you need to get to the next tee box with plenty of time to spare so that you have selected your club and are ready to play as soon as the group in front of you drives away. If you are ready to hit when they drive off, you are in position on a slow course. Getting there any earlier than that does not help and in fact compresses the course worse. If people behind you do not understand that THEY are in the wrong, not the person who fixes an extra ball mark or plays a provisional ball.

Great explanation!

[another Linda]

I agree! Thanks AJ. And I've got to report this afternoon we played Churchill, 4 walkers, 4 teed from black. Everything moved along beautifully, and yes we kept our position. All in all, a lovely outing. Restores my faith.

[Barefoot]

In most places in the world a ranger (Ambassador) would see the situation and request that the people causing the backup move along. I don't understand the way they do things in the Villages.

They are Ambassadors of good faith and friendliness, dispensing water and sand and fairy dust. They can make gentle suggestions, but that's it!