Since the OP mentioned a worker making off with one of their group's golf balls, it lends credence to Shrandell's story. And why would you chase down the course after the ambassador who took the ball just because you have a faster golf cart? It would delay play for the people behind you. The better thing would be to turn that incident in to the manager, or let it go, as they did.

I know Shrandell to be an honest person, and your statement that her story was not likely, well, I have to ask... are you saying she made it up?

You are incorrect. I do both, and the mission is the same no matter where I work. Unfortunately, if the op's story is factual, the ambassador was mistaken. A group is deemed out of position when the hole in front of them is open, AND they are behind time par. Fairly simple to determine, actually.

Thanks for doing your job with a smile.:ho:

Yes, they do want the game to keep moving along. That, way the people waiting to play at the start can do so in a timely manor. The ambassador is told to try and keep the players moving at what the course feels is a reasonable playing time. It is simply about playing your game so that the other players can also have fun playing. The ambassador is not out to harass you. He or she is simply doing what is required of them by the course directive. If you take a little longer and are told you are a little behind why not just say thank you we will pick up the pace the best we can. Read the rule books which can be obtained at the starters shack for free. Remember you should have fun and enjoy your game at the same time as everyone else enjoys theirs.

I think some of it also depends on the personality of each ambassador. I know in the rec centers I frequent the most, we have come to know which of the workers are intractable, strictly-by-th-book types and which are a little more into assessing each situation as it arises and determining the course of action from there.

Mulligan made the perfect comment. A gap in front of a 4 some doesn't always mean they are a slow group. It's the AND are they late observation that was dead on. I have seen the first 2 or 3 groups on a particular day play faster than usual thus creating a gap between them and a 4 some that is right on time.
And I have seen less than educated ambassadors/rangers ask the on time group to hurry up, keep up with the group ahead, etc. My guess is Mulligan is a very good ambassador.

That too.

Maybe we should all be fitted with "Pace Makers"!:shocked: Or maybe dog collars that the ambassadors can activate if necessary!:shocked:

I just read the post that you feel Shrandell's story is not likely? Seriously?
It is an unusual occurrence, but we know Shrandell to be a person of moral integrity.
And you base your "unlikely" comment on the fact that you feel she should have chased the ambassador in her cart over a golf ball? :ohdear:

Shrandall is true blue and such an honest lady with her lovely British accent and her amazing camera and her wonderful patriotism for this country. I love Shrandall, yes I do. Don't pick on her.


Girls????

I agree with you about being dumbfounded. That is the craziest ambassador story I ever heard.

I don't know the song "Let it go". I do know the song "Let it be."

I have heard stories about crazy golfers from ambassadors too. That would be a fun thread hearing those crazy golfer stories.

Time and place?

Pace
 

Your starting time is not your tee time but the time the first member of your group hits his ball on the first tee. On each score card the cumulative time is marked for the completion of each hole. This is the maximum amount of time it should take you to complete the hole and round. Once a foursome starts getting behind pace it is a snowball effect on the rest of the course. You can bet that if a group is on time but there is a hole open in front of them the group directly behind them is starting to complain to the ambassador. Ambassadors have a thankless job! At this time of year the later groups in the afternoon will have a hard time finishing in daylight especially on a cloudy day.
Why sell so many tee times? Because there is a demand and no one wants to be shut out on a day they want to play. On any given day during this time of year there could easily be 10,000+ golfers playing in The Villages. If your honest with yourself The Villages handle 2.9+ million rounds of golf each year with very few hiccups.

An Ambassador Took Your Ball?
 

On many courses if not most pace of play is important and strictly enforced to a point that if you are told more than twice to pick up speed the next time means that you get thrown off the course.

That same requirement should apply to championship courses because it is open to the public.

On executive courses it is a different mix and more often than not many are new or not serious golfers and my experience after 8 years here is that ambassadors are more aggressive on championship course then executive;albeit I have seen a few newbies who are little frisky at first. On the other hand i have witnessed both on championship courses and executive, players who have been down right abusive to ambassadors both in manner and language. In my view almost all of the ambassadors and starters that i have encountered are good people and if you treat them with respect it will come back to you two fold.

The OP pointed to one reason why there is slow play..Whether you paid for the round or are enjoying one of the executive courses if you mind set is solely this is my time paid or not and the heck with everyone else well then I guess the world has to stop for you to let you by.

The guys I play golf with and there are many all to the last one of them stay conscious of pace of play and we can make record time and still play the game properly but we play ready golf.

We played Churchill Greens about two months ago. A foursome ahead of us took 20 minutes on the first hole. That is seriously wrong.

finally I find it unbelievable that an ambassador would scoop a ball off a green for no reason. If there were no reason then the player should have called the pro overseeing that course and lodged a complaint . It may well be that the player created a golf infraction or faux pas without even realizing it????????

Extract from the first post
" On the 8th tee the ranger arrived for the third time to bitch at us about the pace of play. He said we were holding up the whole course and that the group in front of us was a whole hole ahead. I spoke up loudly that as long we finished in the allotted time, what the people in front of us and behind us do is not our problem. Golf is for enjoyment, I paid for my time on the course and I can tell you that after being growled at by the ranger my enjoyment level went down (as well as my golf performance) for the next few holes. "

Unfortunately, this is a situation seen all too often on the golf course and can lead to frustration all round. Although I can understand that being reprimanded might be annoying, appreciation of golf etiquette might alleviate this: no matter what your pace of play, even within the bounds of the 'allocated' time, players SHOULD care about other people on the course, particularly those behind. Some people do play faster than others and their game can be ruined by having to wait on every shot, knowing that the group in front have fallen behind by at least one hole. Why not call those people through? They can enjoy their game at a pace that suits them, and so can the players that are less speedy - simply by being courteous. As stated, you've paid for your time on the course and want to enjoy it. So does everyone else!