Talk of The Villages Florida - People who play with 2,3,& 4 balls on the course

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- - People who play with 2,3,& 4 balls on the course (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/golf-villages-216/people-who-play-2-3-4-balls-course-71275/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Hannon (Post 633459)

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

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.

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.

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by another Linda (Post 633560)

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by another Linda (Post 633560)

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajbrown (Post 633613)

Great explanation!

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.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr (Post 633601)

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!