New Pace of Play Policies
Effective 6/11/24
Modified 8/23/24
Introduction
With the heat of summer in the not-too-distant future, keeping up our pace of play(POP) is not only more courteous…and more fun, ….it’s safer. Why are we back and talking about this again? Well unfortunately, our Pace of Play has slowed considerably this year. Out goal is to have 75% of our players finish their rounds in 4 hours and 15 minutes or less. As you can see from the table below, we're heading in the wrong direction.
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (YTD) as of 5/28 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. POP | 4:09:03 | 4:08:32 | 4:15:02 |
| % finishing <4:15 | 63.9% | 64.8% | 48.9% |
| Players/event | 91 | 100 | 104 |
Just like so many things in life, the devil is in the details. The focus will be on the little things that each of us can do on every shot to trim 10 seconds off the time it takes to play it. We're focusing on shortening round times by playing more efficiently and getting rid of the 'dead air' between shots.
While many factors contributed to our POP, there are 3 key issues:
1. Not being ready when it's your turn
2. Poor equipment management for both walkers & riders
3. Not knowing when it is ok to play out of turn
So here's our plan to address these issues:
New Initiatives
1. Remind everyone on how to do the right thing! This will include:
- New member Intro letters include our expectations for POP and an instructional video.
- Regular speedy play tips sent out via email and blog
- POP instructional video with easy tips. Every member is encouraged to watch this and put these tips into practice.
2. Provide on-course support
- Course marshals will be actively monitoring slower groups and providing POP suggestions to groups not keeping pace. All 4 courses have committed to support this program.
- Board volunteers will be made available to any group wanting/needing a POP monitor for a round. Monitors will observe play and offer tips for improvement.
3. Policy For Groups Not Keeping Pace:
- 1st hour tee time groups not finishing in 4 hours or less will not receive 1st hour tee times for the following 4 weeks
- Groups taking longer than 4:20 **and** finishing 20 minutes or more behind the group in front of them will be flagged as slow and will receive tee times not earlier than 9:00 a.m for four weeks.
If that group is flagged again during the following four weeks, those players will no longer receive tee times earlier than 10:30am.
Groups can end that restriction by: - Accepting an on-course monitor; and/or
- Consistently keeping pace with groups ahead of them for 4 consecutive weeks.
That’s it for now. These plans will be updated as necessary.
Feel free to contact any board member with questions, concerns, or suggestions for improvement. We’re all here to make our Tuesday mornings the best that they can be!!!