Over coming weeks the GFGC committee will be sharing extracts from the "Pace of Play" Manual developed by the R&A org pace of play.1.1
Golf is a sport that, by its nature, takes longer to play than many other sports. Consequently, any increase in the time taken to play a round of golf needs to be considered as a potential significant barrier to people taking up the sport or to active golfers playing more often.
It is a commonly held view that rounds of golf played over the same course take longer now than they once did. While it is impossible to confirm that this is the case, whether it is true or not is almost irrelevant. What is important is whether a significant proportion of golfers playing on a certain course on a certain day feel that the time taken to play, or the amount of time they had to wait, was excessive and feel that it negatively impacted on their enjoyment.
When the pace of play is causing players who enjoy golf to enjoy it less, and they are experiencing reduced enjoyment on a regular basis, it has become a problem, and something needs to be done about it.
When The R&A undertook its global survey on pace of play in 2015, the results showed that 60% of the 56,000 golfers that completed the survey would enjoy the sport more if it took less time. On average the respondents to the survey played golf twice a week. This demonstrates that, even among those who play golf regularly, there is a strong desire to play in less time.
Stay tuned for next post, happy golfing,
Lisa
Golf is a sport that, by its nature, takes longer to play than many other sports. Consequently, any increase in the time taken to play a round of golf needs to be considered as a potential significant barrier to people taking up the sport or to active golfers playing more often.
It is a commonly held view that rounds of golf played over the same course take longer now than they once did. While it is impossible to confirm that this is the case, whether it is true or not is almost irrelevant. What is important is whether a significant proportion of golfers playing on a certain course on a certain day feel that the time taken to play, or the amount of time they had to wait, was excessive and feel that it negatively impacted on their enjoyment.
When the pace of play is causing players who enjoy golf to enjoy it less, and they are experiencing reduced enjoyment on a regular basis, it has become a problem, and something needs to be done about it.
When The R&A undertook its global survey on pace of play in 2015, the results showed that 60% of the 56,000 golfers that completed the survey would enjoy the sport more if it took less time. On average the respondents to the survey played golf twice a week. This demonstrates that, even among those who play golf regularly, there is a strong desire to play in less time.
Stay tuned for next post, happy golfing,
Lisa