EXCLUSIVE REPORT
GETTING
LOCK-WISE
A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT COMMISSIONED BY GOLF AUSTRALIA HAS EXAMINED THE
PROBLEM OF PACE OF PLAY AT CLUBS AROUND THE COUNTRY. THE REPORT LOOKS AT
THE CAUSES, THE IMPACT OF SLOW PLAY AND HOW ROUND TIMES CAN BE IMPROVED.
WORDS: BRENDAN JAMES
S
low play … every golfer hates it, but there are few among those
playing 1.2 million rounds of golf annually in this country that
would put their hand up to confess being a slow golfer.
Time, in this day and age, has become a treasured thing that most of
us complain we don’t have enough of. So, when it takes more than four,
or even five, hours to play an 18-hole round of golf, it puts the game on
the nose as far as attracting new people into the sport. Then there are
the established club golfers who are finding it harder to devote enough
time to fit a round in on a regular basis.
Pace of play is the basis of a report commissioned by Golf
Australia (GA), which is aiming to get a better
understanding of the issue. GA chose to undertake
a survey of club administrators across the country
to round out the information being collated in a
worldwide study by the R& A of individual golfers.
The results of that R&A survey, to be covered in the
June issue of Golf Australia magazine, looks at the
issue from the golfer’s perspective.
Golf Australia’s Pace of Play Report sought to
discover more information around five key points:
•The true extent of the pace of play issue in golf;
•An understanding of all of the causes, from a
club administrator’s perspective;
•The degree of importance the industry attaches
to trying to improve pace of play;
•What impact is slow play having on golf club
financial outcomes; and
•What are the most effective strategies to
improve pace of play.
those clubs with a smaller membership. Bigger clubs also host more
competition rounds, adding to the problem of pace of play.
In addition to this, clubs with a more difficult golf course (measured
by the respective course’s slope rating) have a higher concern about
pace of play issues than easier courses.
However, club administrators overwhelmingly believe that
“behavioural factors within the control of the individual golfer” are
largely responsible for pace of play issues, rather than club operational
factors like course set-up.
“Examples include golfers not being ready to play when it is their
turn, pre-shot routines, not calling groups through
etc,” the report says. “This suggests there are
solutions readily available to improve pace of play
issues but they are not being implemented due
to an alternate focus on the behavioural factors of
individual golfers.”
Successfully educating players to pick up the
pace – in comparison with course set-up or a club’s
operations – is not an easy task to change in the
long term.
“The discussion around pace of play therefore
becomes a question as to what is most important,”
the report says.
“Is it the way in which the product is presented
to the customer or is it the manner in which the
customer is consuming the product?”
Whilst the concept of ready golf addresses the
customer and their behaviour, and those who
have adopted it have achieved some improved
Golf Business Advisory Services
outcomes, clubs with concerns about slow play, the
(GBAS) developed a 24-quesreport suggests “should be equally encouraged to
tion survey, which was distributed
also focus on how they are presenting the product.”
to 1,600 golf clubs throughout
With club golf in Australia revolving around
Australia. Approximately 150,000
playing members – about 40
competition play, the various formats of
percent of Australia’s affiliated playcompetitions were examined (see table page 46).
ing members – were represented
It was established that different scoring methods
by the 312 club administrators that
certainly impact the time taken to play a round,
responded to the survey.
with Par competitions taking the least time to
THE SURVEY
THE CAUSE?
Of those clubs that responded in this survey,
only 25 percent of them had a serious concern
regarding pace of play in male events, with only 16
percent sharing a similar view with female events.
But the GA study further established that
bigger clubs with a high number of members
had a greater concern about pace of play than
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45
FACTORS AFFECTING PACE OF PLAY
Marking your card on the green not only holds up the
group behind you but adds to the time of your own
round. Clubs promoting ‘ready golf ‘ are keen on eradicating this in a bid to improve the pace of play.
Slow play behaviour includes not be
prepared when its your turn to putt.
play. Interestingly, clubs with the highest concerns about slow play
only have 12 percent of their competition schedule devoted to Par
events.
The overwhelming theme coming from respondent clubs is that pace
of play issues can be easily attributed to the behaviours of golfers,
rather than factors within the club’s control.
In fact, seven of the top-10 reported influences on pace of play
(see graph page 48) can be attributed to the behavioural factors of
golfers. The three remaining factors – age profile, limited golf skill and
a visiting golfer’s lack of course knowledge –are all limitations of the
individual golfer.
“It is evident from that graph that player behaviour reasons
account for the top eight issues proffered by golfers. Consistent with
the broader global findings, it is clear that the significance of the
contributing course management factors are not well understood,” the
report says.
“This finding also suggests that where the national and international
governing bodies have not made a concerted effort to raise awareness
of the impact on pace of play of various service provider actions, it is
unreasonable to expect these implications to be intuitively understood.
“Interestingly within the North American market the most frequently
cited cause by the consumer was players using tees which are
too difficult for them. This finding indicates that the USGA’s “Tee It
Forward” campaign is of particular relevance within that region. Such a
campaign indicates that administration led initiatives can be effective
and, in the North American case, successfully filter through to golfers
in that market.”
There are no factors relating to course set-up, golf operations or the
*EVENT TYPES & TIMES (group of four players)
EVENT TYPE
%MIX OF EVENTS
IDEAL TIME % DESIRED REDUCTION
Par12%
4:21
4:03
7%
Stableford64%
4:25
4:06
7%
Stroke24%
4:41
4:18
8%
Weighted Avg.100%
4:27
4:07
7%
*Figures for clubs with a high concern for pace of play.
46
AVERAGE TIME
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nature of the golf course or conditions
are considered to be in the top-10 factors
influencing pace of play.
However, five of the top-10 strategies
– those being ‘golfers not ready to
play’, ‘pre-shot routines’, ‘marking
cards when should be teeing off’,
‘golfers overestimating their length’ and
‘unnecessary marking on greens’ – are
factors which the promotion of ‘Ready
Golf’ in golf clubs seeks to alleviate.
THE IMPACT
Respondents to the GA study were asked
to rate the negative impacts that pace
of play has on certain indicators that
are often synonymous with a well-performing golf club. These factors
included maintaining high member satisfaction; an ability to maximise
golfers’ opportunity for post-round spending/socialising; the impact
of slow member play on available remaining time for social golf and
subsequent green fee revenue generation; and, member retention and
attraction.
Generally, club administrators believe pace of play is having a
limited impact on club performance. However, those clubs where pace
of play is an ongoing problem, there was a concern about keeping
members satisfied.
The study highlighted that club administrators considered the
impact of slow play, in member competition rounds, on their ability to
accommodate green fee/social golfers after those rounds was only of
average concern.
But the report notes that being able to provide times for social
golf and the subsequent green fee revenue generation “should be
highlighted due to its compounding nature”.
“If slow play was to cause one less four-ball slot being available for
social play each weekend, if paying $40 per round, this lost time slot
equates to approximately $8,300 in lost revenue per annum,” the report
said. “Two lost slots equates to $16,600, and four slots exceeds $30,000.
Such revenue, let alone profit, is not always immediately replaceable.”
It is not hard to assume that a short fall in green fee revenue, perhaps
caused by slow play, might force club administrators and golf club
boards to sign off on increases to member’s annual fees.
SPEEDING UP PLAY
Based on responses provided to GA, there are many actions club
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TOP 10 REPORTED FACTORS
CAUSING PACE OF PLAY ISSUES
Thinning out roughs does add
increase rhe pace of play as players
don’s spend time looking for their ball.
OTHER KEY FINDINGS
•Pace of play becomes a concern when the average round
time across all events equates to four hours 19 minutes.
Clubs with the greater concern, the average round time is
four hours 35 minutes.
•Par events are the fastest event type, with an average
time of four hours 12 minutes. Stableford are slightly slower
at four hours 15 minutes, while Stroke (including Medal)
administrators are not taking to address pace of play, particularly
at clubs where concern for pace of play exists. While the promotion
of ‘ready golf’ is widespread and four other measures have been
tried, all other measures listed in the survey – including using a
course marshall, slowing green speeds, increasing tee time intervals
and threatening restrictions for repeat slow players – have been
implemented by less than half of surveyed clubs, including those with a
high concern for pace of play.
Clubs where there is a high concern about slow play, have
implemented several actions to improve the speed of play including
the promotion of ‘ready golf’ (84 percent), thinning roughs (73
percent), penalising slow play offenders (76 percent), clearing out
areas adjacent to playing areas (62 percent) and using friendlier flag
positions (64 percent).
events take an average of four hours 29 minutes to
complete.
•Golf administrators believe that the two most prominent
general factors affecting pace of play are both behavioural
factors of the individual golfer, those being golfer
expectations (feeling entitled to play at their own pace)
and golfer awareness and abilities.
•Course design, course set-up and play management
procedures are understood by clubs to have the least
impact on pace of play.
•Clubs trying to combat slow play have implemented
several actions including the promotion of ‘ready golf’ (84
percent), thinning roughs (73 percent), penalising slow
play offenders (76 percent), clearing out scrub adjacent to
playing areas, thus preventing five minute ball searches (62
percent) and using ‘friendlier’ pin positions (64 percent).
•Of the clubs who promoted ‘ready golf’, 94 percent of clubs
reported some improvement in round times.
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WHAT IS READY GOLF?
It is exactly what it says…being ready to play as soon as possible.
Examples of ready golf include:
•Hitting a shot if the person furthest away is faced with a challenging
shot and is taking time to assess their options;
•Shorter hitters playing first off the tee;
•Putting out, even if it means standing on or close to someone else’s
line;
•Hitting a tee shot if the person with the honour is delayed in being
ready to take their shot;
•Hitting a shot if the person who’s just played from a bunker is still
furthest from the hole but is delayed due to raking; and
• Marking scores after hitting off on the next hole.
Implementing these actions separately or collectively will improve the
pace of play.
Of the clubs who have promoted ‘ready golf’, 94 percent have enjoyed
some degree of success with 25 percent reporting ‘satisfying success.’
To obtain a copy of the full report please visit
www.golf.org.au/paceofplayreport