Playing the first round of my club championship some 20 years ago now, I went out first, in a two ball, with one of our best players, someone who has won the club championship, I think, nine times… (I have never won it.)
He’s a quick player and so am I. We raced round in about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Yes, we were quick, and we were drinking pints in the bar before we knew what had happened. Well, what had happened is that we had both scored really rather poorly.
Heading into the clubhouse just after finishing, at least 45 minutes ahead of the next group, we were met by my playing partner’s father, (another former club champion.) “What are you doing finished this early?” He said. “Were you not even trying?” … Or words to that effect.
He was right. We’d run round at such a pace that we hadn’t concentrated properly on our games. We had played too quickly.
Yes, you can play too fast. I think so at least, as does my colleague Nick Bonfield. If you don’t take a moment to consider your actions, the strength of the wind, the line of your putt, you’re not going to perform to the best of your ability and that means you won’t enjoy the game so much as you might.
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'A good, enjoyable pace'
I would say that any round played in under two and a half hours is probably too fast, no matter what 18-hole course you’re playing on. I should say that my home course is just a par 69 with tees close to previous greens, so not a long walk.
If you play at lightning-quick pace, not only will you not get the most from your game, but you’ll also make other groups on the course uncomfortable. If you race up behind a group, they’ll be pressured into letting your through immediately and it could impact their games. That’s not fair.
I think everyone should try to play at a good, enjoyable pace and that doesn’t need to be a sprint.
A friend of mine, a US golf journalist, told me a funny story about playing at a historic Scottish links. Before heading to the first tee, he jokingly asked in the pro shop, “What’s the course record?” The deadpan answer was, “I believe it’s 1 hour 49 minutes.” That might be a bit extreme!
A round at my course – par 69 as mentioned – should take 2 hours 50 minutes for a two ball, 3 hours 10 minutes for a three ball and 3 hours 25 minutes for a four ball.
If you’re playing a longer, championship course then you might add half an hour on to each of those times.
Although I don’t think playing too fast is a good idea, I think playing too slowly is a far worse crime. Slow play is one of the main factors putting people off golf just now. In the modern world, not many of us can spare 5 hours for 18 holes.
I’ll use my course as the benchmark again – par 69 and a shortish walk. For a two ball, 3 hours 25 minutes is too slow, for a three ball, 3 hours 45 minutes is too slow and a four ball, 4 hours is too slow… Again, add on half an hour or so if you’re playing a longer par 71 or 72 track.
This is just my opinion, but I think, at my course, somewhere around the 3-hour mark is ideal for a round of golf. Each course is different and at a testing track, with par 72, closer to 4 hours might be more realistic…. For me, as soon as it’s over 4 hours 30 minutes, it’s too slow!
