Golf ?...Or The Herding Mentality ?

I was the first one off the tee box , yesterday.
I played as a single.
I'm fast.....and I had something to do, later --
.
I'm on the first green putting + i look back --
two guys on a cart are teeing off.
.
I get to the next fairway + these guys are on the
second tee.........I'm thinking "These guys are fast !
I was gonna drop another ball and practice some shots -
not now.
I'm putting on the green + these guys are on top of me.
.
I hustle to the par 3 Tee box -
and consider letting them thru cos I don't feel like hustling, today.
.
I'm now out of their sight....the course geography allows this.
I finish the 3rd hole + tee off the 4th box.
I don't see these guys again..... and I'm definitely not "hustling"
anymore !
.\
So I started wondering ....
Were those guys trying to keep up with me or overtake me ?
And as soon as I was out of their vision --
their pace slowed down....because my pace slowed down, as well.
.
Was it some kind of "herding mentality" ?
Or a challenge to them - to stay up w/ a "single" ?
I think it was a bit of both cos once I was out of their sight
they definitely slowed down.
Maybe they were "shot out of a cannon" + realized they didn't
have to play that fast ?
.
I didn't see them the rest of the round and I had
to wait on a couple holes for the worker to cut new pin -placements.
.
It was bit weird.
I was actually gonna let them thru --
just didn't like their speed of play.
I play fast......but this wasn't enjoyable....
until I parted ways....."Out of sight - Out of mind" ?

 

"I play fast ... but this wasn't enjoyable ..."

And therein lies the massive gray area that is pace of play. You play fast, you want to play fast, but when someone wanting to play faster appeared it was too fast.

Certainly an extreme example but hopefully you know what I'm saying.

As for this experience, I'd say they definitely saw you as a rabbit and the hunt instinct took over. Once you no longer were prey their modern human wiring took over.

 

I think it's impossible to say. I play as fast as I can, and when I play with my normal partner, there are times when we're very quick. If we both drive it in the fairway and both hit the green, since we're riding in a cart we're really going to move along.

Then on number 3 maybe I shank one into the trees, and I've got to spend some time looking for it, and all of a sudden you never see me again. There's a very good chance it had nothing to do with you and everything to do with how they were playing.

If it was my twosome behind you, there's a fair chance that even if you asked I wouldn't have played through a single, because I don't want you behind me and me feeling like I'm holding you up. Unless it was one of those courses with huge walks between holes and you were walking while we were riding.

Now if you were a group of 3 walkers and I was in a riding twosome, yeah, I might purposely play fast behind you to try to get you to let me through. But not a single.

 

They probably realized they were pressing you

And maybe backed off a little ,it's early youre moving along ok,why rush?
I've asked singles behind me to play thru and they declined and slowed down.

 

actually the rules on many of the Hawaii courses (though not always followed) is that the group needs to keep up with the group in front, not the group behind. In your case the group behind was only trying to keep up with you so when you slowed down they also slowed down.

I'm never the first or second group out, they are expected to set the pace of play for the day so most of the time they are ripping through the course, sometimes playing 18 in 2 and a half hours (walking!). these guys are the regulars and they play fast and will hit onto you (they know how far they hit since they play so regularly at the course) if you aren't keeping up with the pace of play. they don't dilly dally or use honors so some are teeing off on the next hole before the rest are finishing on the previous green.

Unfortunately after that many don't keep up a good pace so they slow down play for the rest of the day. wish the marshals would go out and try to speed up the pace, disgusting when sometimes it takes over 5 hours to play 18, there are times when we are waiting every hole for the next groups. Also wish that they wouldn't allow 6somes until 9 or 10 am since they also slow it down the whole day.

interesting that the pga have commercials trying to speed up play, too bad many of the pros play slow too, maybe they should play the commercials for some pros since they play too slow too.

 

There's a huge disconnect between the various "powers" in golf, for all the lip service and PSAs and homilies that make it sound like everyone is rowing in the same direction.

Golf meets reality with the PGA of America, the group that runs most of our courses, teaches most of us and has the greatest vested interest in things like pace of play, accessibility, growth and fun.

The USGA is about research and propriety; propriety as determined by a bunch of guys who play a game and at places with which we are not familiar. Just look at the anchoring ban to see the gulf between the USGA and PGA of America.

The PGA Tour is, despite the pull and power of the handful of name players at the very top, all about making sure the mid-pack of its constituency is happy. It's a trade organization run essentially for the guys who finish 80th on the money list. IF the tour really cared about pace of play it would hand out strokes more than once every 20 years and make very public the playing practices of its membership. That won't happen. In fact, have you seen that MasterCard ad at Sawgrass with a bunch of presumed John and Joan Qs teeing off blue??? Sawgrass. PGA Tour HQ. MasterCard. One of its biggest sponsor-partners. So what's the message?

I have no idea for what Augusta National stands. You gotta give 'em props for how they toss around charitable dollars, you gotta scratch your head over the lengths the club goes to to protect some antiquated image. Try asking for a tee time as the green coats help "grow the game." lol