Inside Comments: Steve Turcotte

Readers speak up about slow play

For the most part, through the years of doing this column for Inside Golf, people might read these pearls of wisdom and then throw the paper in the recycle bin. But there are people who have something to say. One time I wrote that people who live on a golf course should be responsible for their own broken windows. The column was written tongue in cheek, but people thought I was way out of line, and I heard about it.

Last month, when I talked about slow golf, it struck a nerve. Several people sent in anecdotes about slow play. And I can relate with every one of them. Here goes:

• “I read your column in the April 2025 issue of Inside Golf. My recent experience didn’t lead to a fight, but it was bad enough for an old guy who learned golf when golfers knew and used proper golf etiquette.  Many people came out to play on a recent sunny day. There were (5) foursomes ahead of my partner and me. We had to wait to tee off or to hit to the green several times. Whenever we had to wait, the foursome ahead of us was waiting for the group ahead of them too. 

A group of 20-somethings hit into my partner and me three times on the second half of the course. After the second time, I politely told them they should drive ahead in their carts as needed to be sure it is clear. One of them hit a ball over our heads on the last hole, while my partner and I waited in the fairway to hit to the green. Later, in front of the pro shop with a staff member present as an observer, they said they hadn’t driven their carts forward to check because they had waited a long time and thought it was clear. They thought they had no liability if they hit us, because golfers assume risk for their own safety on the course. They didn’t intend to hit us, and they said they had yelled “fore,” which my partner and I never heard from them, ever.

Their knowledge and actions were wrong. If a golfer’s behavior is negligent, he is liable for any consequent injury (or death) regardless of assumed risk, intent, and yelled warnings. High school and college coaches and teaching professionals need to stress courtesy, etiquette and the law more than they already do. I hope you can help inform golfers how to behave when they are tired of waiting.

By the way, the other two times they hit into us were the usual bouncing balls on to or next to the green while we were putting. No big deal. The 3rd time was about an hour before sunset, so I wasn’t surprised that the club pro had already left. The employee in the clubhouse said, in the future, I could call the clubhouse and a marshal would come out to handle the situation. I suspect the same is true for slow players.”

• From another slow golf hater: “I was playing with a couple of buddies at Washington National, and we had an early time, we were like 2nd to go out. My two partners were so slow every time before they hit the ball, they took 10 practice swings and on putts took 5 minutes to line up. The ranger came and warned us we were too slow and need to pick up the pace. No one was in front of us and still they were doing the same thing, so the ranger warns us again on sixth hole, I was like I am done with this I just left the course after paying $150 to play and wished I could get my money back.”

• And yet another: “I was at a tournament, and it was a slow day – a 5:45 round and a backup on a par-4. Our group hit and then waited for our next shot when a kid behind us hit this ball and nearly hit our group. I yelled back that we have not left yet. Then a couple holes later the kid did the same thing we could not move after he hit us, I hit the ball back to them and yelled at them on the next hole, and they never did it again.”

• And there is more: “There is nothing worse than the slow golf you talked about, and people just don’t seem to care. Several rounds last summer, we played behind a slow group that would not let us play through. There was no one in front of them. Finally, it got to the point where we asked five holes in, and they said they were playing fast enough. There was a little argument about how slow they were, but they did nothing. Fortunately, at the turn they stopped and we buzzed through them.  Of course, there was no one for three holes. Slow golf is the worst. Where are the marshals when you need them?”

On another slow golf note, I remembered reading about public golf courses in Southern California taking drastic steps to combat slow golf. They would warn groups once to speed up. A second warning meant they had better catch up. And the third warning meant they had to leave the course, get a rain check and come back and learn to play faster.

Too much?

No way, that is the way golf needs to take the approach for slow golf.  If you can’t keep up, get to the range and work on your game and read a book on golf etiquette.

Steve Turcotte is editor of Inside Golf Newspaper. He can be reached at sdturcotte@comcast.net.