Course manager
How to manage pace of play
By Caddyio · Updated
Slow play is almost never fixed by signs. It is fixed by knowing which group fell behind and on which hole, early enough to do something about it. That needs three things: a target time your course can actually be played in, a way of seeing groups against it while they are still out there, and a first-tee interval that is not itself the cause.
- Set a target you can defend Work out a realistic time per hole for your course rather than adopting a number from elsewhere. A tight par 3 and a long par 5 are not the same, and a target that nobody achieves is a target everybody ignores.
- Check the tee interval first If groups are going out every eight minutes and taking fourteen minutes a hole, the course will back up regardless of how anyone plays. Before blaming players, confirm the sheet is not overloading the first tee.
- Measure against the field, not the clock The useful question is not "how long has this group taken" but "how far behind the group in front are they". A group can be slow in isolation and cause nobody a problem.
- Intervene by the 6th, not the 15th A group that is fifteen minutes down at the turn will not make it up. The intervention that works happens early and is a quiet word, not a ranger appearing at the 16th to tell a fourball they ruined the day.
- Deal with the causes you control Ball searches, hole locations near a slope, a blind tee shot with no marshal, buggies restricted to paths on a wet day. Several of the biggest pace problems are set by the club rather than the players.
- Report it back to members Clubs that publish how the course is running — and what they changed as a result — get more cooperation than clubs that only put up signs saying "keep up".
Frequently asked
- What is a reasonable pace of play target?
- It depends on your course rather than on a standard figure — length, terrain and how tight the holes are all matter. The test is whether an average group achieves it on an ordinary day; a target nobody hits gets ignored.
- Why is our course slow even though players are not?
- Usually the tee interval. If groups go out faster than the course can absorb them, it backs up no matter how quickly anyone plays. Check the sheet before you address the players.
- When should a marshal speak to a slow group?
- Early — by around the sixth hole. A group fifteen minutes down at the turn cannot realistically recover it, and an intervention at the 16th only causes resentment.
Caddyio tracks groups against your course's own pace target while they are still on it, so staff can see who is falling behind and on which hole rather than discovering it at the scoreboard.