The timing is to the minute at North Berwick. A fourball on the famed West Links, the club’s website advises, should “not take more than 3 hours and 59 minutes to play the course”.
Precise matters. A bucket list venue for most golfers, and with a busy membership to keep happy, wasted minutes mean frustration and – potentially – lost revenue.
So they take speed seriously and that starts with Gordon Wood, one of four starters at North Berwick.
“Over the summer, we have two full-time starters and two seasonal starters,” he said. “We do a double shift – you split the day, so you’ve got an early start (7.15am through to 3.30am) and then you’ve got 9.45am through to close of play, which is usually 6.30pm.
“In the busy part of the day, when all the visitors are here, we’ve got two starters on.”
Wood isn’t just pointing out course configuration and giving a potted history. Perhaps his most important advice revolves around getting groups round the course in good time.
“Part of the briefing we give on the tee is informing about pace of play and a fourball getting round in four hours.
“We expect them to play Ready Golf and advise there is a ranger out on the course who is keeping an eye and monitoring pace of play.
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“It’s members only from 7.30am through to 10.30am, and we set off effectively in seven-and-a-half minute intervals – so seven one time and eight the other.
“Members tend to keep pace fairly well. Once visitors start coming in they (Rangers) will be out on the course and checking groups as they go round.
“If they see gaps appearing, they will go and have a gentle word – making sure they are enjoying their round, say they’ve fallen a hole behind and it would be great if they could pick the pace up and catch up with the game in front.”
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It’s a balancing act – keeping things moving while allowing visitors enjoy the experience of playing a course ranked 11th in NCG’s Top 100s Great Britain & Ireland list.
“The approach a Ranger makes is trying to do it in a friendly way that’s just encouraging to move along. In many cases, because of that sense of enjoyment going round, they don’t even realise they have fallen behind,” added Wood.
And if that doesn’t work, the club reserves the right to “ask golfers on the course to leave if their lack of ability is holding up the pace of play on the course”.
“It’s very rare that has to happen. We’ve not needed to do it this year but it has happened in the past.
“Generally speaking, if the Ranger has a word, nine times out of 10 groups will respond.
“(But) There are many factors that contribute to pace of play and it’s not just simply about how slow someone is.
“It’s about weather conditions, the condition of the course. Is the rough thick and heavy? That will tend to slow up as people have stray shots and are having to play more provisional tee shots.”
How does your club handle slow play? Let me know in the comments or tweet me.
