Petition to shorten golf courses

Reading jack Nicklaus comments and reacting to the pga campaign right now. " while i'm still young!"

I am hoping something be done about the deplorable state of slow play everywhere.  When Mr Nicklaus said the game at the old course used to be played in 3.5 hours, the answer was obvious, he said. Shorten the courses, change  the ball, make it faster and more enjoyable for everyone.  

So maybe the golf ball change will not be welcome.  And the shortening of holes make it too simple for some.  Some may feel playing longer holes makes it more worth it.  

Then how about this, a radical rethink.  Make the game a 15 hole course.  Who decided it had to be 18 anyway. Is it in the rule books?

We all enjoy the occasional 9 holes.  So how about 3 x 5 holes.  And for the heck of it par 75 for par, by turning some of those ridiculous long par 4s into par 5s.  25 per 5 holes.  So get this.  More drink breaks, more beer, more chit chat, more laughter, more time after golf, mo better.

You come in to the club. You play 5, 10 or 15.  Mathematically beautiful  as well.


Thats a rant and a thought for the weekend.  On that bombshell, good night.

good note. 

There is one already in Singapore. The 5 hole exec course in jcc. Nsrcc has the 9 hole exec course. 

Problem might be a peak hour one. Too many people and only so many hours. 

One idea could be borrowed from swimming in public pools. 

In Japan, Ive seen lanes split into fast and slow lanes. So if you go there after a few sessions, you'll automatically figure out which lane you really belong in. The process involves a mystery person tickling your feet.

In no way am I suggesting you tickle the flight in front of you. 

Nor do I profess any experience in club management. 

But perhaps this concept can be used for some 3 x 9 hole courses. 


Although another idea, is that at during busy periods, marshalls here at least might be more effective if they first asked you. "water or 100 plus". next question "snickers or cereal bar" and
then "please move on". Cause waiting in the sun is thirsty business and a little snack might help to ease tensions.

Fast lane slow lane. Good idea.   Like a streaming system.  Maybe when we book flights, have a speed of play ranking , ferrari or bmw or bicycle rank.  Then the faster players get earlier flights. Slow ones play back flights so they can take it easy.  Which in no way determines how well they play, just what pace they are willing to play at.

Even though there are 18 holes, you can just play 15 and go off. No one will stop you, as long as your flight mates are agreeable to 15-hole games.

that is also the fastest way to bring down our scores. instant cut of 12 strojes

One of the problems is that people don't know what tees to pay off of.  There are four tee boxes and no matter how people play, they all want to tee off from the blues.  I don't know what is everyone's fascination with the blue tees.  The game is hard enough and people must remember to enjoy it.  In my opinion, it doesn't matter how far you can hit it, but if you can't break 85/90 regularly you should stick to the whites. 

Also, etiquette is another issue.  People must be taught to let people through if they are playing slow or the group behind them is faster and/or has has less people.  

There are many things we can do to quicken up the game but people must be humble and know the limits of their own game.

I totally agree with the tees issue. I also dun understand why everyone choose blue n make par 4 like par 5s.... if this can be well enforced alone, the courses will definitely be much faster

I also agree with the issue on the tees in which players choose to play. The most hated one is when I see some folks have to use driver on par 3 and still can't make it to the green!

The biggest problem in golf is the selection of Tees as stated above. The next is that of players having no consideration for others playing on the course. It is like "I have paid my money and the course is mine".

As for why 18 holes:

"In 1858, the R&A issued new rules for its members; Rule 1 stated 'one round of the Links or 18 holes is reckoned a match unless otherwise stipulated'. We can only presume that, as many clubs looked to the R&A for advice, this was slowly adopted throughout Britain. By the 1870s, therefore, more courses had 18 holes and a round of golf was being accepted as consisting of 18 holes."

There is also overcrowding on the golf course during weekends, tournaments or other peak times. Clubs send flights out every 7-8 mins actually contribute to the slow pace. Longer gaps like 10-11 allows smoother  transition. This is not theory..USGA concluded it from their own research years ago. Growth is good for the game, but bad for pace of play.

Like car ownership and traffic jam.