Dear Wanderers Golf Society Members,

In recent times we have been experiencing an increasing problem of slow play by a few of our members. This comes about by a lateness in arriving at the Tee, excessive practice swings on each shot played, only beginning to decide which club to play and put the glove on after all others have played, a tardiness in moving between shots or green to tee, staying too long at the drink stops etc etc. In our last three outings we have seen groups fall behind by over 2 clear holes from the group in front. This obviously causes delays at the end in getting the presentation underway or frustration by players waiting behind the offending players.

We often blame course management for the time it takes to get around the course, and at times it is justified. However when we see our own groups of players stretching out over the field we have to take responsibility for that situation.

I am often asked what I am going to do to improve the situation. In response I have made numerous mentions at the after match function and have spoken to individual members or groups who have been responsible for some of the delays that have occurred. Unfortunately because there are no consequences, these actions are seen to be meaningless in that the situation has not improved.

At our June committee meeting the issue was discussed in full. The out come from this is that we intend to implement action at this stage on one aspect of the slow play and that is lateness to the tee.

While it is accepted that from time to time members may sleep in, lose their way to the course or get caught in traffic, most have cell phones and can ring ahead. In these circumstances we can shuffle members to a certain degree to accommodate. However, for those members that have arrived at the course on time but for a variety of reasons make it to the tee on or after the allotted time there is no excuse. As such from July we intend to invoke rule 6-3a which states.

If a player arrives at his starting point ready to play within 5 minutes after his starting time, in the absence of circumstances that warrant waiving the penalty of disqualification as provided in rule 33-7, the penalty for failure to start on time is loss of the first hole to be played in match play or 2 strokes in stroke play. Penalty for lateness beyond 5 minutes is disqualification

I trust that the members will not put me in a position to spoil their excellent round by adding a two shot penalty to their score. However, we all pay our fees and as such are entitled to an enjoyable and reasonably good flowing game of golf. For the majority of our members it will be golf as usual.

As to other actions causing slow play we ask members to assess their performance and address the issue as a matter of respect to other members of the society. Should your group fall behind we ask that a genuine effort be made to catch up. Should a member within your group be responsible for slowing it down, he/she should be addressed in a cordial manner by the Group Leader, who will either be a committee member or the person with the lowest handicap, to speed it up. As Club Captain I cannot cover all groups and rely on members to assist for the enjoyment of all. Please also remember that our reputation as a Society impacts on our ability to negotiate prices at some of the courses we attend.

As always please feel free to approach me should you have a view on the actions proposed.

Kind Regards

Dave O'Callaghan

Club Captain