Pace of play vs time to play

There is a lot of talk lately about pace of play and the length of time it takes to play a round of golf. To me, these are two different things.

Pace of play - This is how the round moves along. Are you stopping a lot to wait for the group in front of you, while they search for lost balls, take 45 practice swings, wait to hit their 2nd shots to a par 5 green until the group in front of them have left the green, or take 2 - 3 minutes to line up their putts? No one likes to stand around during a round of golf, waiting to hit their next shot. This gets extremely frustrating. However, in my opinion, this is different from how long it takes to play.

Length of time it takes to play is a whole different animal. There seems to be some opinions lately that golf takes too long to play as a whole. On a good day, 18 holes can take as little as 3 1/2 hours. Most average days are at least 4 - 4 1/2 hours to play 18. On those days when the course is busy and the pace of play is on the slower side, it can take 5 hours or more to play. These are the days where pace of play and the length of time to play cross paths.

Personally, when I decide to play a round of golf, I have usually blocked off at least 6 hours, factoring in drive time. I know that a round of golf is going to take up a good chunk of time and frankly, I truly enjoy the time spent in the course. I am in no rush to leave the course; so for me the length of time to play a round is not really an issue.

So, when I hear people complaining about pace of play, I am always puzzled when they refer to how long it takes to play. If you aren't planning on more than 4 hours, then you should only play 9 holes. If you want to play 18, then plan on at least 4 - 4 1/2 hours, and enjoy a nice walk in a beautiful setting.

Having said that, I completely understand the frustration of having to stand around waiting throughout the whole round. That's where pace of play comes in. I feel that even if a round took 6 hours to play, but there was no waiting along the way, then that would be OK. If a round only takes 4 hours, but I have to stand and wait all the time, not playing continuously, that is an issue.

So, I guess for me, it can be summed up like this. I enjoy golf. I enjoy the time spent on the course. I am not in a rush to leave the course, but I don't like to stand around. So, keep the pace steady and enjoy the day.