Golf Digest - August 1998 - Hit When Ready
The
horrors of the almost-six-hour round had reached a
crisis state at Deer Run Golf Club in Victoria, Minn. To
provide relief for those players who do not enter a
perpetual dream state as soon as they lace up their
spikes, director of operations Tom Abts came up with
Fast Play Friday.
The rules were simple: Play the front
nine in an hour and 55 minutes or get tossed from the
course. Another starter would be waiting at the 10th
tee. With two rangers patrolling each nine, a Friday
round should take three hours and 50 minutes. "It might
seem like the edge of harassment," says Abts, "but
everyone understands that it works. Friday is now
sold-out. It's our highest revenue day-whereas it used
to be the fourth-busiest day. And now that people are
getting used to it, it's rubbing off on the rest of the
week. A typical round here is now nearer four hours,
even when the place is mobbed."
Last year, six foursomes
were given rain checks and escorted off the course for
not making the two-hour mark. While some course
operators Abts has talked to seem to fearful about
enforcing such a pace of play, it should be noted that
in the United Kingdom, a 3:50 round would be considered
mighty slow trucking.
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