Golfers urged to get moving

Two young men walk toward the starter’s booth at the Broken Tee Englewood golf course. One wears jeans and a tank top, the other basketball shorts, also sporting a sleeveless shirt. Neither wears golf shoes.Traditional etiquette would have required them to wear dress pants, or maybe dress shorts, and a collared shirt for the four-hour-plus endeavor ahead of them.While some country clubs still require such formal wear, at many courses, the times have changed — and to take a line from the “Caddyshack” soundtrack, it’s “all right.””In an industry that is oversupplied and is struggling for rounds, don’t we need to make it more friendly and less stodgy and relax dress codes?” said Ed Mate, executive director of the Colorado Golf Association.”I guarantee you, today there are very few courses that are going to turn customers away regardless of the way they are dressed. People are definitely less patient today. Maybe golf can be a part of the solution. The game is hard and takes a lot of discipline to be successful. That’s always been the case.”While patience is a virtue in the game, many believe the failure of golfers to pick up the pace during a round is the biggest violation of etiquette on today’s courses.A need for speedMost golfers know, or should have been taught, that raking bunkers, replacing divots, not stepping in another player’s line on the putting green and repairing ball marks on the green are part of golf etiquette.But perhaps the biggest issue players should monitor is how well they are keeping up with the group ahead of them.”Pace of play is probably the hardest thing on a golf course to control,” said Broken Tee pro shop assistant Joe Pagnotta, who serves as a course ranger three or four times a week. “The easiest way to explain it is there is only one lane of traffic. If the speed limit is 60 and a car is going 40, the ones in front will all still go 60, but the ones behind will go 40.”That’s what happens on the golf course. One group can ruin it for the rest.”Tom Woodard, director of golf for the Foothills Park and Recreation District, emphasizes that slow play is a hazard.”Our game has been stagnant for about a dozen years,” Woodard said. “We’re slowly losing golfers, and we’re not gaining any golfers. The top two reasons people say they don’t play golf is the time it takes and cost.”In the 1980 comedy film “Caddyshack,” Rodney Dangerfield played Al Czervik, who became peeved it was taking so long for a judge, played by Ted Knight, to hit the ball, so he uttered, “Let’s go … while we’re young.”Two years ago, the United States Golf Association adopted “while we’re young” as an initiative to combat slow play.Stepping up paceSouth Suburban Golf Course in Centennial doesn’t employ marshals but has an extra person in the pro shop who tends to any course problems. They have a greeter on the first hole to remind players of golf etiquette and pace of play, and the course has signs that say “while we’re young.” Taking a page from the Denver Broncos Peyton Manning, the course also employs signs imparting “hurry, hurry.”Several local golf professionals and executives offered tips to speed the pace of play, like hitting from closer tees that are more manageable, playing courses that are not too difficult and engaging “ready golf,” which among other things, could mean ignoring “honors” and letting the first person to the tee box hit first and continue putting instead of marking your ball.”Another thing that has ruined pace of play is television,” Pagnotta said. “Golfers watch TV. The pros are playing for a million dollars, so they need to take their time and do what they do. Out here, you have to play ready golf.”Marshals or rangers, who are on the course to enforce rules like pace of play, can be intimidating to some.”I like it quicker, but I’ve been in groups that have been put on the clock,” said Broken Tee MetaGolf instructor Jason Preeo, who has played in the U.S. Open and coaches the boys team at Valor Christian. “It makes me very uncomfortable.”Rangers don’t bother Stan Wood of Denver, a men’s club member at Broken Tee.”They don’t intimidate me at all,” Wood said. “I’d like to see more of them. I can see how it could affect some players. Most of them are pretty good guys.”