CTGA 2025 Pace of Play Policy

Our CTGA Pace of Play policy was established and approved by our members at our 2021 Annual
Meeting but has been quite relaxed up to now. In light of expectations from golf courses and our
CTGA members, we have made the commitment to apply and enforce our CTGA Pace of Play
Policy in accordance with USGA Prompt Pace of Play, Rule 5.6 (as defined below) to its fullest in
2025.

Our 2025 CTGA Pace of Play policy has a 2 part common goal…

  1. ALL FOURSOME FINISH TIMES SHALL NOT EXCEED 4 HOURS 30 MINUTES,
  2. ALL FOURSOMES NOT TO EXCEED 20 MINUTE FINISH BEHIND THE FOURSOME IN FRONT.

Most all CTGA members are making a concerted effort to meet this goal, yet we continue to see some groups every event who just can’t seem to play in less than 5 hours.

Why does CTGA have a Pace of Play Policy?

  1. Golf courses are becoming less lenient on excessive slow play and its important for CTGA to maintain a positive relationship with all golf courses on our schedule;
  2. Our Members continually request an acceptable Pace of Play in our tournaments.
  3. We will not lose valued members due to the continual frustrations of Slow Play.
  4. It is the right way to play golf.

The success of our Pace policy is determined by….

  1. The pace of the General Public play in front of our lead foursome;
  2. Our lead CTGA foursome maintains an acceptable pace behind the GP foursome in front;
  3. All other CTGA foursomes maintain an acceptable pace behind our lead foursome.

As Directors, our commitment to our Members is to:

  1. Honor the continuing requests to eliminate Excessive Slow Play;
  2. Clarify our position as to what constitutes “Excessive Slow Play” as explained below;
  3. Avoid premature penalizing of players until we understand why their finish time was excessive;
  4. Be fair and consistent on when to or not assess penalties for Excessive Slow Play.

Excessive Slow Play will not be assessed if….

  1. The foursome completes their round in 4 hours 30 minutes or less or finishes more than a hole behind the foursome in front but within our 4 hour 30 minute goal.
  2. The foursome maintains an acceptable distance with the foursome in front but finishes in more than 4 hours 30 minutes, caused by excessive slow play in front of them.
  3. The foursome gets behind during the round but is successful in catching up and getting back to an acceptable position behind the foursome in front.

Excessive Slow Play WILL be assessed if…..

  1. The foursome maintains a position of more than a hole behind for most of the round and finishes in excess of 20 minutes behind the foursome in front;
  2. The foursome fails to maintain an acceptable pace behind the foursome in front that causes excessive wait time and bottlenecks of foursomes behind and make no effort to catch up.

ACCEPTABLE POSITION ON THE COURSE is defined by CTGA policy as….

  1. Being ready to play when the group in front is out of range on the same fairway;
  2. The group in front is still in the fairway on Par 4 and Par 5 holes or on the green on Par 3 holes when your group reaches the teeing ground on the same hole.

Simply stated, if you’re waiting for the foursome in front to clear to make your shot, your pace is excellent, whereas if you can’t see the foursome in front, your pace is poor.

THE 2 MAJOR FACTORS THAT WILL ENSURE AN ACCEPTABLE PACE OF PLAY:

Although there are many helpful hints one can incorporate in his/her game to ensure an Acceptable Pace of Play, the 2 Major Factors all players should focus on are:

  1. Be aware of your play time to ensure a 4 hour 30 minute maximum time on the course.
  2. Be either waiting or not more than one hole behind the foursome in front.

As we begin our new year of tournament play, we all should individually….

  1. Be a Pace of Play Champion
  2. Be aware of and maintain the hole-by-hole finish time on official scorecards
  3. Stay up with the foursome in front and, should you get behind, work together to catch up
  4. Know that playing too slow will result in Excessive Slow Play penalties.

Our CTGA Pace of Play Policy is as important as the USGA Rules of Play and our CTGA Specific
Local Rules.
 
Lastly, we welcome any feedback and/or suggestions that may help CTGA members improve our
collective Pace of Play.
 
Thanks in advance to all for your efforts and cooperation.

Your CTGA Directors
January 12, 2025

 

USGA PROMPT PACE OF PLAY (Rule 5.6b)

A round of golf is meant to be played at a prompt pace.

Each player should recognize that his or her pace of play is likely to affect how long it will take other players to play their rounds, including both those in the player’s own foursome and the following foursomes.

A player should prepare in advance for the next stroke and be ready to play when it is his or her turn.

When it’s the player’s turn to play:

  1. The player completes the stroke in no more than 40 seconds after he or she is able to play without interference or distraction, and
  2. The player should usually be able to play more quickly than that and is encouraged to do so.

Play READY GOLF to Help Pace of Play.

  1. Depending on the form of play, all players should play your next shot when it makes sense to do so to help Pace of Play.
  2. In Stroke Play, players may play “Ready Golf” in a safe and responsible way.