Marshal Your Thoughts

     We all talk about how slow play effects the enjoyment of the game. That can be looked upon in two ways. First, the course is so crowded that it is going to take five hours to get the round in. That is not a good way of looking at things so let's look at it another way. The course is so crowded that it is going to take five hours to get the round in. See, isn't that a better way of looking at it? The course is crowded because people are playing golf, and that's a good thing. Why get frustrated?  Sit back and enjoy the round knowing that the course is being played and is in pretty good shape financially because of all these people playing. Remember too, there are no clocks in golf.
     What can help make this wonderful time with nature and a little round ball go better.  What can make it a much more enjoyable experience? I'm not talking about a fully stocked beverage cart with a person working on it knowing exactly where they should stop to sell the beverages.  Notice I didn't say "cart girl".  I am not trying to stir up a controversy here so I am not even going to go there. But a beverage cart can slow up play if the person running it doesn't know golf and where they should be stopping. That does slow up play.
     What do we do to speed up slow play and make the golfing experience more pleasurable? We can do a lot and I have talked about some ideas in past posts, but today I want to focus on one aspect of the process. It may not speed up play per se, but it can make the time spent on the course more pleasurable. That is the role of the course Marshal or Ranger or whatever title you wish to bestow upon this very important person.
      I have a lot to say about this from both the perspective of the golfer on the course and the point of view of the Course Assistant themselves.  I have been in their shoes as many of my golfing years were spent as a Course Marshal.  I haven't always been a talented author and many times had to finance my golf rounds with "Marshal Tickets". What do you think? Are they overpaid and underutilized?  Could they be overworked and under appreciated?  Let me know.  What should their role be?  How much authority should they have on the course? I will share my opinion in my next post.  I have also put out the question on FB so I will share some of what you have to say as well.

We're glad you are here today and please keep play moving out there. Have a good round.