Why Pace of Play Breaks Down (and How Golf Courses Can Fix It)

Slow rounds are one of the most common complaints from golfers, and one of the most frustrating challenges for course operators. Whether you’re managing a private golf community, a busy public facility, or a municipal course with limited staff, pace of play issues show up in different ways.

But the root problem is the same: Lack of real-time visibility and control.

Let’s look at how pace of play problems unfold across different types of courses and how they can be solved.

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Private Community Courses: The Invisible Backup

It’s a sunny Saturday morning at Willow Pines, a private golf community with hundreds of resident-owned carts.

At 9:30 AM, two neighbors decide to squeeze in a quick nine holes. They skip the tee sheet and head straight to hole five. Meanwhile, another group of residents finishes breakfast and hops onto the course without checking in.

By 10:15 AM, there’s a backup at hole seven. Groups with booked tee times are stuck waiting behind players who weren’t even on the schedule.

In the clubhouse, the superintendent glances at the radio and sighs:

“I have no idea who’s out there… or where they started.”

Public / Daily-Fee Courses: The Weekend Gridlock

At Fairway Hills, a busy daily-fee course, weekends are booked solid from sunrise to late afternoon.

Tee times are spaced tight to maximize revenue, but today’s third group includes two first-time golfers playing behind a scratch-level foursome. The front group is flying—finishing holes in 12 minutes. The beginners? Not so much.

By 11 AM, the starter notices the first ripple: groups stacking up on the 4th tee box. The ranger is covering the far side of the course and won’t get there for another 15 minutes.

By the time they arrive, the delay has grown to four groups deep.

Tomorrow’s online reviews?

Not going to be kind.

Municipal Courses: The Staffing Squeeze

At Greenfield Municipal, the budget barely covers one starter and a weekend ranger.

Today, it’s a mix of walkers, riders, and a junior clinic that’s running long on the front nine.

No one’s monitoring pace in real time. Walkers slow down the back nine. The mixed group speeds and lack of oversight snowball into a rolling delay by midday.

By 2 PM, rounds are pushing five hours.

The pro shop phone rings with a familiar complaint:

“We’re on hole 12… been waiting 20 minutes already.”

Another radio call. Another reactive scramble.

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Solving Pace of Play On Your Own

Traditionally, courses rely on:

• Rangers driving the course
• Starter interventions at the first tee
• Course signage and pace policies
• Post-round player surveys and complaints
  
  

The Problem?

These methods are reactive. By the time someone notices a problem, the damage is already done, to both the player experience and the day’s tee sheet.

And for short-staffed teams, it’s impossible to keep up.

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Solving Pace of Play with FAIRWAYiQ

FAIRWAYiQ takes a proactive, technology-driven approach to pace management:

• Real-Time Cart Tracking: Know exactly where every group is and how they’re pacing, whether they’re in fleet or private carts.
  
  
• Automated Slow Play Alerts: Staff get notified the moment a group falls behind pace without having to drive the course.
  
  
• On-Cart Player Notifications: Players receive gentle, self-correcting alerts if they’re falling behind, before staff even need to get involved.
  
  
• Historical Pace Data: Track trends, identify chronic slow spots, and adjust tee sheets or marshal staffing based on real data.
  
  
• Private Cart Oversight: Unlike OEM solutions, FAIRWAYiQ works across all cart brands, including private resident-owned carts.

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Pace of play challenges may look different at private, public, and municipal courses, but the frustrations they cause are universal.

Without technology, courses stay stuck in reactive mode chasing problems after they’ve already disrupted play.

With FAIRWAYiQ, you gain real-time visibility, automated alerts, and a way to manage pace proactively and efficiently without burning out your staff.

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