"There are players that would not dare hit a putt until the coach looks at it from more than one angle and gets the coach’s approval. Give me a break!"

Asher Wildman solicited views and now prints an email from Long Beach State coach Bill Poutre about slow play in college golf. Poutre says the problem starts with lack of enforcement by coaches hosting events and the coaches themselves...overcoaching during play.

Second, let your players play and stay out of their way! There are players that would not dare hit a putt until the coach looks at it from more than one angle and gets the coach’s approval. Give me a break!

In addition, it is not just putts. It is club selection off the tee, trouble shots, approach shots, etc... Get this stuff done during the practice round and let the players play. Hall of Fame Basketball Coach Dean Smith from North Carolina said it best when he said, “Coaches are in the business of preparation and players are in the business of exectution.” Very well said and we must take this approach. If the players are prepared well enough, coaches should be able to stay out of the way.

Comments

[Press Agent]

All the most interesting players have been coming from elsewhere for the last decade. The American college system is broken and it's producing players who can earn paychecks but are as interesting as cardboard cutouts.

[Matt]

I Agree 100%. Coaches coach but they are not caddies

[PC]

The rule should be changed so they cannot offer advice during the round.

[Petrillo]

Agreed. One of many good reasons that so many "can't miss" college stars underachieve in the professional world.

[Claude]

I was paired with a college coach once. Most aggravating round I've ever had. He was constantly suggesting clubs (the wrong clubs) and giving me unwanted advice.

[tlavin]

I've watched a couple college tournaments and it's excruciatingly slow. The only time I've seen slower competitive play was at the Solheim Cup where it took over 6 hours for one round.

[Reality Check]

My club's "leaders" think that hosting a college tournament every year attracts new members to the club. You know, since we're so dedicated to golf and since we're honorable golfing men and we give so much back to the sport ... and blah, blah, blah. We're about to be dedicated to bankruptcy.

[TGIF]

Who follows college golf other than the players, the coach, and the parents?

[chico]

Petrillo-we have a similar problem here in Scotland.
We are world amateur champions but only have 1 pro in the top 100-Martin Laird-who is hardly a native Scot.
Absolutely everything is done for the kids from the age of about 13 and everytime they hit a bad shot they go running to their coaches.
Once they turn pro they are on their own and largely out of their depth-I'm not sure we are really doing them a favour with all this pampering.
Seems like your college system is doing the same.
Unbeleivably our government has just given over £1 million to help pros settle into the pro game.Talk about throwing money at a problem which is caused by money in the first place!

[Kevin]

I read the email and was surprised by the Long Beach coach's statement about the use of carts at Pelican Hill...he said they saved 45 minutes? But more broadly, golf carts are used in college tournaments?

[The O]

When I played in college, the coach would only come by to 1) ask how things were, or 2) tell you how things were going so you could adjust play if needed. Losing by 8 strokes as a team? Aim at the stick. Comfortably in front? Fat part of the green, or 3) if there was something ahead you should know: "The rough on 13 is way worse on the right than on the left", etc.. If you were working on something (yes, at the time, the team coach also was a swing coach), he might tell you that the thing looked good or that it didn't. (And only with certain players, etc.) Never, would they tell you to hit a certain club or play a putt 6 inches out or what have you.

And, regardless, it wouldn't hold up play. Coach would drive down, say hello, chat, etc., while you walked along. And, in every tournament I played, we walked, and carried. Every once and awhile, if the course had a long walk between holes, there might be a shuttle.

[blader]

What's with all the negativity in the comments?

Count me as someone who has become very much interested in following college golf, mostly because I have a child dreaming of getting his game to that level. I figure I need to pay a bit of attention to it to help guide him over the next few years.

My golf club also hosts a well regarded tournament each year that is attended by many of the best college golfers and other great amateurs, many of whom it has been my pleasure to meet and get to know. Past contestants in this tournament are a veritable who's who of both successful and unsuccessful professional golfers. Whether one of these kids makes it or not strikes me as something that is close to random, they all look to have incredible talent, but not all of them get the same good breaks.

Anyway, I've heard these kids complain before about the slow play problems in collegiate tournaments. I hope they get that sorted out before my boy gets there, because he can't stand slow play! haha

[styled]

Kevin,

Interesting. I'd be surprised to learn that collegians use carts as well.

I always thought that kick-stand bags and backpack-like shoulder straps came out of the collegiate game. Or, possibly, they were simply marketed to collegians because they were walking. Or maybe i'm confused and have just seen those same bags marketed with lots of college colors and logos: University of Fla., Arizona, Stanford, etc.

Also, and i think this is ONE of Tiger's legacies, the competition at junior levels, locally and nationally, and for college scholarships seems to be getting more and more intense. I played with a 10th grader last summer and the kid was like 280 off the tee. And he acted as if it was no big deal. Of course, he hadn't quite learned to score.

[KS]

My college coach was always too busy nursing his hangover to dispense any advice.

[sir real]

Kudos to Coach...the honesty is refreshing. Having worked with numerous top level college players, the pace problem has gotten worse. Far to many Ben Crane pre-shot antics and the meddling, on-course counsel of the coaches is excessive. A choice comment or minor advice is one thing, doing almost as much as a caddie is another.
Carts are a neccessary evil on those tracks that have poor green-to-tee transitions. While playing more classic style courses could help, the extreme length of these players and limited availibility of those layouts leaves little option.
What really has me fizzing is the iniltration of pull-carts in junior competitions. The pathetic bastards are buying thier way in to influence and profit off kids. The European junior programs are touting the "cool" factor while allowing it. What about the FITNESS part of the competitive game! Don't give me the back issue B.S., all a kid needs is a well-balanced bag and instruction how to carry it. Our youth are so coddled today it's sickening. Is it any wonder we have record child obesity and early heart disease in youth. Golf really needs a kick n the ass...the greed of many in the industry is destroying what makes the game great.

[JohnV]

Carts are used occasionally when needed. I was the official in charge at a tournament last year where we used them the first day. It was mid-October, we had a shotgun start and HAD to finish 36 holes that day in order to make it an official tournament as the second day was likely a washout. It definitely helped. The second day was a total washout (anyone remember the storm that hit Northern California last October, 6 inches of rain where we were playing). Had they not finished the second round the first day, the tournament would not have been official.

Slow play is due to coaches coaching too much. It is also due to way too many players. At a recent tournament the coach invited too many teams (20) because he wanted to make sure they all invited him next year and also had 6 players per team, adding 20% to the number of players. Any surprise they didn't finish on day 1?

[JohnV]

I should add they were trying to play 36 holes on day 1.

[sir real]

Kudos to Coach...the honesty is refreshing. Having worked with numerous top level college players, the pace problem has gotten worse. Far to many Ben Crane pre-shot antics and the meddling, on-course counsel of the coaches is excessive. A choice comment or minor advice is one thing, doing almost as much as a caddie is another.
Carts are a neccessary evil on those tracks that have poor green-to-tee transitions. While playing more classic style courses could help, the extreme length of these players and limited availibility of those layouts leaves little option.
What really has me fizzing is the iniltration of pull-carts in junior competitions. The pathetic bastards are buying thier way in to influence and profit off kids. The European junior programs are touting the "cool" factor while allowing it. What about the FITNESS part of the competitive game! Don't give me the back issue B.S., all a kid needs is a well-balanced bag and instruction how to carry it. Our youth are so coddled today it's sickening. Is it any wonder we have record child obesity and early heart disease in youth. Golf really needs a kick n the ass...the greed of many in the industry is destroying what makes the game great.

[ban slow play]

This is the same organization (NCAA) that petitioned the USGA Rules Committee to allow two coaches per team! Would that make play even slower?

[Pompous Watcher]

sir real: what makes the game great? Walking down a fairway with your bag on your back? Is that it? The golf purity argument makes me puke. I'll betcha more adults are obese than children. Just look around. How do you not coddle your children? Please edify us.