Go-Golf: Most Are ‘Fore’ It; a Few Are Teed Off

It was a typical Saturday morning at a heavily populated Los Angeles City golf course.

Like the others in his foursome, Joe had waited more than an hour for a call from the starter, who, by 11 a.m., was far behind schedule in sending players to the first tee.

But Joe didn’t mind. He had hit a bucket of balls on the driving range and had stroked a few dozen putts on the practice green. Now, as he approached the tee, he felt loose and ready.

Whack! It was perfect, 230 yards maybe, down the middle. On the green in regulation, he lined up a six-foot putt for birdie. Plunk--into the heart of the cup!

After also birdieing the second hole and almost dropping a 50-foot putt on No. 3 for another bird, Joe was in the clouds. A weekend duffer who plays in the 90s, he was off to his greatest start ever.

Benched--for 15 Minutes

Then came No. 4. By now, the course was backing up. The foursome in front hadn’t teed off yet, and Joe took a spot on the crowded bench.

Fifteen minutes later, he stood over his ball, a bit stiffly, it seemed--his adrenaline no longer gushing, his smile long gone.

Swish! Almost predictably, the ball sailed right, bending like a broken arm.

For Joe, it was no surprise. He had been thinking about that shot for 15 minutes, wondering how he was going to avoid the slice that has marred his game for years.

Shrugging unhappily, he headed toward the adjacent fairway, near where a maintenance worker was cutting grass.

By the time Joe arrived at his ball, behind a cluster of thick trees, the power mower had come and gone . . . leaving in its wake a nearly new Titleist that now resembled a sliced onion.

Joe was furious. But, after all, he told himself, it’s only a game.

Seven strokes later he recorded his score on the hole--an eight! And the downhill trend continued.

Almost dark when he arrived home, Joe was greeted by his wife, who had expected him hours earlier.

“Where have you been?” she asked.

“It was a little slow,” he grumbled. “Let’s not talk about it.”

During the past few weeks, however, there’s been a lot of talk.

Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky got the ball rolling, so to speak, with his controversial--but clearly popular--plan to speed up play on the city’s 13 public courses, which, on weekends, can prove as frustrating as a jammed freeway.

Most L.A. County courses are no less crowded, and private courses have occasional “greenlock,” too. But it’s the city-run links--where more than 30,000 golfers played a record 1,172,671 rounds last year--that concern Yaroslavsky.

“Oh, there’s been a lot of comment,” the councilman said, regarding the possible implementation of his program, patterned after one established last year in Denver.

“It’s funny. We do things around here we think are important (City Council legislation), and you get no comment. But this. . . . “

TV editorial newsman Bill Stout, for example, recently nominated Yaroslavsky as one of the “turkeys of the month” for his proposal, pointing out, among other things, that elderly players may have difficulty keeping up.

“Nonsense,” the councilman countered. “They’re the best. They hit the ball straight and know how to play the game. And they’re good putters.”

Clearly, Yaroslavsky has tapped into a gusher.

Up to Six Hours for a Round

Merely getting a weekend starting time on a city course often requires great perseverance, but once on the links, many complain that the frustration of slow play--six-hour rounds are not uncommon--takes the enjoyment out of the game.

Of the dozens of golfers and officials interviewed for this story, most favored any action that will accelerate play. Of course, those guilty of creating the bottlenecks--usually described as “the foursome in front of us”--simply could not be found. Some adamantly objected to being rushed under any conditions.

In Denver, players are removed from the city’s seven public courses after nine holes if they fail to complete play in two hours, 20 minutes. No refunds, no rain checks. Time limits for 18 holes average four hours, 15 minutes.

It’s all very official--time clocks, warning signs posted around the course and patrolling marshals who check progress at various holes and, if necessary, hustle players along.

“If you have a rule, you enforce it,” said Charles (Babe) Lind, who has been Denver’s director of golf for 29 years. “We don’t give an inch. If they’re playing our courses, they’d better move.”

Lind said “99% support the program, which has been the most successful we’ve ever had.”

Based on Denver’s format, a four-week Go-Golf pilot program is expected to be launched by the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks on Nov. 10 at Rancho Park, Wilson and Encino courses.

If adopted, other L.A. City courses will follow suit. They are Balboa, Hansen Dam, Woodley Lakes, Harding, Roosevelt, Penmar, Harbor Park, Los Feliz, Armand Hammer and Rancho Park’s nine-hole, three-par course.

Almost 20 years ago, a similar experiment by the Parks Department lasted only six weeks. Under that plan, if a group completed 18 holes in less than 3 hours, the players were rewarded with a free round.

“Play was increased by more than 14,000 rounds over the previous year,” Parks spokesman Al Goldfarb recalled, “but the program was discontinued because a free round couldn’t be provided all the time.”

Checkers at Four Tees

Essentially, the current plan calls for checkers to be stationed at the 1st, 5th, 10th and 15th tees on the city-run courses. Score cards will be time-stamped at the first tee after the last person in the group has teed off. The group’s time will be checked at the fifth tee and, if lagging behind, the players will be urged to close the gap.

Another check will be made on the 10th tee, where the group will be given either a green light to proceed or be ordered off the course if over the maximum time limit.

At the 15th tee, slow players again could be ejected. Time will be added to groups that follow slow players so they are not penalized.

Time limits will vary among courses, depending on layouts, but generally the maximum allowable time will be close to two hours, 15 minutes for nine holes and 4 1/2 hours for 18 holes.

Two-Week Grace Period

During the first two weeks, officials will merely acquaint golfers with the program without penalty. But after that, slowpokes will be shown no mercy.

Signs with such slogans as “Play Go Golf, Not Slow Golf,” “Don’t Be a TV Golfer” and “Help Stamp Out Golf Paralysis” will help set the tone.

Many players say they favor “Go-Golf,” but the pastor at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Reseda, Father Sean Flanagan--who plays every week (sometimes at the Balboa and Encino courses in the San Fernando Valley)--wants no part of it.

“If it comes to this, I’m quitting,” he said. “I like to play at a moderate pace, but I don’t like to be pushed. There are built-in rules already (to avoid logjams). Why make it more stressful?”

Michael Rosenstein, 72, of Mission Viejo agreed.

“Speeding up play is not one of the rules of golf,” he said. “When you put pressure of time on it, you’re destroying the purpose of the game, which is to relax, enjoy yourself, be convivial and play a good game.”

Resents Politicians

Once a scratch player who said he now shoots in the 80s, Rosenstein resents politicians “messing with the rules of golf.

“There’s a simple solution,” he continued. “Build more golf courses.”

“That’s the pipe dream to end all pipe dreams,” Yaroslavsky retorted. “There’s no land in the public domain to use for public golf courses.”

The councilman blames jamming up on “egomaniacs and selfish people.” He noted that “gossiping about love lives or family lives” as players stroll down fairways can create a backup and ultimately clog the course.

Bob Allen of Northridge, a “four or five handicapper” who plays different courses “all over the city” every weekend, posed this question:

“If I’m a fast player, what am I going to do if I’m playing with three players who are slow? I play with three guys who are unbelievably slow. Sure it bothers me. They stand over the ball on the green and freeze there for quite some time.”

Skill--and Girlfriends

Scott Baines, 16, of Northridge, a member of the Crespi High School golf team in Encino, has been playing since he was 7. Baines goes beyond merely favoring a time limit. “I think people should play well enough on par-three courses before they are allowed out on big courses,” he said. “And they shouldn’t take their girlfriends out for the first time.”

Kate Rapoport, president of the 250-member Rancho Women’s Golf Club in West Los Angeles, blames much of the snail-like pace on gambling on the course--with as little as a dime, but often considerably more, riding on each shot.

“When they get on the green, they don’t want to get off,” she said of those who take excessive time by putting out everything, even one-footers.

Selected Groups Timed

Over the past few weekends, selected groups have been timed on the Encino course. One Saturday, for example, a foursome that teed off at 7:02 a.m. played 18 holes in four hours, 23 minutes. The 8:17 a.m. group took 20 minutes longer, and a foursome that started at 12:28 p.m. took five hours, 11 minutes.

Generally players don’t mind being timed, said Louise Ewing, senior starter at the Balboa and Encino courses, but no one likes the thought of being ordered off the course.

“We have a lot of beginners and golfers who shoot over 100,” she said, “and some who are handicapped. What are you going to do? You can’t ask them to leave.

“The parks belong to the people and the people need relaxation from the stress of living in a big city.”

Ewing doesn’t believe the program can be successfully enforced without additional “qualified people.” She anticipates “a lot of resentment” from players, particularly from those who may be having a bad day on the links and are in no mood to be prodded.

‘Bulletproof Vests’

“I hope it doesn’t come to that (ordering players off courses),” she said. “We’ll have to wear bulletproof vests and more hard hats. We’ve had starters clubbed over the head. . . . “

She referred to an incident involving Harbor Park starter Tom Redditt about a year ago. He was critically injured in an altercation with a player. He declined to be interviewed.

Another Balboa-Encino starter, Joe Gallardo, who has been on the job 21 years, seconded Ewing’s views.

“I don’t think it’ll work,” he said of the proposal. “I don’t think you can force people to run for four hours and 20 minutes.”

Gallardo said he always has tried to “have the right attitude and use a little psychology” when approaching a player whose group has fallen behind. Even so, he said he’s been blamed for “ruining a shot” more than once.

Faithful Early Birds

For eight years, two groups have arrived at the Balboa-Encino courses at 4:30 a.m. every Saturday, hoping Gallardo will send them out ahead of the first foursome with a reservation.

“If it’s a clear day, I can,” he said. “They’ll tee off in the dark if I’ll let ‘em. Sometimes when there’s a full moon, it’s easy. They all move. If nobody’s ahead of them, they play in 3 1/2 hours.

“This course is wide open,” he added. “There are no problems. But Griffith Park (for example) has too much rough. It’s too high. People are always looking for lost balls.”

That prompted Clyde Blake, Rancho Park’s head starter, to comment, “Now, that’s the color of another horse. You (usually) are allowed three minutes to look for a lost ball.”

Blake, however, heartily endorses the “Go-Golf” plan, which, he estimates, would add “10 to 15 more foursomes a day.”

Economics, Pro and Con

That would boost revenue considerably--possibly as much as $500,000 a year for all 13 L.A. City courses--but, as officials pointed out, expenses incurred from hiring additional personnel also would increase.

“Increased revenue is not as important as accommodating more golfers,” Blake said. “It’s not fair to those who can’t get on the course, and a guy playing at midday doesn’t have a chance to finish.

“With five hours of daylight left, a man should be able to get in 18 holes.”