This is a popular topic in our office, but generally only AFTER people have traveled. Surprisingly, not many ask about pace of play in advance.

We like to think that all courses try hard to keep play at a reasonable speed and I would say most courses shoot for just over 4 hours to complete 18 holes. However, during the busy winter months in Florida expecting to play in 4 hours every day can be unrealistic.

Unfortunately, there are many things that can cause a slow round. Many visiting players have never played the course, are rusty because they haven't played all winter, and are on vacation so they're not in a hurry to get home. Although all our partner courses try their best to keep people moving, there are times when rounds stretch out to five hours. With that said, our customer surveys prove that most courses do a decent job of this as the vast majority of our Florida courses scored higher than 3.5 out of 5 for pace of play. You just have to be aware playing a Florida course during the busiest time of year is different from playing your home course as far as what you can expect for pace of play.

If you're reading this and have recently returned from a golf trip, please let us know what you experienced for pace of play. We'd love to know what you think.