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Have played Pype Hayes a few times as I live close by, but was disappointed this time. Not sure if the people who jumped in front of us on the first were members or not, but they took our 2pm tee time and didn't go in to the shop to register. Saw a few people doing this and it overloads the course, leading to slow play.

The condition wasn't as good as on previous visits. The first tee was essentially 50% dust through wear and tear and the bunkers were in a very poor state. The rough was also too high - given this course attracts a lot of casual players who aren't accurate, deep rough not far from the fairway means a lot of time searching for balls, thus making the pace of play even slower.

Got round to the 5th and saw three groups waiting on the 8th tee, two more on the 11th tee and others waiting on every other tee box we could see. This hadn't improved once we got to the 9th, so we decided to end our game there than spend another 2.5 hours or more playing the back nine.

It's a shame. Pype Hayes is a good, mature golf course and a decent test for all abilities. The greens were pretty good (although a touch slow), but the place just isn't being managed very well. The slowness of play due to overloading the course and the rough being too deep may well have me looking for another venue when I fancy a change of scenery from the club at which I'm a member.