Flip Turns?

I am still in the "sometimes do a few half-assed flip turns during warmup" phase of the learning curve. I am trying to do more of them in my normal training. For me personally, there is less rest per lap when doing flip-turns, so I think that doing them will ultimately benefit my swimming overall.

Others disagree.

I'd pay$$$$$ to see that ;-)

Now that I'm past the drowning avoidance stage is it worth the effort to learn how to do flip turns?

Yes, it's worth the effort. You will become a better swimmer and gain more confidence in your swimming ability. There's no downside to mastering flip turns.

How does pool swim pace compare to open water swim pace, with and without flip turns?

The ocean offers no ledges for you to pause on, even if for just a fraction of a second. The more comfortable you become with constantly moving in the pool, the more comfortable you will feel with constant motion in the ocean. Your pace in the OW will probably increase simply from the adrenaline flow.

I do flip turns, but not they're not textbook.  Still, I feel like it has made me more confident in my swimming and is still more fluid than doing a wall touch for me.  It really didn't take that much effort to learn (though I suppose since I haven't learned to do them right yet that it actually requires quite a bit of effort).  Spent about 15min on them with my coach at the time.  The next couple workouts were challenging because it does cause you to hold your breath more and that takes some adaptation.

I say do it.