Rory Sabbatini was vilified this year for putting on a display of intolerance towards the slow play of a fellow PGA Tour player. This site even labeled him Jackass of the Week for his rude behavior towards Ben Crane, a notoriously slow player.
Who knows how Rory would have behaved playing behind that same dreadful foursome playing ahead of you every Saturday. Would he have driven over their heads? Hit onto the green while they were putting out? Or just skipped the hole and moved in front of them?
A round of golf should not take five hours to complete, despite what you may tell your significant others. This week’s top five list: the top five ways to speed up play. In fact, it’s part one of two.
Number Ten: Don’t Forget Clubs
You chip on, you drop your wedge, and you wait to putt out. Just as your group clears the green, you remember the wedge you left on the front of the green and walk back to get it. Someone in the fairway has already begun their pre-shot routine, and someone else in their group says “stop, the idiot forgot his wedge again.”
Avoid this mess by taking your wedge with you to your ball and laying it nearby while you putt. Or, at the very least, put your wedge on the back edge of the green near the exit path to the carts. If you putt out first, grab the flagstick and your buddy’s wedge so that he doesn’t have the chance to forget. Once you’re done putting, you’ll be able to get off the green quickly.
Number Nine: Take Three Clubs
If you’re “about 150” yards away and your cart buddy needs to go look for his ball in the weeds, take your 6-, 7-, and your 8-iron (assuming you hit a 7-iron 150 yards). The wind, the elevation, the lie, and the location of the flagstick may affect your club selection. If you have only your 7-iron, you’ll either have to flag down your buddy or make a go of it with the club you brought. Save time and bring three clubs – and a towel on which to rest the grips and clean your club after the shot – at once.
When you’re near the green and your partner is on, grab a few wedges (you never know what kind of lie you’ll have in that bunker) and your putter and send him on his way to park the cart at the back of the green. This can apply when you’re as far as 125 or more yards from the green, depending on how reliably you hit the green. A little walking never hurt anyone, and one of the most enjoyable walks in golf is the long walk with your putter.
Number Eight: Cut the Practice Swings
How many times have you stood behind someone who takes three, four, or even five practice swings, only to watch them duff the ball 20 yards to the right? Plenty. One practice swing is plenty unless you have lots of time. If you must take a lot of practice swings, and you can do so without distracting others, take your practice swings while others in your group are playing their shots. When it’s your turn, take one more practice swing at most and then fire away.
Number Seven: Read Your Putt While Others Putt
This one pretty much speaks for itself. While others are putting, look over the line of your putt. When it’s safe for you to do so, set your ball back down on the green and pick up your ball mark. When it’s your turn to putt, having already read the green, you’ll simply need to take a few practice strokes to get the feel for the speed you want and putt away.
Don’t delay reading your putt until it’s your turn. In truth, green-reading begins the instant you get within 30 yards or so of the green – check the elevation, slopes, and grain early on and you’ll save time when you start to fine-tune the line you’ve chosen.
Number Six: Get Off the Green
We’ve seen it a hundred times: a guy lands short, parks his cart there, and gets out to chip on. He putts out and the group in the fairway waits as the guy walks back off the front of the green to his cart, puts his clubs away, and drives off.
Park the cart – or if you carry, put your bag down – at the back of the green or on the side facing the next hole. When your group has finished putting out, get off the green. Check your scores on the next tee and write them down while others are teeing off. Don’t settle bets on the greens, don’t give lessons, and don’t practice putt if people are waiting to hit on to the green. Get off.
Just Missed the Cut
Pick Up – If you’re playing a match that allows you to pick up when you’re out of a hole, do so. Your 8 will not help when your partner has two putts for par, and watching you play Army golf is not an enjoyable experience for those behind you.
Call for Snacks Ahead of Time – Many golf courses have a phone on the ninth tee. It usually rings the halfway house, where you can place orders. Stop in, grab your food, and get back to the tenth tee. Lollygagging in the halfway house is a sure way to get “jumped” by the group behind you. If you do need to take awhile (bathroom break, etc.), give the guys behind you the chance to play through.
Amen to cut the practice swings. I take ONE.
You think we could get Stewart Cink to do that?