Taking your time on the course

[Zeph]

I take my time on each shot, from the drive to the 1 footer. Time should be saved between shots, not by rushing them. I'm always alert and on the move once the other players has hit. When I'm up I walk straight to my ball while contemplating the shot on the way. Once there I use the range finder if necessary, pick my club and approach to the shot, take a practice swing or two, find my target and hit the shot. I never stress or rush anything. When on the green I always check my lines and plan my putt before my turn is up. After years of playing, I've developed habits that are automatic by now. You can of course spend too much time on each shot. As long as you get around the course in a reasonable amount of time, you're fine.

[dsc123]

Originally Posted by Zeph

I take my time on each shot, from the drive to the 1 footer. Time should be saved between shots, not by rushing them.

I agree with this.  More time is wasted by not being ready when its your turn than by taking a few extra seconds to hit the ball.

I actually don't like playing with people who don't take their time on the greens.  I play as a single on muni courses and get paired up with whoever is there.  If I play with someone who gets on the green and just kinda smacks it without doing anything other than looking at it from behind for 3 seconds, I end up rushing myself.  Especially with 4 footers.  I think I miss way too many short putts because I dont want to take the time to line it up right.

This happened yesterday, it was just me and a stranger and he would just get up there and smack it.  I had 40 putts.  atrocious.  I just couldn't focus on it.

[anthony]

You can play slow or you can play bad, but you can't play slow and bad.

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by anthony

You can play slow or you can play bad, but you can't play slow and bad.

Wanna bet?

[MSchott]

It doesn't sound like the OP is slowing anyone down as long as he's pacing off the putt before it's his turn to putt. If this is on his home course however, I question the need for all of this as he should know the speeds and breaks already. Last, it depends on if there's money on the line.

For me I am gauging the putt as I walk up to the green to mark my ball. I know my home course well enough not to need to pace off the length. And as one who plays by feel I can look from the ball to the hole and feel the break and the speed. Sometimes I'll do more based on the pin position. On a strange course I might take a few more looks and read the putt from the opposite side of the hole or pace the putt if I'm not sure if it's an uphill or downhill putt.

[lumpuckeroo]

This might seem a little off, but I think pace of play varies with each round.  I've played 4 hour rounds that felt like they took forever and I've played 4 1/2 hour rounds that I felt like they were done in a flash.  IMHO, the pace of play is all relative to your internal clock for that given day, so I don't think there is a set amount of time that you can call good or bad.

My brother and I are perfect opposites when it comes to "time", when we walk he walks quickly between shots and takes time over the ball, I other the other hand, move kind of slow between shoes, but hit my shots quickly.  Overall, it's the same pace of play, but several of our golfing buddies think he plays slow and I play fast, more of a preception than reality.  I think if you are paired up with a player that moves at a similar pace as you do, you would feel like the round was moving fast even if it wasn't, and if you were paired with an opposite pace player, you would feel like the round was moving slow, even if it wasn't.