Tips to Improve Slow Play

[Moppy]

My experience in playing with slow partners is that obliviousness is the primary cause. That and the occasional ball hunter.

[Moppy]

Don't bother grinding over short putts. No one cares.

Sorry, but one of the most fun things about golf to me are must make putts. Even short ones. If you are taking care of business on the rest of the course, there is time to putt "chalantly."

[David in FL]

Sorry, but one of the most fun things about golf to me are must make putts. Even short ones. If you are taking care of business on the rest of the course, there is time to putt "chalantly."

A "must make" putt for 9, needn't take 2 full minutes to read and putt.  The vast majority of the reading can/should also take place while others are in the process of putting.

Nor is it necessary to remark, and go through the entire laborious process again for that remaining 2 footer, now for 10......

[saevel25]

A "must make" putt for 9, needn't take 2 full minutes to read and putt.  The vast majority of the reading can/should also take place while others are in the process of putting.

Nor is it necessary to remark, and go through the entire laborious process again for that remaining 2 footer, now for 10......

I agree, if it is 2 feet or in, aim it at the hole and hit the putt. You got 5 degrees of leeway on the putt. If you miss it by 5 degrees then you suck and no amount of green reading is going to help.

Again, proper ready golf. Do all you can do while the other golfers are playing their shot so you are ready to go. It's not hard to do.

[Abu3baid]

I agree, if it is 2 feet or in, aim it at the hole and hit the putt. You got 5 degrees of leeway on the putt. If you miss it by 5 degrees then you suck and no amount of green reading is going to help. :whistle: Again, proper ready golf. Do all you can do while the other golfers are playing their shot so you are ready to go. It's not hard to do.

That's easy to say when you use aimpoint, but when you are relying on the bend of the grass and the mountains it just takes for ever to get that read ;)

[nevets88]

I'm surprised someone hasn't made a time lapsed video of a 3:30 round where everything is done right and a 5:30 round, where people extend the round by death of a thousand cuts. Since it's not realtime, you can put a clock on the top right corner and bold/change color to see how much time is saved when people do a "doing it correctly" thing.

[Moppy]

A "must make" putt for 9, needn't take 2 full minutes to read and putt.  The vast majority of the reading can/should also take place while others are in the process of putting.

Nor is it necessary to remark, and go through the entire laborious process again for that remaining 2 footer, now for 10......

That's pretty insulting David. I pick up after three putts, whatever it is. I am just not going to be rushed when putting. If your problem is that there are high handicappers on the course who you feel like are slowing you down, and they should just whack at their shots and move on, why not just say it?  I just don't think that that is golf.

[njgolfaddict]

Recently had to deal with some slow play. The slow pace was more due to the players being unaware of their surroundings than taking too many practice swings or standing over the ball for too long. They weren't ready to play when it was their turn and they "hung out" after they hit. I wouldn't consider myself a fast player but I'm always on the move after I hit a shot. Also when someone else is hitting I've already got my club in my hand and starting my routine (except when I have to tee it up).  Have you experienced slow play recently? What could the players have done differently? What are things you try to do to keep the pace of play moving.

Ready golf is the best way to play. Especially if you know peeps in your group are hackers. Why wait for a guy you know is going to hit a worm burner 40 yards? And don't spend more than a minute looking for your ball if you know your going to lose 10 during the round anyway. Drop another, and hit it. None of us are pros. If we were, slow play wouldn't be an issue. I could care less if you don't add a stroke to your score for losing a ball. Give your self a bonus for doing the right thing and dropping a new ball! And if it's a par 4, and your hitting 9, pick up! No more strokes than double the par for the hole makes it go much quicker. Par 3? No more than a 6 for the hole. Other problem I see though, is the course over booking. Don't send 7 foursomes out in a hour and then tell me to pick it up if on pace for a 5 hour round. Golf ain't cheap. I want to play to improve, not to rush if I don't need too.

[Moppy]

I agree with not looking for balls over a minute, even if the rule is five minutes, in casual play. There I said it, screw the ROG!  I write a ball off quick it if it doesn't look like I am going to find it. But I have been starting to keep a handicap, so now it gets complicated. Maybe not wanting to take those lost ball penalties in casual rounds because people are keeping handicaps slows play? Naah! Maybe if the course is busy, the round should be declared a practice round beforehand as an act of good sportsmanship?

[saevel25]

That's pretty insulting David. I pick up after three putts, whatever it is. I am just not going to be rushed when putting. If your problem is that there are high handicappers on the course who you feel like are slowing you down, and they should just whack at their shots and move on, why not just say it?  I just don't think that that is golf.

What does that even mean?

---

I agree with @David in FL on this one.

If you are a high handicap golfer and you are not putting for at least a double bogey then pick up the short putts. For handicap purposes, http://www.usga.org/HandicapFAQ/handicap_answer.asp?FAQidx=9, high handicap players are not going above their ESC because of bad putting. They do it because they take 6-7 strokes to reach the green.

If you are 20-29 handicap player and reach the green in 6, pick up after two putts. There is no point in wasting time on those short putts when it doesn't even matter for handicap purposes.

On 2 foot putts, just aim at the center and hit the ball. If you can't start the ball online to make a 2 foot putt then they shouldn't be reading the green to begin with. Go to the putting green and practice starting the ball online.

[jamo]

Sorry, but one of the most fun things about golf to me are must make putts. Even short ones. If you are taking care of business on the rest of the course, there is time to putt "chalantly."

[quote name="David in FL" url="/t/82192/tips-to-improve-slow-play/0_30#post_1146409"] A "must make" putt for 9, needn't take 2 full minutes to read and putt. The vast majority of the reading can/should also take place while others are in the process of putting. Nor is it necessary to remark, and go through the entire laborious process again for that remaining 2 footer, now for 10...... ;-) [/quote] @Moppy , @David in FL 's post is more what I'm saying, and I disagree that it's insulting. It's just practical.

[David in FL]

That's pretty insulting David. I pick up after three putts, whatever it is. I am just not going to be rushed when putting. If your problem is that there are high handicappers on the course who you feel like are slowing you down, and they should just whack at their shots and move on, why not just say it?  I just don't think that that is golf.

I don't know where that came from, but it wasn't intended to be insulting at all. If it came across as such, I apologize. The point remains though, taking a long time to putt, doesn't improve one's putting.....and most of the time spent reading a putt should be accomplished before it's actually the player's turn to actually putt. I have no problems with high hcp players at all. Some of my favorite golf buddies carry hcps well north of 25....and they play quickly, with no less concern for their score than you and me. I do dislike slow play though, and slow play is found among high hcp and low hcp players alike.

[Moppy]

If I have a two foot putt at a right angle to the fall line of the hole, a bendy one, I am not going to take it as a gimmie unless I have already putted three times, then I pick it up no matter what. Neither am I going to whack at it to straighten "with authority" because I hate missing and ending up further from the hole. I am going to take my time putting it if I am going to putt it. Sorry. I don't waste time so I don't have to rush.  If you are pushing up from behind me because you are fifty yards longer off the tee, and you have something else to do that day more important than golf and you need to finish in 2:45, well, sorry, not sorry. 90% chance there is a group on the next tee anyway. Maybe you can join a private club that only admits speed golfers and you can economically support the course without the greens fees of any short knockers.

[Moppy]

and most of the time spent reading a putt should be accomplished before it's actually the player's turn to actually putt.

That's a valid point. Anybody who starts reading the green only when it is their turn to putt qualifies as "oblivious."

[MrDC]

I ran into some slow play this weekend, it was the Holiday so we expected it but it still hurt, to me there is only solution- the clubs need to send out rangers and help the situation, that's it.

Teaching people is pointless, because the people out there that are slow are probably those that see, read, discuss and know nothing about golf, they don't care, they simply decided to go out that day for whatever reason, maybe a friend that plays, maybe saw it on TV, whatever, they're clueless, and that type of person will always be there.

Courses simply must have rangers cruising around all the time, why is it I rarely see them? they should be looking for slow players and issue warnings, you get two, three and you're out, problem solved.

[saevel25]

If I have a two foot putt at a right angle to the fall line of the hole, a bendy one, I am not going to take it as a gimmie unless I have already putted three times, then I pick it up no matter what. Neither am I going to whack at it to straighten "with authority" because I hate missing and ending up further from the hole. I am going to take my time putting it if I am going to putt it. Sorry. I don't waste time so I don't have to rush.  If you are pushing up from behind me because you are fifty yards longer off the tee, and you have something else to do that day more important than golf and you need to finish in 2:45, well, sorry, not sorry. 90% chance there is a group on the next tee anyway. Maybe you can join a private club that only admits speed golfers and you can economically support the course without the greens fees of any short knockers.

Even with a 90 degree to the fall line putt, at 4% slope, you are probably looking at just inside the edge of the cup on the high side for the read. You rarely ever see a putt that requires a read outside the hole for a 2 foot putt.

The odds of finding a high slope area near the hole that requires a large break for a 2 foot putts is very slim.The odds are if you do find this the ball will never stay near the hole for a 2 foot putt. The ball would roll down the slope because the greens are to fast for that slope to support stopping the ball.

I play a lot of golf and I don't remember the last time I've ever had a 2 foot putt that required a read outside the hole.

Oh, I've played on a pack'd municipal course and the odds of a group being on the next tee as you are finishing up putting is very slim. Most of the time they are driving off or already at their ball waiting to hit to the green. I rarely see groups backed up on the tee box. You are exaggerating a lot here in thinking that is common.

[rob0225]

I believe part of the blame is people aren't aware they are slow and/or don't want to admit they are the problem.  I also fault marshals/courses not enforcing pace of play.

Ran into it this weekend.  A foursome was backing up the whole course behind them. Directly behind them was a twosome, single, twosome.  I understand normally a foursome will play slower then a single or twosome, but if you have no one in front of you, there is nothing wrong with letting faster players play through and they wouldn't.

When I brought it up with the marshal he said, will "legally" foursomes have priority over twosomes and singles.  I got it, but you allow that mix out on the course and proper etiquette dictates they should allow faster players to play through. He only shrugged his shoulders.  He did mention it to the foursome and it probably made them more aware of their pace as things started to pick up a bit after that.

[MrDC]

I played in a foursome this past weekend and we moved along just fine, and it was an older group so plenty of short shots, but we moved along.

It matters not how big the group is, or how well they play, all that matters is knowing how to play ready and to simply keep moving.

So yeah, maybe the ranger should have asked for a play through, but I'm not a believer that playing through really works all that well in the grand scheme, the best solution is to space the start times well and for rangers to be proactive, kick some butt, after a quick chat about ready golf of course... because some just don't know.