8 Tips to Speed Up Play

[Dave325]

The course I play at regularly just sent an email around to all the members, about speeding up play. I thought it was pretty good, and something to add to the forum since we're had these discussions more than once, and with golf season right around the corner (at least in the north portion of the US it is). I realize that most of us adhere to these anyway, but just in case... here it is.....

8 Tips to Speed Up Play   There is nothing worse than slow play to take the fun out of golf. No one wants to be behind slow players. It has the domino effect and slows down the course (and enjoyment) for everyone. Don’t be a slow poke. Review the following tips and help speed up play making golf more enjoyable for all.   Be early for your tee time. Proper pace of play begins with teeing off at the appointed time. Allow time for unloading your equipment, putting on your golf shoes, any desired practice or warm-up, purchasing any refreshments or balls and driving your cart to the first tee.   “Tee It Forward” unless you are consistently able to reach greens in regulation from the back tees. In other words, play from a set of tees that is comfortable for you – one where you are more likely to hit lofted irons into greens instead of hybrids or fairway woods. It is acceptable for players in the same group to play from different tees. (The USGA Handicap System provides a formula for adjusting handicaps from different tees.) Remember you are not a tour player. Forget your ego and play to your level – it will be a lot more fun and rewarding.   Be helpful to others in your group. Follow the flight of all tee shots, not just your own. Once in the fairway, help others look for their ball if you already know the location of yours. Volunteer to fill in a divot or rake a bunker for another player if needed. Be ready to attend the flagstick for others.   Plan your shot while walking to your ball or while others are playing. Carry extra tees, ball markers and an extra ball in your pockets so you never have to return to your bag to find one when needed.   Line up your putt when others are putting and be ready to play when it is your turn.   Play ready golf first on the tee hits, not first in the hole!   Walk directly to your golf ball; don’t follow others unless assisting in search.   When two players are riding in a cart, drive the cart to the first ball and drop off the first player with his choice of several clubs. The second player should proceed in the cart to his ball. After the first player hits his stroke, he should begin walking toward the cart as the second golfer is playing.   Heed these tips and your game will be a lot more enjoyable. The group behind you will thank you.

[DrvFrShow]

#2 We see the pros on TV playing those 440 yd par 4s with a driver and a PW. They'll hit a 310 yd drive, and that will leave them 130 yds to the hole. They out drive the average golfer by 90 yds. So that same hole would leave 220 yds to the hole for the average golfer. No chance. Why shouldn't we have fun, too? If you're hitting 220 yd drives, you should be playing at 5800 yds. and have some fun. That'll leave you 8 and 9 irons into most par 4 greens. I still bet most of you won't break 90.

#3 on the list. You see #3 on the list. Yeah, that one. Help out other players in your foursome in seeing where their ball went, especially off the tee.

[Patch]

I agree with all those 8 points. I even use them when I play. My golfing friends do too. However, to fix the problem of slow play there needs to be an enforcement process. Those 8 points and more need to be enforced. 

My guess is 90% of all golf courses would not enforce these types of rules. 

Could you imagine a 4 X 4 sign at the entrance to a golf course listng those 8 points with a note at the botton stating " IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO FOLLOW THESE RULES, WE DO NOT WANT YOUR BUSINESS". Dont think it will happen. 

 

 

 

[DaveP043]

2 minutes ago, Patch said:

I agree with all those 8 points. I even use them when I play. My golfing friends do too. However, to fix the problem of slow play there needs to be an enforcement process. Those 8 points and more need to be enforced. 

My guess is 90% of all golf courses would not enforce these types of rules. 

Could you imagine a 4 X 4 sign at the entrance to a golf course listng those 8 points with a note at the botton stating " IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO FOLLOW THESE RULES, WE DO NOT WANT YOUR BUSINESS". Dont think it will happen. 

Patch, you seem ready to give up.  I agree that speeding up play will need enforcement, but this is a good step for any club at the beginning of the year.  I'd love to see a public course require every single player to read and sign a copy of those 8 tips as a condition for playing.  It would take an extra minute at check-in, but it might just make a small difference.  Private courses could do the same thing, once a season.  I know it won't make things perfect, but its a tool.  

[No Mulligans]

I follow those with the possible exception of #2.  As for #2, to be approaching with a lofted iron most of the time (7i thru wedges) I'd need to play from the reds, especially true for Torrey Pines.  I generally play from the whites with the rest of the group, playing from the reds for a man is rarely seen. 

Regardless, I am generally as fast or faster than the rest of the people I play with.  It takes two to tango and unless everyone in the group is playing fast, the group as a whole is slow. A few times I have been criticized for being too focused, walking too fast, playing too fast... wife's can be critical.  

I think the main thing to playing fast is being focused, being into the game.

 

[Scotsclaff]

Yes,all great points,our group abides by all of them.

If there are any Koreans on here,take heed!!

[dave s]

A complete 'bomb' off the tee for me is 220-230.  I play from tees that measure 5800-6200 yards.  At 5800, I'll see a lot of birdie opportunities.  At 6200 yards I'm going to shoot 90.  Had to play a hdcp outing this summer from 6600+yards in wet conditions.  Golf isn't fun for me at that yardage.  Since it was handicapped I don't know what I actually shot, but it would have been right around 100 on a wet course playing 6600+ yards.

On weekends, players teeing it up from the 'tips' are probably the biggest cause of slow play that I witness.  One guy in the group uses tee box selection as a measuring stick for mens' private parts and insists the group play from the back tees.  Trouble is, the other 3 guys have NO business playing the back tees.  Usually the guy insisting the group play from the back tees sometimes has no business playing from there either.

Play It Forward.  Make pars and birdies when you can.  Shoot a good score.  Enjoy the game.  I don't like driving home feeling like a course beat me up.

dave  

[Fourputt]

2 hours ago, No Mulligans said:

I follow those with the possible exception of #2.  As for #2, to be approaching with a lofted iron most of the time (7i thru wedges) I'd need to play from the reds, especially true for Torrey Pines.  I generally play from the whites with the rest of the group, playing from the reds for a man is rarely seen. 

Regardless, I am generally as fast or faster than the rest of the people I play with.  It takes two to tango and unless everyone in the group is playing fast, the group as a whole is slow. A few times I have been criticized for being too focused, walking too fast, playing too fast... wife's can be critical.  

I think the main thing to playing fast is being focused, being into the game.

 

This is why I prefer playing courses with 4 or 5 tee positions.  That let's men play from a more forward set without feeling that they are on the shortest tee, even if the second tee on one course is no longer than the shortest tee on another.  

My home course spent a decade adding a couple of new teeing areas each year, then 2 years ago they opened up the new tee boxes.  On some holes the back tees were moved back, on some a new shorter front tee was opened.  Then they eliminated the red tees altogether.  They now have Black, Blue, White, and Gold.  When I play the whites now, there is no "stigma" attached, even though about half of the white tees are on the boxes that used to be red tees.  I'd say that more than half of the guys I see on the course are playing the new Whites, and having more fun as a result.  

The longest par 4 used to be 430 from the white tees, but it's now 380 ( and there are a couple that are longer - #18 is still 412).  In my prime I used to play a 7 or 8 iron after a good drive, now I still do, even though my good drives are 30-40 yards shorter.

[Gator Hazard]

1 hour ago, Scotsclaff said:

Yes,all great points,our group abides by all of them.

If there are any Koreans on here,take heed!!

Can you clarify your reason to call out a particular race in this comment?  This is not the first time you have made a comment along these lines.  

[Dave2512]

Courses should stamp 2,4 and 8 on people's hands.

Also think a multi tee setup helps to keep the fragile ego's on the right tees. Doesn't always work but a handicap suggestion for tees is always nice to see. Handicap and GIR go hand in hand, give yourself a chance.

[SavvySwede]

3 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

#3 on the list. You see #3 on the list. Yeah, that one. Help out other players in your foursome in seeing where their ball went, especially off the tee.

I actually don't agree with the second half of #3. Sure you should watch the flight of everyone's ball from the tee box, but after that the wayward guy should be able to find his ball on his own in the time it takes the other three players to hit their second shots. 

[DrvFrShow]

1 minute ago, SavvySwede said:

I actually don't agree with the second half of #3. Sure you should watch the flight of everyone's ball from the tee box, but after that the wayward guy should be able to find his ball on his own in the time it takes the other three players to hit their second shots. 

Misinterpretation. I meant what you wrote here. I didn't mean that everyone should be responsible for everyone else's ball. But sometimes a ball is a little challenging to find. I've found having an individual mark identifying your ball does help.

[SavvySwede]

4 minutes ago, DrvFrShow said:

Misinterpretation. I meant what you wrote here. I didn't mean that everyone should be responsible for everyone else's ball. But sometimes a ball is a little challenging to find. I've found having an individual mark identifying your ball does help.

I was just going by how it was written in the OP.

[Wally Fairway]

#4(a) & 8(a)- Get ready to hit your shot while others are playing. Nothing bothers me more about slow play than someone who is waiting to hit, and then once it is their turn they get yardage, pick a club, take a couple of practice swings. This is especially true if riding in a cart, get ready while the other player hits. If you are between clubs, take them both and choose, you shouldn't have to go back to the cart until after you've played your shot.

#9 - Waiting for the players in front of you to play, even though they are 20+ yards beyond your best shot ever (thinking mainly about par 5's here).

 

Edited March 4, 2016 by iacas
Read the how-to page. It's not difficult at all.

[Fourputt]

1 hour ago, Gator Hazard said:

Can you clarify your reason to call out a particular race in this comment?  This is not the first time you have made a comment along these lines.  

He didn't call out a race, he called out a nationality.  Note that he lives in Thailand, so he probably plays with Asians of many nationalities.

[Patch]

5 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Patch, you seem ready to give up.  I agree that speeding up play will need enforcement, but this is a good step for any club at the beginning of the year.  I'd love to see a public course require every single player to read and sign a copy of those 8 tips as a condition for playing.  It would take an extra minute at check-in, but it might just make a small difference.  Private courses could do the same thing, once a season.  I know it won't make things perfect, but its a tool.  

No, not giving up. I am just looking at the problem from lost revenue for golf courses should they try to speed up the slower players. The slower player will either quit the game, or take their money to a less restrictive course. 

 The other thing I look at is that it is pretty much impossible to get every golfer on the same page as far as pace of play goes There are just too many different speeds being played out there. 

We were sitting in the 19th the other day talking about this same subject. One concept came up where the faster players might meet the slower players half way. The faster players would slow down a little, while the slower players would speed up a little. In the end that wouldn't work either as you would be taking both groups out of their comfort zones with regards to their own pace of play. 

[SavvySwede]

10 minutes ago, Patch said:

No, not giving up. I am just looking at the problem from lost revenue for golf courses should they try to speed up the slower players. The slower player will either quit the game, or take their money to a less restrictive course. 

 The other thing I look at is that it is pretty much impossible to get every golfer on the same page as far as pace of play goes There are just too many different speeds being played out there. 

We were sitting in the 19th the other day talking about this same subject. One concept came up where the faster players might meet the slower players half way. The faster players would slow down a little, while the slower players would speed up a little. In the end that wouldn't work either as you would be taking both groups out of their comfort zones with regards to their own pace of play. 

Comfort zones can change with some experience. The real problem is that a lot of the slower players have one bad round trying to pick up the pace and withdraw back into their bad habits.

[Scotsclaff]

4 hours ago, Gator Hazard said:

Can you clarify your reason to call out a particular race in this comment?  This is not the first time you have made a comment along these lines.  

No.