8 More Tips to Speed Up Play

[Dave325]

Previously, I shared a list of tips that my course published to its members in an email. Well, they just sent another round of them today. So, I thought I would share them to help all of us. There are a couple funny comments in their too. The one about the sand traps really doesn't apply to my course, since they remove them last year due to maintenance issue, but it may apply to you. Enjoy the read.

 

8 More Tips to Speed Up Play

 

Earlier this month, we gave you 8 tips to help speed up play on the golf course to help every player's enjoyment. Don’t be one of those slow players! Here are 8 more tips to help you avoid slowing down play:

 

• Don’t step off or measure yardage for every single golf shot; develop an “eye” for distance.
   
• Be efficient with your pre-shot routine. Take only one practice swing.
   
• Play a provisional ball if you think the original might be lost outside a water hazard or out of bounds.
   
• When hitting a shot from the bunker, make sure you put the rake next to you. That way you'll be ready to rake right after you nestle your shot next to the cup.
   
• Park the cart at greenside as near as possible to where you expect to exit the green after holing out or if walking leave your clubs on the side of the putting green towards to next tee. This avoids backtracking.
   
• Exit putting green promptly after holing out. Wait until you're on the next tee to start writing down scores.
   
• Don't ask your playing partners to help you search for a lost ball - unless you are absolutely certain there is time for them to do so (e.g., there is no group behind waiting). If the course is crowded, your partners should continue moving forward, not slow things down further by stopping to help your search.
   
• Let them play through: If the group behind you is faster, it's okay to let them play through. Finish your hole and then let them tee off ahead of you. Swallow your pride. It's not a sign of weakness. Who knows? It might be Freddie Couples or Tiger Woods.

Remember to forward this to the players you normally play with so we are all working out of the same playbook. We look forward to seeing you!

[No Mulligans]

47 minutes ago, Dave325 said:

• Let them play through: If the group behind you is faster, it's okay to let them play through. Finish your hole and then let them tee off ahead of you. Swallow your pride. It's not a sign of weakness. Who knows? It might be Freddie Couples or Tiger Woods.

That's a really good list and I try to remember to follow all of them.  One I'd add is to watch your fellow players shot/ball flight to help them locate where it went.

The last bullet point of the list I'd change to read:

If there is room ahead of you, let them play through: If the group behind you is faster, it's okay to let them play through. Finish your hole and then let them tee off ahead of you. Swallow your pride. It's not a sign of weakness.

I know that should be obvious but I've seen groups let a single or double play through when there is no room in front.  That just slows the pace of play down for everyone behind.

[DaveP043]

The thing I like best about this is the regular reinforcement.  If you guys get an email once a week with some new ideas to help speed up play, its likely to stay fresh in many people's minds.  If you say it once at the beginning of the year, people forget.  Of course, some folks will get bored and stop reading the regular emails, but it shows a good commitment by the course to speed up play.

[Dave325]

5 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

The thing I like best about this is the regular reinforcement.  If you guys get an email once a week with some new ideas to help speed up play, its likely to stay fresh in many people's minds.  If you say it once at the beginning of the year, people forget.  Of course, some folks will get bored and stop reading the regular emails, but it shows a good commitment by the course to speed up play.

Good point, Dave!  And actually, when they keep it light with a little humor, it helps to widen the readership, and not sound too authoritative. 

[paininthenuts]

Although I love playing the sport, it's my belief that watching golf is even more boring than watching cricket and synchronized swimming. Snooker took a lesson from this, and have now introduced "speed snooker", do you think the same could be done with golf, or could some of the rules be changed to help. I also believe that ball manufacturers have not created a traceable ball for obvious reasons. If a ball could be tracked, we wouldn't have to spend so much time looking for it, and this would speed up play.  

[Grumpter]

I'm sure that more than one course is sending these around. Out of curiosity I put '8 More Tips to Speed Up Play' in a search engine and the first place I found was http://www.prescottgolfclub.ca/ .... 8 minutes, then 7 minutes between tee times  . No use speeding up play when you are crammed in like sardines.

[DaveP043]

1 hour ago, Grumpter said:

No use speeding up play when you are crammed in like sardines.

I can't agree, 7 and 8 minute gaps are too close, but its NEVER a bad idea to help players learn better habits.

[Golfingdad]

2 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

The thing I like best about this is the regular reinforcement.  If you guys get an email once a week with some new ideas to help speed up play, its likely to stay fresh in many people's minds.  If you say it once at the beginning of the year, people forget.  Of course, some folks will get bored and stop reading the regular emails, but it shows a good commitment by the course to speed up play.

Totally agree with this, even though I don't necessarily think these tips are all really that great.  A couple of them, at best, are incomplete.  But that's overshadowed in a good way by the fact that this course is being diligent and making the effort. 

[Grumpter]

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2016 at 5:36 PM, DaveP043 said:

I can't agree, 7 and 8 minute gaps are too close, but its NEVER a bad idea to help players learn better habits.

I can't agree that some of them ARE good habits for people in my group on a course that overcrowds itself. I want people in my group to practice good habits for the given situation. Potential lost ball? Have someone else help you look for it even though there is a group, possibly 2 groups considering 2 groups every 15 minutes, behind you. If you rush through it we are just going to end waiting longer at the next tee box. The last thing I want is 4 very efficient players when the course is overcrowded. I would rather wait through a player in my group taking time with their shots than waiting 4 minutes or more at the next tee box.

Sometimes we have a particular guy in our group who might shoot 135 at a short muni course. If it is one of the courses with 2 tee times every 15 minutes we have to remind him to slow down. All it does by speeding up our groups play is make us wait longer between full length shots. I would rather wait an extra 10 seconds for each of his full shots than wait forever at the next tee and approach shot.

There is nothing wrong with courses giving out good tips for their players but when it comes to tee times that jammed up the tips are mostly useless for all except total newbs. They are acting like it's the players fault the rounds are taking 4:45+ when in fact the main cause is the number of players they jam on the course at one time.