Pace of Play Question

[dave s]

Lots of good advice here already.  I'd like to add a couple for your consideration:

1.  Be ready to play when it's your turn. This is the biggest time-waster out on the course.  When it's my turn to play, I'm walking up to the ball, setting up and hitting a shot.  Doesn't matter whether it's a drive, fairway, chip, pitch or putt.  I'm ready to play when it's my turn.

2. Think ahead.  If you've missed the green with a shot, return the club you just swung and pull your around-the-green wedge AND your putter.  You'll need them both in short order. As soon as you arrive, assess your shot, hit the wedge then take both wedge and putter onto the green.  Note to self:  Do NOT leave your wedge on the green.  Place it on the flag stick after it comes out of the hole.

3. Have a 'go-to' club and shot from the fairway when things aren't going well.  Whether that club is a 5-hyrbrid or a 7-iron, have a club that you can comfortably hit to keep advancing the ball.  A lot of times, I'll see errant drives into the rough followed up with rolled 3-wood!  That's not a 'go-to' shot.  Hack it out of the rough with a club that moves the ball effectively forward and back into play.

I learned to play this way when my Dad was around.  His rules were simple:  1) keep up or you can't play; 2) keep moving the ball forward with clubs you can hit; 3) follow the rules and etiquette.

Lastly, my Dad outscored me plenty of times using just a 5-iron, wedge and a putter.  See item #3 above.

And most definitely get out on the course and have at it!

dave

[Buckeyebowman]

High handicappers and walkers are perfectly capable of playing quickly. Just having a riding cart does NOT make you a fast player! I've had plenty of times when carts were whizzing back and forth across the fairway in front us and it looked like a demolition derby! We couldn't figure out what on earth they were doing!

In addition to the many good suggestions above, I will offer one more. Follow the flight of your ball to the very end, no matter how bad a shot you hit! I realize you haven't been out there much, if at all, but you will see guys hit a bad shot, spin away, and really have no idea where their ball came to rest. Unless someone else in your group is watching for you, and you can't really count on that.

Then they will usually waste more time looking 50-60 yards farther on than they actually hit the thing! Golf muscles! Here's more wisdom from Shivas Irons. "How many times do we turn away too soon and blind ourselves to the truth!"

[mcanadiens]

1 minute ago, Buckeyebowman said:

In addition to the many good suggestions above, I will offer one more. Follow the flight of your ball to the very end, no matter how bad a shot you hit! I realize you haven't been out there much, if at all, but you will see guys hit a bad shot, spin away, and really have no idea where their ball came to rest. Unless someone else in your group is watching for you, and you can't really count on that.

For as long as I've been playing, I still have trouble with exactly that. Yes, its a very stupid feeling when you lose the ball that way. 

[NCGolfer]

I'll echo what a lot of others are saying here.  Ready golf should be the standard.  I know some longer rounds will happen when there are some lost balls, difficult playing conditions or a competitive match.  Even so, being prepared and playing your shot when you are ready is the easiest way to play a faster round of golf.

Growing up, I would play (walking) every Sunday morning with my dad and two other guys.  All varying degrees of ability.  We would be out first and always be done well under 4 hours.  Sometimes under 3:30.  Now this course was shorter and we would rarely lose many golf balls.  We never asked if it was our turn...we were simply aware of everyone else, if they were hitting and if we would probably hit next.  We would also keep a good eye on everyone's golf ball so if it did stray off line we all knew about where it went.

Today, if I'm waiting to hit a longer shot into a par 5 or par 4 I always tell my playing companions to go up to their ball.  I don't care if they are somewhat in front of me.  I'd rather have them ready to play their next shot.  Little things like that matter...

It's pretty simple.  The game can be played and enjoyed at a relatively fast pace and it doesn't have to feel that way.

[DaveP043]

8 minutes ago, NCGolfer said:

 We never asked if it was our turn...we were simply aware of everyone else, if they were hitting and if we would probably hit next.  We would also keep a good eye on everyone's golf ball so if it did stray off line we all knew about where it went.

It's pretty simple.  The game can be played and enjoyed at a relatively fast pace and it doesn't have to feel that way.

Just to add to this, if you're not sure if its your turn, just ask. Don't assume your more experienced friends are sure, sometimes its not obvious.  I've seen players standing and looking at each other, not saying a word, but not knowing whether to hit or to wait.  There's no sin in not knowing, just ask.  Communication is a good thing.  

The awareness of each player's position is something that many new players seem to find difficult, but seems second-nature to long-time players.  I think its easier to learn about awareness when you're walking, as opposed to riding, so I'd encourage everyone to walk more, especially while you're learning the game.

[NCGolfer]

2 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Just to add to this, if you're not sure if its your turn, just ask. Don't assume your more experienced friends are sure, sometimes its not obvious.  I've seen players standing and looking at each other, not saying a word, but not knowing whether to hit or to wait.  There's no sin in not knowing, just ask.  Communication is a good thing.  

The awareness of each player's position is something that many new players seem to find difficult, but seems second-nature to long-time players.  I think its easier to learn about awareness when you're walking, as opposed to riding, so I'd encourage everyone to walk more, especially while you're learning the game.

Great point.  Sometimes I'll ask to hit or if it is my turn with people I've never played with before.  I don't want to hit out of turn if they don't like it but it does show that I prefer ready golf.  Not lightning-fast golf....just ready golf.

[Fourputt]

2 hours ago, NCGolfer said:

Great point.  Sometimes I'll ask to hit or if it is my turn with people I've never played with before.  I don't want to hit out of turn if they don't like it but it does show that I prefer ready golf.  Not lightning-fast golf....just ready golf.

I generally establish that on the first tee if I'm playing with strangers.  I'll just say that I like to play ready golf and I've never had anyone dispute it.  That way when I or some else does appear to play out of turn, the issue has already been settled and agreed on.

[Hategolf]

Recently I have taken longer than before on hitting my shots. Too many swing thoughts and such...but in my defense..my shots are on play and further more often than many players I play with of the same skill level that play faster...while I'm walking to my next shot they are looking for their ball. 

I am working on pulling the trigger faster without affecting my tempo. 

If I feel I am slowing my group, I ask, if my playing partners feel we are playing a little slow, if so, I pick up the pace.  If I have a bad hole I pick up. 

If I have a bad round..I thank the group for their patience.

[David in FL]

1 hour ago, Fourputt said:

I generally establish that on the first tee if I'm playing with strangers.  I'll just say that I like to play ready golf and I've never had anyone dispute it.  That way when I or some else does appear to play out of turn, the issue has already been settled and agreed on.

Yep.  Exactly this.

In any given 4-some, unless everyone is moving to their next shot, somebody should always be swinging a golf club.  

Edited May 3, 2017 by David in FL

[RH31]

Be ready to let faster groups through if there is an open hole ahead of you. Walk, play your shots, work on your game, just be ready to let faster groups play through. When I was first starting out, it wasn't uncommon for me to let multiple groups play through in 9 holes.

As you get better, you'll find you can keep up better.

[drmevo]

15 hours ago, Fourputt said:

I generally establish that on the first tee if I'm playing with strangers.  I'll just say that I like to play ready golf and I've never had anyone dispute it.  That way when I or some else does appear to play out of turn, the issue has already been settled and agreed on.

 

13 hours ago, David in FL said:

Yep.  Exactly this.

In any given 4-some, unless everyone is moving to their next shot, somebody should always be swinging a golf club.  

I don't always think to mention it on the first tee, but if I get to my ball and no one else has or they haven't started their routine yet, I'm hitting. If anyone has a problem with it we can work it out after, but these days I feel like ready golf needs to be a given.

Edited May 3, 2017 by drmevo

[Fourputt]

1 hour ago, drmevo said:

 

I don't always think to mention it on the first tee, but if I get to my ball and no one else has or they haven't started their routine yet, I'm hitting. If anyone has a problem with it we can work it out after, but these days I feel like ready golf needs to be a given.

I agree, but I still get on the course with people who seem to uncertain about what the concept of ready golf actually is.  They say "Okay let's all play ready golf," then when we get to our first drives, they are all standing and looking at each other waiting for someone to take the lead.  These people need some prodding before they will embrace it.  When I get to my ball I get my information for the shot in order, then I take a quick look around at my companions.  If nobody else is close to getting ready to hit (or if they are just standing there looking at each other), then I go ahead.   

I read an article many years ago about an interview with a Scot.  He was puzzled that the interviewer would even have to ask why it seemed to be accepted that two players on opposite sides of the fairway could be hitting at the same time and nobody stopped or glared at his opponent as would likely happen in the US.  His comment was along the lines of "Why wouldn't they both hit, as long as neither player is interfering with the other?"  To me that indicated a fundamental philosophical difference in their approach to pace of play from what we usually see over here.  

[MrDC]

Agreed, I never talk about ready golf with strangers, it's a given.

Don't worry about your level of play and pace, one should generally not have anything to do with the other, even the worst players can move along just fine with some simple tips.
 

[David in FL]

5 minutes ago, Fourputt said:

I agree, but I still get on the course with people who seem to uncertain about what the concept of ready golf actually is.  They say "Okay let's all play ready golf," then when we get to our first drives, they are all standing and looking at each other waiting for someone to take the lead.  These people need some prodding before they will embrace it.  When I get to my ball I get my information for the shot in order, then I take a quick look around at my companions.  If nobody else is close to getting ready to hit (or if they are just standing there looking at each other), then I go ahead.   

I read an article many years ago about an interview with a Scot.  He was puzzled that the interviewer would even have to ask why it seemed to be accepted that two players on opposite sides of the fairway could be hitting at the same time and nobody stopped or glared at his opponent as would likely happen in the US.  His comment was along the lines of "Why wouldn't they both hit, as long as neither player is interfering with the other?"  To me that indicated a fundamental philosophical difference in their approach to pace of play from what we usually see over here.  

YES, YES, YES!

Along the same lines, there is NOTHING wrong with moving ahead of another player, to your ball, as long as you're well outside his line of play.

[Patch]

All great advice given above. No need for me to repeat it. 

In the end all a golfer can do is what ever it takes to stay close to the group in front. It is the front group's priority to to stay close to their leading group. If everyone golfing did this there would be no pace of play problem.  

Here's the bug-a-boo of pace of play. Not all golfers play at the same speed. They never have, and they never will. There is always going to be different speeds playing the course at any given time. The fast golfers don't care for the slow golfers, and vice versa. The only defenses I see for slow play are both a pre-shot, and post shot routines. Those, and working on one's accuracy in their long, and short games. Fewer strokes equal less time on the course. 

 

[RayG]

1 hour ago, Patch said:

All great advice given above. No need for me to repeat it. 

In the end all a golfer can do is what ever it takes to stay close to the group in front. It is the front group's priority to to stay close to their leading group. If everyone golfing did this there would be no pace of play problem.  

Here's the bug-a-boo of pace of play. Not all golfers play at the same speed. They never have, and they never will. There is always going to be different speeds playing the course at any given time. The fast golfers don't care for the slow golfers, and vice versa. The only defenses I see for slow play are both a pre-shot, and post shot routines. Those, and working on one's accuracy in their long, and short games. Fewer strokes equal less time on the course. 

 

I would add that knowing your game is imperative. IF you're waiting for those guys to clear the green from 320 out because you once "... really nailed one 270 one time", please give yourself a dope slap and go ahead and top the ball like you usually do. And move along after you do.