Readers Respond: Best Tips for Speeding Up Play

What is the best tip you would give to newcomers to golf about pace of play? What do's and don'ts would you share with newbies about pace of place? Let's hear your best tip(s) for speeding up play. Share Your Tip

Speed on the tee

1. If you have the honour on the next tee, mark your card AFTER you drive, not before. 2. When the last player drives, the rest of the party should start walking, and the last to drive can catch up (this assumes that you are walking and not taking it easy in a buggy!)

—Guest Glengolfer

Keep pushing even when you don't have to

I notice golfers hitting extra drives when nobody is pushing them. This means the group ahead will likely also waste time since nobody is pushing them! And so on and so on.... This is one way how slow play forms. And, like a traffic jam, once it forms, it takes a while to dissipate. So, keep pushing that group ahead of you, even if you feel you don't have to.

—b7bingo

photos

Please - unless you are at a course that isn't busy, don't stand on the green taking pictures knowing people are behind you.

—Guest johnny bunker

keep walking

The rule seems to be not to walk past somebody who's preparing to hit on the fairway UNLESS your motion will distract him. But if your ball is ahead and WAY to either side, you should keep walking - or at least walk until he's about to hit, then stop as he hits before continuing to walk to your ball.

—b7bingo

Putting

Don't take 5 minutes reading 6 different angles on the putting green. It always seems to be the better golfers that do this. Just because you need to get the right shot doesn't mean you can take the whole day trying to find it.

—Guest Trobes05

Playing par 3's quicker

We have laser distance finders but it would be nice on par 3's to list on a changeable copy poster the exact distance to the hole so each player doesn't have to check it the distance every time the pin placement changes.

—Guest C Waggoner

Concede lost balls

Don't spend more than a couple of minutes looking for a lost ball. You should help out another player by looking, especially if you are on the same side of the fairway. If a gap opens up to the foursome ahead and there are players crowding from behind, then be reasonable, admit it's lost, take the penalty and move on.

—Guest wacker

limit the strokes

do you really need to write down a 12 or 13 for a hole score? If you have "doubled" the par for the hole, pick your ball up and move on. So, 6 on a par 3, 8 on a par 4, and 10 on the par 5's.

—Guest jack116

moving to the next tee

if your group is holding up play, if one of your foursome has already holed out he/she should move on to the next tee to tee off before all the group has finished putting.

—Guest Jim Fratzke

Practice Strokes

So why does anyone need two or three practice strokes? One is enough for anyone. Frequently, and unfortunately men are the worst for this, a player takes 2 lovely practice strokes, addresses the ball, and then hits it 10 yards. Practice on the practice range and play on the course.

—Guest ctsmeow

Replacing the flag

In our pace of play "rules" we say that the first person who putts out is responsible for picking up and replacing the flag in the cup when all are finished. That person is just standing around while the others are putting. He also glances around to see if any clubs needs to be picked up when leaving the green.

—Guest Harold

know your limits

Know how far you hit your clubs. Often golfers wait behind a group even though the player doesn't hit far enough to reach the group ahead. This happens many times on fairway shots.

—Guest Don Schramm

plan ahead

Especially around the green, look where you will be headed next. Park your cart, leave your bag, drop your wedge, etc. in a direct line with the next tee. Then you will not waste time and annoy the group following by back-tracking to retrieve equipment. Also, move to the next tee before counting your score and marking your card.

—rarefreyusa

Hit the Range Before The Round

Most players I see slow down play after hitting their ball into everything but the fairway. By getting to the range even for 20 minutes before each round that player will be able to develop better tee and fairway skills.

—Guest C Bowen

walking slow

the average golfer is about an 16 handicap. walking faster between shots is the key. the other thing is golfers that wait for friends to play their shot and not going dirctly to their ball. you can play faster if you don't score well just by walking faster between shots.

—Guest pappa charlie

In match play, concede putts & pick up!

If you are playing match rules, be reasonable and realistic about conceding putts to your opponents. And pick up when the hole has been decided or you can't make a better score than your partner. On the scorecard, the USGA rule is to write down what you most likely would have made. For a foursome, if everyone putts out, it can add 1 to 2 minutes on every hole, resulting in 20 to 30 minutes added to the round.

—Guest Joe Cascio

Wrapped up in conversation

One of the biggest problems I see is golfers who get wrapped in conversation. Maybe they're standing on the tee chatting, waiting for the hole to clear up ahead, but when the hole DOES clear they don't notice because they aren't really paying attention. Chatter between friends on the course is a great part of the game, but you have to be able to talk and pay attention to the flow of the game at the same time. Keep your head in the game, pay attention, and be ready to play when it's time to stop talking and play.

—turkeybreast