I recently played a round of golf with one of my students and we were behind an extremely slow group that held us up the entire 18 holes. Many times when they left the green, we all hit our shots and we got to the green and they were still teeing off. The kicker here is we were playing a fivesome (this course allows them, but you have to keep pace) and the foursome behind us never caught up to us. He asked me to write an article about slow play and what is a good pace of play.
Those in the know in the golf business say that one of the biggest problems facing golf is slow play. Golfers in this fast paced world are having a hard time finding enough time to play. Many courses have instituted pace of play guidelines. They have posted the time intervals per hole and for the total round that a foursome should keep, meet or exceed, to be on a good and acceptable pace of play. For most courses 4 ½ hours is the time set as a good pace of play for an 18 hole round. That should be no problem, especially for all the golfers who ride carts and even walkers, if they follow a few guidelines.
Many course pros or starters who know their players, will always try to schedule the first 3 or 4 tee times in the morning, especially on busy days, with their speedy groups. Having a turtle group lead the way is a sure signal for disaster in falling behind on the tee times. This hopefully will keep play moving along, as the general rule is to keep up with the group in front of you. Most courses have the rule for their rangers that if there is an open hole between groups, the turtles have to step aside and let the group behind go through. This doesn't really help in most cases, because in the first place this slows things up and the turtles will still be a problem if they don't keep up with the group they are letting through.
Another factor I have heard too many times to count from an offending slow play group when asked to pick up the pace is, 'The group behind us is not pushing us or said anything to us. So what is the problem?' The problem is that hole and half gap between you and the group in front. The problem is that even though the group behind has not said anything is no excuse for you not to keep up. In fact, many times when you ask the group being held up that has not complained, all they say is they didn't want to cause a problem and they just slowed up to their pace. The moral of this story is the answer to a good pace of play is not to stay ahead of the group behind you, but to keep up with the group in front.
One of the best ways to play faster on non-tournament rounds is: 'Play Ready Golf.' Ready Golf means that you put aside the honor system of the order of play. The honor system states that the player with the lowest score on the previous hole tees off first and then on through till all have hit. The honor in the fairway or on the green to putt is that the player farthest from the hole plays first and then the rest in order of farthest from the hole. The one exception in putting is that there is a 'continuous putting rule' that allows one to putt out with others farther away as long as they can do so without stepping or standing in someone else's line. This really helps speed up play on the green by eliminating marking the ball and then replacing it, especially for putts in the tap in range.
Playing Ready Golf means that the group agrees that whoever gets to the tee first hits. This reduces standing around waiting for the honoree if he or she is lagging behind for whatever reason. In the fairway Ready Golf is hitting when ready as long as you are not out in front of other players line of play. Many times groups speed up because there is a race to the tee to hit first, especially by higher handicap players in a group that very rarely can win the honor. When playing cart path only (CPO) rules, or around the green, always bring 2 or 3 possible clubs that you may need with you when you walk out to your ball. Bringing only one club and deciding you need another and have to go back to the cart to get it is a big time problem, slowing the pace of play with everyone else standing around waiting while you walk back and forth.
Another good way to speed up play is when the hole is completed, wait until you get to the next tee to write down scores. Doing the scorekeeping at the green holds up the group behind you, waiting in the fairway from hitting until you clear the green.
The last big pace of play problem maker is 'THE CELL PHONE.' We live in a fast paced world and I don't want to deny someone use of his/her phone on the course. All I ask and recommend is if your call is going to be more than a minute or two, then pick up your ball, move off to the side and take care of business. This way you don't slow up play or disturb your playing partners.
The saying that 'Time is Money,' applies to golf, especially for the owners of a course who can make more money if more players can play every day and can help keep rates down. Time is also valuable and we only have so much in every day. In our fast paced lives, many days we cram in as much as we can. Many golfers would like to cram in a quick nine or even eighteen holes, but find it impossible when play is at turtle speed.
Let's keep golf enjoyable and maintain a good pace of play. If you and your group don't do some of the suggestions mentioned, give them a try. Who knows, if you play a fast 18 you may have time to sneak in an emergency nine. Sounds good to me.
The Surge!