Suggestions to Speed Up Play
Slow Play is the problem with many golf courses. A posted set of suggestions to help speed up play may help your membership. Another problem is they don’t read posted suggestions or don’t think it applies to them. A list could be sent to each member of your club in their club newsletter or handed out at your board meetings. It could help to have your Pro go over these suggestions at your board meeting in hopes that this would mean more coming from them. After an event some organizers have to wait close to an hour for the last group to show up must mean they could use these suggestions of slow play.
Golf Cart Etiquette
1. 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 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.
2. Use the time you spend getting to your ball to think about the next shot - the yardage, the club selection. When you reach your ball you'll need less time to figure out the shot.
3. If using a cart on a cart-path-only day, take more than one club with you when you walk from the cart to your ball. Getting to the ball only to find out you don't have the right club is a huge time-waster on the golf course.
4. When hitting a golf shot return to your cart, don't stand there fussing with your club covers. Get in the cart, drive to the next tee or ball, and then put your covers on your clubs.
5. When using a cart, never park the cart in front of the green. Park it only to the side or behind the green. And don't mark your scorecard while sitting in the cart next to the green. These practices open up the green for the group behind.
Basic Routines
1. LPGA has suggested that it should only take 30 seconds to hit a golf ball. This will include your lining up the ball, your pre-swing routine and hitting the ball. That is for all golf shots and putting.
2. On the tee, pay attention to your partners' drives. If they lose sight of their ball, you can help direct them to it and avoid any searching.
3. When waiting on the tee for the group in front to clear the fairway, don't be so strict about order of play. Let the short hitter - who can't reach the group ahead anyway - go ahead and hit.
4. Work on building a concise pre-shot routine if your pre-shot routine is a lengthy one, it's probably in your best interests to shorten it anyway. Limit practice strokes to one or two at the most.
5. 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.
6. When chipping around the green, carry both the club you'll be chipping with plus your putter so you don't have to return to the bag.
Basic Courteous Steps
1. Leave your cell phone in the car or at home.
2. Don't bother marking lag putts - go ahead and putt out if it's short enough.
3. If you are searching for a lost ball and are willing to spend a few minutes looking for it, allow the group behind to play through. You should never spend more than a minute looking for a lost ball you should have hit a provisional if you thought it could be lost.
4. Don't ask playing partners to help you search for a lost ball if the course is crowded, your partners should continue moving forward, not slow things down further by stopping to help your search.
5. Likewise, mark your scorecard after reaching the next tee, not while lingering on or near the just-completed green.
6. After putting out, don't stand around the green chatting. Leave the green quickly so the group behind can play.
7. Begin reading the green and lining up putts as soon as you reach the green. Don't wait until it's your turn to start the process of reading the green. Do it as soon as you reach the green so that when it's your turn you can step right up and putt.
8. Never delay making a stroke because you're having a conversation with a playing partner. Put the conversation on hold make your stroke.
9. Try playing ready golf, where order of play is based on whose ready, not on whose ball is away.
Paying attention to many of these suggestions should help speed up play and keep groups moving in good time. With our course it should only take 3 ½ hours to play an eighteen hole round. These set of suggestion could be given to guests who are playing your course for the first time. It would help keep players moving at a good rate of play.
Golf Cart Etiquette
1. 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 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.
2. Use the time you spend getting to your ball to think about the next shot - the yardage, the club selection. When you reach your ball you'll need less time to figure out the shot.
3. If using a cart on a cart-path-only day, take more than one club with you when you walk from the cart to your ball. Getting to the ball only to find out you don't have the right club is a huge time-waster on the golf course.
4. When hitting a golf shot return to your cart, don't stand there fussing with your club covers. Get in the cart, drive to the next tee or ball, and then put your covers on your clubs.
5. When using a cart, never park the cart in front of the green. Park it only to the side or behind the green. And don't mark your scorecard while sitting in the cart next to the green. These practices open up the green for the group behind.
Basic Routines
1. LPGA has suggested that it should only take 30 seconds to hit a golf ball. This will include your lining up the ball, your pre-swing routine and hitting the ball. That is for all golf shots and putting.
2. On the tee, pay attention to your partners' drives. If they lose sight of their ball, you can help direct them to it and avoid any searching.
3. When waiting on the tee for the group in front to clear the fairway, don't be so strict about order of play. Let the short hitter - who can't reach the group ahead anyway - go ahead and hit.
4. Work on building a concise pre-shot routine if your pre-shot routine is a lengthy one, it's probably in your best interests to shorten it anyway. Limit practice strokes to one or two at the most.
5. 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.
6. When chipping around the green, carry both the club you'll be chipping with plus your putter so you don't have to return to the bag.
Basic Courteous Steps
1. Leave your cell phone in the car or at home.
2. Don't bother marking lag putts - go ahead and putt out if it's short enough.
3. If you are searching for a lost ball and are willing to spend a few minutes looking for it, allow the group behind to play through. You should never spend more than a minute looking for a lost ball you should have hit a provisional if you thought it could be lost.
4. Don't ask playing partners to help you search for a lost ball if the course is crowded, your partners should continue moving forward, not slow things down further by stopping to help your search.
5. Likewise, mark your scorecard after reaching the next tee, not while lingering on or near the just-completed green.
6. After putting out, don't stand around the green chatting. Leave the green quickly so the group behind can play.
7. Begin reading the green and lining up putts as soon as you reach the green. Don't wait until it's your turn to start the process of reading the green. Do it as soon as you reach the green so that when it's your turn you can step right up and putt.
8. Never delay making a stroke because you're having a conversation with a playing partner. Put the conversation on hold make your stroke.
9. Try playing ready golf, where order of play is based on whose ready, not on whose ball is away.
Paying attention to many of these suggestions should help speed up play and keep groups moving in good time. With our course it should only take 3 ½ hours to play an eighteen hole round. These set of suggestion could be given to guests who are playing your course for the first time. It would help keep players moving at a good rate of play.
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