Pace of Play

Be ready to play when it is your turn.  You don’t have to wait in the cart while your partner hits his ball.  You can walk to your ball (with clubs in hand) and get ready while he is hitting.  Save time.  Don’t be a spectator.  Be a player. Be ready to hit.

Standing around and debating who is “away” is a waste of time.  Who cares?  If you are ready to hit and you can hit the ball and not put anyone in danger, why wait?  Our swings are not worth watching, so don’t wait for an audience.  Just hit the ball.

Start reading your putt while others are putting, do not wait until it is your turn to start studying your line, putt continuously unless you could really interfere with another’s line.

Carry a number of clubs when you walk to your ball so you have the right one, choose one, hit your ball, go back to the cart quickly and get in.  Put your clubs back in your bag at the next stop.

Remember that in 2019, the time you can take to look for a lost ball is reduced to 3 minutes.  This has been changed from 5 minutes to speed up play. Please take no more than 3 minutes to look for your ball.

Know what ball you are playing.  Brand, number and how you have it marked so you can identify it as your ball. Tell your playing partners what brand and number of golf ball you are playing.  We can’t help you find your ball unless you tell us what we are looking for.

There is a new rule in 2019 about how to proceed if you hit your ball out of bounds or if you lose a ball.  Please read this new rule.  It will speed up play if you use it.

After completing your hole, drive immediately to the next tee.  Record your scores there, not at the last green.  The group behind you is probably ready to hit.   Get out of THEIR way and let them play.

The course’s “player assistant” or “ambassador” is on the course to aid us.  If he asks you to skip a hole due to your “pace of play” – do so.  Come back at the end of your round and play that missed hole. Your team will not be penalized by the tournament’s TD if you follow the course ambassador’s instructions. If, on the other hand, you refuse to follow the direction of the course ambassador you may be disqualified from the tournament because you are slowing the pace of play of the entire field.

If you wear a golf glove for full shots, but take it off to putt, please take it off before you get to the green and it is your time to play.  Making your playing partners watch you take your glove off 18 times as you prepare to putt won’t win you any friends. It is also a waste of time to make them watch you take your glove off on every green.

Pros only make 50% of their putts from 10 feet and we certainly aren’t as good as the pros.  Beyond 10 feet the putts made percentage drops quickly. They are the best putters in the world.  We aren’t!  Make a decision, hit the ball, get the speed right and go on.  Saving a minute on each green will make a huge difference in pace of play.

If you putt but miss the hole by a foot or two, continue putting to hole out your ball.  This isn’t match play.  Don’t waste the time to mark your ball, pick it up and then take more time to set your ball back down on the green, line it up immediately and putt it once again. This is a waste of time.  Just putt the ball into the hole.  Don’t wait.

The pros are good enough that they need to know the exact distance for their next shot.  We aren’t that good It really isn’t important if the green is 120 or 125 yards away.  We probably won’t hit the green anyway.  Pick a club and hit it.  Then go hit it again.  Don’t wait.  Don’t measure and re-measure. We aren’t pros.

Be realistic.  Just because when you were 25, you once hit the ball 225 yards onto the green from the fairway doesn’t mean you can do it today.  The odds of hitting it that far are slim and none for most us.  If you get extremely lucky and hit it close to the group in front, you can apologize later.  It is better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission.  Hit the ball.

Just a few thoughts to consider.  Basically, the answer is—play faster, don’t waste time. Everyone will enjoy playing faster.  You just might score better too!

It isn’t how many shots we take that makes us slow.  It is how much time we waste between shots that makes us slow. Speed up.  Hit the ball.  Move forward. You’ll play faster.

On behalf of your Board