Tips from the Pro: Improving Pace of Play on The Golf Course

By Rob Weizer                                                                                      < Back to Golf Tips

Unfortunately, almost three million golfers quit the game every year, and it’s safe to say that slow play and the time it takes to play are the leading culprits. In reality, it takes about an hour to play 18 holes of golf. The other three to four hours is logistical positioning – getting to the next shots, picking the right club. It’s a classic problem: the slowest group dictates the pace of play for everyone. Groups that get out of position — especially early in the day — can affect many groups after it.

A golf course has to provide feedback to slow golfers. Having a marshall or player’s assistant is the most inexpensive and efficient way to do that, by identifying groups that fall behind and providing help to catch up, or encouraging the group to skip holes if needed.
Here are some tips for speeding up slow play on the golf course

• Choose the correct set of tees from which to play.
• Members of a group should not travel as a pack, with all members walking together to the first ball, then the second ball, and so on. Go directly to your ball and be ready to play when it’s your turn.
• When two members are riding in a golf cart, drive to the first ball and drop off the first player with his or her choice of clubs. The second player should proceed in the cart to his or her ball. After the first player hits, he or she should begin walking toward the cart as the second player is playing.
• Use the time you spend getting to your ball to think about your next shot – yardage, club selection, elements, etc. When you reach your ball you’ll need less time to figure out the shot.
• If you’re unsure whether or not your ball has come to rest in a hazard or is out of bounds, immediately hit a provisional ball so that you won’t have to return to the spot to replay the shot. If you’re playing a fun match with, shall we say, a “loose interpretation” of the rules, then simply drop a new ball somewhere around the area where your ball was lost and keep playing, taking a penalty of course.
• If you’re following the rules, you won’t be using any mulligans. But if you are, limit them to no more than one mulligan per nine, and never hit a mulligan if players behind you are waiting.
• Begin reading the green and lining up putts as soon as you reach the green. Don’t wait until it’s your turn to putt. Read the green as soon as you reach it so that when it’s your turn you can step right up and putt.
• 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.
• On the tee, pay attention to your partners’ drives. If they lose sight of their ball, you can help direct them to it to avoid a lengthy search.
• Leave your cell phone in the car!