Speed up your golf game without losing shots
With crackdowns on slow play coming into effect, we look at ways to speed up your round of golf.
15 July 2016
2 minute read
The R&A doesn’t like it when you take your time. To be fair, most golfers hate being stuck behind that group that seems to take an age over every shot. To help tackle this blight on courses across the country, the R&A has updated its Pace of Play guidance to help speed up play. It’s hoped that this will mean more people can play courses during the day.
As a rule of thumb, it’s suggested that four hours is standard for an 18-hole course. If you’re going over this, try following these tips…
Use technology
Golf might be thought of as an old fashioned game, but it’s actually one that fully embraces new technology. And while such modern luxuries aren’t for everyone, some of them can help speed up your game.
The most obvious innovations are golf carts and buggies, especially for older players. On bigger courses, they can also help you to speed from hole to hole in no time.
Other technology that could help you be a faster player includes electronic score cards and distance readers which take some of the manual work out of a round, automating things a bit more.
Research the course
Golf can throw up some unexpected situations and make you think strategically with your shot choices. This is all part of the appeal of the game.
But if you’re looking to speed up your play time, it can help to research the course. Find out where the bunkers lie, any blind shots and what the usual club choice is for each hole. This familiarity will hopefully provide less head scratching and more swinging.
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Walk and talk
Golf is a social game – many business deals have been done on the fairways of British courses.
But you don’t need to do your chatting at the tee or while setting up a shot. Talk between holes while you’re on the move. Once you approach the ball, it should be all about the game.
Be prepared to move on
This really applies to lost balls but could also be applied more generally, especially on holes where you’re well over par.
If you’ve hit a wild shot into the rough, the rule of thumb is usually 2 minutes of searching time. But to be honest, you’ll probably know straight away if you’re going to find your ball. Be brave and cut your losses. Take a drop shot and move on.
The same goes for any holes that have got out of hand. We’ve all had those horror moments when putts don’t seem to want to go in – if you’re on your 4th or 5th attempt, agree with your playing partner to call it quits.
Go when you’re ready
There are a number of rules and elements of golfing etiquette to be followed on the course. One of these is the order of play. It usually goes that the player with the lowest score on the previous hole tees off first on the next one.
But to speed up play, simply agree that whoever is ready to go first can go.
Take a breath
You can get lost in your own head on the course sometimes, standing over a fairway shot trying to judge the wind, lay of the green and bounce of the grass. Then you’re over the ball, practicing your swing, lining up your shot, taking a step back, then lining it up again.
Ditch all this. Select the club you want, take a deep breath to centre yourself, step up, pick a shot and then swing. At first this might seem reckless, but after a few shots like this you’ll find yourself slipping into a rhythm and your pace of play will increase rapidly.
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