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Island Golfer August 2007
Pace of Play     

You've probably seen it happen to someone else or had it happen to you. The group behind you is yelling out loud to "hurry it up" and giving long looks and shaking their heads about how slow your group is playing. Avoid those potentially bad scenes by respecting your fellow golfers and keeping the pace of play at the course. Here's what you can do:

• Choose a set of tees appropriate to your skill level. Playing from the ladies or the forward
  set of tees will help speed up your pace of play.
• Carry a few extra tees, ball marks and a spare ball in your pockets so you don't have to return to your golf bag to retrieve them, should you find yourself in need of one.
• Each member of a foursome (or any group) should proceed directly to his or her ball. The group should not travel as a pack, going to first to one ball, then the next, and so on.
• While walking (or riding) to your ball, use the travel time to begin thinking over your next shot - the yardarge, which club you'll use. Begin preparing before you get to your ball.
• If sharing a cart, don't drive to the first ball, wait for the first player to hit, then head to the second ball. Drop the first player off at his ball, drive on ahead to the second ball. The first player should walk over to the cart as the second player is playing his shot.
• When using a cart on a cart-path-only day, be sure to take a couple of clubs with you when you walk from the cart to the ball. This way, you won't have to return to the cart if you discover you didn't bring the appropriate club.
• Limit your search for lost balls. If you're not following the rules anyway, don't spend more than a minute searching - or just immediately play your provisional. (If you are playing by the rules, wave through any group behind that is being held up by your search.)
• Never hold up play because you're in the middle of a conversation. Put the conversation on hold, take your stroke, then continue the conversation while walking to your next shot.
• On the green, begin lining up your putt and reading the break as soon as you reach the green.
• When it's your turn to putt, be prepared to step right up and take the stroke.
• Leave your bags or golf carts to the side of the green, and in the direction of the next tee, never in front of the green.
• Write your score down when you reach the next tee. Never stand on or next to the green after holing out in order to write it down.
• Use the groups ahead of you and behind you to gauge your pace. If the group that teed off directly in front of you is pulling away - putting a full hole's distance between them and your group - you need to speed up. If there's no one in front of you holding you up, but you are holding up those behind you, either speed up or allow the trailing group to play through.
• If all else fails, try playing "ready golf," which simply means that order of play is based on who's ready, not who's away.
  

Tips for Beginners:

• Play scramble format - all players hit a drive and then you all play fom the best shot and do that until the ball is in the hole.
• Tee up the ball in the fairway if you are struggling. This will make it more enjoyable and speed things up because of fewer swings.
• Limit the # of putts to 2 per hole. Pick up the third putt.
• Limit the number of shots to get to the green: 3 shots on a par 3, 4 shots on a par 4 and 5 shots on a par 5.

Remember, have FUN. You do not have to keep score!!!!!!