We got to talk about pace. I have never met anyone who would not prefer to finish his/her rounds in 3 hours. However, more and more we find ourselves in 5 hour + golf days. And it only takes 1 foursome to slow down everyone in the course.
Increasing your pace is simpler than you think. And believe it or not it will not affect your golf performance, in fact I would argue it will improve your golf performance as it will keep you focused in the game.
Where do I shave minutes from my golf round?
Surprisingly, after analyzing and timing golfers in the course, we found that the place to shave minutes is not necessarily when you are in your pre-shot routine like many people think. Instead you can increase your pace just by making sure that you are ready for the next shot when it is your turn.
5 tips to increase your golf pace:
1) Get to your ball while you are waiting for others to hit. This is probably the most important of all. I am not suggesting that you interrupt each others swing, or stand ahead the other golfer. All I am saying is that you should not be waiting in the cart path and away from your ball while other members of your foursome are playing. Instead, you could be standing by your ball with your club selection in your hand when possible.
2) Read your putts and stand ready before your ball when others are putting. Do not wait to read your line until it is your turn. Amateurs spend more than a third of the time of a hole in or around the greens.
3) Ask everyone in your foursome to look and mark everyone’s tee shots. We generally waste a lot of time just looking for balls in the rough.
4) Play your appropriate TeeBox, not the one you wish you could play. Playing the Middle tees instead of the Back ones, will allow you to play better, and hitting less shots means spending less time in the golf course.
5) Finally, it is Ok to have a pre-routine, but avoid thinking to much. If you are spending more than 45 seconds in your whole shot routine, you are spending way too much time.
What NOT to do?
1) Do not interrupt your game play to go get a drink with the cart lady. For example, if you are already in the green and she arrives, just ask her to wait for you. Finish your putting and then go get your drinks.
2) Do not waste time writing scores or talking in the TeeBox before your shots. Some people spend too much time writing hole scores and stats right after they exit the green. While they could do so in the next TeeBox while the other players of the foursome are hitting.
3) Use our Scorecard Picture Service 😉 Writing in a Scorecard with your pencil is faster than any app. So keep your score in your scorecard and then simply upload the pic of your scorecard using our app. Click here to find more
Give these tips a try next time you play…
Now the fun part. The USGA is also promoting to increase the pace of play with it “While we are young” campaign. Here is a link to some of their ads which are actually pretty funny, especially “Arnold Palmer’s and Clint Eastwood’s one.
Enjoy your Golf!
