Here is an article I wrote about speeding up the game of golf last fall.  If you have not read it I hope you enjoy.  I welcome any comments.  I hope it uploads well to the blog site.  If not I will remove it.

Ralph

It would be so much more fun not to have to wait a long time between shots on a golf course. Putting more fun back into golf could be accomplished easily if everyone would just
incorporate a few techniques to speed up play.

Just like all the extra motions baseball players go through has
slowed the game of baseball down to resemble “watching paint
dry” lack of knowledge and understanding of the game of golf is
hurting the game.

Baseball batters step out of the batter’s box between every
pitch. They adjust their batting gloves, tap their shoes with their
bat, tug on their shirtsleeve, touch their helmet, spit, crack their
neck, step back in the box, dig their spikes into the dirt in just the
right fashion and then get ready to face the next pitch. This is for every pitch. Just hit the ball already!!!

Golfers, too, in their own way, do repetitious things at the wrong time in the wrong place to slow golf down dramatically.

First let’s look at what is actually required to play a round of
golf.

Let us assume the golf course is 6500 yards long and that one
does not hit the golf ball in a straight line all the time. That makes
the round 19500 feet or between 3 and 4 miles long. The average person walks 2.7 miles per hour. If we say you have to traverse 4 miles chasing your ball and walked the whole way it would take 1 and½ hours to walk it. Very few of us walk anymore.

It takes 1 second to swing at the ball and the ball stays in the
air for 7 seconds. You have to pose till your ball stops. That is an unwritten rule of golf. One probably takes 2 practice swings at 1 second each. If one scores 100 then you have spent 300 seconds swinging at the ball and 700 seconds posing. That equals 17 minutes.

You will, also, need to line up putts, replace divots, rake sand
traps, fix ball marks, tend the flag and look for errant shots. I feel comfortable allowing you 5 minutes per hole for those chores. Hopefully you don’t have to look for a ball on every hole. That’s another 80 minutes.

So where are we? A little over 3 hours.

If we assume most people are riding in golf carts then the time
is actually considerably less.

Why does it then take 4 to 5 hours to play a round of golf?
What can each of us do to speed things up?

Here are a few ideas I hope will help and make the game more
enjoyable for all of us:• The group behind you will not hit their
next shot if you are in their landing area. That is a courtesy
they are affording you. Show them the courtesy too.

• Wait until you get to the next tee to write your score down,
put away your clubs and to put your head covers back on. Be
sure your clubs are completely inside your golf cart when it is
moving so no one gets hurt!

• When approaching your next shot never go to your ball
without a golf club. If unsure of the yardage take 2 or 3 clubs
so that you are prepared for different yardages.

• Employ the “5 second rule”. From the time you tee your ball
up or stand at address strike your actual shot within 5 econds.
This includes your rehearsal swing. It is a rehearsal swing
because you are envisioning and rehearsing the shot as you
would like it to turn out. If your rehearsal swing does not feel
right then take another one. Otherwise hit the ball!

• If you are not sure where your shot ended up, hit a rovisional
ball. This will avoid returning to your previous location to
re-hit in the event you don’t find your original ball.

• Cooperate and communicate with your cart partner to
keep the cart moving towards the green or the next tee.
Ask your cart partner“Do you have everything you need?”
before you drive the cart away. This will avoid finding both
of you on the green and your cart being left 150 yards back
down the fairway.

• Learn the rules of golf so your decisions and discussions
will be shorter in the event you need a ruling.

• PLAY READY GOLF!!! Unless you are in a tournament
where you have to hit in exact order based on who is
farthest from the hole be ready to strike your ball or
putt immediately.

• Take your practice swings and line up your putt while your
playing partners are walking to their ball or hitting their shot. Be
sure not to distract them, though.

• Do not “ball hawk” (look for extra lost balls) if the course is
crowded.

• “Give” short putts to your playing partners unless it is a big
money game or if you are not part of the bet.

• If your playing partner loses his ball help him look for it for a
minute or two. This will help speed up your group.

• If you are slowing people down behind you let them play
through. It is best to do this on a par five. Always let faster
groups play through unless you are sure it would not help
anybody to do so. If in doubt, let them through.

• If there is a group pushing you from behind and there is a
hole open in front of you then you are playing too slow. Talk
to your group and play faster or let the people behind you play
through. Sometimes talking to your own group will speed you
up.

• Think about what you would like to do with your next shot
as you approach the ball, not after you get there.

• If you throw a club don’t hit anybody or get it stuck up in
a tree. Throw it in the direction of the green, towards the
next tee or towards your cart.

• If your have to curse yourself out do it while walking
toward your next shot or next tee.

Playing faster makes the game more enjoyable for everyone
including the owners of the course. If a course plays too
slow some players will never come back. This forces the
owners to raise rates to cover their lost revenues. That
cost is passed on to all of us in the form of higher greens
fees.

Play faster, have more fun and save us all money. It’s a
win-win-win situation.

I read somewhere that the average round of golf in Great
Britain is under 3 hours and they walk. We are better than that!