Now that we are getting into the main playing season with individual qualifying competitions taking place, the pace of play during last Saturday’s competition slowed down significantly. To help try to prevent this issue, especially with this Saturday being a medal, there are a number of simple things everyone can do to make the game more enjoyable and not take too long!
Below is a Youtube clip with 9 simple top tips from Golf Monthly.
9 Tips To Beat Slow Play
1. Be ready to play when it is your turn
This is probably the single most important piece of information in this video. If you are first in the group to play there is little you can do here because you need to take into account yardage, wind, and several other factors before playing.
It is on the other people in the group to work out what they are going to hit, what the wind is doing and so on, whilst the other people are playing their shots. That way when it is your turn, you are ready to step up and play.
2. Leave your bag on the correct side of the green
The simple advice here is that you should leave your bag on the same side of the green where you exit in order to get to the next tee. That way you do not have to walk back and forth after holing out which wastes a lot of time.
3. Mark your scorecard at the right time
There are two big mistakes to avoid here. Do not fill out your scorecard on the green immediately after you have finished a hole. Also do not fill out your scorecard when it is your turn to play.
4. Pay close attention to where your ball goes
When you hit your golf ball into an area of the golf course that might be a bit of trouble, it is very important to watch it all of the way to find out exactly where it has finished.
This will help your score because you’re more likely to find your ball and avoid a big score, and it will also help your pace of play too. Many golfers when they hit a bad shot simply turn away which means they have no idea where it finished and therefore spend more time looking for it and you only have a maximum of 3 minutes.
The key is to watch the flight of the ball, watch for bounces and importantly make sure your playing partners are watching out too.
5. Play ready golf whenever possible
Whoever is ready to play should go first because this can make a huge difference to playing times.
6. Keeping pre-shot routines in check
The key piece of advice we give here is to keep pre-shot routines short and simple.
7. Putt with the flag in from long range
Following Covid restrictions, a lot of players now leave the flag in when putting, however, this can slow play down when some players want the flag in, some want it out. From a longer range though, putting with the flag in can save a few seconds.
8. If in doubt, play a provisional
If you think you have hit your ball into an area you could lose it, it is really important to hit a provisional because it can speed play up massively.
9. Wave faster groups through
If you are playing in a slow group then letting faster groups behind through is something to think about especially if there is a difference in the number of players in each group.
If everyone does their little bit, it will make for your next round to be a lot more enjoyable!