John Burkholder, Communications Director 9MGA
Slow course play certainly doesn’t apply to you. You’re the fastest golfer you know, right? Right, but maybe you could still review and then incorporate some helpful tips to shave time off a round here at Robson and the other courses you play. And definitely pass them on to the golfers you know could really use them.
And oh, before we get to the list, here’re a couple of very insightful golfers’ thoughts on speeding up play:
“By the time you get to your ball, if you don’t know what to do with it, try another sport.” Julius Boros, US Open and PGA champion
“To help your concentration, don’t take too much time.” Pam Barnett, Moon Valley Country Club teaching pro, Phoenix, Arizona, one of Golf Digest’s top 50 teachers in the Southwest US
“Let’s get after it.” Rose Montgomery’s signature expression, after spitting on her gloves at the start of a round. On June 2, 1992 at the age of 96 (yep, a bit older than we slow pokes at Robson), Rose aced the 100-yard seventh hole at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs for her tenth career hole-in-one.
OK, the list. Here goes:
1. Play it forward at least one tee box.
2. Play like you have only three hours to finish the round before the sun sets. Target two hours for nine holes and four hours for 18.
3. Ditch your headcovers. Taking them on and off all day is a serious time suck.
4. Check the time when you tee off and check again every three holes. For some reason, it helps make you play faster.
5. Build a concise pre-shot routine. If your pre-shot routine is a lengthy one, it’s a significant time saver to considerably shorten it.
6. Aim to play in 20 seconds from club selection to pre-shot routine to actual shot.
7. Use the time you spend getting to your ball to think about the next shot, both yardage and club selection.
8. Only mark a short putt to clean the ball. Putt them out without marking.
9. Don’t wait for slowpokes. They’ll start playing faster as a result.
10. Keep up with the group in front of you, not the group behind you.
11. First golfer on a par 3 gets the yardage and announces it to everyone.
12. First to hit on a par 3 stands at the ready to fill divot holes.
13. Glean as much knowledge as you can about your next shot while approaching it.
14. Develop an eye for distance. Approximate yardages instead of grabbing your golf GPS every shot. Whose shots among us are so precise that plus or minus a few yards really makes a difference? If you think so, you’re wrong.
15. When a hole’s complete don’t waste time fussing with your putter or other clubs. Get in your cart and drive to the next tee, then put away the clubs.
16. Likewise, mark your card after reaching the next tee, not on the side of the green just completed.
17. Waiting? Take as many practice swings as you want. Your turn? Take only one.
18. Always be moving forward. If you have to double back for anything — cart, clubs, a lost head cover (yea headcovers are big time wasters), you’re losing time.
19. Hit your ball first, then help others search for their ball. They’ll typically find the ball without your help.
20. Always have a spare ball handy.
21. Two players in the same bunker? The last one to hit rakes. The first one to escape marks and reads the putt during the raking.
22. A little radical for some, but leaving the flagstick in the hole saves a lot of time. Try it, you’ll see and like it.
23. Refuse to leave the flagstick in? First to putt out grabs the flagstick and waits to put it back. Always.
24. Playing on the tail of the people in front of you will subconsciously push them to play faster, even if they try not to.