Pace of play has been a large topic of conversation on the PGA Tour and in the golfing world in general some a few years now. The PGA Tour has struggled with coming up with a policy to get the players to speed up play. Putting players on the clock hasn’t really worked over the years and they are looking for ways to improve the system. Since rangefinders aren’t yet legal on the PGA Tour, the suggestion to legalize them is not going to be discussed here. Here are some pace of play tips.
Ready Golf
But there are several ways to increase the pace the play. One of them is to play ready golf. We’ve all heard the saying. But not everyone plays ready golf, especially on the PGA Tour.
How many times have you watched an event on television and you a player checking his yardage book, then checking the wind, going back to his yardage book, and finally pulls a club well after a minute?
Following the shot, what do you see next? His fellow playing partner just starting his process of getting prepared to hit his shot. He looks at the yardage book a few times, checks the wind, looks at the yardage book and decides on the club. Again taking well over a minute to hit his shot.
Since these guys take so long to hit a shot, the others players in the group should be getting ready to hit their shot at the same time. Pretty simple. Yes, they are playing for a lot of money, but that shouldn’t prevent them from preparing for their shot while their playing partners are getting ready for their shot.
We’ve All Seen It
Anyone who has played golf more than a few times, has been in the same group with someone who thinks they are playing on the PGA Tour. No matter their skill level, they just are notoriously slow.
You watch them slowly walk to their ball and go through their process. Check out the lie. Look at the wind direction. Stare at their target. Locate a nearby sprinkler head. Pace off the yardage. Check the wind again. Glare at their clubs deciding which one to pull. Finally a decision is made.
While all of this is happening, you took quick nap and are already to play your next shot.
No matter what you say to these individuals, they never think they are slow. They will continue to do their thing and make the rest of the golfing population in their group and behind them miserable.
What Can You Do?
There are several things you can do to help speed up play. Since we are talking about rangefinders on this site, purchasing a rangefinder can help speed up play.
This is an often overlooked benefit of a rangefinder.
Finding a nearby sprinkler head can sometimes be challenging especially if you aren’t in the fairway. When you do locate that sprinkler head, it may or may not be marked with a yardage. You see the yardage on the sprinkler head at 117. You then have to pace off the steps from that sprinkler head and come as close as you can to getting near the same line as your ball. You count eight paces and add it to the 117. You walk over to your bag and pull your 125 club and hit the shot.
The process might have taken over 30 seconds. On the PGA Tour you are supposed to get 45 seconds from the time you arrive at your ball to hit the shot. You just wasted two-thirds of that time looking for a yardage.
With the rangefinder, you can walk right up to your ball, pull out your rangefinder and get more information than you would ever need in order to make your decision. Whether you are using a laser rangefinder or a GPS, the information is available in seconds or is already at your fingertips by the time you put your bag down.
You see you have 121 to the middle of the green with your GPS. The pin flag color represents a front pin. You know it’s 107 to the front. You take the difference and you take out your 115 club and swing away. That process may have taken you an entire 20 seconds.
You have your laser rangefinder and you scope the flag and see you have 114 to the pin with the click of the button and the vibration to confirm to the measurement is spot on. You take out your 115 club and swing away. Again, the process taking no more than 20 seconds.
Help Speed Up The Game
Simply purchasing a rangefinder isn’t going to make the game speed up. It is one factor that can help. Here are some possible other ideas:
- Walk at a quicker pace
- Write your scores down while someone else is teeing off
- Figure out your score while walking to the next tee box
- When on the green, leave your cart or bag near the next tee box
Simple things like this can help speed up your play and the players around you.
Don’t be afraid to push your fellow group members to move faster. Let them know they took a little too long to hit that shot. Do it in a friendly manner of course.
It Can Be Done
If you look at players like Sergio Garcia or Kevin Na, they have been able to overcome their slow play issues. Sergio was getting heckled in the US Open because of his re gripping of the club while addressing the ball. Sometimes he would re grip it over 15 times. He was made aware he was slow, not just by the hecklers, and fixed his issue.
Kevin Na went though a year where he couldn’t take the club back. That was extremely painful to watch. He took it to heart and corrected the problem.
We need to create awareness for the those players who are slow. Some will take it to heart and other won’t. Rangefinders can help speed up the game. There are other small things that everyone can do to speed help. Lets start by doing what you can do.
