Slow play seems to have become a large issue on all of the Professional golf tours. Players are speaking out, announcers have opinions and even the PGA Tour seems to be talking about how to handle the situation.

To repeat what I said in a previous post. Golf is a great game and most of us who play it, love it. There are a lot of people, my oldest son for one, who love the game but just don’t have the time. 18 holes of golf can take between 4 and 4 1/2 hours from the time you tee off to the time get back to the clubhouse. If you play at a private course, you may be able to play faster but at most public venues they tend to squeeze in as many players s they can and the round can stretch to 5 or 5 1/2 hours. Even the most ardent golfers hate to have a round last that long. There must be a way to speed up the game. I play most of my golf at a private club and can usually play in between 3 1/2 and 3 3/4 hours. Longer times are usually caused by waiting for the group or groups in front of us or sometimes, if the course is empty, we hit multiple balls and play a practice round. I personally have the advantage of playing during the week rather than the weekend.

Except in for an extremely crowded course, playing faster is a decision one makes. How can I and my group speed up? Let’s take a look at some golfing types:

• The golfer that is never ready to hit. They wait for their cart mate or other golfer to hit before beginning their turn and going to their ball.
• They carefully get a distance reading even when on a par 5 and need to hit the longest fairway club in their bag.
• They take a lot of practice swings, check alignment multiple times, etc.
• Will never pick up, even when they are out of the hole.
• The golfer who can never follow their ball and has no idea where it went. They also do not ask for help in watching the ball.
• They never line up a putt while others are putting or while waiting for others. They don’t start the procedure until it’s fully their turn.
• Take more than 1 club to your ball.
• Remember even the pros don’t always hit it on the number
• Take enough club
• When you reach your maximum (double bogey plus pops), pick up