Introduction
As a Starter/Player Assistant at a major resort with three outstanding golf courses I have seen a great deal of the good, the bad and the ugly from golfers. The ugliest thing without a doubt is the dreaded 6 HOUR round. It is one of the most depressing things about this great game and it is totally preventable. I learned to play golf (correction I took up the game I still haven’t learned to play) at the age of 33 in of all places Korea while I was stationed there. I did not realize then how fortunate I was to be taught by experts. You see there were no carts, just expert caddies, that’s correct, everyone had to have a caddie, all of them were women and masters of “Ready Golf”. Even as a beginner I learned to play in less than 4 hours. How you ask, easy the caddies made sure we completed in 4 hours or less for two significant reasons; 1st they wanted to get back so they could go out again and 2nd if we did not finish in 4 hours or less the caddies were fined!!
Been There - Seen This!!
Ever seen this scenario? Par 3, the foursome in front of you has three players on the green one in the bunker. The gentleman in the bunker was the last off the tee so now he is the last to get to the bunker. The 3 players on the green are standing around talking as bunker player gets his sand wedge and heads into the sand-trap, thinks about how to play the shot. No problem except all he gets is ball, no sand, so ball flies over the green into the bunker on the other side of the green. The other 3 duffusses laugh, and continue to converse. Bunker player now rakes the first bunker, walks to the other side of the green, hits lands barely on the green leaving himself “away”. Bunker dude, of course, left the rake in the other bunker so now he has to go retrieve it, comes back and rakes again starts onto the green and then realizes that he forgot his putter. The 3 dummies continue to lolli-gag around and make fun of the sand genius. “Made a mess of this one Duffis” they yell at him. So he now putts and comes up 6 inches short and of course marks his ball!! Now the other 3, one by one, read their putts, line up their putts, hit their putts, miss their putts, mark their balls and start all over again. These are the same guys who go ape when a Player Assistant/Ranger asks them to speed up a little and in the clubhouse they complain about the pace of play. Einstein did not play golf but he must have had these guys in mind when he defined insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!”
Ready Golf Defined:
So what is “Ready Golf?” Some would say that it is simply defined it is hitting the ball when ready. But there is a lot more to it than that. To start with the strict rules of golf stipulate who should hit and when they should hit. Who plays first depends on the score from the last hole and where your ball falls on the fairway. Some rules are for reasons of safety others date back to the very earliest of days of golf. Ready Golf is not just the striking of the ball it also entails using your brain and thinking ahead so you are ready to play when it is your turn. Even for ready golf, there are some guidelines. Playing ready golf does not mean that everyone just grabs their clubs and starts whacking away whenever they want or wherever they are. So here are some of the principles the many golfers use so that they keep play moving. First and foremost all of the players should agree that you are going to slightly modify the rules.
On The Tee
There are two options on playing from the tee:
1. I Often hear that the person who is ready at the tee should hit first. That is but option number one, the more traditional golfer they may choose option two.
2. For many the more acceptable option requires some thought between the ears while moving from the green to the next tee. Here the player with the honors should be READY to HIT FIRST. If the player with the honors isn’t ready, only then should someone else should hit first.
On The Fairway
As a general rule players are not at their best between the hedges (or in them - see next section). Think about it; how many times have you seen players watch other players hit before even considering their own shot? How often do you see one player sitting in their cart waiting for their partners to hit before moving to their own ball? How many times have you seen all four golfers congregate around the player’s ball that is farthest from the hole and wait for that player to hit before moving down the fairway to the other balls like an ancient camel train crossing a dessert? The solution again is cerebral as you proceed down the course to the green, look ahead. What club will you need? Who is next to play according to distance? Are they ready? Ready golf means, be ready with the right club to hit when it’s your turn. A player can go ahead and hit their ball without waiting for someone that may be just a little further away but who isn’t ready yet.
1. Ready Golf means that ALL golfers should go to their balls as soon as possible and get READY to play their shots. Use the brain while waiting to hit, players should examine their shot, choose their club, remove it from their bag, and stand ready at their ball prepared to step up and make the shot when it is their turn. That’s Ready Golf!
2. Ready Golf particularly means that the individual driving the cart should drop -off their partners, letting them select their clubs (take extra ones if required), then move on to their own ball, and follow step 1 above. Drivers should NOT wait for their partners to hit the shot, and then drive to their own ball to execute their own shot.
3. Again all players should get to their ball as soon as possible. The only time players should wait for other players is if the first player’s ball is in front of the other players’ in such a way that the other players could be hit by the first player’s shot.
4. The only time players should stop in a group and wait for a player to hit is if the line of flight of that player’s shot prevents the other players from going to their own ball. Always keep safety in mind before approaching your ball to hit.
Helping To Find Lost Balls (or as my friends from New York say faa-get-about-it!):
Seriously it is important that everyone help out searching for a lost ball to keep playing moving. But please do it after hitting their shot, not before. How often do you see four players searching for a lost ball, while none of them are getting ready to hit? Use common sense. The player who is closest to the pin and scheduled to hit last should be the first to help the player whose ball is lost, while the players who are farthest away from the pin should play before helping look. When the players farthest away have played their shots, they should resume looking for the lost ball, while the players who are closest should get ready to play their shot. In this way, slow play is not compounded because of a lost ball.
Personally I have little patience for lost balls if your tee shot takes off into some deep woods, with lots of underbrush… your chances of retrieval are slim to none and even if you find it you most probably you will not be able to lay a club on it so… faa-get-about-it! I understand the rules, you get to waste 5 minutes of everybody’s time for what… faa-get-about-it! Unfortunately most people who are inclined to look take more time than 5 minutes… and generally it’s a fruitless effort. Look for a minute or two… if you seriously think you have a reasonable chance of finding it, sure use your 5 minutes. But, come on… if it looks like a Brazilian rain forest… faa-get-about-it!.
Please see Ready Golf Part II
About the Author:
Tom King is a retired Army Engineer Officer, an avid golfer and currently works part time as a Starter/Player Assistant at the Reunion Resort & Club in Reunion, Florida. He also has three website he maintain one a golf resource website at Tees 2 Greens, one on his second big interest Food & Wine is just getting started at and aa article database site at Things You Can Use!! Please feel free to visit any or all of them.
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Very good points made here. I agree totally on where the go...