Ready Golf - The New Norm?

[Marty2Shanks]

8 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

As a 15+ handicap I played anywhere from 6000-6700 yards regularly and had other mid to high handicaps in the group and we never had any issues keeping pace. 
 

I know 2 near scratch golfers that are a lot slower than many mid to high handicaps.

we really need to stop the generalizing about what type of golfer should play from where since each gets their handicaps differently. 

“Keeping pace” is hard to quantify.  If everyone is playing in 5 hours and you keep pace are you playing slow?  I would say yes.  Not sure what your average round pace is.  I know I play best if I can get around in 3:30 - 3:45.  That usually means somewhere from 6000-6300 yards.  Most courses I have played (ranging from muni dog tracks to a mid-amateur site to a US Open site) typically state pace of play at around 4 hours.  My guess is if you are a 15+ handicap playing from 6700 yards you are implementing lots of other techniques to keep things moving along to meet 4 hours (don’t look for balls - just drop and move on, ready golf, gimmes on short putts, pick up on bad holes, no loss of distance penalties, etc).  So it isn’t one solution to solve everything, but i have never seen playing from shorter tees take longer.  I have seen playing from longer tees take longer.

[GolfSpy_APH]

Thankfully ready golf here is already the norm who makes things easy. Still slow rounds but that is due to tee times that are not properly spaced.

[ChitownM2]

27 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

As a 15+ handicap I played anywhere from 6000-6700 yards regularly and had other mid to high handicaps in the group and we never had any issues keeping pace. 
 

I know 2 near scratch golfers that are a lot slower than many mid to high handicaps.

we really need to stop the generalizing about what type of golfer should play from where since each gets their handicaps differently. 

I would agree with this.  I can play on a long course and not be the problem but I see people playing the tips and can't hit the ball worth a damn.  If you're pulling out driver on a 190 yard par 3 then 9 times out of 10 you're the person playing the wrong tees.   Whether it's due to age or lack of skill doesn't matter, move up!

Likewise, if you're only advancing the ball 100 yards no matter what club you have in your hand, you also need to be playing the most forward tees on offer.

[ChitownM2]

10 minutes ago, Marty2shanks said:

“Keeping pace” is hard to quantify.  If everyone is playing in 5 hours and you keep pace are you playing slow?  I would say yes.  Not sure what your average round pace is.  I know I play best if I can get around in 3:30 - 3:45.  That usually means somewhere from 6000-6300 yards.  Most courses I have played (ranging from muni dog tracks to a mid-amateur site to a US Open site) typically state pace of play at around 4 hours.  My guess is if you are a 15+ handicap playing from 6700 yards you are implementing lots of other techniques to keep things moving along to meet 4 hours (don’t look for balls - just drop and move on, ready golf, gimmes on short putts, pick up on bad holes, no loss of distance penalties, etc).  So it isn’t one solution to solve everything, but i have never seen playing from shorter tees take longer.  I have seen playing from longer tees take longer.

I think 3:30-3:45 is extremely optimistic.  Even on an open course I don't think a foursome is getting through a round on a normal 18 hole course in 3:30 without 4 people all riding individual carts.  When I play by myself I certainly have and probably closer to 3:00 but even playing ready golf with a foursome there are going to be slowdowns when you get to the green and have to wait for others to chip on, putt, etc.  

[Dave Hamilton]

Absolutely critical to keeping the pace of play at 4 hrs or less. Those that don't play ready golf ruin the round for the rest of us...

[Marty2Shanks]

6 minutes ago, ChitownM2 said:

I think 3:30-3:45 is extremely optimistic.  Even on an open course I don't think a foursome is getting through a round on a normal 18 hole course in 3:30 without 4 people all riding individual carts.  When I play by myself I certainly have and probably closer to 3:00 but even playing ready golf with a foursome there are going to be slowdowns when you get to the green and have to wait for others to chip on, putt, etc.  

i agree…given how slow most people play and cart management being poor (finishing a hole then hanging out cleaning clubs, marking down scores, rehitting the 3 foot putt u just missed, other things that could be done at the next tee box).  Myself and my two teenage boys regularly walked the course they worked at in 3:15 and fastest was 2:45 (when no one was in front of us).  The tips on this course is just over 7000, and we typically played from 6240.  It is a county muni that isn’t an easy walk, but we just hit and kept moving.  My youngest son timed himself as a single going off first in the morning and he walked the 18 in 2:10.  We typically scored in the mid-80s (I am currently a 12).  We didn’t spend minutes marking our balls and lining up putts.  We played ready golf, which meant sometimes two balls were flying toward the green at the same time.  If someone was ready to putt they went ahead - sometimes it is better to let someone closer go first to give the further away player more time to look at the putt instead of everyone just standing around.  We didn’t pull the flagstick. We dropped if we couldn’t find a ball in 30 seconds.  So lots of things we did to move along.  

[Randall Robbins]

We try to keep it around 4 hours to 4:15 in our league, but my partner and I have to always play ready golf or even play while the other two are doing whatever it is to take forever to play.  Even talking to them do always work.

[GolferXY]

I and my partners play ready golf tee to green, the exceptions being birdie (or better) golfer has the honor on the tee, and furthest putt goes first. If we aren't held up by groups in front, we finish in 4 hours easily.

Waiting for the group in front to clear can be a tricky maneuver because if I hit my best shot I'll hit into them. Problem is I rarely hit that perfect shot,  so time wasted. Embarrassed much?  Bigger issue is the team golfers where everyone in the foursome gathers around the guy hitting, then moves as an elk herd to the next guy's ball. Frustratingly familiar around these parts.

There are millions of new golfers since covid, most of whom look like rookies facing that hall of fame pitcher. Strike one! Foul ball! Dribbler to first base! Maybe things will improve once golfers get a bit better, too.

An easy first step would be for all courses to post that we play ready golf, and what that means. Have the starter point it out especially on busy days. Golf publications, social media, and golf sportscaster could and should also mention in in broadcast, podcasts, etc. Make our sport better and more enjoyable for everyone from a first timer to a scratch. JMO.

[NM01]

58 minutes ago, Marty2shanks said:

“Keeping pace” is hard to quantify.  If everyone is playing in 5 hours and you keep pace are you playing slow?  I would say yes.  Not sure what your average round pace is.  I know I play best if I can get around in 3:30 - 3:45.  That usually means somewhere from 6000-6300 yards.  Most courses I have played (ranging from muni dog tracks to a mid-amateur site to a US Open site) typically state pace of play at around 4 hours.  My guess is if you are a 15+ handicap playing from 6700 yards you are implementing lots of other techniques to keep things moving along to meet 4 hours (don’t look for balls - just drop and move on, ready golf, gimmes on short putts, pick up on bad holes, no loss of distance penalties, etc).  So it isn’t one solution to solve everything, but i have never seen playing from shorter tees take longer.  I have seen playing from longer tees take longer.

The courses I play have a pace of play policy that is strictly enforced at 4.5 hours. I have played them as a mid/high cap and a low cap and have never had issues. Even when playing courses that don’t have a pace of play policy or enforce it as a group of mid to high handicaps it was always 4-4.4 hour pace. There are mid to high handicaps that have plenty of distance off the tee and relatively accurate but lack touch or skills with irons and wedges which causes them to have a higher handicap. Then there are those who spray the ball but have a decent recovery game and short game that help their scoring. Distance isn’t the cause for slow play, it’s slow golfers that are.

and no there weren’t any measures put in play, the rounds were done under the rules of golf as our larger group which also contained a lot of mid handicaps had various bets and games going on so there was no free drops and move on or any other things to speed up play.

 

[jstarling]

I agree that ready golf should be a priority to all golfers. There is nothing worse than having to wait on every single shot. Golf should be a max of 4 hours. The biggest thing in my opinion is golfers who do not think about time, who wait for their playing partner to finish then go to their shot. Every golfer should be mindful of the time and to be ready to hit and move quickly. 

[msizzle]

I wish more people played ready golf. It has been so frustrating playing public courses around me because rounds are 5 or 6 hours. Now that my golf buddies and I have little kids we can't spend half the day at the course. We usually end up getting one of the first tee times at a course on the weekend so we can get done in 3-4 hours and then make it home to spend time with the kids and go to their activities. 

[Rob Person]

Our course has a recommendation of 4h20m no matter if you are solo, paired,  4some, or walking.

Obviously,  a group will take longer, especially on approach/greenside movements.

Yesterday were 4 college kids walking the most difficult terrain course we have. The guys in carts behind them were complaining,  even though there was no PoP warnings on the screens , the walkers were actually 10 minutes ahead of PoP and were keeping within the groups in front easily. They had to wait themselves as they are bombing 320+ off the tee, and hit up to them a few times.

[Marty2Shanks]

7 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

The courses I play have a pace of play policy that is strictly enforced at 4.5 hours. I have played them as a mid/high cap and a low cap and have never had issues. Even when playing courses that don’t have a pace of play policy or enforce it as a group of mid to high handicaps it was always 4-4.4 hour pace. There are mid to high handicaps that have plenty of distance off the tee and relatively accurate but lack touch or skills with irons and wedges which causes them to have a higher handicap. Then there are those who spray the ball but have a decent recovery game and short game that help their scoring. Distance isn’t the cause for slow play, it’s slow golfers that are.

and no there weren’t any measures put in play, the rounds were done under the rules of golf as our larger group which also contained a lot of mid handicaps had various bets and games going on so there was no free drops and move on or any other things to speed up play.

 

That’s great to hear; unfortunately for me, that just hasn’t been my experience.  For my regular group, moving up has never slowed us down, where moving back certainly has.  Given no other knowledge of someone’s game, if they told me it takes them 4.5+ hours to play a round of golf I would ask them what distance they are playing from.  If the distance seemed reasonable, I would dig deeper, but I would always start with distance first.

[Joselo]

3 hours ago, JRCorb said:

At our club, ready golf is expected.  But never tee up before an eagle or birdie man! No one wants 7 yrs of bad... Sometimes if we are on opposite sides of the fairway, we will hit simultaneously.   I have a Skycaddie GPS system.  Once I roll up to my ball I know front, middle and back yardage instantly.   I do notice this is quite a bit quicker than those with range finders. On the green we typically go based on who is away as you can learn quite a bit from others' putts.

you are not supposed to hit first before a birdie in my groups

otherwise is a round of beer for everyone in the 19 hole afterwards

other than that, ready golf!

[Javs]

On 5/7/2024 at 7:11 AM, GolfSpy_APH said:

https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/ready-golf-the-new-norm/

Written by our own forum member @Josh Parker this one has been a hot topic!

Give it a read and let us know what you think!

 

*Want to be a writer for MyGolfSpy as part of the forum team? Send me a PM!

A well written article by Josh. It is all common sense items that more golfers should inject. The article actually could be an entire series on saving time and general etiquette. It could have also had a few more time saving tips. Quick examples: drop off your cart partner and proceed to your ball (if possible) so you both can be ready to hit. Don’t sit in a cart and write scores next to the green while others are waiting. When possible, read your putt from the other side as you are walking up to the green. Read your putt while others are getting ready to putt. That way, the group isn’t waiting for you to read the putt from five angles on top of your preshot routine. Lay clubs along the path off the green so, you aren’t walking all the way to the other side to gather up wedges. 

[BobBC78]

2 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Thankfully ready golf here is already the norm who makes things easy. Still slow rounds but that is due to tee times that are not properly spaced.

Tee times not properly spaced is a big problem with public courses in New England. So is failure to play ready golf! 

[Javs]

6 minutes ago, BobBC78 said:

Tee times not properly spaced is a big problem with public courses in New England. So is failure to play ready golf! 

I agree fully with the tee times. When a course goes from 10 or 12 mins to every 8 mins in an effort to get more players and revenue; they kill the pace of play. Only takes one group grossly out of position to ruin the pace for everyone behind them. 

[NM01]

45 minutes ago, Marty2shanks said:

That’s great to hear; unfortunately for me, that just hasn’t been my experience.  For my regular group, moving up has never slowed us down, where moving back certainly has.  Given no other knowledge of someone’s game, if they told me it takes them 4.5+ hours to play a round of golf I would ask them what distance they are playing from.  If the distance seemed reasonable, I would dig deeper, but I would always start with distance first.

Except distance isn’t a cause for slow play. I played with a couple who played the wrong tees and couldn’t reach the fairway off the tee while my playing partner and I were much further up the fairway. We had no issues finishing the round in under 4.5 hours. I one of the guys I played with was as slow from 6000 as he was from 6500. Slow golfers at just slow no matter the distance.

i play a course that is regularly used for US Open qualifying and have very firm and fast greens. Many of the golfers olay it from the blues on the weekend which is a tad over 6500 with a rating of 72.4 and a slope of 137. I see short and long hitters playing it and have never had a round longer than 4:15.

Im not the only one who thinks distance isn’t an issue compared to just slow golfers. There are many threads across the internet that discuss this and it’s slow golfers that are the issue regardless of length or handicap. 

[KC Golf]

On 5/7/2024 at 10:49 AM, vandyland said:

I have seen this often on the tee box but things go back to slow, sequential playing order as people get closer to the green. What is interesting is that this seems to be one of the more commonly understood "etiquette" aspects of the game. Even terrible players seem to be very aware of playing order, which is annoying since I think it should be dispensed with outside of competitive golf. 

I generally walk as well and most other people at my course ride so it helps me to hit first and then start walking. If I am playing with strangers (usually the case) then I typically ask them on the first tee if it is distracting for me to start walking as soon as I hit on most holes (there are some holes where there is no way for me to start walking without being distracting but there are a majority of holes where i can walk and be 60 yds out of the way laterally. Personally, I think this should be the case for all walking/cart combo groups. Let the walkers hit first (assuming they are all playing from the same tee box) and then start walking to their ball (out of the line of play of course). 

WARNING, possible irrelevant comment (not trying to derail the thread): I enjoyed @Josh Parker's article and I have one random thought to add to it. How much of slow play, like not playing ready golf, is influenced by the professional game? Those guys and girls (especially Brooke Henderson) are SOOOOOO slow. Same with college golf and junior golf. A dozen practice swings, walking 40 yds up to the green for a routine pitch shot, circling a putt from 3 angles. I understand they are playing for their livelihoods but it is embarrassing. I would equate it, perhaps erroneously, to flopping in soccer and basketball. As more and more professionals did it, flopping crept into college and then even junior sports. It bums me out. These pros should be setting the example on how to play more efficiently not setting the example of how slowly you can actually play. 

 

Am I the only Canadian offended by the singling out of Brooke Henderson for slow play?  Come on… have you watched Patrick Cantlay?  

[BobBC78]

19 minutes ago, Javs said:

I agree fully with the tee times. When a course goes from 10 or 12 mins to every 8 mins in an effort to get more players and revenue; they kill the pace of play. Only takes one group grossly out of position to ruin the pace for everyone behind them. 

This is what I was getting at!

[Marty2Shanks]

11 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

Am I the only Canadian offended by the singling out of Brooke Henderson for slow play?  Come on… have you watched Patrick Cantlay?  

Will happily trade you…we’ll take Brooke, you get Cantlay…and we’ll throw in Brian Harman to sweeten the deal…

[funkyjudge]

1 hour ago, Javs said:

I agree fully with the tee times. When a course goes from 10 or 12 mins to every 8 mins in an effort to get more players and revenue; they kill the pace of play. Only takes one group grossly out of position to ruin the pace for everyone behind them. 

Try playing golf courses with 6 or 7 minute tee time intervals (we have more than one of those within 10 miles of where I live). That will make you want never to return to those courses!

[Javs]

10 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

Try playing golf courses with 6 or 7 minute tee time intervals (we have more than one of those within 10 miles of where I live). That will make you want never to return to those courses!

Ouch that is insane!

[Javs]

55 minutes ago, BobBC78 said:

This is what I was getting at!

I was agreeing with you completely. 

[funkyjudge]

4 minutes ago, Javs said:

Ouch that is insane!

ABSOLUTELY INSANE .... and one of those courses (not a par-3 or "executive" course) used to have 5 minute tee time intervals.  The crazy thing is that I play in two leagues there, and tee time intervals for league play are a reasonable (to me) 10 minutes.

[Kevin Smith]

My 4 some plays together 3-5 times a week. We are a 2, 5, 8, and 12. Ages 59, 60, 61, 62. We all play from the same tees. Sometimes we play the up tees and sometimes the back tees. It doesn't matter where we play from we can play in the same amount of time. The issues are the people that can't play and don't understand simple golf etiquette. Our course is moving toward only 12 handicaps or below on Fri, Sat, Sun. If you don't have a variable ghin you can purchase from the clubhouse.

[Kevin Smith]

Just now, Kevin Smith said:

My 4 some plays together 3-5 times a week. We are a 2, 5, 8, and 12. Ages 59, 60, 61, 62. We all play from the same tees. Sometimes we play the up tees and sometimes the back tees. It doesn't matter where we play from we can play in the same amount of time. The issues are the people that can't play and don't understand simple golf etiquette. Our course is moving toward only 12 handicaps or below on Fri, Sat, Sun. If you don't have a variable ghin you can purchase from the clubhouse.

I should have said 12 or below before noon Fri-Sun

[StrokerAce]

I think everyone should be required to look behind them occasionally. If you see a group that is waiting on you more than 3x either pick up the pace (ready golf) or wave them through. 

this seems like common sense to me but some groups are either oblivious to those around or feel so entitled that they just don't care.

I'd like to see a companion article to this on the proper method/etiquette around letting groups play through. 

[Javs]

21 minutes ago, funkyjudge said:

ABSOLUTELY INSANE .... and one of those courses (not a par-3 or "executive" course) used to have 5 minute tee time intervals.  The crazy thing is that I play in two leagues there, and tee time intervals for league play are a reasonable (to me) 10 minutes.

Fully agree

[bama no 1]

9 hours ago, Marty2shanks said:

Playing the correct tees for your ability is always the best solution.  15+ handicaps playing from 6800 yards is ridiculous.  On most days I would chain off any tee box more than 6300 yards. The other thing I would implement is you only get to mark your ball once on the green and you have to putt out once you start.  No marking the ball each time you four putt.  

Sounds like a means to help speed things up  but when a golf round is costing$75-100 bucks a round if I need to mark my ball 4 times I will.