Golf Course Slow Pokes

Slow play on the golf course is an all too common nuisance, especially because it’s easily avoidable. These eleven tips will save you from that embarrassing reputation as the slow group holding everyone up.

Sometimes, not surprisingly, a foursome gets off to a bad start by missing their tee time. It’s important to be ready and to start your round at the allocated time, since most courses stagger tee times at nine to twelve minute intervals.

Another common mistake that golfers make is teeing off from the wrong tee. It’s up to you to choose the tee that is best suited to your abilities. If your handicap isn’t in the single digits, you should stay away from that back tee. You’ll enjoy the outing much more if you don’t over-challenge yourself, and it’s what the USGA handicap system is there for.
Pipe down! The time for conversation is in between holes. A shot should never be delayed because you’re waiting for someone to finish a story. Likewise, don’t be that lady or gent chatting someone up while they’re preparing to hit.
In the same vein as the previous tip, don’t give advice. Not only is it incredibly annoying to many, it is also bad etiquette. Doling out advice should be restricted to the driving range or the back yard.
Keep your pre-shot routine to a minimum, meaning one or two practice strokes, at the most. Again, you don’t need to rush your shot, but the ball isn’t moving, so just hit it!
When walking to the ball, the players shouldn’t be moving as a pack, unless all miraculously hit to the same spot. Players should walk to their respective ball. When riding in a cart, drop the first person off at their ball with a couple clubs they may need, so they won’t have to run back to the cart for a stick change.

Moving toward your ball is a great time to consider the lay of the land and the yardage, so as to mentally prepare yourself for your upcoming shot.
Keeping an eye on each other’s shots will shave off valuable minutes throughout the round normally wasted searching for balls.
“I’m allowed 5 minutes to look for my ball,” may be the most well known rule in golf. If it’s a friendly game and you can’t find your ball within a minute or two, just take a drop. Better yet, if you’re playing with a slow golfer, suggest they abandon the search while you drop a ball for them. Don’t give them undue advantage, but make the drop enticing enough to pull them out of the woods.
On the green, be lining up your shot or repairing ball marks while others are putting. As a rule, it should take no longer than thirty seconds to line up your putt once it’s your turn.
Leave your clubs and/or park the cart behind or to the side of the green…never in front. That way, the group on the fairway isn’t waiting for you to clear out after your group finishes up. The green is also not the place for marking scorecards; wait to record until the next tee.