2011 #4 SLOW PLAY BREAKING UP INTO 2-SOMES

The Scene:

Your foursome is preparing to tee off on hole #6, a long empty par 5. The group behind you has been waiting on every hole. Mary says, “Look, there is no one on hole six or seven. We are behind at least 2 holes.” She utters an expletive. “You know that’s not allowed. We are holding up everyone on the course. What are we going to do?” She looks fiercely at the rest of us. “Whatever it is we have to do it right now!”

What would you do?

A.  Let the group behind you play though?

B.  Immediately break up into 2 twosomes. 

B is correct. The goal is to catch up and by breaking up into two 2-somes you can catch up.

The problem is that no-one thinks they should do this. Eighteen-holers say it wouldn’t work for them because they hit the ball too far. The second 2-some wouldn’t be able to start until the first was out of sight. So breaking up would just add another group to the field and that would slow play down even further. They say their best choice would be to just let the the group behind them play through.

Nine-holers say, (as they did in their Cruel Rules Competition) “This is probably an unrealistic scenario for the 9-holers.  Keep in mind there are many things you can do to speed up your play ....”

But when players try this option and actually break up into two groups, everyone is amazed. It works! And it works especially well for 9-holers - even very slow 9-holers.

A 2-some plays almost twice as fast as a 4-some. That’s a known fact.

Let the first 2-some start immediately. Then, because they are playing twice as fast as they were, they will soon catch up with the 4-some ahead of them. They will then play at a slower pace until the rest of their group catches up with them.

As soon as the first 2-some is out of range the second 2-some should tee-off. Unless you are very long hitters both groups will be playing on the par 5s and par 4s at the same time.

Remember, the second 2-some is also playing twice as fast as they were, so they will soon catch up with the first 2-some. They can then recombine into one 4-some. The entire golf course is now caught up!

When your group is behind, you are slowing up not just the group behind you but everyone behind them, the entire course. So catching up is better than letting one group play through.

REMEMBER: IF you break up into 2 groups, you CAN catch up.

2010 #3 YOU CAN SHORTEN YOUR ROUND 18 MINUTES BY SAVING SECONDS

It is more difficult to keep up with the players in front of you if you are a high handicapper. Because you have to hit the ball so many more times than a low handicapper, you don’t have any time to waste.

Unfortunately many high handicappers don’t know how to play faster. They try. But they hurry, hit bad shots, get in trouble, have to hit another shot and consequently take even longer.

Most tips to speed up play save only 15-30 seconds on each hole. So they don’t seem very important. If it takes you 15 minutes to play a hole, how can saving 15 seconds help? It doesn’t seem that it could, right? But consider this. If all 4 players in your group each saved 15 seconds on each hole, you would shorten your round by 18 minutes! If each of you did something to save 15 seconds twice on each hole you would shorten your round by 36 minutes! Can you believe it? Thirty-six minutes?

And the things that save 15 seconds are not hard. Choose your own. You need things that are easy to do; things that don’t make you rush; things that will become a habit; things you won’t have to think about. I’m sure you have heard them all before. But now you need to do them regularly, habitually.

*Park your cart so that as you leave the green you walk towards the next hole.
*Get in the cart holding your clubs. Put them away while others are hitting.
*First one in the hole should lift the flag – ready to replace it when the last player holds out.
*Write your score on the next tee while someone else is hitting.
*Play ready golf.
*Be ready to hit when it’s your turn. Not ready to line up, ready to hit.
*Line up your putt while someone else is putting.
*When you leave the cart take extra clubs.

Once you have saved those seconds, protect them. They are precious. Don’t carelessly throw them away.

*As you stand on the tee, don’t delay your practice swing to finish a comment you were making,

*don’t put your head covers on while the driver of your cart is ready to go to the next tee,

*don’t change your mind and walk back for another club,

*don’t even walk slowly.

*Don’t wait to pull out a club until it is your turn to hit,

*don’t wait to hit until the group ahead is off the green if you can’t reach the green with your best shot.

Treat your saved seconds like something special. Don’t let them slip away.

You can do it. The next time you play, take 18 minutes off your round the easy way, by saving seconds.

2008 #18 Niners’ Water Holes

THE SCENE:
You are playing #7, a par-three hole, over a water hazard. You club tops your ball and sends it bouncing towards the green. But it stops short of the water. You walk to your ball and hit it again. This time it splashes into the water hazard. With a penalty stroke for the water hazard you are now lying 3.

What Would You do?

A)  You would climb back in your cart, drive to the green and play from the Niners’ ball drop, lying 5, hitting 6.

B)  You lie only 3. You could be on in 4 so you hit another ball. If that ball goes into the water, too, you would add a penalty stroke to your score and cross over. You would be lying 6, hitting 7. 


(You hit your ball 3 times = 3 strokes; 
 

         2 balls in the water = 2 penalty strokes; 
 

                  To cross over = 1 penalty stroke.
                             Total = 6 (lying 6, hitting 7)
Both A & B are correct

To speed up play, the Niners have a special non-tournament rule for water holes:

If you have not gotten across the water after two tries, drop a ball on the other side, lying 5, hitting 6. (2 shots plus penalty strokes, plus one for the carry over the water.)

This means that if you are not across the water hazard after hitting the ball two times (whether the ball went into the water or not), you can cross to the green side of the hazard and play from the Niners’ ball drop, lying 5, hitting 6.
So, A) is correct.

However, you don’t have to cross over then. If your ball didn’t go into the water, your score is still low. You may want to hit again. If you do hit another ball, and if you still are not across the water, you can count all of your strokes, add a penalty stroke and cross over.
So, B) is also correct.

No matter how few times you hit the ball, if you cross over using this rule, your minimum score always would be lying 5, hitting 6..

REMEMBER: If, after 2 tries. you have not gotten across the water, take advantage of this special rule to speed up play. Cross over and drop a ball. You will be lying 5, hitting 6.

2006 #5 Slow Play

The Scene:
Your foursome has just teed off on hole #6. The group behind you was waiting while you putted out on the last green. You can now see that there is no one ahead of you on your hole. And there is no-one on hole #7. Your group has really fallen behind.

What would you do?
A.  Plan to finish hole #6, then after hitting your drives on hole #7, wait and let the group behind you play through?
B.  Immediately break up into 2 twosomes. As soon as the first twosome is out of range, the second twosome should play.

There are holes open in front of you. The goal is to catch up. 

So B is the correct answer. 

Immediately break up into 2 twosomes. You will be amazed at how fast a twosome can play. Probably twice as fast as a foursome. Unless you are very long hitters both groups can play on the par 5s and par 4s at the same time.

Your first twosome will soon catch up with the group in front of you. Then, as they are waiting, your second twosome will catch up with them. You can then recombine your group into a foursome.

When your group is behind, you are slowing up not just the group behind you but everyone behind them, the entire course. So catching up is better than letting one group play through.

REMEMBER: When your group falls behind, break your foursome up into two twosomes and catch up.

2003 #8 SLOW PLAY

The Scene:

What is wrong with slow, relaxed play? You paid your money. You should be allowed to enjoy yourself, right? Well, yes and no. If each person in your 4-some wastes just 15 seconds on each hole, your round will take an additional 18 minutes! And if your group takes an extra 18 minutes, everyone playing behind you will have your extra 18 minutes added to their round of golf, too.

There are good ways and bad ways to speed up your round. Some players begin running, foregoing practice swings, hitting fast – all the things that cause miss-hits and slow up play even more. The best way to speed up play is to do so between swings. Speed up your play in little ways, 15 second ways, which can add up to big savings.

To save 15 seconds, do smart things like always taking a club when walking to your ball and if in doubt, taking several. At the green park your cart so that after you have putted out, when walking off the green you will be walking towards the next hole. Take practice swings before it is your turn to play. Be ready to swing when it is your turn. Play ready golf. Don’t wait for someone behind you to hit when she is still walking to her ball.

Encourage your group to play quickly but don’t pressure them. During a recent tournament I waited for my guest on each hole. With a hole open in front of us, we were trying to catch up. As we walked off each green I’d jump in the cart and then wait – for at least 10 or 15 seconds – while my guest hurriedly put her clubs away, pulled out her driver for the next hole and then climbed into the cart beside me. She thought she was hurrying. She was actually wasting 15 seconds on each hole.

Finally I patted her cart seat impatiently and said, “Come on, just hop in.” She hurriedly put her clubs in her bag and then literally hopped in, landing on the metal arm of the cart seat (ouch!) and bruised herself. I felt so bad for hurrying her. Then I explained, “What I should have said was, ‘Don’t put your clubs away. Get in the cart, carrying them.’” I explained how that would save time. She could put her clubs away at the next tee while someone else was hitting. She wouldn’t even feel hurried.

REMEMBER: Seconds add up. Find your own little 15 second ways to save a lot of time. Your pace of play will improve. And the golfers behind you will rejoice.