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Rules

Pace of Play Tips

Ideas for keeping up on the golf course

  • Have more fun by smart course management, particularly by playing more efficiently and keeping up your pace of play. 
  • Our target round for 18 holes of play here at Quail Creek is 4 hours/15 minutes (4/15); halve that for a 9-hole round. 
  • Though pace of play has improved overall during the last year, it’s the type of thing that doesn’t stay “improved” unless you work at it.
  • Choose a set of tees that will provide you the most enjoyment during your round.  Sometimes you just need to tee it forward. 
  • Be ready to play at the tee box.  Mark your balls, get a tee, get your glove, before you arrive at the tee box.  Don’t use your time at the tee box for a complete warm-up.  If you haven’t warmed up, limit your prep to a couple of swings.
  • From the tee box to the green (using the 90-degree rule for entering/exiting the fairways from the cart path), drop off your cart-partner at his/her ball (with whatever is needed to hit that shot – their GPS perhaps, and two or three clubs if needed), then drive to your ball.  
  • Take a maximum of two practice strokes before your hit.  
  • Beat the time limits imposed by the Rules of Golf.  Although you are permitted five minutes to look for an errant ball that’s hit into the desert, use no more than three to look for the ball and take relief. 
  • Once you reach the greens, park your cart behind the greens so that you are ready to go once the hole is completed.
  • When on the green, line up your putt while others are putting (without distracting the person putting, of course).  
  • Once everyone has holed out, gather clubs and proceed to your cart and move along.  You can mark scores at the next tee box.
  • In addition to using time according to a 4/15 pace to gauge your progress, use your position on the course to see how you are doing.  Are you keeping up with the foursome in front of you?  Don’t let a gap develop and you’ll stay in position.
  • Keep the chatter brief – save the “stories” for the 19th hole!
  • Remember, the goal is not to turn this game into a speed race, but to move players along at a pace everyone can enjoy.

by Skip Fumia with assistance from Frank Hewitt and PlayTroon.com