The Art of Subtlety Speeding Up Your Round

Are you the “slow guy” in your group? Do you wish you could understand how to play faster golf without feeling rushed? Well, I was blessed to grow up with a good friend who taught me a million things about the game of golf. From wedge magic around the green, reading a putt to drills to help my follow through, my man Evan helped me with my game.

But, quite possibly the most important thing he has taught me about golf is how to shave some time off each round of golf, heck he has probably saved me a few days off my life by a few simple tips. These tips seem like no brainers but I often play with folks who are well into their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s who do not have a clue that these simple things will help speed up a round.

Here you go:

Overall awareness. It’s great to follow every golf rule there is and let whoever is farthest away from the hole go first but sometimes you have to have some basic awareness. Does the person who is up have to walk 200 yards to get a sand wedge? Does the person need a new club but his partner with the cart is in the woods looking for his ball. Can you help someone rake the bunker for them? If any of those are going on and there are people playing behind you, it’s ok to play your ball, just do it!
Hang onto your clubs. After you hit, if you need to ride 50 yards to your partner’s ball, he likely doesn’t know what club he needs to hit and will spend some time on his routine, this is the perfect time to clean your club and put it back in your bag. Do this 10 times per round and you have saved probably a good 15 minutes.
Just drop another one! Most of us are not playing on the PGA Tour, no one is going to remember your score 10 years from now. If you hit the ball in the water or the woods give it a glance for a few minutes and then drop one in play and move on. Golf balls aren’t that expensive and if you are using the expensive balls for the better players, you’re probably not losing that many. Especially if this isn’t for the Masters, the club championship or even the Bubble Cup. This also goes for the folks who love to go look for balls. If you’re that person that loves to go fishing for 15 year old Balatas that’s fine but do it quickly please!
Pickup the flag or the other clubs. Again, this seems will like a no brainer but people don’t do it! If you have finished putting first and are waiting for the other two or three people to putt out, find the flag (when we are not in COVID) or the other wedges that are on the green and pick them up for your fellow golfers. Do this a few times per round and again, you could save a few minutes off of your round for everyone.
Wait to write the score. Similar to our second point, if you are playing with another person or a foursome, you have plenty of time to write the score while the other folks hit their drives. There is nothing that makes me want to scream more on a golf course when you are waiting to hit into a green and the people in front walk to their cart and sit there another 45-seconds while they figure out what everyone had on that hole.

Trust me folks, these are all easy things to do and take minimal effort. They will save you time and while no one may notice these little tips during your round, the folks playing behind you sure will. Thank you Evan for teaching me these tips when we were in high school, now let’s go setup a tee time and knock out a round in about three