Playing
Faster, Scoring Lower and Winning a Big Paycheck
When we had that long layoff, I had nostalgia for our group. We are back now. Maybe we are enjoying our time on
the course too much. Our first groups last Tuesday at Lions
finished in less than 4 hours. Some of our later groups
did not finish until well over 5 hours from their start
time. We are bleeding into the time the courses have
reserved for other players and in some cases making it
difficult for them to finish their rounds. Lions has
advised us of this issue and has asked us to help them by
improving. Also, when you feel your time will be on the
slower side please request 4 and preferred tee time near
the last. We must all speed up all through all flights
and playing in more than 4 and 1/2 hours is not
acceptable!!
The playing faster issue has plagued us before but
not so many over 5 hours. We must work together by
foursomes and individuals to correct it as quickly as
our next event.
Speaking of nostalgia we went back into the News
stories on our website and found the following excerpts
from a write-up from Sam Jenkins our previous Event
Director (Alias Sammy Charles in 2019) . It is as
follows:
"Some do's and don't's: Do
consult the ASGA website often, especially the NEWS
site. Yea, go ahead, click on it, yea, really. you
might be surprised at what you might find. Do speed
up! Everyone likes a unhurried but undelayed round.
I'm slow, but I know I'm slow. So what do I do to keep
me from being a drag on my team and the other groups?
I try to putt continuously once I start. I start
walking to my cart after I putt out until I am at
least half way to my cart. I take one practice swing,
really, just one. I'm out of my cart with club in
hand before it
is my time to hit. I don't wait to be driven to my
ball if my cart mate is hitting his ball within quick
walking distance of mine, I don't spend more than
three minutes looking for a ball while I have a barrel
full at home. It's just a ball, not your wife's
diamond ring!"
Well said Sam. I played with Sam
and he kept up totally. Go to News and read the entire
article. We keep them on our website for you to read.
So with speed of play in mind our current Event
Chairman, Shawn Higgins, Handicap Chairman, Bill Burke
and I decided to have conversation with some other of
our faster players to see what 8 things they would
suggest to speed us up. We plan to post them at the
clubhouses counters in the future as a reminder. Here
they are. - Keep within one hole of the group in front of you. Look
back to see if the group behind you is waiting on you.
Speed up as a group until you catch up and until you close
the gap. Maintain a healthy gap with those trailing you.
- If you are at your ball and can hit without any risk to
anyone, hit it! Play ready golf!!
- Help those in your group with their ball flight when
teeing. If there is any way you can give them directions
or point out their ball as you pass by in route to your
ball please do so.
- Finish
out your putt without marking if at all possible. Be ready
to putt!
- When feasible let the shortest drivers hit first so they
can depart first. Red tee players get as close as you can
to your teeing area while green/white tee players are
hitting.
- Take less waggles and practice swings and stop looking at
every angle of a putt. Just "take dead aim" and hit the
ball as Harvey Penick taught!
- Don't spend more than 3 minutes looking for a lost ball.
You can take the line of flight where it went into the
woods and hit with the same one stroke penalty you would
have if you found. When your group is behind you can save
time by not looking. Take your line, your medicine and hit
the replacement ball. Save 3 minutes when you can!!
- Manage your push cart and your electric cart as to where
you park around the greens. Think about the the next hole
and where the exit to your cart would lead you off the
green the quickest and out of the way of those following!
The Marshals have the authority to warn those when over 1 hole down to catch up and when they do not in a reasonable period and the gap gets to 2 down, the group must move over and let the next group through or be DQ'D. Then the group needs to keep up or it will happen again. This in fact slows you and all following players down. KEEP UP!
If
we can not speed up enough to be courteous golfers our
next step would have to be looking at penalty strokes as a
remedy. None of us really want that, so speed up every
time we play!
Okay,
so we can't guarantee lower scores like the headline
mentioned. Our headline was to get you to read this News
story and to let us all have more fun. It would not
surprise any of us if you got on with it and practiced
the ideas we have shared you would play better and win
more money and put a smile on all of our golfing faces and
the courses would like us much more, too. Play Faster
Now, Please!
On
behalf of the ASGA Board of Directors and Austin Senior
Golf League,
Travis McWhorter, President
