President's Message -- December 13, 2020

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.

1. 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.
2. If you are at your ball and can hit without any risk to anyone, hit it! Play ready golf!!
3. 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.
4. Finish out your putt without marking if at all possible. Be ready to putt!
5. 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.
6. 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!
7. 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!!
8. 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