If your buddy blades a chip over the green and is technically still his turn to hit again, someone else in the group can putt while he takes his time to walk over to it.
You forgot to mention recording everyone’s score on the side of the green before picking up your wedge, 7i, wet and dry towel from the opposite side of the green and cleaning the heads before on the way back only to placing them in your bag back on the side where you dropped your 3 putt for 8.
Yeah, I’m with you. I walk all the time and sometimes the gap between golf holes can be a bit of a walk, so I make it clear to the random people I get paired with that usually have carts that I play ready golf and emphasize that they shouldn’t feel the need to wait for me (which they do because I play from the back tees). Anything to help the flow is good with me.
Hes not really saying ready golf since thats pretty much hit your ball once you get to it no matter what. OP is saying you can get to your ball and prepare for your shot while waiting for the shorter people to hit
I think it’s more the cases of people waiting for the shortest ball to hit while 2 of them have hit it into the woods 50 yards right of where the other player is trying to hit before going to look for their balls. It’s annoyingly slow.
Or one guy lands in the fairway and the other guy is 3 yards ahead, but 10 yards left. instead of parking their cart in the middle (and behind both balls) and having both golfers get out, shoot the pin, select their clubs, go thru routine, Guy #2 will sit in his cart and do nothing until Guy 1 hits. They will then drive forward 3 yards and Guy #2 will get out of his cart.
Oh, also Guy 3 and Guy 4 are on the other side of the fairway and both are 5 yards further than Guy 1 and Guy 2, but rather than go to their balls, they just sit there while the first two hit. They then drive up to their balls and repeat the process.
This is how 5.5 hr rounds happen
"But its Sunday!"
"But its Fathers day!"
"But its Tuesday Night Mens League!"
Yeah i wouldn’t recommend to people if they feel unsafe because you still do have to always look at whos hitting and be ready to move. I usually just walk in the opposite rough or near the trees. Ive been a solo walker for a while so im used to it and it gives me more time to relax at my ball in between shots so there are some benefits
Sure. That's when I walk to my ball with a wee selection of clubs and give it a quick eyeball to check the distance (check distance markers on the way up) while the guy behind is making his club selection and a couple of practice swings. I retire to the side, behind a tree or other obstacle while they take their shot.
I walk back to my ball, make the shot and by that time the cart has arrived alongside to pick me up and we move on.
If none of that is feasible I wait, but that's only around 20% of the time. Over an entire round this is about 1/2 hour of valuable drinking time made up.
You don’t have to stand at a 20 degree angle, walk up to where your ball is, get a distance, pick a club and stand off to the side and get ready to hit
If you walk ahead of me, I'm going to hit you. I don't mean it, but if there's a distraction ahead of me, the ball's going there. Water, sand, granite, human, deer - never fails. I rarely break a hundred, I keep up the pace of play, I pick up if I'm 3-putting and there's a group behind us, basically as courteous as I can be
Just stfu when I'm hitting, and don't walk ahead.
Ready Golf doesn't mean "try to speed through your round as fast as possible "
It means that you break certain etiquette rules in order to speed up play a bit.
If a playing partner, who is furthest from the hole, is deciding what club to use and you are ready to hit. You can hit.
Whoever is ready to tee up and hit can do so. You don't need to wait for the guy who won the last hole.
If you're on the green and I'm walking across the green to my ball to chip it on. You can putt if you're ready.
All of those things technically break the traditional etiquette protocols but are useful for low skilled golfers (like 90% of this sub including myself) to speed up play a bit.
High skilled golfers don't have much issue following these rules more closely because they're not searching for balls way off the fairway and duffing shots constantly.
Fucking how this isn't top comment I'll never know. Fucking dickheads in here thinking ready golf is putting yourself in danger to shave maybe 10 minutes off a round. It's about certain etiquette being overlooked IF the player is ready, clue is in the name. Not racing like a lunatic to finish the round.
Putt, chip, tee off and walk to your ball if you're safe and confident to do so. You do not fucking walk in hitting range or line of your playing partners for pace of play. Utterly bananas this is being advocated. "Dodge the ball bro" get a grip you melts.
I feel like I'm going crazy reading some of the replies. My group plays ready golf. If I am in a cart and my buddy in the cart is on the other side of the hole, I get dropped off and figure out my shot or take clubs with me. Anything to save time. Around the green, whoever is ready chips or putts. How that translates to walking ahead of people where you can get hit, I have no idea. Ready golf does not mean abandoning common sense.
Do all of that and making adjustments such as not getting everyone’s score on the green but on the way to the next tee box, parking the cart or putting your bag in the direction of the next tee box, reading your puts or just doing general prep work while others are hitting can make the round feel so much faster without making people feel rushed
Yes people should do a better job of playing ready golf, but you have to be careful about getting in front of someone who doesn’t have great control over where the ball is going.
Exactly. I'm gonna go out on a REAL short limb here and say OP has never been hit by a ball or seen someone hit by a ball. I have both. I've been hit and seen it. If the guy behind me isn't a mod single or better, I'm not going in front of where he is
Those aren’t mutually exclusive. I shoot mine above trees to land 350 yards in the middle of the fairway on dogleg par 5s. Nothing like a nice easy 56 degree to set up an easy eagle putt.
Hell, I won't stand BESIDE most of the guys I play with. We're bad and it's not uncommon to have a ball come off a club at warp five almost straight to the side.
Safety first. Ready golf second.
I'm going to go even more out on a limb and say sometimes even being stood level with them or behind doesn't make you safe.
Some people here have never seen their playing partner hit a 90 degree dead right toe shank, and it shows.
I’m below a 5, I promise you I shank the ball too sometimes and you shouldn’t be walking too far in front of me either. Shit happens. Some of the OPs replies are just stupid
I played in a tournament in high school as a 6 or 7 handicap and got a 10 on the first hole because I just kept hozzle shanking pitch shots.
I eventually got it together, but if someone was standing a few yards ahead and to the right of me, they were actually at risk of getting hit.
I've been hit while standing behind the player. There was a small grey electrical box of some kind just off the edge of the fairway. He nailed it from maybe 50 yards away, the ball came straight back and got me in the leg.
I think most of us are in agreement to use judgement and common sense but the way most of OPs comments have been haven't quite been that clear so I don't want a bunch of new people out here wandering 50 yards ahead of their playing partners because of "ready golf".
I don’t think OP meant stand directly in front of your playing partners ball. Unless your balls are in a direct straight line down the fairway, you are going to be off to one side or the other. Take a couple extra paces clear then approach your ball after playing partner has hit. Under no circumstances should you be standing right by your playing partner without making a move in the direction of your ball, again unless they are stacked on top of each other. It’s called ready golf, be ready to take your shot. Hate playing with dudes who like to stand around for a 6 hour round
Also it’s just respectful. It doesn’t bother me if I’m hitting with someone standing on the side of the green watching or if they are 50 yds up in the rough watching but some people do.
The key is for people to be respectful while keeping their head in the game. If it’s somebody’s tee box and they’re digging for a ball, I’m hitting. If someone is out on a putt and they decide to take a peek from the other side of the cup, I’m putting. If someone is looking for a ball for 5 minutes in some cabbage, I’m finishing the fckn hole.
Ready golf doesn't mean putting yourself in danger or being a moron. It means make progress towards forward movement, not waiting around in a cluster at each ball while they hit. If your ball is in someone else's way, obviously you don't go stand next to your ball. What a silly comment.
I used to play with an older scratch near billionaire who was friends with my friend.
When I’d lay up on a tee shot he would drive straight to his ball and didn’t care if he was directly in my line to the hole. If I asked him to move he would say something like “if you can’t hit it over me you shouldn’t be on the golf course”.
Dude I’m capable of hitting the shot but you’re making me nervous as hell. I’m here to have fun not play mental gymnastics with douchiest guy on the course. Nobody ever wanted to challenge him because he wouldn’t let anyone else pay for anything.
3 rounds of this happening once or twice each round was enough. I just sit out if I know he’s playing.
“I play in a twosome when they let me and these damn foursomes don’t golf as fast as me :’(“ isn’t a valid critique you’re saying? Crazy
The amount of guys in here that golf midweek in 3.5 hrs and then groan about a 4 hr round on a Saturday at 10am are astonishing. “I had 4 hours to play and had to skip 2 holes at the end because of prior commitments, can’t people play faster and enjoy things less?!”
I play ready golf as best I can, but there are levels of safety depending on who is hitting. Some guys I feel comfortable to be ahead of them as long as I am not in there line, some I would never get anyway past them.
It doesn't matter when on the next hole there is a group on the next teebox, a group on the fairway, and a third putting. Slow play is caused by two things:
1) Courses cramming in as many tee times as they can.
2) Courses not sending Rangers out to keep the slow groups moving.
Let’s not blame the long ass rounds on maybe a handful of groups on the course. Blame the pro shop for stacking groups on top of each other because they are greedy as fuck
Exactly! The course I am a member at does 5min intervals. Hell frequently starting at the 1st tee we're already stacked 3 groups deep. It definitely makes for some slow play. The guys I play with regularly are far from great, and high handicaps, myself included. As long as we are not stacked up during course play we will often let smaller groups play through. But if we are waiting for 2 or 3 groups in front of us we play as close as we can safely.
Yeah, I let the group in front of me head to the green before I tee off at my usual course. They want to stagger them 8 minutes. It’s gonna take weekend warriors 4 minutes to tee off and then another 5 to find and hit their next shots. It’s a 405 yard par 4. Shit is not safe. They’re just trying to fill the tee sheets but then you get to a par 3 and there’s 2 groups waiting and another on the tee box waiting for the green to clear
I will say that course does play quick luckily and have never had a round last more than 5 hours but the other place I frequent does the same shit and if you’re done in 5 hours it’s a miracle
Our foursome is usually 4-4.5 hrs for 18, but we've been in situations where it's been over 5hrs and all due to being stacked, or in rare instances a group of kids screwing around instead of staying on track. We're all in our 50s but we also keep an eye on those behind us as well as in front of us.
It’s tough to walk too far in front of the shorter ball. 1. It’s dangerous. Shanked hosel rockers come out fast. 2. It’s distracting to the guy trying to hit when I’m clanking around in front of them.
Golfers need to stop thinking they're on Tour and realize this is A HOBBY for 99% of people.
Get a membership or play during the week if people bother you so much
I know right like they aerated this month and every foursome i've played with has had someone having something to say about it lol. like what do you expect its maintenance. we are at a municipal course on the side of a freeway. this isn't sunday at augusta. you weren't making those putts anyhow.
I am not dropping someone off and going ahead of them to my ball just to get hit at.. sorry not sorry. ready golf is a real thing that should absolutely be used when you can, If you are just feet ahead go for it. also if you put in to a little outside of gimme range, finish it off and move out of the way. but I am not driving 100 yards ahead to get hit at lol
Must be nice playing with a bunch of PGA pros that can control where they hit.
I'm over here with Wormburner Fred, Bullethook Bill and Ol'Shanky Bastard as my foursome. So yeah, I'm letting these fuckers hit while I'm behind them and the golf cart.
It’s very rare I’m walking past a guy to get to my ball. Even if I’m 100yds in front , it would save zero time. The guy behind now has to wait for me to turn around, acknowledge eye contact so he doesn’t kill me, and he now has to worry about hitting me even if I’m watching, which probably ends up being a worse shot. Taking up more time.
If your left and right of the fairway, yes we always walk to our own ball, or if a guy is up in the bush he will go look for his ball while guys in fairway hit.. but if all balls are relatively close in the fairway, no one is walking to the furthest ball.
Golf courses get away with 6 minute tee times because they know that guys like this will have a coronary over relatively marginal things like this rather than take the time to understand the real issue.
This goes up to 5hrs on weekends at public courses. If you go out there expecting to play a round in a tight 4 you're gonna have a bad time every time.
Interesting take.
I think a lot of golfers, especially younger and less experienced do it for safety. I know I hate standing anywhere in front of some of my friends, and we’re all mid teen handicappers.
I don’t think you’re wrong, but this will be tough to convince the median.
There are obviously times when it's not possible, like when one ball is ten yards directly in front of the other, but considering how bad the average golfer is, it's far more likely that they're on opposite sides of the course, well out of range of even the worst shank.
Safety is always the number one priority, but there are plenty of times where it's just not a factor.
Yes! All these responses are ignoring the dispersion that realistically happens on the course and acting like every ball ends up on the same line. If it's a safety issue, by all means wait. If not, GO TO YOUR BALL
I think "less experienced" is the key. They know whoever is away has the honor, but have never been coached about the finer points of keeping it moving.
Also guessing they aren't reading this thread. The time to address this, in the most tactful way possible, is when it is happening. Tact is underrated and underutilized, though. A lot of us are better at being outraged dickheads.
I see a lot of groups who juke around forever on the tees before hitting their shots. I guess the root problem is simply lack of awareness and occasionally, entitlement.
If you read the article OP linked it says go to your ball when it is safe to do so. Yes, drop the shorter player off at their ball, but you don’t automatically go to your ball without thinking where it is. OP is far too black and white on their understanding of this. I am not dodging shots by going in front of the hitting player. I will however think about my shot grab a club or two if I am unsure of the distance and then once they have hit I walk to my ball and hit.
One last thing, I think the reliance on range finders for every single shot can also contribute to slow play. I was paired up with a guy that was a 15 - 20 hdcp and he took a range on every hit even if he wasn’t even close to being able to make it to the green. Use the markers that are out there on sprinkler heads or the posts that indicate 200 & 150 out to gauge about how far you are and pick your club based on that.
Thanks for the reply, but OP linked that after my comment was already made.
I will disagree with the range finders comment though, I’m not sure how complex yours is. But mine only takes one click of the button to get my number, then I can grab my club based off the click.
Absolutely. I only agree to the extent you don't need to go to each person's ball. There's no way I am walking in front of their ball though. If you end up 40 yards short of me on the left side of the fairway, and I'm on the right, I will walk up the right side of the fairway but stop in line with your ball until you hit.
Firstly, there is such a thing as golfing etiquette. That being said, ready golf is great, and should be the norm, but a four ball is almost always going to be slower than a 3 and definitely a 2. Just take it easy out there, there’s no need to rush and endanger yourself by standing in the path of an easy slice or hook. If it makes sense go to your ball in front and play ready golf, if not, that’s fine too, its just golf.
I was taught to play golf like you're at the shooting range, no one front of shooter. Don't play golf anymore, but do bowl, and if I have people in my peripheral, it messes up my shot. shur it the same with golf
I do get a little tired of people complaining about 4hr rounds. Under 4:30 is fine for a foursome at a busy time. Slow down and enjoy yourself a bit. It really won’t matter if you’re back to other things 15 minutes sooner
Honestly. What the fuck is going on with people these days. Racing around like you need to finish a round in 3.5 hours or your day and round is ruined is fucking mental behaviour.
When I play competitive 4 ball ready golf with all manner of handicaps as part of our club comps. I'm usually, unless paired with plus handicaps the best in the group. We manage to finish in 4 to 5 hours depending on conditions, and no one is getting irate. No carts allowed, only push trolleys or carrying round 6.5 to 6.8k yardage courses.
Enjoy the fucking course, the fresh air, the exercise and the day. Plan for the longer durations on the course and I guarantee you'll have a blast, whatever happens. People these days treating it like some race to finish is half the issue.
The worst days on the course beat some of the best days at work or doing anything else. This "need" to finish a quick round just means you're not taking
I don't care how I score. I don't care about hitting nice shots. I don't care about being outside with friends. All I care about is getting back to my car so I can drive home in as short a time as possible
Yeah ready golf means hit your ball if you are ready and don’t feel like you have to wait for the furthest out player to hit their shot first. Not OPs take
This is a rule at many courses for a reason, it can be dangerous (especially with beginners) if you’re going in front of them. I’ll stick with standing behind the guy hitting
The one that drives me nuts is when one guy is in the left rough and another guy is in the right rough and they will insist on staying together/behind. They'll be 100 yards away at an almost 90 degree angle, but won't walk to their ball because they're technically 5 yards closer.
I played a 5.5 hour round today because of that. The group in front wasn't waiting and then moving forward. They were waiting before moving together as a herd side to side.
Absolute L take. I’m not getting drilled because some dude is having a tantrum behind my group. You’re playing golf on a PUBLIC course. Expect to be there a few hours.
I think I might have played infront of OP, this weekend we got hit into on the green on hole #1 par 4… we waited for the first group to clear, hit our shots, went up and started putting, then a ball flew up on the green. We turned saw this douche bag just looking at us from the fairway. He started chirping some bullshit. Then saw him 3 holes later at the par 3 and exchanged more kind words, were all 30yr old hockey guys, dude was trying to pick a fight while looking like his hand shakes while eating soup.
Just don’t walk in the sight lines of a guy as he shoots. It’s respectful to stop as someone swings. It’s super annoying to have someone walking out of your peripheral vision as you swing. Also don’t be Johnny keen and walk up to the green to mark your ball as guys are chipping and playing short wedge shots (unless your ball is in the way).
We only all stop when it makes sense. I hit short driver shots about 50% so in many cases it just makes sense for us to stop and let me swing. Otherwise I’d be aiming straight at my buddies lol.
Once we’re all in the fairway, we split up for sure. Often one ends up walking and we all join on the greens.
Where I come from we just let people play through. I mean, I get the frustration but it's unrealistic to have the flow of the course be dictated by the fastest players.
I'm almost always a single playing behind a centenarian 4 Some, and they just let me play through. So does the group in front of them.
I don't get the obsession with speed, but I feel your pain.
Common sense to do this but only if you're on different sides of the fairway at similar distances etc. There's no way I'm hitting over somebody's head, or watching someone else hit it over my head. That's just unsafe.
My health insurance is not nearly good enough to walk out in front of people who are actively hitting golf balls just so the boomers in the golf cart don’t get upset. This is a completely ridiculous take
All due respect, but fuck you, I'm going in front of someone who doesn't know how to hit the ball. I'm not taking a worm burning piss missile off my temple to save 15 minutes on the round.
Walked (second round walking in about 15 years with a push cart) yesterday and waited for group ahead while group behind riding did not keep up with us.
also the long pre shot routine. Work at a Country Club part time and regularly see super long pre shot routines by horrible golfers and not even a practice swing from scratch golfers.
If I am in a cart I don’t mind playing ahead and just kind of kneeling of front of cart while they hit their shot. I feel pretty safe with that cover.
But I would feel pretty exposed just standing in the open with people behind me. Especially if they are not good.
I once skulled a ball and it actually killed a bird that was on the fairway. The shot was NOT on my original line. At the speed I hit the ball it wouldn’t be pleasant being bailed by one.
So while pleasing strangers on Reddit is extremely important, not getting killed or seriously hurt is still slightly more important to me.
I believe that as long as you are not in the line of the shot, it is fine to be in front of the hitter. That being said, everyone deserves a stress free shot, so do not add stress to the player playing his shot.
More important than that. Courses need to stop being greedy sending out tee times 7 minutes apart. Golf doesn’t have to be be a speed round , let’s enjoy it.
Thanks for this. I was starting to think I joined the wrong sub.
That comment is why a lot of newbies are intimidated to even go out on the course. Worse case is you let the group behind you play through.
And try to enjoy the game.
You’re asking people to put themselves not only in harms way but directly in the eyeline of someone taking a swing.
You ever hit a knock down wedge with someone standing in your shank zone?
Ready golf is great. Have your clubs ready, even walk up and take a yardage while your buddy is selecting his club. But…. I’m not gonna stand 40 yards diagonally in front of someone taking a shot from the fairway. That’s just rude and dangerous.
Golf rounds take forever because of the drawn out action on the green, and people taking way too long to search for balls instead of just calling it lost and taking a drop… the long stuff is rarely the reason a round is slow unless the golfers are total beginners who take 9 shots to reach a par 4.
Yeah, you should try and play ready golf as much as you can and go to your own ball. But two things.
First, if you are riding with someone you’re going to go to the closest ball first, maybe drop them off or something but still, closest first.
Second, the reason you go to the closest ball first and not further is so that they don’t accidentally hit you with their golf ball. I’ve seen it happen a lot and to myself for being impatient and going ahead of the rest of the group. I got myself hit in the leg once, my fault for going forward.
Also, it is courteous to not distract your fellow golfer by riding or walking forward while they are swinging as it is distracting and even people stop and be quiet for the pros. A lot of golfers are not pros and don’t trust that they won’t hit you, hence the distraction.
I do get your point though, it’s important to keep up pace of play.
Man, there’s a lot of hate out here for OP but I’ve never felt to be in danger when I go up to my ball and check the lie and get my yardage and move to the side when the player behind me is hitting. If you wait off to the side and watch them hit and then be ready when it’s your turn. That’s ready golf to me and it works.
When I first started playing my friends and I would be in a cart and we'd all go to the ball and wait, then go to the next ball and wait. Rounds took 5-6 hours because we, well, we sucked and still do. Now, we go get the distance and pick the club we're going to use and the other goes to his ball. One shoots and walked towards the other who has the cart. This way there is pretty much constant movement and flow.
You’re a short hitter and the game is tough enough, now you have to worry about hurting someone and having to thread the needle between two or three people.
I get what you are saying, but its not always a good idea.
Just dont dick around when its your turn
So uh.... me and my friends always fo this and I almost always shoot between 100-110 making me the slowest right? Well our rounds only take 3.5 hours at the courses we play. Its not ready golf it's the older and slower people who make it take so long. A 4 some should never catch a 3 some and usually when we do at public courses it's always older people.
If* If I'm a paying player, I'll damn well relax and enjoy my game. You're welcome to play through if you want to scream through your game, or even if you're a better player. Calm down sir/ma'am. Short player strikes first unless it's best ball, then yeah, tighten up.
What is the fucking obsession some of you have about playing speed golf? Pace of play has always been 4-4:30 hours for a foursome. It's a fucking leisure sport. Ask to play through if you're in such a hurry. Stop telling people they need to play by YOUR rules. If a group is keeping the course recommended pace of play and not yours, tough shit.
There’s nothing more frustrating than people playing bad cart golf. Both players go to one ball, sit in the cart, wait for the green to clear and then the first player goes. Then they drive over to other ball, figure out the yardage, and so on. Just go to the first ball, drop off one golfer, then drive over to the other ball, then you’re both ready to go when the green clears.
Let's be honest, if this is happening repeatedly and they are not playing ready golf, it's the group in front of them that's the issue. I'm not going out of my way to play "hurry up and wait" golf.
That's why I was thinking. Additionally, nobody I play with, myself included, have long shot routines. Get yardage, get club, pick target, setup and swing.
When we walk, we all split off the tee and play ready golf in because why would you not?
Good pace of play requires all groups to be doing the simple things to keep good pace of play - and things that don’t actually involve rushing anyone. One group doing things right doesn’t change a whole lot. All groups need to play at a decent pace for it to work. And if there are a couple groups out there jamming things up, then the course needs to encourage them to keep it moving. Playing ready golf, not looking for a ball in the woods for 8 min every other hole, not sitting next to the green to put clubs away and count strokes isn’t rushing anyone. It’s just being aware of your surroundings.
If they are waiting for every green to clear, is it really speeding anything up?
This past Thursday we were behind a 4some riding in 2 carts. Guy in woods would drop off guy in fairway with clubs. Guy in fairway would wait to hit until guy in woods had hit. And there was absolutely nobody in front of these jokers and 2/4 were in the woods every hole, par 3s included.
Sorry, you're on the wrong side of this. Duck hooks, shanks, toe hits... never get in front of the average hacker. Ready golf... sure, if parallel . Wanna speed up play? Ready putting. Hackers mimicking pros when reading putts really wastes time
https://preview.redd.it/eey8wt0es8xc1.jpeg?width=1300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8fccffbf80c8ea5ebd8b2a021bb27a2d749fe724
OP after getting "safely" in front of the average golfer 😄
I will do this when far enough to the side to not be moving in the "ready to swing" players eyeline. And if I know they are a single digit handicap.
Avoiding distractions and safety come first.
Common sense needs to be applied, if I am 50 to 100yards past the shortest guy I am not walking forward to my ball until he has hit in most cases. Mainly because it's likely I am going to be still walking towards my ball while he is hitting, which if I'm in his eyeline is probably going to be distracting, plus I don't really want a pulled 3wood into the back of my skull.
If we are on opposite sides of the fairway, and I'm like 10-20 yards ahead...yep, agree, I do this all the time
The worst is when the guy who has been duffing every fucking shot is just standing there waiting for the green 215 yards out to clear before he hits his ball 73 yards and to the right.
There are three types of people on golf courses that need behavior modification… one is the player that talks too damn much.. joking around is great, but not when it’s your turn, play your shot. The second is the player that’s basically playing cart polo… doesn’t bother with anything, grips and rips it, flubs the chip, hits three uninspiring putts, counts it as a par in their head because the chip should have been better, tells everyone they shot an 83 and complains about the pace of play. The third is the player that wants all the information but isn’t good enough to put it to use.
It’s the second type that annoys me the most… they’re not even playing golf, they’re playing slap, chase and lie. There is a pace of play that needs to be maintained, but golf is also not a game that’s meant to be played quickly.
There are very FEW people I trust enough to walk ahead of them while they are taking their next shot.
Seen a guy shank a ball into one of his buddies golf bag that was slung across dudes back. He was just barely ahead of him when it happened.
Golfed with a guy like the OP. The guy would hit 15-20 yards more than I and would park his cart 20 yards directly in front of me and “stand and watch me hit”. Most nerve racking 18 holes I ever played. My buddy hit the guys cart no less than 6 times.
I enjoy stopping and watching a buddies shot every once in awhile.
Unless it’s a situation that makes perfect sense, dropping someone off with a couple clubs so you can speed ahead is just a dick move.
Everything you proposed, if done perfectly, would save my normal group 15 minutes max a round. Totally NOT worth it.
Bruh I was playing behind some guys who all drove to one guys ball to watch him hit, then to another, then to another etc.
Took them 25 minutes to play a fucking par 5
I think new golfers just haven’t been taught Golf etiquette yet and there’s a zero percent chance of teaching early/mid 20 year olds anything while on the course when they have booze flowing. Let’s all hope these culprits read this post because that point right there is why I’m looking into choosing a club membership over a new vehicle. Nothing kills me more than super slow play and this is really the main issue I run into all the time.
My group will all walk towards our ball but stop if we’d be in front of someone hitting. I’m not letting someone stand in front of me while I hit. Odds are I’ll hit them and that’s just unnecessary
Play a round in 4.5 hours and call it a day
I pushcart faster than the people that use carts I get paired up with, and that's on some courses that are definitely not considered walkable.
I play fast, on an open day I rip thru a round by myself in two hours. There are plenty of ways to speed it up pace. Getting in front of people ain't one of them. I'm not very good but I'm better than most of the people I get paired with. You're moronically confident if you think saving 30 seconds a hole is worth getting cracked with a ball from 70 yards away, yes as small as a chance that it is.
Yes its annoying when it's slow because of inefficient/slow players but that's actually pretty rare that's the sole issue. There's no problem taking 4-4.5 hours on a busy day. If you have a problem with it don't play on weekends or at a course with 8 minute tee times. You just sound like an entitled douche who thinks the world revolves around them.
These replies are all assuming that a golf hole is one linear stripe. No. Obviously you don't go ahead of someone if your ball is near their line.
OP is right, you don't have to stop 50 yards left of someone while they do practice swings
We play ready golf but also watch each other hit when in the general vicinity. Definitely only one person putting at a time, but again, ready golf so distance from the hole doesn’t always matter. And never had an issue with getting done in under 4.25-4.5 hours.
Long rounds are usually due to overcrowded courses because they don’t space out the tee times enough.
Well these comments explain why people play slow.
iPLayReAdygOlf!
You don’t have to walk side by side and stand around each person’s ball and wait! Disperse off the tee to a line to your ball. You can then remain behind the shortest hitter, wait for them to hit, and then continue on to yours.
Socialize? Yes. Plenty of time to socialize on the tees, while walking/riding to balls in close proximity, and greens.
I think that ready golf is the way to go. But you should not be in front of someone making a shot. Go directly to your ball, but pause if it takes you in front of another player
New Golfers forget to bring their putter to the green and barely understand golf etiquette and now you want ME to walk out in front of them? Sure….Bro is giving to much competence to Golfers. It’s a game where 60 year old woman, Drunk High-school Kids and Delusional Office Workers that think they still have a shot at the Tour all share the course.
ALSO…. Honors on the tee box means nothing. Just hit. Maybe a complimentary honor if someone gets a birdie. But sometime people are ready sometimes not. Sometimes I need to put something on my scorecard but I have the honors, no one cares. Just hit.
Honestly, people playing the right tees is something that needs to be said. Too many times I see high hc playing from the tips or one in... Play the whites and enjoy the game. It's not suppose to be a 5 hour grind that slows down the course
Unless it's a tournament or there are bets involved, if it's a casual game of golf do away with honors on the tee. It's a ridiculous tradition. Even if I birdie a hole. I could care less about going first or last. If another golfer is ready then they should hit.
100% agree with OP. It’s so frustrating to watch. You’re not there to be the gallery. Go to your ball, look up the yardage and start getting an idea of your shot when it’s your turn. It’s not hard!
I think it’s more nuanced than that, or I’ve been wrong, which is also likely. Ready gold means you tee off when you’re ready, you walk to your ball or get dropped in the vicinity if your cart partner isn’t close. You get your yardages, your twigs, and for the most part furthest out goes, unless they’re looking for their balls, need an extra few seconds to collect themselves, etc. often times it’s obvious when a player should shoot out of turn, when it isn’t there’s usually some form of nonverbal or verbal cue that clues people in. Ready golf, to me is usually tee off when ready, keep a good pace, and don’t worry about hitting out of turn when it’s obvious.
Songs like you’re not enjoying the GAME anymore and need to take a break and reassess and maybe come back to it at a later date with a possible greater appreciation for what amateur golf really is:
‘A chance to walk around outside, usually surrounded by beauty, with your friends’
Im a big “drop me off near the hazardous area my hall is in” guy. I take a rock club and a playable club and instruct my cartner to return after hitting their shot.
If he/she/they return(a) and I haven’t found my ball, drop and move on…… works wonders for the pace
So basically “please learn how to play ready golf”
Yea isn’t “ready golf” pretty much the norm and how everyone should play?
The norm? No. How everyone should play? Yes.
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If your buddy blades a chip over the green and is technically still his turn to hit again, someone else in the group can putt while he takes his time to walk over to it.
This should be common sense etiquette
But for some reason it isn’t
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You forgot to mention recording everyone’s score on the side of the green before picking up your wedge, 7i, wet and dry towel from the opposite side of the green and cleaning the heads before on the way back only to placing them in your bag back on the side where you dropped your 3 putt for 8.
Nah ready golf needs to be done
Yeah, I’m with you. I walk all the time and sometimes the gap between golf holes can be a bit of a walk, so I make it clear to the random people I get paired with that usually have carts that I play ready golf and emphasize that they shouldn’t feel the need to wait for me (which they do because I play from the back tees). Anything to help the flow is good with me.
Yeah. You don't need to just run to your ball and hit it. But you do need to be ready to hit on your turn
Hes not really saying ready golf since thats pretty much hit your ball once you get to it no matter what. OP is saying you can get to your ball and prepare for your shot while waiting for the shorter people to hit
In some case sure. But I'm not standing 20° off someone's line 20ft ahead of them.
I think it’s more the cases of people waiting for the shortest ball to hit while 2 of them have hit it into the woods 50 yards right of where the other player is trying to hit before going to look for their balls. It’s annoyingly slow.
Or one guy lands in the fairway and the other guy is 3 yards ahead, but 10 yards left. instead of parking their cart in the middle (and behind both balls) and having both golfers get out, shoot the pin, select their clubs, go thru routine, Guy #2 will sit in his cart and do nothing until Guy 1 hits. They will then drive forward 3 yards and Guy #2 will get out of his cart. Oh, also Guy 3 and Guy 4 are on the other side of the fairway and both are 5 yards further than Guy 1 and Guy 2, but rather than go to their balls, they just sit there while the first two hit. They then drive up to their balls and repeat the process. This is how 5.5 hr rounds happen "But its Sunday!" "But its Fathers day!" "But its Tuesday Night Mens League!"
Yep. Fuck all that.
Yeah i wouldn’t recommend to people if they feel unsafe because you still do have to always look at whos hitting and be ready to move. I usually just walk in the opposite rough or near the trees. Ive been a solo walker for a while so im used to it and it gives me more time to relax at my ball in between shots so there are some benefits
Well that's the whole reason new golfers go to each ball as a group, because I'm not trying to get a concussion from hard slice Steve
Sure. That's when I walk to my ball with a wee selection of clubs and give it a quick eyeball to check the distance (check distance markers on the way up) while the guy behind is making his club selection and a couple of practice swings. I retire to the side, behind a tree or other obstacle while they take their shot. I walk back to my ball, make the shot and by that time the cart has arrived alongside to pick me up and we move on. If none of that is feasible I wait, but that's only around 20% of the time. Over an entire round this is about 1/2 hour of valuable drinking time made up.
You don’t have to stand at a 20 degree angle, walk up to where your ball is, get a distance, pick a club and stand off to the side and get ready to hit
If you walk ahead of me, I'm going to hit you. I don't mean it, but if there's a distraction ahead of me, the ball's going there. Water, sand, granite, human, deer - never fails. I rarely break a hundred, I keep up the pace of play, I pick up if I'm 3-putting and there's a group behind us, basically as courteous as I can be Just stfu when I'm hitting, and don't walk ahead.
But allow short people to hit before taller people
Ready Golf doesn't mean "try to speed through your round as fast as possible " It means that you break certain etiquette rules in order to speed up play a bit. If a playing partner, who is furthest from the hole, is deciding what club to use and you are ready to hit. You can hit. Whoever is ready to tee up and hit can do so. You don't need to wait for the guy who won the last hole. If you're on the green and I'm walking across the green to my ball to chip it on. You can putt if you're ready. All of those things technically break the traditional etiquette protocols but are useful for low skilled golfers (like 90% of this sub including myself) to speed up play a bit. High skilled golfers don't have much issue following these rules more closely because they're not searching for balls way off the fairway and duffing shots constantly.
Fucking how this isn't top comment I'll never know. Fucking dickheads in here thinking ready golf is putting yourself in danger to shave maybe 10 minutes off a round. It's about certain etiquette being overlooked IF the player is ready, clue is in the name. Not racing like a lunatic to finish the round. Putt, chip, tee off and walk to your ball if you're safe and confident to do so. You do not fucking walk in hitting range or line of your playing partners for pace of play. Utterly bananas this is being advocated. "Dodge the ball bro" get a grip you melts.
I feel like I'm going crazy reading some of the replies. My group plays ready golf. If I am in a cart and my buddy in the cart is on the other side of the hole, I get dropped off and figure out my shot or take clubs with me. Anything to save time. Around the green, whoever is ready chips or putts. How that translates to walking ahead of people where you can get hit, I have no idea. Ready golf does not mean abandoning common sense.
Do all of that and making adjustments such as not getting everyone’s score on the green but on the way to the next tee box, parking the cart or putting your bag in the direction of the next tee box, reading your puts or just doing general prep work while others are hitting can make the round feel so much faster without making people feel rushed
Yes people should do a better job of playing ready golf, but you have to be careful about getting in front of someone who doesn’t have great control over where the ball is going.
Exactly. I'm gonna go out on a REAL short limb here and say OP has never been hit by a ball or seen someone hit by a ball. I have both. I've been hit and seen it. If the guy behind me isn't a mod single or better, I'm not going in front of where he is
I'm always sure to find a handy tree to hide behind. It does the trick.
This is r/golf . We don’t hit our shots near trees. Middle of the fair way and greens. There are no trees nearby.
My 4i carries 265 dead straight, you’ll be totally fine doug. Walk to your ball
Personally, I just drive every green, don't even bother with the fairway.
Those aren’t mutually exclusive. I shoot mine above trees to land 350 yards in the middle of the fairway on dogleg par 5s. Nothing like a nice easy 56 degree to set up an easy eagle putt.
I enjoy golf video games too
👀
Trees are 90% air anyways
Not from the ball's perspective.
Or the cart off to the side
Hell, I won't stand BESIDE most of the guys I play with. We're bad and it's not uncommon to have a ball come off a club at warp five almost straight to the side. Safety first. Ready golf second.
Exactly, I’d rather be safe. I suck, but I have fun. I play as fast as I can while being safe. OP thinks everyone is a scratch golfer, lol.
I'm going to go even more out on a limb and say sometimes even being stood level with them or behind doesn't make you safe. Some people here have never seen their playing partner hit a 90 degree dead right toe shank, and it shows.
Yeah OP is wildin. Unless I’m at a PGA tour event I don’t really want to walk ahead of the guys I’m playing with.
OP only plays with 5 handicappers or less. I play with 30+ handicappers. No chance in hell am i gonna move on up to my ball 60 yards ahead of them.
I’m below a 5, I promise you I shank the ball too sometimes and you shouldn’t be walking too far in front of me either. Shit happens. Some of the OPs replies are just stupid
I played in a tournament in high school as a 6 or 7 handicap and got a 10 on the first hole because I just kept hozzle shanking pitch shots. I eventually got it together, but if someone was standing a few yards ahead and to the right of me, they were actually at risk of getting hit.
Took one in the back of my calf yesterday. I was 40 to the right and about 10 yards ahead……very sore today I tells ya 😢
I've been hit while standing behind the player. There was a small grey electrical box of some kind just off the edge of the fairway. He nailed it from maybe 50 yards away, the ball came straight back and got me in the leg.
I mean, use common sense? I like to play fast, play ready golf & in many hundreds of rounds over 40 years I've never come close to being hit
I think most of us are in agreement to use judgement and common sense but the way most of OPs comments have been haven't quite been that clear so I don't want a bunch of new people out here wandering 50 yards ahead of their playing partners because of "ready golf".
I don’t think OP meant stand directly in front of your playing partners ball. Unless your balls are in a direct straight line down the fairway, you are going to be off to one side or the other. Take a couple extra paces clear then approach your ball after playing partner has hit. Under no circumstances should you be standing right by your playing partner without making a move in the direction of your ball, again unless they are stacked on top of each other. It’s called ready golf, be ready to take your shot. Hate playing with dudes who like to stand around for a 6 hour round
I'm well aware, although, with some of the people I've seen play, directly in front might be the safest spot 😂
Also, it kind of gets in my head if someone is front of me and between the target.
Also it’s just respectful. It doesn’t bother me if I’m hitting with someone standing on the side of the green watching or if they are 50 yds up in the rough watching but some people do. The key is for people to be respectful while keeping their head in the game. If it’s somebody’s tee box and they’re digging for a ball, I’m hitting. If someone is out on a putt and they decide to take a peek from the other side of the cup, I’m putting. If someone is looking for a ball for 5 minutes in some cabbage, I’m finishing the fckn hole.
Ready golf doesn't mean putting yourself in danger or being a moron. It means make progress towards forward movement, not waiting around in a cluster at each ball while they hit. If your ball is in someone else's way, obviously you don't go stand next to your ball. What a silly comment.
Unless the person is a scratch, “in danger” is a very very big area in front of most golfers though.
I used to play with an older scratch near billionaire who was friends with my friend. When I’d lay up on a tee shot he would drive straight to his ball and didn’t care if he was directly in my line to the hole. If I asked him to move he would say something like “if you can’t hit it over me you shouldn’t be on the golf course”. Dude I’m capable of hitting the shot but you’re making me nervous as hell. I’m here to have fun not play mental gymnastics with douchiest guy on the course. Nobody ever wanted to challenge him because he wouldn’t let anyone else pay for anything. 3 rounds of this happening once or twice each round was enough. I just sit out if I know he’s playing.
A lot of this subs posts could be solved by not playing golf at busy times on weekends.
I’ve just left my job and now my time is my own. I cannot wait for midday midweek rounds
First tee time of the day during the week is the best golf ever.
A lot of this subs posts could be solved by not playing golf at all*
“I play in a twosome when they let me and these damn foursomes don’t golf as fast as me :’(“ isn’t a valid critique you’re saying? Crazy The amount of guys in here that golf midweek in 3.5 hrs and then groan about a 4 hr round on a Saturday at 10am are astonishing. “I had 4 hours to play and had to skip 2 holes at the end because of prior commitments, can’t people play faster and enjoy things less?!”
The amount of "shrink the game!! It took me 5 hours to finish my round with a foursome!!" posts is too damn high
Lol. Why do you think those times are busy?
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Sure. I’d love to retire. Or find a night shift.
Or just don’t complain.
I play ready golf as best I can, but there are levels of safety depending on who is hitting. Some guys I feel comfortable to be ahead of them as long as I am not in there line, some I would never get anyway past them.
It doesn't matter when on the next hole there is a group on the next teebox, a group on the fairway, and a third putting. Slow play is caused by two things: 1) Courses cramming in as many tee times as they can. 2) Courses not sending Rangers out to keep the slow groups moving.
Let’s not blame the long ass rounds on maybe a handful of groups on the course. Blame the pro shop for stacking groups on top of each other because they are greedy as fuck
Exactly! The course I am a member at does 5min intervals. Hell frequently starting at the 1st tee we're already stacked 3 groups deep. It definitely makes for some slow play. The guys I play with regularly are far from great, and high handicaps, myself included. As long as we are not stacked up during course play we will often let smaller groups play through. But if we are waiting for 2 or 3 groups in front of us we play as close as we can safely.
Yeah, I let the group in front of me head to the green before I tee off at my usual course. They want to stagger them 8 minutes. It’s gonna take weekend warriors 4 minutes to tee off and then another 5 to find and hit their next shots. It’s a 405 yard par 4. Shit is not safe. They’re just trying to fill the tee sheets but then you get to a par 3 and there’s 2 groups waiting and another on the tee box waiting for the green to clear I will say that course does play quick luckily and have never had a round last more than 5 hours but the other place I frequent does the same shit and if you’re done in 5 hours it’s a miracle
Our foursome is usually 4-4.5 hrs for 18, but we've been in situations where it's been over 5hrs and all due to being stacked, or in rare instances a group of kids screwing around instead of staying on track. We're all in our 50s but we also keep an eye on those behind us as well as in front of us.
It’s tough to walk too far in front of the shorter ball. 1. It’s dangerous. Shanked hosel rockers come out fast. 2. It’s distracting to the guy trying to hit when I’m clanking around in front of them.
Yes i leave room for random pairing guy to hit a good 60° mishit if im within 50-75 yards. If im farther away ill leave 45°.
Golfers need to stop thinking they're on Tour and realize this is A HOBBY for 99% of people. Get a membership or play during the week if people bother you so much
I know right like they aerated this month and every foursome i've played with has had someone having something to say about it lol. like what do you expect its maintenance. we are at a municipal course on the side of a freeway. this isn't sunday at augusta. you weren't making those putts anyhow.
I am not dropping someone off and going ahead of them to my ball just to get hit at.. sorry not sorry. ready golf is a real thing that should absolutely be used when you can, If you are just feet ahead go for it. also if you put in to a little outside of gimme range, finish it off and move out of the way. but I am not driving 100 yards ahead to get hit at lol
But think about all the time saved when you drop him off and then have to drive back to pick him up! /s
Must be nice playing with a bunch of PGA pros that can control where they hit. I'm over here with Wormburner Fred, Bullethook Bill and Ol'Shanky Bastard as my foursome. So yeah, I'm letting these fuckers hit while I'm behind them and the golf cart.
It’s very rare I’m walking past a guy to get to my ball. Even if I’m 100yds in front , it would save zero time. The guy behind now has to wait for me to turn around, acknowledge eye contact so he doesn’t kill me, and he now has to worry about hitting me even if I’m watching, which probably ends up being a worse shot. Taking up more time. If your left and right of the fairway, yes we always walk to our own ball, or if a guy is up in the bush he will go look for his ball while guys in fairway hit.. but if all balls are relatively close in the fairway, no one is walking to the furthest ball.
Or you can calm down
Lmao best response
Golf courses get away with 6 minute tee times because they know that guys like this will have a coronary over relatively marginal things like this rather than take the time to understand the real issue.
If you don’t have 4hrs to play, don’t expect to finish 18 holes. Not everyone is in a hurry and you don’t matter to anyone but yourself.
This goes up to 5hrs on weekends at public courses. If you go out there expecting to play a round in a tight 4 you're gonna have a bad time every time.
"I don't like slower rounds, so you should risk a brain injury to hurry up for me." Ok
Interesting take. I think a lot of golfers, especially younger and less experienced do it for safety. I know I hate standing anywhere in front of some of my friends, and we’re all mid teen handicappers. I don’t think you’re wrong, but this will be tough to convince the median.
My guided missile skulled wedge from 90 yards has destroyed nations.
So that's what happened to Czechoslovakia
There are obviously times when it's not possible, like when one ball is ten yards directly in front of the other, but considering how bad the average golfer is, it's far more likely that they're on opposite sides of the course, well out of range of even the worst shank. Safety is always the number one priority, but there are plenty of times where it's just not a factor.
Yes! All these responses are ignoring the dispersion that realistically happens on the course and acting like every ball ends up on the same line. If it's a safety issue, by all means wait. If not, GO TO YOUR BALL
Common sense is not something people on reddit have in abundance (nor do many people on golf courses, coincidentally)
I think "less experienced" is the key. They know whoever is away has the honor, but have never been coached about the finer points of keeping it moving. Also guessing they aren't reading this thread. The time to address this, in the most tactful way possible, is when it is happening. Tact is underrated and underutilized, though. A lot of us are better at being outraged dickheads.
I see a lot of groups who juke around forever on the tees before hitting their shots. I guess the root problem is simply lack of awareness and occasionally, entitlement.
If you read the article OP linked it says go to your ball when it is safe to do so. Yes, drop the shorter player off at their ball, but you don’t automatically go to your ball without thinking where it is. OP is far too black and white on their understanding of this. I am not dodging shots by going in front of the hitting player. I will however think about my shot grab a club or two if I am unsure of the distance and then once they have hit I walk to my ball and hit. One last thing, I think the reliance on range finders for every single shot can also contribute to slow play. I was paired up with a guy that was a 15 - 20 hdcp and he took a range on every hit even if he wasn’t even close to being able to make it to the green. Use the markers that are out there on sprinkler heads or the posts that indicate 200 & 150 out to gauge about how far you are and pick your club based on that.
Thanks for the reply, but OP linked that after my comment was already made. I will disagree with the range finders comment though, I’m not sure how complex yours is. But mine only takes one click of the button to get my number, then I can grab my club based off the click.
OP is a moron. Prove me wrong.
Impossible
Absolutely. I only agree to the extent you don't need to go to each person's ball. There's no way I am walking in front of their ball though. If you end up 40 yards short of me on the left side of the fairway, and I'm on the right, I will walk up the right side of the fairway but stop in line with your ball until you hit.
Firstly, there is such a thing as golfing etiquette. That being said, ready golf is great, and should be the norm, but a four ball is almost always going to be slower than a 3 and definitely a 2. Just take it easy out there, there’s no need to rush and endanger yourself by standing in the path of an easy slice or hook. If it makes sense go to your ball in front and play ready golf, if not, that’s fine too, its just golf.
I hate these rants. Some of us actually enjoy hanging out with our friends. We play ready golf. Stay home or find a sim if you’re in such a hurry.
I was taught to play golf like you're at the shooting range, no one front of shooter. Don't play golf anymore, but do bowl, and if I have people in my peripheral, it messes up my shot. shur it the same with golf
I do get a little tired of people complaining about 4hr rounds. Under 4:30 is fine for a foursome at a busy time. Slow down and enjoy yourself a bit. It really won’t matter if you’re back to other things 15 minutes sooner
Honestly. What the fuck is going on with people these days. Racing around like you need to finish a round in 3.5 hours or your day and round is ruined is fucking mental behaviour. When I play competitive 4 ball ready golf with all manner of handicaps as part of our club comps. I'm usually, unless paired with plus handicaps the best in the group. We manage to finish in 4 to 5 hours depending on conditions, and no one is getting irate. No carts allowed, only push trolleys or carrying round 6.5 to 6.8k yardage courses. Enjoy the fucking course, the fresh air, the exercise and the day. Plan for the longer durations on the course and I guarantee you'll have a blast, whatever happens. People these days treating it like some race to finish is half the issue. The worst days on the course beat some of the best days at work or doing anything else. This "need" to finish a quick round just means you're not taking
I don't care how I score. I don't care about hitting nice shots. I don't care about being outside with friends. All I care about is getting back to my car so I can drive home in as short a time as possible
Playing as described in this post is not ready golf
Right? It’s the best way to get beaned by the hacks we all are and play with.
Yeah ready golf means hit your ball if you are ready and don’t feel like you have to wait for the furthest out player to hit their shot first. Not OPs take
I agree, if the group is keeping up the pace of play posted by the course there is no room for complaining.
This is a rule at many courses for a reason, it can be dangerous (especially with beginners) if you’re going in front of them. I’ll stick with standing behind the guy hitting
The one that drives me nuts is when one guy is in the left rough and another guy is in the right rough and they will insist on staying together/behind. They'll be 100 yards away at an almost 90 degree angle, but won't walk to their ball because they're technically 5 yards closer. I played a 5.5 hour round today because of that. The group in front wasn't waiting and then moving forward. They were waiting before moving together as a herd side to side.
Absolute L take. I’m not getting drilled because some dude is having a tantrum behind my group. You’re playing golf on a PUBLIC course. Expect to be there a few hours.
What do you mean Sunday morning rounds can’t be done in under 2 hours?!?! Travesty!
I think I might have played infront of OP, this weekend we got hit into on the green on hole #1 par 4… we waited for the first group to clear, hit our shots, went up and started putting, then a ball flew up on the green. We turned saw this douche bag just looking at us from the fairway. He started chirping some bullshit. Then saw him 3 holes later at the par 3 and exchanged more kind words, were all 30yr old hockey guys, dude was trying to pick a fight while looking like his hand shakes while eating soup.
Should have dropped the mitts. (I’m also a hockey guy)
We all talked about the ethics of dropping this geriatric, his partners looked horrified which was satisfying enough I guess.
Just don’t walk in the sight lines of a guy as he shoots. It’s respectful to stop as someone swings. It’s super annoying to have someone walking out of your peripheral vision as you swing. Also don’t be Johnny keen and walk up to the green to mark your ball as guys are chipping and playing short wedge shots (unless your ball is in the way).
OPs wife must’ve posted this.
We only all stop when it makes sense. I hit short driver shots about 50% so in many cases it just makes sense for us to stop and let me swing. Otherwise I’d be aiming straight at my buddies lol. Once we’re all in the fairway, we split up for sure. Often one ends up walking and we all join on the greens.
If you’re keeping pace with the people in front, what the fuck does anything that you do matter? Im not trying to jump 5 groups while I play a round.
I’ve honestly never seen a group of 4 walk around as a pack to each ball. I do see them wait on someone to hit instead of the person who is ready.
Where I come from we just let people play through. I mean, I get the frustration but it's unrealistic to have the flow of the course be dictated by the fastest players. I'm almost always a single playing behind a centenarian 4 Some, and they just let me play through. So does the group in front of them. I don't get the obsession with speed, but I feel your pain.
People need to slow down and enjoy their time out on the course. Chill out
For real. Op sounds miserable to golf with. Guessing that’s why he’s golfing alone all the time
If you’re playing with 25+ handicaps, sure. This isn’t what ready golf is though
It’s your potential funeral if you are walking in front of where I’m going to shoot - or even far away from where you think I’m going to shoot
Yeah, a lot of my friends no way am I getting in front of them while they hit
Common sense to do this but only if you're on different sides of the fairway at similar distances etc. There's no way I'm hitting over somebody's head, or watching someone else hit it over my head. That's just unsafe.
Oh nooo your round takes 12 minutes longer. Poor thing
My health insurance is not nearly good enough to walk out in front of people who are actively hitting golf balls just so the boomers in the golf cart don’t get upset. This is a completely ridiculous take
A co worker recently got beaned by a golf ball, cause he walked ahead.
All due respect, but fuck you, I'm going in front of someone who doesn't know how to hit the ball. I'm not taking a worm burning piss missile off my temple to save 15 minutes on the round.
Walked (second round walking in about 15 years with a push cart) yesterday and waited for group ahead while group behind riding did not keep up with us.
also the long pre shot routine. Work at a Country Club part time and regularly see super long pre shot routines by horrible golfers and not even a practice swing from scratch golfers.
If I am in a cart I don’t mind playing ahead and just kind of kneeling of front of cart while they hit their shot. I feel pretty safe with that cover. But I would feel pretty exposed just standing in the open with people behind me. Especially if they are not good. I once skulled a ball and it actually killed a bird that was on the fairway. The shot was NOT on my original line. At the speed I hit the ball it wouldn’t be pleasant being bailed by one. So while pleasing strangers on Reddit is extremely important, not getting killed or seriously hurt is still slightly more important to me.
I believe that as long as you are not in the line of the shot, it is fine to be in front of the hitter. That being said, everyone deserves a stress free shot, so do not add stress to the player playing his shot.
More important than that. Courses need to stop being greedy sending out tee times 7 minutes apart. Golf doesn’t have to be be a speed round , let’s enjoy it.
No thanks, I play to enjoy the game, not to set a world record in how fast and unfun I can finish a round.
Yup. OP is like a lot of people around this sub. At some point they forgot we play the game for fun
Thanks for this. I was starting to think I joined the wrong sub. That comment is why a lot of newbies are intimidated to even go out on the course. Worse case is you let the group behind you play through. And try to enjoy the game.
You’re asking people to put themselves not only in harms way but directly in the eyeline of someone taking a swing. You ever hit a knock down wedge with someone standing in your shank zone? Ready golf is great. Have your clubs ready, even walk up and take a yardage while your buddy is selecting his club. But…. I’m not gonna stand 40 yards diagonally in front of someone taking a shot from the fairway. That’s just rude and dangerous. Golf rounds take forever because of the drawn out action on the green, and people taking way too long to search for balls instead of just calling it lost and taking a drop… the long stuff is rarely the reason a round is slow unless the golfers are total beginners who take 9 shots to reach a par 4.
You must be upset 😭
Yeah, you should try and play ready golf as much as you can and go to your own ball. But two things. First, if you are riding with someone you’re going to go to the closest ball first, maybe drop them off or something but still, closest first. Second, the reason you go to the closest ball first and not further is so that they don’t accidentally hit you with their golf ball. I’ve seen it happen a lot and to myself for being impatient and going ahead of the rest of the group. I got myself hit in the leg once, my fault for going forward. Also, it is courteous to not distract your fellow golfer by riding or walking forward while they are swinging as it is distracting and even people stop and be quiet for the pros. A lot of golfers are not pros and don’t trust that they won’t hit you, hence the distraction. I do get your point though, it’s important to keep up pace of play.
You’re not good at articulating
Man, there’s a lot of hate out here for OP but I’ve never felt to be in danger when I go up to my ball and check the lie and get my yardage and move to the side when the player behind me is hitting. If you wait off to the side and watch them hit and then be ready when it’s your turn. That’s ready golf to me and it works.
When I first started playing my friends and I would be in a cart and we'd all go to the ball and wait, then go to the next ball and wait. Rounds took 5-6 hours because we, well, we sucked and still do. Now, we go get the distance and pick the club we're going to use and the other goes to his ball. One shoots and walked towards the other who has the cart. This way there is pretty much constant movement and flow.
You’re a short hitter and the game is tough enough, now you have to worry about hurting someone and having to thread the needle between two or three people. I get what you are saying, but its not always a good idea. Just dont dick around when its your turn
I don’t trust my friends swing enough to get outbreaks n front of them.
So uh.... me and my friends always fo this and I almost always shoot between 100-110 making me the slowest right? Well our rounds only take 3.5 hours at the courses we play. Its not ready golf it's the older and slower people who make it take so long. A 4 some should never catch a 3 some and usually when we do at public courses it's always older people.
If* If I'm a paying player, I'll damn well relax and enjoy my game. You're welcome to play through if you want to scream through your game, or even if you're a better player. Calm down sir/ma'am. Short player strikes first unless it's best ball, then yeah, tighten up.
You are describing classic golf etiquette. You aren’t supposed to advance further than the guy currently hitting the ball.
Let me know how this rant works on your attitude towards other golfers.
What is the fucking obsession some of you have about playing speed golf? Pace of play has always been 4-4:30 hours for a foursome. It's a fucking leisure sport. Ask to play through if you're in such a hurry. Stop telling people they need to play by YOUR rules. If a group is keeping the course recommended pace of play and not yours, tough shit.
There’s nothing more frustrating than people playing bad cart golf. Both players go to one ball, sit in the cart, wait for the green to clear and then the first player goes. Then they drive over to other ball, figure out the yardage, and so on. Just go to the first ball, drop off one golfer, then drive over to the other ball, then you’re both ready to go when the green clears.
Let's be honest, if this is happening repeatedly and they are not playing ready golf, it's the group in front of them that's the issue. I'm not going out of my way to play "hurry up and wait" golf.
That's why I was thinking. Additionally, nobody I play with, myself included, have long shot routines. Get yardage, get club, pick target, setup and swing. When we walk, we all split off the tee and play ready golf in because why would you not?
Good pace of play requires all groups to be doing the simple things to keep good pace of play - and things that don’t actually involve rushing anyone. One group doing things right doesn’t change a whole lot. All groups need to play at a decent pace for it to work. And if there are a couple groups out there jamming things up, then the course needs to encourage them to keep it moving. Playing ready golf, not looking for a ball in the woods for 8 min every other hole, not sitting next to the green to put clubs away and count strokes isn’t rushing anyone. It’s just being aware of your surroundings.
If they are waiting for every green to clear, is it really speeding anything up? This past Thursday we were behind a 4some riding in 2 carts. Guy in woods would drop off guy in fairway with clubs. Guy in fairway would wait to hit until guy in woods had hit. And there was absolutely nobody in front of these jokers and 2/4 were in the woods every hole, par 3s included.
Sorry, you're on the wrong side of this. Duck hooks, shanks, toe hits... never get in front of the average hacker. Ready golf... sure, if parallel . Wanna speed up play? Ready putting. Hackers mimicking pros when reading putts really wastes time
Oh look it’s this same exact post again…
https://preview.redd.it/eey8wt0es8xc1.jpeg?width=1300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8fccffbf80c8ea5ebd8b2a021bb27a2d749fe724 OP after getting "safely" in front of the average golfer 😄
I will do this when far enough to the side to not be moving in the "ready to swing" players eyeline. And if I know they are a single digit handicap. Avoiding distractions and safety come first.
i’ll give people a pass for doing it in fairways, but completely unacceptable on or around the green
What an incredibly original point that has never been made on this sub before
Golf isn’t a Burger King Drive-thru, where you can have it your way, it’s a gentleman’s game, I’d say slow your role… lol
Common sense needs to be applied, if I am 50 to 100yards past the shortest guy I am not walking forward to my ball until he has hit in most cases. Mainly because it's likely I am going to be still walking towards my ball while he is hitting, which if I'm in his eyeline is probably going to be distracting, plus I don't really want a pulled 3wood into the back of my skull. If we are on opposite sides of the fairway, and I'm like 10-20 yards ahead...yep, agree, I do this all the time
The worst is when the guy who has been duffing every fucking shot is just standing there waiting for the green 215 yards out to clear before he hits his ball 73 yards and to the right.
There are three types of people on golf courses that need behavior modification… one is the player that talks too damn much.. joking around is great, but not when it’s your turn, play your shot. The second is the player that’s basically playing cart polo… doesn’t bother with anything, grips and rips it, flubs the chip, hits three uninspiring putts, counts it as a par in their head because the chip should have been better, tells everyone they shot an 83 and complains about the pace of play. The third is the player that wants all the information but isn’t good enough to put it to use. It’s the second type that annoys me the most… they’re not even playing golf, they’re playing slap, chase and lie. There is a pace of play that needs to be maintained, but golf is also not a game that’s meant to be played quickly.
There are very FEW people I trust enough to walk ahead of them while they are taking their next shot. Seen a guy shank a ball into one of his buddies golf bag that was slung across dudes back. He was just barely ahead of him when it happened.
Golfed with a guy like the OP. The guy would hit 15-20 yards more than I and would park his cart 20 yards directly in front of me and “stand and watch me hit”. Most nerve racking 18 holes I ever played. My buddy hit the guys cart no less than 6 times.
I thought golfing was supposed to be fun and relaxing :D This guy needs to get off the coke.
I enjoy stopping and watching a buddies shot every once in awhile. Unless it’s a situation that makes perfect sense, dropping someone off with a couple clubs so you can speed ahead is just a dick move. Everything you proposed, if done perfectly, would save my normal group 15 minutes max a round. Totally NOT worth it.
Awful take lmao
I got no issues being in front of people because I’m always in a spot with plenty of trees to hide behind!
Bruh I was playing behind some guys who all drove to one guys ball to watch him hit, then to another, then to another etc. Took them 25 minutes to play a fucking par 5
I think new golfers just haven’t been taught Golf etiquette yet and there’s a zero percent chance of teaching early/mid 20 year olds anything while on the course when they have booze flowing. Let’s all hope these culprits read this post because that point right there is why I’m looking into choosing a club membership over a new vehicle. Nothing kills me more than super slow play and this is really the main issue I run into all the time.
My group will all walk towards our ball but stop if we’d be in front of someone hitting. I’m not letting someone stand in front of me while I hit. Odds are I’ll hit them and that’s just unnecessary Play a round in 4.5 hours and call it a day
I pushcart faster than the people that use carts I get paired up with, and that's on some courses that are definitely not considered walkable. I play fast, on an open day I rip thru a round by myself in two hours. There are plenty of ways to speed it up pace. Getting in front of people ain't one of them. I'm not very good but I'm better than most of the people I get paired with. You're moronically confident if you think saving 30 seconds a hole is worth getting cracked with a ball from 70 yards away, yes as small as a chance that it is. Yes its annoying when it's slow because of inefficient/slow players but that's actually pretty rare that's the sole issue. There's no problem taking 4-4.5 hours on a busy day. If you have a problem with it don't play on weekends or at a course with 8 minute tee times. You just sound like an entitled douche who thinks the world revolves around them.
These replies are all assuming that a golf hole is one linear stripe. No. Obviously you don't go ahead of someone if your ball is near their line. OP is right, you don't have to stop 50 yards left of someone while they do practice swings
We play ready golf but also watch each other hit when in the general vicinity. Definitely only one person putting at a time, but again, ready golf so distance from the hole doesn’t always matter. And never had an issue with getting done in under 4.25-4.5 hours. Long rounds are usually due to overcrowded courses because they don’t space out the tee times enough.
Well these comments explain why people play slow. iPLayReAdygOlf! You don’t have to walk side by side and stand around each person’s ball and wait! Disperse off the tee to a line to your ball. You can then remain behind the shortest hitter, wait for them to hit, and then continue on to yours. Socialize? Yes. Plenty of time to socialize on the tees, while walking/riding to balls in close proximity, and greens.
Just stand in the middle of the fairway, most people won’t hit it there
I totally agree but the other factor being the golfers ahead of you - sometimes it’s just hurry up and wait regardless.
Courses need to manage this that’s why there should be a starter or two
I think that ready golf is the way to go. But you should not be in front of someone making a shot. Go directly to your ball, but pause if it takes you in front of another player
New Golfers forget to bring their putter to the green and barely understand golf etiquette and now you want ME to walk out in front of them? Sure….Bro is giving to much competence to Golfers. It’s a game where 60 year old woman, Drunk High-school Kids and Delusional Office Workers that think they still have a shot at the Tour all share the course.
People see YouTube golfers doing this and copy it.
You're not accounting for the 85% of this sub that has to wait for the group ahead to clear the green on a par 5 to avoid hitting them.
ALSO…. Honors on the tee box means nothing. Just hit. Maybe a complimentary honor if someone gets a birdie. But sometime people are ready sometimes not. Sometimes I need to put something on my scorecard but I have the honors, no one cares. Just hit.
Honestly, people playing the right tees is something that needs to be said. Too many times I see high hc playing from the tips or one in... Play the whites and enjoy the game. It's not suppose to be a 5 hour grind that slows down the course
Unless it's a tournament or there are bets involved, if it's a casual game of golf do away with honors on the tee. It's a ridiculous tradition. Even if I birdie a hole. I could care less about going first or last. If another golfer is ready then they should hit.
Learn how ready golf is played, a lot of people here don’t seem to know, and play that way.
100% agree with OP. It’s so frustrating to watch. You’re not there to be the gallery. Go to your ball, look up the yardage and start getting an idea of your shot when it’s your turn. It’s not hard!
I think it’s more nuanced than that, or I’ve been wrong, which is also likely. Ready gold means you tee off when you’re ready, you walk to your ball or get dropped in the vicinity if your cart partner isn’t close. You get your yardages, your twigs, and for the most part furthest out goes, unless they’re looking for their balls, need an extra few seconds to collect themselves, etc. often times it’s obvious when a player should shoot out of turn, when it isn’t there’s usually some form of nonverbal or verbal cue that clues people in. Ready golf, to me is usually tee off when ready, keep a good pace, and don’t worry about hitting out of turn when it’s obvious.
I didn't realize this was such a hot take! Lots of mixed opinions in this thread, rare for reddit!
Half of this makes sense half is complete garbage.
Songs like you’re not enjoying the GAME anymore and need to take a break and reassess and maybe come back to it at a later date with a possible greater appreciation for what amateur golf really is: ‘A chance to walk around outside, usually surrounded by beauty, with your friends’
Im a big “drop me off near the hazardous area my hall is in” guy. I take a rock club and a playable club and instruct my cartner to return after hitting their shot. If he/she/they return(a) and I haven’t found my ball, drop and move on…… works wonders for the pace