We’ve all had a day now to digest the U.S. Open and the victory by Justin Rose was awesome to watch. The pace of play on Saturday at the U.S. Open – well let’s just say it was a bad time to have a six hour round, especially with the USGA launching the While We’re Young campaign on Wednesday.
We are almost done with my seven ideas on How to Improve Pace of Play on the Golf Course. Here’s a quick recap of days 1-5:
Tuesday – Know Your Golf Ability
Wednesday – Play Ready Golf
Thursday – Let the Long Hitters Drive the Golf Cart
Friday – TEE IT FORWARD
Saturday – Clubhouse and Beverage Cart Stops
Today will actually help you save some money.
Limit the Amount of Time Looking for Lost Golf Balls
According to the USGA Rules of Golf, Rule 27-1c states you have five minutes to look for a lost golf ball. For amateur golfers playing a weekend round with their buddies, I would say three minutes is a good starting point.
For most golfers, I would feel comfortable in saying they take 5-8 minutes looking for a lost golf ball. Especially here in San Antonio, TX where a lot of our golf courses are right on the edge of the Texas Hill Country, I will see playing partners spend ten minutes looking for a ball in knee high grass and mesquite trees.
If the golf ball means that much to you, then you are probably playing with a golf ball that is too expensive for your golf game. If you are losing 5 golf balls a round, there is no need to spend $45 on a dozen Pro-V1’s. Why can’t you spend $25 on a dozen DT Solos? If you have to spend ten minutes looking for a golf ball and you’re response is, “I spent $45 on these golf balls,” then that means you are spending too much on golf balls.
Five minutes tops looking for golf balls and I think for amateurs playing a friendly weekend round, 2-3 minutes should be the max. I guarantee this will help out pace of play immensely.
What do you think? Agree? Different thoughts? Let us know below or tell everyone on Twitter @Front9Back9.com.
[…] I lost four tee shots resulting in a one shot penalty each time. For pace of play reasons, we play the woods as a lateral hazard and after looking for the ball a couple minutes, we normally […]