READY GOLF

Summary

Ready Golf means BEING READY to play, not playing when you're ready. Here are some simple rules

** Carry an extra golf ball in your pocket. Tee-off as soon as the group ahead is clear. Shorter hitters should hit first; if not, then the first player who is ready should hit. Again, don’t wait for honors; when you are ready hit the ball.

** Walk to your ball as soon as possible, so that you can choose your club and think about the shot in ADVANCE, not when it is your turn.

** When driving a cart, drop off your partner first, let your partner choose his club, and then drive to your own ball to get READY to play. NEVER play in a caravan, moving in a group from ball to ball.

** When a ball is lost, hit your shot FIRST and then help look for the lost ball. Limit a search for a lost ball to three minutes.

** When on the Green, line up your putt BEFORE it is your turn, and putt out immediately instead of marking, if you are not in someone else's line. After everyone holes out, all players should leave the green immediately.

** Mark scorecards only after you leave the green and while others are teeing off

** Keep your practice swings to the minimum. Be ready to play when it’s your turn. Stay within one shot of the group ahead.

Explanation

Ready golf, is kind of like etiquette of playing golf. It is a general practice that most golfers follow so that they are not paying slowly. Ready golf includes thinking ahead so you are ready to play when it is your turn. So here are some of the principles the many golfers use so that they keep play moving.

On The Tee
Ready Golf, we often hear, means that the person who is ready at the tee should hit first. That is simply not true. Ready Golf means that the player with the honors should be READY to HIT FIRST. If the player with the honors isn't ready, only then should someone else should hit first.

If you believe your tee shot is out of bounds, Do NOT hit a provisional ball at the tee box. In this league there are no provisionals.

On The Fairway
How often do you see drivers of carts wait for their partners to hit before driving to their own balls? How many times do you see four golfers walk to the player's ball that is farthest from the hole and wait for that player to hit, then move down the fairway to the other balls as if they were a caravan?

Ready Golf means that ALL golfers should go to their balls as soon as possible and get READY to play their shots. While waiting to hit, PLAYERS should SURVEY their shot, SELECT their clubs, TAKE them from their bags, and STAND at their balls READY to step up and make the shot when it is their turn. That's Ready Golf!

Ready Golf particularly means that the DRIVERS of carts should DROP OFF their partners, let them CHOOSE their clubs (take extra ones if required), DRIVE to their own balls, and then get READY to play. DRIVERS should NOT wait for their partners to hit the shot, and then drive to their own balls to make their shots.

If your ball is located in the middle of the fairway and another player’s ball is off to the edge on the left or right, but behind your ball within 20-30 yards or so (this ball is either lost or the player needs to spend extra time on analyzing how to hit it), announce your intention and hit your shot. If you are ready to hit while waiting for the other player, it is OK to do so even though you are ahead of their position

All players should GO TO THEIR BALLS as soon as possible. The only time players should wait for other players is if the first player's ball is in front of the other players' in such a way that the other players could be hit by the first player's shot. In particular, a CARAVAN of players should NEVER CONVERGE unless their balls are all in the same location. The only time players should stop in a group and wait for a player to hit is if the line of flight of that player's shot prevents the other players from going to their own balls. Take a minimum of practice swings-one practice swing is ideal.

Helping To Find Lost Balls
It is important that everyone try to help out to find a lost ball in order to keep playing moving. But players should do it AFTER hitting their shots, not BEFORE. How often do you see four players searching for a lost ball, while NONE of them are getting ready to hit?

Use common sense. The player who is closest to the pin and scheduled to hit last should be the first to help the player whose ball is lost, while the players who are farthest away from the pin should PLAY THEIR SHOTS FIRST. When the players farthest away have played their shots, they should resume looking for the lost ball, while the players who are closest should get ready to PLAY THEIR SHOTS. In this way, slow play is not compounded because of a lost ball.

SAND BUNKER (FAIRWAY OR GREENSIDE)

When entering the sand bunker, always take a rake with you and put it near your location. Thus, it will be available for grooming immediately after you hit your ball.

 IN FRONT OF THE GREEN

Players on the fringe may hit onto the green while a player analyzes how to hit out of the sand. Again, this keeps play moving, as long as you are safely out of the other player's way.
When a player hits toward the green, but the ball goes beyond the green, another player may hit up to the green to get their ball onto the putting surface. The first player will then have time to get to their ball and prepare to hit again.

 Entering And Exiting Greens
How many times do you see players leave their clubs in front of a Green? When the players finish, they then walk to the front to get their clubs. ALWAYS leave clubs at the back or side of the Green closest to the next tee. If a shot is played in front of the Green first, the player should move his clubs to the back or side of the Green before playing the next shot. NOTHING is MORE ANNOYING than watching players walk to the FRONT of a Green to retrieve their clubs AFTER everyone has putted out. After the group has putted, don't stand around chatting. Leave the green immediately and write the score when you reach the next tee box, so the group behind can play their shots. Mark scorecard at next tee.

Speeding Play On The Greens
Emulating the pros around the putting green has done more to slow down golf than any other single event. How often do you see players waiting until it is their turn to play, and then walking around the putt as though they were putting to win a green jacket at the Master's? Playing Ready Golf around the Greens means getting READY to putt BEFORE it is your turn! Players should line up their putts WHILE other players are putting, so they're ready to putt when it's their turn.

If a player hits a long putt and the ball stops within four feet of the hole or closer, that player could choose to finish putting out. It is faster to do this than marking the ball and waiting for another player get ready to putt. This is only a choice, as some putts may require more analysis or may put a player in another player's line.

While there are no time rules associated with putting, a rule of thumb is to get off your putt within 20 seconds from when it is your turn. This means you should be able to approach the ball, take your stance and make your putt within 20 seconds. Obviously, you can only do this if you SURVEY the putt WHILE waiting for other players to put.

The last person to hole out should not be the one replacing the flagstick. One of the other players should be standing next to the flag ready to replace it once the last person has holed out.

When you putt, you should always take your time, so you make a smooth, unhurried stroke. Ready Golf DOES NOT mean RUSHING. If you prepare in advance to putt, you can take your time AND play Ready Golf.

Farthest From The Hole
There is no reason Ready Golfers can't play in the order of who is farthest from the hole. In Ready Golf, the person farthest from the hole should be READY to play first. There are, however, a few common sense exceptions.

In a foursome in which one or two players are walking and one or two are using carts, the players with the carts should hit FIRST if they reach their ball first and are Ready to play.

When someone hits a shot, but is still farthest from the hole, players should hit BEFORE that player if they are Ready. Here are two examples. If a player hits a tree or some obstruction with a second shot and is still farthest from the hole, the players closer to the hole should hit first to speed up play.

If someone is off the Green in a sand trap and hits it furthest from the hole, the other players should not wait for that player to walk around the green to play the next shot. Play should continue until that player is READY to make the next shot. In fact, NOTHING is more DISCONCERTING than watching three players on the green WAITING while the fourth player cleans up the sand, walks to the ball, surveys the putt and then plays.

All players but one are on the green, one is on the fringe, but closer to the hole than one other. TEST: who hits first? Per USGA rules, the person farthest away on the putting surface hits first. But in ready golf, the player on the fringe may prefer to have the flagstick left in the hole. So, the player on the fringe may go first and then the flagstick is removed from the hole. Or the player farthest away may hit first and another player tends the flag. Pull it immediately after farthest player putts. Replace the flag for the player on the fringe, if requested. Again in ready golf, if the player farthest from the hole is not ready, another player may putt first to keep the pace moving.