4 Easy Ways To Tell If You Are A Slow Golfer
- Updated: January 22, 2022
Twitter/@DrewCarr_
Picture this. It’s a beautiful Saturday morning. You’re playing your weekly Nassau and around the 5th tee box, you realize you’ve lost sight of the group in front of you. And the group in front of them…but you aren’t a slow golfer, right?
Did they all just pick up and rage quit the round? Did they all make an ace on the last two holes along with all the groups in front of them, speeding up their round immeasurably?
Or…is your group the slow group?
Typically the slow group contains one or two main culprits. The issue is nobody ever thinks it’s them. So let us help you out. If you can’t spot the slow player in the group, it’s probably you.
If you still can’t figure it out, here are 4 easy ways to tell if you are a slow golfer:
1. Ready Golf
Efficient, quick players are ready to hit when it’s their turn. They have their yardage clocked, club in hand, and are starting their pre-shot routine while the last guy’s ball is still in the air.
Slow golfers don’t do any of that.
They can often be found rifling through their bag, pacing off yardages, and tossing grass in the air over and over to get a precise read on the wind.
Their glove is still in their back pocket or it fell out of the cart between the tee box and fairway.
They read a putt from nine different angles before missing it by two feet on the low side.
If any of this sounds like you, then yes you are the reason for the two-hole gap in front of you.
2. Pre-Shot Routine
We certainly do not want to understate the importance of a good pre-shot routine as it applies to the slow golfer.
It’s important for so many reasons and just about every decent golfer on the planet has one. But let’s keep it reasonable.
Envision the shot, get a feel for the swing, and hit the shot. That’s it. That’s the routine.
The slow golfer tends to take it to the extreme.
You’re likely to find them taking five or more practice swings, some of which take a divot and require a wet towel and starting over.
Once they finally get over the ball, they may take a few pump fakes where they take it all the way to the top and stop.
After another 20 seconds or so standing over the ball, they finally make a swing which most likely will send the ball nowhere near their target.
If any of this sounds like you, then yes you are the reason there are three groups waiting on the tee box behind you.
3. Lost Balls
One of the main factors in the duration of a golf round is the time spent looking for balls.
Less time searching leads to more time playing and progressing through the round. Fast players tend to keep it in play.
They don’t swing 110 mph when they know 95 mph will do just fine. They hit it, find it, hit it again, and usually end up scoring pretty well. If they do hit it in the hazard, they keep a close eye on it, look for 2 minutes, and call it.
Slow players can be found flanking lateral hazards and traipsing through people’s yards trying to salvage their Maxfli Noodle.
The slowest players will not only spend way too long looking for balls that are clearly lost but will request that the rest of the group help them look.
Wasting their own time isn’t enough. They need to waste the whole group’s time with a five-minute-long search party in the fescue.
If this sounds like you, then yes you are the reason your group has gotten hit into on the last two holes.
4. Bad Golfer
Another key factor in the speed of play is skill.
This is not to say that bad golfers can’t be fast or that good golfers can’t be slow, because they absolutely can.
But generally speaking, the guy shooting 110 is going to take more time than the guy shooting 76. Taking swings takes time, and taking more takes longer.
Sometimes you just need to face the music. If you’re playing with 3 single-digit handicaps and you’re grinding over your putt for a third straight triple, you are probably the problem.
If this sounds like you, then yes you are the reason the group behind is shooting pins from 85 yards out while you’re still putting. Maybe it’s time to pick up and take the double par.
So…are you a slow golfer? Are any of your friends slow? Share/comment on this post and tell them to speed it up!
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