One of the negative parts about golf is the amount of time it takes.  These days many busy people don't have time to play 18 holes of golf in 4-4.5 hours time.  When the play is slow it is even worse; five or even six hours on crowded public courses!  No wonder golf as an industry is struggling.  People don't have time for 5-6 hour rounds of golf.  Lets look at what we can do to help speed up play, and everyone's enjoyment of this great game.

Keep Up

Many scorecards have printed right on them, "keep up with the group in front of you."  This is one of the most basic concepts.  You should always be on the tail of the group in front of you.  If they're on the green and you're on the tee of a par-4 or par-5, you need to pick up the pace.  If they're on the next hole and you're on the tee you really need to pick it up.

Ready Golf

"Ready golf" should be played all the time.  Quite simply "ready golf" means that players hit their shots when ready.  It doesn't matter who has the honor or who is farthest out on the hole.  Just go when you're ready.

Be Ready

Be ready to hit your shot when it is your turn!  While other players are hitting their shots, plan yours.  Get your yardage or make your club decision.  Line up your putt.  Do whatever you need to do in order to be ready to pull the trigger when it is your turn.

When approaching the position of your ball, you can save time by getting your yardage as you walk up to it. You can analyze the situation on the way to your ball so you have a good idea of what shot and club to play when you arrive at your ball.

Let Slower Groups Play Through

Sometimes no matter how hard you try, your group may be playing too slow.  If you are holding up players behind you, get their attention and wave them through.  It is the right thing to do.

You're Not Putting To Win The Masters

We see tour pros lining up putts from all sides, discussing them with their caddies etc.  That's fine when you are on tour and the put is to win a million bucks or a huge championship.  But if you're just an amateur golfer, read your putt quickly and let it rip.  You're not putting to win the Masters, though winning $2.00 from your buddy may feel like it.

Conclusion - Pay Attention

Personally I play better when I play fast.  Waiting around between shots breaks up my rhythm.  Try playing faster and see if your scores improve.

Be aware of your position on the course.  If you're behind, catch up.  If you're holding up groups behind you, let them through.

The quickest way any amateur golfer can reduce strokes on the golf course is by reducing 3-putting, 4-putting and "other"-putting.   Amateurs give up so many shots on the putting surface.   Just think about it.  If an amateur 3-putts every green rather than 2-putting, that is 18 strokes.  EIGHTEEN strokes!   Imagine for a second if you could take 18 strokes off your game!  That 100 would turn into an 82.  That 90 would turn into an EVEN PAR 72!

3-Foot Circle

3 and 4-putting is mostly a result of bad distance control.  Most golfers know the general break of a putt when they look at it.  They can get the ball started in roughly the right direction.  But putts which end up 15 feet long or 15 feet short are a one-way ticket to bogey-land.

One great practice drill, and great on the course as well, is to imagine a three foot circle around the hole, like the photo to the right.  The goal with all lag putts is to get the ball in that circle.  This drill makes distance control much easier.  If you think about it, there's a six foot margin the putt can finish within: 3-feet short to 3-feet long.  Once inside the three foot circle, the 2nd putt is much easier.

The 2nd part of the practice drill of course, would be to practice all kinds of 3-footers!

Here's a great bit of advice I received from a buddy this past week on playing strategy.  The concept is to "play one shot ahead."  What does that mean?  Simply put, you must consider where you want to play your NEXT shot from before hitting the current shot, rather than perhaps hitting the current shot as far as possible or picking the wrong club.   Let's look at two scenarios.

Par-4

Imagine we are playing a short par-4 like the 16th at my home course.  This is a hole which is around 360 yards. From the tee to around 110 yards out the hole is flat.  From 110 to the hole is a large drop in elevation.  A tee shot with a long iron or perhaps a hybrid would put the ball right on the flat part at 115-120 yards out.  In general, a 120 yard shot from a flat lie isn't extremely difficult.  If one were to play a driver or fairway wood on that tee though, the 2nd shot would end up on a severe downslope.  Hitting a 90 yard shot from a downslope is much more difficult that a 120 yard shot from flat ground.  Planning the 2nd shot at 115-120 yards dictates the best club from the tee, a long iron or hybrid.

Par-5 

A par-5 I play often has a sever slope in the middle of the green which goes away from the player.  The green is essentially two individual greens separated by a large change in elevation.  If the pin is on the front, long shots which hit the middle of the green go to the back and leave a near impossible two-putt.  Conversely shots which stay on the front of the green are nearly impossible to two-putt from when the pin is in the back.

Knowing this information is very important when planning the 2nd shot of this par-5.  It is much better to have a full wedge, say 100 yards from the green.  This is because with a full wedge we can put some spin on the ball and get it to stop on the proper level.  If we played an over-aggressive 2nd shot, the 3rd should would be a short 40 yard pitch or chip which is nearly impossible to judge properly.

Conclusion

Next time you play a round of golf, think about where you want your NEXT shot to be played from and that will dictate what club and type of shot to play for the current shot.

Hybrids have been one of the biggest developments in golf over the last decade.  They've replaced long irons in 95% (estimate) of the amateur's golf bags and many pros swear by them.   Hybrids are a cross between an iron and a fairway wood.  They have the large sole and head of a fairway wood, but the loft and face of an iron.  The shafts for hybrids are usually shorter than fairways and longer than irons.  Once again, a cross between woods and irons.

Not So Fast

By all accounts hybrids are supposed to be far easier to hit than long irons but not so fast.  A bad swing or improper setup with a hybrid can be just as bad as with any club in the bag, in fact even possibly worse.

Setup/Swing

The swing for a hybrid is itself a cross, or hybrid, of the iron and fairway wood swing.  With irons the player should hit "down" on the ball, producing a divot.  With fairway woods the strike should be more of a sweep across the grass and no divot.  With an iron, the ball is placed in the middle of the stance compared to a fairway wood which is played toward the front.   Hybrid ball placement is in the middle of the stance, like an iron.  The swing however, is the sweeping swing of a fairway wood.

Conclusion

Experiment with your hybrids and your ball placement.  The ball will fly higher and straighter as you hone in the ball position.  Try not to be too steep with the downswing.  Sweep the grass and let the center of gravity of the club launch the ball high and soft!

Have you ever stubbed the ground when putting?  It can be quite embarrassing and needless to say the ball isn't going to go anywhere close to going in.  Even worse is when you stub a putt so bad that the putter doesn't get to the ball!  Today we are going to discuss a very easy drill to help prevent stubbing of putts, which also helps you to focus on the sweet spot of the putter.

Leave The Marker

Most people mark their golf balls on the green with a coin or round marker of some sort.  Our drill today is simple and involves such a marker.  Put your coin or marker down behind the ball like normal and leave it there.  Put the putter up behind the coin and try to putt the ball without striking or moving the marker.

Start with a small coin first, like a dime.  When you have that down, move to a nickel or quarter.  From there you can even move up to a casino chip style marker.  When you can freely putt without moving the casino marker and have the feel engrained in your brain, you're good to go!

Ever read Ben Hogan's Five Lessons - The Modern Fundamentals of Golf?  It is quite a technical book which is a bit heavy of a read for the average hacker.  But there is some great information contained in the book.  The setups and basics of the golf swing are well outlined.

Elbows

One thing that sticks out to me in Hogan's book is his approach to elbows.  There doesn't seem to be much discussion about elbows and what they should be doing in the golf swing other than the fact that neither elbow should produce a "chicken wing" in the swing.  We will talk about two of Hogan's theories on elbows in short today.

Hogan says, "keep the elbows and arms as close together as possible throughout the entire swing."  The illustration in his book shows that the gap between his elbows is fairly small.  Another illustration shows his lower arms tied together with rope.  He suggests swinging as if your arms are tied together.  Doing so would prevent the take-away chicken wing with the right arm (for right handed players).

Ok so now we know that the elbows should be close together through the swing.  But where to we set them up to begin with?  Should they point outward or in?  How do we know where to align them?  Hogan says, "at address, the right elbow points directly to the right hipbone.  The elbow can then fold in correctly on the backswing.  At address, left elbow points directly to the left hipbone."

Conclusion

The elbows will be about as wide as your hipbones and pointing at them at address.  You should try to keep them that width through the entire swing.

Here's a Tuesday tip which is so obvious for your health but also is beneficial for your game as well.

WALK

When golf was invented over 1400 years ago, there were no "golf carts."  Players walked the land.  Walking is so beneficial as a form of exercise.  Walking burns calories and keeps you loose.  Walking helps the cardiovascular conditioning as well.

A great benefit to walking is getting the feel and becoming more in tune with the terrain.  Small elevation changes and golf course contours come alive when you walk the track.  Having a feel for the contours of the course is a big advantage.  You'll know where the ball will bounce and what shots are uphill or downhill.  You'll know the break tendencies of the putting surfaces.

Walking also provides the player time to analyze the next shot.  Walking from one shot to the next is the time to think about course strategy and how to play the next shot.

Most courses are marked with yardage markers in the fairways and many have yardages on sprinkler heads.  Walking to the next shot is also an opportunity to calculate yardages.

Carts

These days golf courses want you to ride because golf carts are a huge revenue source.  In fact, many American courses would go bankrupt if not for the revenue they generate via golf cart fees.  When you ride the cart you don't get the benefits of the exercise, the course feel or the strategy.

On average riding golf carts hurts your golf score.  Did you read that?  Riding carts has actually be proven scientifically to hurt your score.  A study in 2008 showed that golf scores are an average of up to 3 shots worse per nine holes for cart riders versus carrying or playing with a caddie.  That's up to SIX shots in 18 holes.  Can you stand to lose six shots per round?  I thought so...

WALK!

Here's a tip which should make the game easier for you and help you reduce your scores.  It is so simple yet it is something not many amateur golfers think about:  Carry vs roll.

When referring to "carry" we are talking about how far the ball travels in the air before it hits the ground.  One may hit the driver 275 yards, but perhaps only 225 of that is carry.  Roll is what happens after the ball lands.  The lower the loft of the club, the more the roll as the ball is landing at a shallower angle.

Knowing how far each club carries is crucial. Let's look at a couple of scenarios.

You're playing a par-3, similar to the 3rd hole at my home course.  From the tee to the hole is 175 yards but between the green and the tee is a lake.  There is about 10 feet of grass between the green and the lake and the green is 20 yards deep.  So with a little math, we can determine that the middle of the green is 10 yards plus 10 feet, or about 40 feet from water's edge.  40 feet could mean the difference between 1-2 clubs.  So the carry on this hole would be 175 yards minus 40 feet, or about 13 yards.  175-13=162.  162 yards is the carry.

In this situation the first and most important yardage then is 162, the carry.  It is NOT the total yardage of 175.  Why?  Let's say that one's 4-iron travels 190 yards.  The last 30 yards of that distance is roll, as a 4-iron launches low and rolls more.  So that club would land at 155 yards, then roll 35.  This is obviously then a bad club to choose as the carry in this scenario is 162.  The ball would be wet.  Get it?  A 6-iron on the other hand may only travel 170 yards, but carry 165.  It all depends on the player and the trajectory.

Another scenario has us looking a driver versus 3-wood.  We have a gully in the fairway which is about 220 yards to clear.  Our driver is very risky, as we determined that it carries about 225. A slight mis-hit means a gully ball.  A 3-wood may be the better choice.  3-woods launch higher than drivers.  Though the 3-wood travels a shorter distance, say around 240-250, the club may carry 235.

Take some close notes of each and every club in the bag.  Note the distance of course, but the carry of each club is even more important.

Actual playing rounds are quite different than practice sessions.  We experience pressure, temptation, frustration, joy and more during a round.  We can learn a lot from doing a post round analysis.

The Good

After the round take note of what you did well.  Note what shots you hit well with which clubs and on which holes.  These can be confidence builders for the next time that shot comes up or the next time you play that particular hole.

Take note of the wise strategic moves you made on the course, like laying up on that par-5 to avoid the water or hitting an iron off that 400 yard par-4 to take the trees through the dogleg out of play.  Remember that for next time.

The Bad

We can learn from our mistakes and post-round is perfect time to do so while the round is still fresh in your mind.  Go through each shot in your mind and note which clubs or shots were not executed well.  Put those clubs/shots at the top of the list for the next session on the driving range or the short game practice area.

Just like we did with the good strategy, take note of the strategic errors, like going for that par-5 in two and making bogey because it was too hard to get up and down from the green side bunker.  Note all strategic errors and what should be done differently the next time you play that particular hole.

Track Your Stats

Simple stats can tell you what you need to work on.  Simple tracking of fairways, greens in regulation and putts and analyzing them can tell you the weakest parts of your game which need the most work.  There are many web sites out there which offer free golf stats tracking.  Some offer more robust tracking for a fee.  Check them out or perhaps make your own spreadsheet.

By taking a few minutes after a round to analyze it you can learn your strengths and what needs work.  Knowing your strengths builds confidence on the course and knowing your weaknesses allows you to focus on improving them or avoiding them during your next round.  It will al add up to lower scores which in the end means more FUN.

Try it!

By rule, we are allowed to carry 14 clubs in the bag when playing a round of golf.  14 is usually plenty for just about any situation.  But there are many times when it seems like we would be better off on certain courses with a slightly different setup.  Most of us have extra clubs in the garage or basement.  Perhaps we have 3-4 irons in storage, replaced by hybrids.  Perhaps we have an extra wedge, or some extra hybrids and fairway woods...  Let's put those to good use.

Club The Course

Ever stand on a long par-3 and wish that hybrid in your garage was in the bag?  Or how about the opposite?  Ever wish you didn't have the hybrid in the bag, rather having that 3-4 iron because of course conditions, wind, layout etc?  Many of us have more than one driver.  There may be conditions when a lower launching driver is better, like in wind or hard ground conditions.  A higher launch driver may be better when the ground is very soft and the drives do not roll.

Before you play your next round, analyze the course.  You may have played it before and even had a scorecard or yardage book in hand.  Go through the card and calculate the shots you will likely need and the clubs you won't need.

When I play my home course I keep a unique setup.  This course is very tight and short.  Lots of hazards and places to lose golf balls.  Driver is used but not 14 times like on regular courses.  Even the par-5 holes don't necessarily call for a driver.  On a short and tight course where hitting fairways is even more important, a go-to club which is accurate is much more important than distance.  For me it is either a 4-iron or a 21 degree hybrid.   I almost never hit my 3-wood on that short course, so I'll take it out and replace it with a 3-iron or 4-iron.

If you haven't played the course before you still have many ways of clubbing the course.  Bring your extra clubs with you and when you get to the course, ask the pro shop what playing the course is like.  Grab a scorecard and yardage book and calculate your yardages.  Even before going there you an try to find the course via a Google search and see what the yardages are and hole designs are like.

Conclusion

An artist uses the proper brushes and paint for the job.  A surgeon uses the right instruments for his job.  So does a transmission repair man.  Pick the right tools for your next round of golf, save a few strokes and enjoy the game even more!