Pace of Play – a Great Start! 

Pace of Play has been the number one, semi controllable issue of OWGA for years! (Probably only topped by the complaints about I4 traffic.) So…… Looking at September play, I can gladly say, we did very well, averaging about 4 hours 10 minutes to get through a round. Thanks to all that are keeping track of their time and thinking about pace of play….It’s showing!

Nearly every foursome recorded their start and finish time, there were 6 foursomes out of 29 that forgot to put in their finish time. Please put your start time, (when you tee off) and your finish time (when you get back to the cart off the 18th green) on your scorecard. 

Let’s talk about each course:

Bella Colina – 5400 yards – Pro Shop Pace of Play – 4:15 : We averaged 4:20. While not on pace with the pro shop, I add on a few minutes since we putt every ball out, follow the rules regarding OB, and the course was new to us.

Celebration – 5400 yards – Pro Shop Pace of Play – 4:00 : We averaged 4:15. Having played Celebration a few times, I think 4 hours might be a good time for a casual game – in the tournament, I would add a few given the hazards, and again, the newness of the course. A few foursomes fell behind, about ten minutes each which kept the rest of the field at the slower pace of play. Remember, 10 minutes behind doesn’t seem like much, unless you add a couple of other foursomes doing the same thing. It’s the difference between “another great day of golf with OWGA” and “OMG, can’t believe it took us close to 5 hours to finish”

Hawks Landing – 4700yards – Pro Shop Pace of Play – 4:20 – We averaged 4:09!! Hawks Landing is a little tricked up, but the course is relatively short. So while you could get into trouble, you didn’t have to take as many strokes to get to the green. Congrats to all who played.

So I guess the takeaway is that we are more aware of our pace of play and staying up with the group in front. Let me reiterate some of our helpful speed of play tips:

  1. If you are a hole behind, break into twosomes. For some reason, many of you don’t want to do this. Look at it this way, if you stay a foursome, you’ll be putting more pressure on yourself to speed up to catch up and will probably hit some bad shots (my voice of experience on this one). It also is showing how much you care for your fellow OWGAers, by making sure you don’t create a long, slow, round for those behind you. Give it a try, it really works!
  2. Hit and sit. When you hit your ball, don’t spend the time putting the club back in the bag. Wait until the cart stops at the next shot.
  3. Think about your next shot before you get over it. Keep your practice swings to one!
  4. Don’t step out of the cart with just your range finder. If you are walking over to your ball, bring the range finder and a couple of clubs you might choose from.
  5. Think about your putt before it’s your turn, be aware of the possible break, know when it’s your turn. One putt if possible – oh we wish!
  6. Have a good time. You shouldn’t feel rushed (that is as unpleasant as being way behind – just saying!)