Golf Course Managment

70% rule

We are going to emphasize a theme based on choosing clubs and shots that you can hit with 70% success. This may seem far fetched as beginners or if you play golf very seldom. We believe it is an absolute necessity to learn to build a plan and have a fundamental strategy to play golf. The 70% rule is a great guideline to help weigh the options that players may face during a round.

Putting green quadrants

Knowing how and when to aim for the hole is big. Golf courses have a system where they may set up 6 hard hole locations, 6 medium hole locations and 6 easier hole locations. It is important to learn to classify these as red light, yellow light and green light situations. When it’s a red light, aim away from the hole towards a safer direction. When it’s a yellow light, you may assess and risk based your skill. When it’s green light, you pin your ears back and fire away. This can play into the 70% rule. How likely is it that I will get my ball within 10-20 feet of that hole? If the odds are low, less than 70%, play in safer directions and learn to save shots through better course management.

15 minutes or less

We believe it’s important for all players who play golf to know that pace of play matters. The goal is for all groups to be able to finish holes in 15 minutes or less. Learning to play golf efficiently takes some time but there are some habits that can make this easier. When players have no structure, it sometimes shows itself in poor pace of play.

Play ready golf

The actual rules state that the player who is farthest from the hole plays the next shot. Sometimes waiting for that player to get into position can take a long time. It would simply be faster for another player who may be closer, on another angle or who is simply ready, to play now. Play away as long as it is safe to play with no one in the way of your intended shot path. Safety first! If we all adopt this awareness of ready golf, we can learn to advance up the hole in a faster more efficient manner that will allow us all to finish most holes in 15 minutes or less.

Double par

Double par is not an actual rule but if you’ve taken the amount of shots that is going to exceed double par for the hole, pick up your ball and take a break. No reason to beat yourself up and grind over a bad hole. If you are in a tournament this is not possible but we are talking about golf for the masses and not just for tournament players.

Out of bounds

The out of bounds rule is the most severe rule in golf because it counts the shot you just hit, adds a penalty shot, then forces you to play another shot from the original location. This penalty is called stroke and distance. Simply put, you lost a ball, added 2 shots and are now forced to do it again. If it’s a tough hole or location, you may lose another ball or 2 and not advance and keep adding strokes. We like to advocate the lateral rule for beginning players. If you hit the ball out of bounds 150 yards up the fairway, count the shot, drop a ball where the ball went out of bounds, add a penalty shot and play away. This will help the average group and players move along.

Tee box selection

Play it forward. We advocate choosing the appropriate set of tee boxes for your skill level and ability. If the course has multiple options off the tee, choose the tee box that allows you to learn to play in 15 minutes or less and gain some confidence in the game. This lesson should be learned by more than just beginners. Too many players are playing a set of tee boxes that are just too challenging for their skill level and can be completely overwhelmed by the challenge of the length and difficulty of the course. Remember there is a course full of people behind you who want to play timely golf as well?!!!