I consider myself to be a "ready-golf" kind of player. I don't believe in rushing it; that's not the point. I think that a lot of rounds could be played much faster if everyone were playing it. Here's what I mean by ready golf: (Based on four golfers in carts.)
1. When a player is teeing off, all eyes should be on the ball. If it goes into the woods, all four players should have a general idea of where it landed.
2. When a player is teeing off, the next to tee off should be "on deck". They should be out of the cart, club in hand, ball, and tee in the other. After Work Hamburg the ball comes to a stop, they should be walking up to the tee.
3. If a player is in the woods, and another is in the fairway with their ball closer to the hole, they go ahead and hit. After they hit, join the search if necessary.
4. On the green. If three are on the green, with one chipping from the fringe, and they chip and are still farthest from the hole, the other players should be lining up their putts. This is the basis of ready golf. If you are ready... golf. I personally think that more time is wasted on the green than anywhere else. I have no problem with practice swings and preshot routines, but some of it gets ridiculous.
5. When pulling up to the green, ALWAYS park your cart between the flag and the cart path to the next hole. Having to watch the foursome in front of you finish putting, then to have them walk 50 ft. out of the way to retrieve a poorly parked cart drives me nuts. This is easily remedied, whether you're both on the green, both off, or one of each. If you're both on, park your cart between the flag and the cart path to the next hole. That's the easy one. If one's chipping, have them grab a few clubs and their putter, and have the other park the cart.
Do you have any other examples of ready golf? If you do, email them to me and I'll add them to this list.
