Pace of Play

Those involved in the game of golf may have differing views on what constitutes an acceptable pace of play, but there is no doubt that slow play can detract from the enjoyment of the game for many golfers.

If your group has lost a hole, you are out of position. It’s as simple as that. Every effort must be taken to bridge this gap and ensure your group catches up to the group in front. This should take no longer than 2 holes to achieve.

Holding up the group behind is not a determinant of whether your group is behind time. ALL players are responsible for pace of play.

Ballina Golf & Sports Club encourages Ready Golf.

The term “ready golf” has been adopted by many as a catch-all phrase for a number of actions that separately and collectively can improve pace of play. There is no official definition of the term, but examples of “ready golf” in action are:

• • Hitting a shot when safe to do so if a player farther away faces a challenging shot and is taking time to assess their options
  • Shorter hitters playing first from the tee or fairway if longer hitters have to wait
  • Hitting a tee shot if the person with the honour is delayed in being ready to play 
  • Hitting a shot before helping someone to look for a lost ball 
  • Putting out even if it means standing close to someone else’s line 
  • Hitting a shot if a person who has just played from a greenside bunker is still farthest from the hole but is delayed due to raking the bunker 
  • When a player’s ball has gone over the back of a green, any player closer to the hole but chipping from the front of the green should play while the other player is having to walk to their ball and assess their shot 
  • Marking scores upon immediate arrival at the next tee, except that the first player to tee off marks their card immediately after teeing off.