How to Play a Round of Golf in Four Hours

Fewer things are more frustrating on a golf course than a) constantly having to wait for the foursome ahead of you to move along and b) constantly having the foursome behind you on your tail. Either situation will take you out of your game -- and end up costing you strokes. Here are some tips that will help you play a round of golf in the four hours that almost every golf course suggests.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A cooperative foursome.
• At times, a bit of tact.

1. Make it clear at the first tee that you're playing "ready golf." What that means, in short, is that you won't always wait for the person who is "away" to hit. Whoever is ready, provided that s/he is not in another player's shot line, should go ahead and hit.
2. If you're in carts, try to put players with the same shot tendencies together. If you frequently play with the same group of people, you know who tends to slice and who tends to hook. Put the slicers in one cart and the hookers in the other. Your round will move a lot faster if you're not constantly zig-zagging your way down the fairway.
3. This one will require that bit of tact: Find ways to work around your slowest player.
   
   Face it, we all have friends who are one-person game delays. They agonize over every shot, then stand over the ball as though they're waiting for it to line up with Venus and Mars before they can start their swing. You're not going to change them, so you might as well tactfully work around them. If you're driving, take the slow hitter to his or her ball first, let him select a club, then head over to your ball with a friendly, "Be right back for you!" If they're behind the wheel, when you get to your ball, grab the club you need and tell them, in a friendly tone, "Go ahead on -- I'll catch up to you."
4. On mid- to long irons, use more club than you think you need. Average golfers come up short far more often than they fly over the green. If you know how far you hit a particular iron when you make the perfect swing, use the club that you hit a little farther. That way you can relax ... and not worry about having to make that perfect swing. It'll move your game along and might just save you a few strokes.
5. On the green, don't wait till it's your turn to line up your putt. You can get most of your planning done while other people are putting -- just be sure to do it without becoming a distraction. And the average duffer very rarely needs to check his line from both sides of the cup.
6. Take gimmes.
7. Move on to the next tee before marking down your scores. Want to really tick off the foursome behind you? Stand there on or beside the green for a couple of extra minutes while you keep score. A couple of minutes doesn't sound like much, but if you take a minute on each green to mark down the score, you've added 18 minutes to your round.