ShareThisBy RICK MARTINO
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Teen golfing sensation Michelle Wie made headlines last Friday, when she took a half-hour to play Hole No. 14 at Bighorn Country Club at the Samsung World Championship in Palm Desert, Calif.
Slowing down was two rules interpretations from officials, a complete miss on one of her shots, an unplayable lie and a recovery shot that caromed off the golf car path.
Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam patiently waited several minutes for their turn on the hole, as Wie wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8.
One of the biggest challenges facing golf today is slow play. While Wie was slowed down by special circumstances, both professional and amateur golfers have a responsibility to play at an acceptable pace.
Slow play is when your group is not keeping up with the pace of play of the group in front of you. Certainly, all new golfers feel the push to maintain pace of play. Yet, there are several things you can do to help keep pace.
First, walk at a reasonable speed between shots. You don't have to race. Still, you should not treat it as a leisurely stroll through the park.
Begin planning your next shot as you approach the ball by studying the strength and direction of the wind. If you are unfamiliar with the course, ask your caddie or a playing companion if there is any hidden trouble around the green or any local knowledge that might be helpful.
Finally, when you reach your ball, check the lie, select your club, visualize your swing and shot, and then play your shot.
From the time you select your club until you actually hit your shot, you should take no more than 30-45 seconds. The important point is that you need to be ready to play when it is your turn.
It is the player's responsibility to know where his or her shot finishes. Keep watching the flight and roll of the ball until it has stopped. You also need to follow the shots of your fellow competitors, and help them find where their balls have landed. If for some reason, you aren't ready to play when it is your turn, encourage one of your fellow players to go ahead and play. This is known as "Ready Golf."
As a player, you also have a responsibility for maintaining the course in the best possible condition. This is an important part of the game's tradition, and it is also a courtesy to your fellow players.
With that in mind, it is essential that you replace your divots. In most conditions, this means fitting the divot back into position and then stepping on it firmly.
If you are playing a course with Bermuda-grass fairways (found on most courses in Southern climates), the turf tends to explode on impact _ which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to replace the divot.
In this case, you can use the toe of your shoe to kick in the turf around the edges of the divot. You probably will not completely fill the divot, but Bermuda grass grows very quickly, so the damage will be short-term.
Also, many courses put containers of a soil/seed mixture on their golf carts and tees. If this is so, simply fill in the divot with the mixture.
If you hit your approach shot into a greenside bunker and do not have a caddie to rake the sand after you play, take a rake into the bunker with you. Be sure to remember that you should always enter the bunker from the low side, at the point nearest the ball. Whenever possible, avoid walking on the steep face of a bunker. After hitting your shot, rake the area you played from, as well as all your footprints and any others within reach.
Just as you should replace your divots, it's equally important to repair any pitch marks or indentations caused by the ball hitting the green. The key word here is "any," since far too many golfers neglect this element of the game, causing damage to the greens.
Fixing a pitch mark is easy: Using either a tee or a tool designed for the job, simply work your way around the outside of the mark, gently lifting out the compressed soil until it is level with the putting surface. Once you have done this, tap the area with your putter until the surface is level.
Be sure not to neglect spike marks or other damage done by spikes either. Use your putter to gently smooth them out _ just remember that while the Rules of Golf allow you to repair pitch marks on your putting line, you cannot repair spike marks on your putting line until after you have putted.
Repairing spike damage and pitch marks are a courtesy to your fellow players _ and ultimately helps to reduce golf course maintenance costs.
Be sure to do these repairs that respect the game and the course in a timely and courteous manner.
If you have any questions about pace of play, Rules or proper golf etiquette, be sure to consult your local PGA Professional. You can find one near you to answer these questions as well as for arranging golf instruction at www.playgolfamerica.com. The Web site also has an extensive section on Rules and etiquette.
(Rick Martino is the director of instruction for the PGA of America and teaches at the PGA Learning Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He can be reached at (800) 800-GOLF or pgalearningcenter@pgahq.com.)
