Is Ready Golf Silently Ruining The Etiquette Of The Game?
PGA Professional Katie Dawkins on why Ready Golf is a brilliant concept that too many golfers are getting completely wrong
Ready Golf has been introduced to speed up play and I am hundred percent certain that this has worked. This efficient approach to playing the game is encouraged by golf’s governing bodies and golf clubs, provided it is done in a safe, respectful manner.
But is it gently stripping away golf etiquette and skipping over manners and safety on the course? If not applied correctly I would say it’s having an adverse effect.
The ground rules for Ready Golf are:
On the tee box, whoever is ready and in the box first goes first - not the person who scored lowest or won the last hole.
On the fairway players who are ready take their shots, not players who are further away and not ready.
Players should hit their own shots before searching for playing partners balls in rough/hazards.
Ready Golf doesn’t give you an immediate entitlement to play your shot whenever you fancy it. It does not give you permission to hit your shot over your playing partners heads, or indeed fly up to the green in your buggy when you’re playing partners have not even hit their approach shots. Common sense and respect for others should prevail at all times. I just don’t think the ground rules are being explained to new golfers. There’s more emphasis on rushing around the course.
I believe you can play Ready Golf and still maintain etiquette, but I fear many new golfers are entering the game where it’s a bit of a free-for-all when it comes to who hits when. With a panicked rush to hit a shot as soon as possible, it’s easy to miss out on the enjoyment of watching a playing partner hit a personal best shot, you miss the ability to acknowledge a great shot and say well played.
By constantly being in your own bubble and playing your shot when you’re ready, you are often unaware of what the other golfers in your group are doing. Have they lost their ball? Have they taken a few extra stabs at the ball in the rough? You don’t know, you haven’t watched it.
So although ready golf is designed to speed up play, sometimes it can have the opposite effect because if you’re not paying attention to where your mate's ball went, they’re now going to spend ages searching.
Golf should be more about teamwork. Although you are playing an individual sport you’re playing together, therefore you’re in it together, you should be looking out for your teammates or playing partners and you should be aware of how they’re doing and what they’re doing.
Ready Golf as a mixed fourball is tricky. Picture this, the guys have already teed off and are striding up the hole chasing their fastest round. For women, it often feels a rush to get to the forward tees and hit their shots.
I’ve experienced men walking up the fairway before we’ve teed off on numerous occasions. They’re not actually communicating in any way or even acknowledging each other’s shots at this point.
I feel like we miss out on camaraderie and banter as the game feels a bit disjointed. Not to mention, quite frankly, it can be dangerous. In my experience women are very good at ready golf as they have to play more shots so always have to be ready.
I also believe Ready Golf needs to be applied differently depending on if you’re playing stableford, medal or matchplay. When there are rules of golf resulting in penalties for playing out of turn, applying ready golf without first agreeing the ground rules in a competitive round of golf can have consequences.
If Ready Golf is not explained correctly, we risk losing golfing manners and losing so much of the qualities of a game. One of the reasons I encourage juniors to take up this sport is because golf is one of the best games for kids to play to teach them etiquette and sportsmanship. It teaches them respect for their playing partners and good manners.
Yes, it’s a singular game as a general rule, but you are so aware of what the people you are playing with are doing that you are courteous towards them and at no point do you ignore them. I fear often with ready golf it’s easy for players to become quite isolated during a round.
So let’s lay down the ground rules shall we? If you are ready to go and your playing partner is not, give them a shout and say “I’m just gonna go and hit my shot .”
If you’ve lost your ball in the woods and your playing partner is ready to hit, tell them to play, but don’t carry on looking for your ball. Pause while they hit their shot so at least you can acknowledge where their ball has gone and then continue your search.
When you’re on the green I believe playing ready golf doesn’t necessarily speed up play and traditional honours should still apply. If you have putted up to the hole and you’re close, ask if you can knock the ball in. Don’t walk across your playing partner’s line to knock the ball in because you’re ready, they may be about to mark their ball.
If a golfer has stuffed it into the bunker and is struggling to get out, then absolutely continue to putt. But do it safely and respectfully. I do feel that when your playing partner arrives on the green and you’ve already finished the hole it rushes them.
Honours on the tee should remain if a player has had a brilliant hole previously. A birdie or personal best should warrant acknowledgement and invitation to tee off first if they’re indeed ready, if they’re not, they will turn down the invitation. Simple.
Let’s talk about safety. Yes, hitting your shot when you’re ready to play has its advantages and it has certainly sped up play, often reducing rounds to under four hours. But it’s an accident waiting to happen if not applied correctly.
I constantly hear accounts of balls landing beside or past players who are waiting on the fairway. The rush to get the ball in play off the tee causes lack of thought to the players ahead.
Though Ready Golf is a fairly recent recommendation, common sense is not always prevailing. Fairly new golfers are tending to assume it’s just the norm to hit shots over each other’s heads and I’ve seen this all too many times recently out on the golf course.
Golf is still a very dangerous sport and those almost blinkered by thinking “I’m ready, I’m just gonna play” will have a bit of tunnel vision and be focused so much on the speed of play that they forget about safety.
So unless you’re extremely confident that you can hit your golf ball over your playing partner's head when they’ve headed up the hole, I would say don’t do it.
If you're the golfer rushing ahead to speed up play, think about the effect that your actions are having on the golfer you’ve now silently challenged to miss you. The worry of potentially hitting a golfer ahead off putting for some players.
All of this misuse of ready golf can be cleared up by simply agreeing on ground rules before you tee off. Play at a good pace, be respectful and be safe. That would be my Ready Golf motto. Ready Golf is brilliant, but just constantly remind yourselves that manners and safety are still hugely important.
