Pace of play · Guide
What is ready golf, and does it work?
Ready golf means the player who is ready hits first – regardless of who is furthest from the hole. It's recommended in stroke play and in all casual rounds, and is one of the simplest fixes for slow play. Safety always comes first: never hit when someone is within range.
Ready golf in practice
- Tee off first if you're ready and the others aren't.
- Walk to your own ball instead of following each other.
- Finish putting out when you're close to the hole, instead of marking.
- Hit before a player who needs to search for their ball.
- Let whoever is closest to the flag tend it, and whoever finishes first head to the next tee.
- If you're in the bunker and ready, hit – rake it afterwards while others play.
When ready golf doesn’t apply
In match play, the order of play is part of the strategy, and the usual order applies there. Otherwise, one rule trumps all others: never hit if someone could be within range.
How much time does it save?
The effect comes from many small things adding up – a few seconds per shot quickly becomes several minutes per round. But ready golf won't fix queues caused by tee times that are too tight or one specific bottleneck hole. For that, the club needs to measure where the time is actually going.
Frequently asked questions
- Is ready golf allowed?
- Yes. Ready golf is recommended in stroke play and encouraged by golf federations to keep pace of play up. In match play, the usual order of play applies.
- Is ready golf rude to your playing partners?
- No, quite the opposite – it's good etiquette as long as it's done safely. Agree on it on the first tee and you'll avoid any misunderstandings.
- Does ready golf work in tournaments?
- In stroke play tournaments, yes. Many tournaments actively encourage it to keep round times down.