newjerseynewsroom.com

BY JEREMY SCHILLING

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

America is fat. It eats too much, doesn’t exercise enough, spends way too much money on health care because of that and no matter what political affiliation or political beliefs you have, the bottom line is this: America is very unhealthy.

Golf, on the other hand, can be extremely healthy. 18 holes is four-and-a-half to five miles. The leisurely stroll in a park is a great social setting as well, and studies have proven that a good mental state can also help lead to a good physical state.

But golf has a problem. It’s being played way too slowly.

I wrote last year about another problem golf has: the game being too hard. But even for those that have a better mastery of the game and don’t have that issue, the pace of play issue is even more chronic.

It should not take 5 hours to play 18 holes, under any circumstances. OK, maybe rain or snow or very heavy winds. But besides that, 5 hours is way too long.

As someone that’s been playing the sport for 15 years I can tell you first hand: if the pace is too slow, your game will suffer.

Many people don’t believe this but golfers indeed can and want to get into a nice rhythm if the pace of play allows. A good rhythm allows them to have a nice walking pace, a nice playing pace (in other words consistent swing speed from shot-to-shot) and to be able to mentally gather momentum from hole-to-hole to get into a more positive frame of mind.

So what has caused golf’s pace to slow down so terribly? Look at the pros.

As Doug Ferguson, the Associated Press’ longtime golf writer wrote (or maybe better put, unfortunately wrote) last week in an article and on Twitter, a twosome on the PGA Tour should never be taking four hours and twenty minutes to complete their round. Nor should they (in this case Jonathan Byrd and Steve Stricker) fall two holes behind and need to be put on the clock by PGA Tour rules officials because of it.

And that translates onto the average local golf course with your average weekend players.

I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve seen golfers take five practice swings before a simple 150 yard shot from the middle of the fairway or line up a putt from 14 different directions.

Look, especially in majors, the pace of play will be slow. They are playing for nearly $2 million in the biggest events of their lives, after all.

But the average player at the local municipal course needs to understand that they cannot and should not emulate them.

It doesn’t help your game – you tend to overthink – and it aggravates everyone around you. No one expects to spend five hours on a golf course. Maybe five hours TOTAL if you count warm-up or if you make a stop at the 19th hole afterwards, but no one expects to be on the actual golf course for five hours.

So how do you play well, think smartly, and play fast? In his article Ferguson cited someone who is doing the right thing:

Tim Herron took about two minutes to figure out how to play his second shot to the green on Friday of the Sony Open. His ball was in the rough, 187 yards to a flag tucked behind the bunker. Was the ball going to take off on him from that lie? How much? 6-iron or 7-iron? If it had been in the fairway, caddie Lance Ten Broeck told him it would be a smooth 6-iron. Aim at the corner of the trap and cut it back toward the flag? Play for the middle of the green?

The entire conversation took place while the group ahead was putting. As soon as the group left the green, Herron's shot was in the air. That's how golf is meant to be played. Beautiful.

Golf is a great sport to be played by the average person. It’s a social game – allowing you to spend four hours of quality time with your friends and family. And if you walk, it’s a great sport for fitness.

But play it the right way: thoughtful, efficient, yet fast – ready golf as juniors are taught nowadays – and you’ll play better, have more fun, get more people to play and stay healthy at the same time.

Jeremy Schilling can be followed on Twitter at @Jschil.

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