Understanding Pace of Play and “Out of Position”
The easiest way to know you’re playing at an appropriate pace is to keep up with the group ahead of you. We call this being in position. Falling behind the group ahead of you, or playing more slowly than the course guidelines even if there’s no one ahead of you, is called being out of position.
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How fast do you need to play to stay in position? The rule of thumb is that a group of 4 players should complete each hole in an average of 14 minutes under normal conditions; par 3’s should be two minutes faster than average, par 5’s two minutes longer. Cart path only or other unusual course conditions may slow this down slightly; being in a group with fewer than 4 golfers or playing in a faster format like best ball should result in faster times for each hole.
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(While it’s not relevant to WGA events, you should also be aware that the course is expected to ‘play faster’ on weekend mornings. If you book an early Saturday or Sunday tee time, expect to be pushed to complete your round in 3 ½ to four hours. The earlier the tee time, the faster the expected pace of play. If you don’t like to play at this pace, you may want to book your weekend tee times later in the day).
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If there are golfers in front of you, you should be no more than half a hole behind them; in other words, you should be teeing off as they reach the green on a par 4 or as they take their approach shots on a par 5. If there’s no group in front of you (for example, you’re in the first group to tee off), you should be playing at the 14 minute per hole pace described above.
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If you’re more than half a hole behind the group in front of you or you’re averaging more than 14 minutes per hole with holes open in front of you, you are out of position. If some legitimate delay occurs which causes your group to lose its position, you’re expected to regain position within a reasonable time.
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Pace of Play Enforcement during WGA events
The pro shop will monitor pace of play during WGA events, notify groups that are at risk of falling out of position or have fallen out of position, and assess penalties if needed.
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The determination as to whether a group is out of position will be up to the pro shop based on their assessment of course conditions, relative positions of groups, etc. For example, if Group A is playing substantially ahead of the desired pace, the pro shop may in its sole discretion determine that Group B behind them is not out of position if they are playing at the desired pace but more than half a hole behind due to Group A’s exceptionally speedy play. All decisions by the pro shop are final.
Groups who are falling out of position will receive a verbal warning and may also have a yellow flag placed on their carts. Groups that are determined to be out of position will receive a verbal notice and have a red flag placed on their carts.. Once a group has been notified with a red flag, the players in that group may be monitored and timed.
When a group is being monitored and timed each player in the group is expected to play any stroke within 40 seconds. Taking more than 40 seconds for a stroke constitutes a “bad time”.
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Other than on the putting green, the timing of a player’s stroke will begin when she has had reasonable opportunity to reach her ball, it is her turn to play and she can play without interference or distraction. Time spent computing yardage will count as part of the time taken for the next stroke.
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On the putting green, timing will begin after a player has been allowed enough time to lift, clean and replace her ball, repair her ball mark and other ball marks on her line of putt and remove any loose impediments on her line of putt. Time spent looking at the line from beyond the hole/and or behind will count as part of the time taken for the next stroke.
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Penalties for bad times will be assessed as follows:
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If the group that was being times regains its proper position, any previous timings of more than 40 seconds will be carried over for the remainder of that round if the group falls behind again and requires additional monitoring.
Any arguing, complaining, or disrespect shown to the marshalls at any time will result in automatic disqualification.
