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Jun 7th, 2017
R&A bring forward introduction of
To 2017 amateur events
Words: GolfPunk
The R&A is introducing “ready golf” to its amateur championships this year, rather than waiting until 2019 as was proposed earlier in 2017.
According to Duncan Weir, the R&A’s executive director of golf development: "Our research has shown that golfers would enjoy the sport more if it took less time to play, and so we are introducing Ready Golf during the stroke play rounds at our amateur championships to help improve pace of play and the experience for the players and spectators."
According to the R&A’s website: “The term ready golf has been adopted by many as a catch–all phrase for a number of actions that separately and collectively can improve pace of play. There is no official definition of the term, but examples of “ready golf” in action are:
1. Hitting a shot when safe to do so if a player farther away faces a challenging shot and is taking time to assess their options
2. Shorter hitters playing first from the tee or fairway if longer hitters have to wait
3. Hitting a tee shot if the person with the honour is delayed in being ready to play
4. Hitting a shot before helping someone to look for a lost ball
5. Putting out even if it means standing close to someone else’s line
6. Hitting a shot if a person who has just played from a greenside bunker is still farthest from the hole but is delayed due to raking the bunker
7. When a player’s ball has gone over the back of a green, any player closer to the hole but chipping from the front of the green should play while the other player is having to walk to their ball and assess their shot
8. Marking scores upon immediate arrival at the next tee, except that the first player to tee off marks their card immediately after teeing off.
The R&A’s portfolio of amateur events has expanded following its merger with the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) on 1 January 2017 and Ready Golf will feature in both men's and women's championships where stroke play is part of the format, including the forthcoming Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship at Pyle & Kenfig and The Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s and Prince’s.
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