How do we speed up Putting ?

Maybe take up hurling?

I believe it's ignorance quite frankly, i line up putts too i mean if you want to make it you have too, but i'm also aware of my playing partners and out of respect always make sure i don't faff around wasting time, generally i have found the slowest players are pig ignorant of their playing partners and will never change, even look at the pros it's the same deal. So yes, slow players show more respect to your playing partners.

you could but people would line up the brand name or the number ect so i don't think that would change it, not sure my opinion is a fallacy just what i've witnessed personally playing the game for years and years, i mean i don't play with slow players because they ruin the round for me and that defeats the purpose really

yes the older i get the more technical my thoughts get and they are a hindrance, remember when we were young you'd flop a lob wedge of a bare lie and bang in three foot putts with your eyes closed, god i wish i could be that free again, i might try the no line myself fixed you never know.

I don't think banning a line on a ball makes much sense. I don't play regularly with people who use the line on the ball but when I have it hasn't been the cause of slow play. I don't use it myself as I never got much out of it but I do use elements of the aimpoint technique to get a feel for a putt. I don't think putting is a bigger cause of slow play than any other aspect of the game. Bigger problem is people searching for balls for way too long, not being ready to hit etc. The 'honour' element of golf needs to be completely eradicated IMO, it drives me wrong when I see groups standing around with no one on the tee box because some ejjit is distracted or looking for something in their bag. Not enough is done by clubs to promote ready golf IMO.

Play ready golf on the greens.

If you're ready to putt and your partner is delayed and there's no advantage in seeing their putt, then putt your own ball even though it's not your turn.

Putt out from inside a metre as long as you're not stepping on a line.

If you're waiting your turn, do as much lining up as you can without disturbing others.

Well purely from a practical standpoint, if you ban lines on a ball how would you enforce that? People draw all sorts on their ball, including lines so it would just be impossible to police.

Ask your greenkeeper to make the greens slower.

This article by the USGA reckons that increasing the green speed by 1 foot on the Stimpmeter increased the time of a round by 7 minutes for a 4ball. https://www.usga.org/course-care/turfgrass-and-environmental-research/research-updates/2018/the-impact-of-green-speed-on-pace-of-play.html

It makes sense when it comes to short putts, especially on downhill putts. On slow greens it is easier to just walk up to a 2 or 3 footer and knock it in. On a fast downhill putt, a golfer is going to take more care (and time) on lining it up and trying to get the pace just right

I use a Truvis most of the time which obviously doesn't have a line but if I take another ball out of my bag that does have a line whether it be the name or an actual line I position the ball so that I cannot see it as it puts me off.

Slow play overall is annoying and I think it is more noticeable on the green because all the players are within a few yards of each other rather than on opposite sides of the fairway.

I would be curious how much worse/better some of the people that take an age to take a putt would be if they just got up and hit it because many of them are not particularly accurate at the moment. I find if they miss, on the next hole they take longer again to line it up with no better results. Sometimes too much time spent can make you overthink it and not swing freely

Sounds like you’re the one who is why rush. Relax and enjoy the game as we’ll get there in the end

I think the biggest issue with People being slow on the green is not putting their ball down until the person putting ahead of them has putted and marked their ball or finished out. As soon as anyone I'm playing with hits their putt and its my turn next I have my ball down and lining up while they are finishing up or marking their ball.

Another issue is the marking of short putts, anything under a putter length should be finished off if possible.

I don't use the line on the ball as i find it puts me off what i have seen from behind the ball, and i would be too picky making sure the line is bang on. I do think the line does slow people down, but if they are lining it up when someone else is putting then it wouldn't be an issue.

That’s nonsense. No point getting the pace right if you’re 6 inches out with your read.

I’ve played with the fastest players in our club and I’ve played with the slowest players in our club and not once has anyone’s displays on the greens bothered me. Putting is the most important and often most frustrating part of any round and if people want to take a few seconds more making sure of a putt then I’m fine with that. I’m a quick player from tee to green. I’ll walk up to my ball, pick a line, pick a club take one practice swing and hit.

Im not a confident putter at all so I take my time getting ready but I’ll be doing it as the others are either chipping in or hitting their putts. I don’t walk around the green checking the angles but I’ll spend a small bit extra on making sure I’m happy with my putt.

Yesterday I forgot to take my watch out of my bag until I was putting my putter in my bag walking to the 2nd hole. We teed off at 9.06 and at 9.13 the three of us had taken 6 putts between us and covered a 410y par 4 in 13 mins. I took my time on my first putt but how quickly we played the rest of the hole offsets that.

On the greens, the thing that annoys me is people not finishing out their putts. Putting a marker down for their sub 2ft putt. You inevitably end up with 4 taps ins which have the same line up procedure as mid to long rangers

Not sure if this is a slow play thread or a slow putting one, Fix !😀

Personally I think banning the line on the ball is almost impossible to do, even though I'd get rid of it in a heartbeat if we could. Its all very well lining up the line but do you actually strike putts squarely out of the middle, so that they roll correctly in the first place ? Most guys I see doing the line thing come nowhere close to rolling it keeping the line straight. I read that MGS study and it was interesting, although I do vaguely remember a different one from a few years ago giving even more emphatic results in favour of no line, can't remember who ran it.

All that aside, I'm a fairly quick player and slow play irritates me to a degree, but I don't think I'd have putting as one of the main causes of slow play tbh. Ready golf is great too, but honestly you don't even need that for a round to be quicker. All it takes is being ready to hit when its your turn and not waiting to start your elaborate routine until its your turn. Its the silly little things like leaving your bag on the right side of the green or marking cards on the green, that all add up to an additional 20 mins on a round. Everyone hits bad shots and sometimes has to search, but even that's not such a big deal if the common sense things are being done. My one little indulgence would be to issue every group with a cattle prod to be used on anyone they see using Aimpoint 😁😁😁

You're dead right Fix about Rotella, he has some fascinating insights into putting. I love his anecdotes about the good young putter being convinced putting is hard and not to be so casual, by the bad, older putter. IMO instinctive is definitely the way to go with putting, its an art not a science.

I would consider myself a fairly fast player, I play ready golf and get frustrated by slow play.

Unfortunately two of my regular 4 ball are particularly slow however neither use the line to line up putts on the green (I do). Where i find the issue though is the slowness to mark the ball and get it out of the way before others can putt. I would be marked, aligned and ready to putt while waiting on them just to mark their original ball.

So in my biased thinking the line isnt an issue, slow player are slow players

Never bothered with that line stuff. For starters pace is way more important than line. Secondly very few of us amateurs have such a pure stroke that putting becomes a game of geometry. Thirdly I believe your subconsciousness takes over half the time anyway.

Get a good read while the others are putting or chipping. Pick your line and then concentrate on a nice smooth move and pace alone. If you're organised you should have plenty of time for reading and cleaning your line. Shouldn't be any issue with pace of play.

Always make me laugh (inwardly) when someone takes forever once its their turn with everyone standing and watching, pitch mark repair (could have done that earlier), replaces the ball two or three times so that their painted on line points somewhere 'right' and then they leave it four foot short.

there is also the old adage that the first line you see when you get onto the green is the one you should take. I do think golfers over complicate things for themselves. I used to play with a nice lad in my course who is a very VERY average golfer, but he takes it hyper serious. Plumb bobbing or whatever it is called his putts, he is a terrible snatchy putting stroke, no amount of plumb bombing is going to help you pal

I think my most agregious crime against time on the course is practice swings, I am a very much a feel player. I take 3 or 4 practice swings until I can feel the club. I notice the pros alot of the time just get up there and hit it. Something to aspire towards

I am one of your older golfers who enjoy the traditions of the game as much as the game itself.

My main aim is to keep pace with the group in front. You can keep your routines but walk quicker between shots, get to where you might have lost a ball and start your search if you are not in any playing partners eyeline. After 3 mins give up and play your provisional.

I would be in the horrors if a fella was putting out of turn on the green. If a fella is really slow putt out yourself and walk to the next tee box. He might get the message if he is last getting to the tee box every time.

Agree before your round re pin in or out. Also agree honour system. I think if you earned the honour you should have it.

Lads if you are not prepared to sacrifice 4 to 4.5 hours for a fourball round of golf be it society or club golf you should try get out first thing in the morning with likeminded players or late evenings by yourself.

There is nothing more off putting than playing with guys trying to break time records or constantly complaining about the group in front not moving fast enough.