Slow Hurts
Golf, by its very nature, is a slow game … overall. That is, the slowness is in the time between actions, when you hit your shots and actually play golf. The playing part itself makes golf one of the fastest games, since a golf swing is begun and finished in not much more than a half-second. However, all that time between shots can be used to play golf From the time you hit one shot and move up to strike the next one, you can be assessing the angle of the shot to come, the wind, the kind of lie you have, and getting yourself otherwise mentally prepared to play – “psyched up,” you might call it. Almost everyone does this, but the trouble is most golfers wait until they reach their ball before beginning the process, and this more than anything else is why we have so many five- and six-hour rounds. It also forces the player to rush all his preparations, and in the end, the swing as well.
We’re not suggesting that the average golfer should go about his game like professionals do. After all, you’re really out to enjoy the game, the air, and the companionship-have fun. But at the same time, a lot of that fun is lost when you have to wait too long between shots. Golfers should combine both elements.
Everyone has his own life rhythm, and if you are a naturally slow-moving person, you can’t very well rush into a golf shot. You wouldn’t be able to play. But I believe there is such a thing as playing too slowly. The natural pace of golf (all that time between shots) can, if you allow it, carry over into the shot-making procedure itself. You tend to stand over the ball too long before taking the club back. That, above all else, produces a poor performance almost every time.
Everyone is under some tension when preparing to hit a golf shot. We’re not suggesting that you should hit it quickly to “get it over with” before you go to pieces. But the longer you stand over the ball, the more tension builds up.