Welcome
Good Friends Golf
a western Michigan
senior men's golf league
UPDATE June 5, 2024
Tips from the Purple Pro's -
Keep up with the group in front of you
Your correct position on the course is immediately behind the group in front of you, not immediately in front of the group behind you. Arrive at your next shot just before the group in front leaves the area in front of you. If you are consistently not able to keep up and a gap opens in front of you, you need to pick up the pace!
Aim to play in 20 seconds
From club selection to pre-shot routine to execution, strive to hit your shot in 20 seconds when it is your turn to play. Help keep play moving at a brisk pace. Also, be ready to go ahead and play your shot if someone changes their club selection at the last minute and heads back to their cart.
Be helpful to others in your group
Follow the flight of all tee shots, not just your own. Once in the fairway, help others look for their ball if you already know the location of yours. You can pick up someone else's ball if it's obvious the group is not going to use it. Volunteer to fill in a divot or rake a bunker for another player if needed to help speed things along.
UPDATE May, 2024
SLOW PLAY THREATENS THE FUN OF PLAYING AND OUR CHOICES OF THE COURSES WE WANT TO PLAY!
Most courses expect of a group which is around 4 hours and 15 minutes. Week after week we seem to have a number of foursomes straggle in well after that target time. We need to begin a discussion of how we can pick up the pace of play.
It's reasonable that all foursomes should finish their rounds in under 4 1/2 hours. This is plenty of time to play a relaxed game without feeling rushed. This target can easily be achieved by doing small things as you play a round such as:
Play ready golf- be prepared for your next shot and if you’re ready , go ahead and play. You don’t have to wait for someone else as long as you have a clear and safe shot. Give others the distance if you have a GPS or rangefinder.
Lost balls- watch all four players hit and try to spot where each ball landed. Try to spot a specific stake, tree, weed or any other landmark where a ball went out to narrow the search. Allow a maximum of three minutes to search, after that move on to the best ball and drop.Help others- if you’re able to retrieve balls “on the fly” from your cart, please pick up as many as you can. Some players need the cart to stop, then get out and pick up their ball. It’s only takes a minute but over 18 holes can add up.
Marking your scorecard- if there is a group waiting to approach the green, load up your cart and mark your score at the next tee box.Jokes and stories- This is one of the best things about golf but please be aware of the group behind you. We all love to hear the latest news or golf joke but wait until you have the time to tell it that will not slow down your group or those behind you.
Finally, be aware that slow play not only annoys many people but the courses we play expect us to play at a 4hr 15 minute pace and taking much longer can jeopardize our future rounds. There are groups playing behind the last GFG foursome we don’t want any negative feedback about our pace getting back to the clubhouse.
What are your thoughts?
Please reach out to our GFG leadership and share your ideas on how we can speed up play.
UPDATE AUgust 30, 2023
Today at Cedar Chase Golf Club, Jim Rosasco recorded his second GFG outing hole-in-one of this season. A smooth swing with a 7 iron on the 14th hole found its way to the bottom of the cup - the 4th hole-in-one we've witnessed this year.
Let's do some math.
So far this year there have been 19 GFG event outings...
With four par three's on each course, that's 76 par three holes we've played...
Roughly 40 players participated in each event, that's 3,040 tee shots...
And 4 went in for an ace, that's 1 in 760.
The odds for a PGA professional making a hole-in-one are 1 in 2,500.
There are still 7 events left on this year's schedule. That means there will be about 1,120 more attempts still to come this year. Dare we imagine one more magical moment?
