Slow play is often cited as one of the reasons golf has declined in popularity in recent years. Courses are getting longer and longer in reaction to more powerful club technology, but average players aren’t hitting the ball that much farther. And they certainly aren’t hitting it any straighter.

And chipping and putting is still where most players lose strokes, and spend most of their time.

The American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) has come out with some design recommendations for perking up the pace of play.

First of all, ASGA president Steve Forrest concedes, “Common sense tells us that shorter, wider courses will play faster than longer, narrow ones, particularly for the average and beginning players.”

As we all know, though, a 5,000-yard track with 75-yard-wide fairways won’t draw a lot of players. Might as well just make the hole a couple feet across, too.

More realistic guidelines, as written by the ASGCA, are:

Multiple tees: Another common sense element—but one that must be considered in conjunction with how tee placement and length affect proper shot alignment—is the number and placement of multiple tees.

Flatter, Smaller Greens: When greens have fewer severe undulations, three putt frequency is reduced. Smaller greens also lessen the number of three putts, and reduce the time spent lining up putts.

Strategic Fairway Mounding: Fairways can be designed to contain slightly errant shots by strategic mound placement.

Easily-Visible Yardage Marking: Vertical yardage markers, or markers that are otherwise quickly identifiable, with accurate yardage information will speed play.

I especially like the last one. There are very few things more frustrating on a course than having to stomp around in the fairway trying to find yardage markers.

On the other hand, I must admit to being fond of large, dramatically contoured greens, despite the difficulty of upkeep and potential for three-putting.

How about you, fair readers? What advice would you give golf course architects to help speed up play? What design features really slow you down?

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