7 Pace-of-Play Habits Backed by the Rules of Golf

By PingAces Team · October 26, 2026

Unbranded golf ball beside the cup with a yellow flagstick and a silver stopwatch on a putting green in morning light (AI-generated illustration)

Nobody books a tee time hoping to spend five and a half hours on the course. The good news is that the Rules of Golf are on your side when it comes to playing faster. Several rules were written specifically to save time, and most everyday golfers either don't know them or don't use them. Here are seven habits, each tied to the actual rule text, that can take real minutes off your next round without changing your swing at all.

1. Know the 40-second guideline

The Rules give a concrete target. According to Rule 5.6b in the official Rules of Golf from The R&A, when it is your turn it is recommended that you make your stroke in no more than 40 seconds after you are (or should be) able to play without interference or distraction. The same rule adds that you should usually be able to play more quickly than that and are encouraged to do so.

Forty seconds is not a lot once you count a practice swing, a look at the target and a waggle. The trick is in the phrase "should be able to play." The clock, in spirit, starts when it is your turn, not when you finally walk up to the ball.

How to actually hit 40 seconds

Pick your club and yardage while others are playing, not after.
Limit yourself to one practice swing.
On the green, read your putt while your partners read theirs.

2. Prepare before it is your turn

Rule 5.6b says a player should prepare in advance for the next stroke and be ready to play when it is their turn. It also says prompt pace covers three things: preparing for and making each stroke, moving from one place to another between strokes, and moving to the next teeing area after completing a hole.

That last one is easy to fix. Our take: leave your bag or cart on the side of the green closest to the next tee, and write down scores at the next tee box instead of standing on the green you just finished.

3. Play "ready golf" in stroke play

The traditional order of play still exists. As the USGA's Order of Play/Ready Golf topic explains, the player with the lowest score on the previous hole generally plays first from the tee, and after that the ball farthest from the hole is usually played first. But the same page notes that the Rules encourage "ready golf" to improve pace of play, as long as it is done in a safe and responsible manner.

Rule 5.6b(2) confirms that in stroke play, players may play ready golf in a safe and responsible way. In practice that means if you are ready and the player who is "away" is still looking for a yardage or a glove, you can go, provided nobody is in danger.

What about match play?

Match play is different, because order can matter strategically. Per Rule 5.6b(2) and the USGA Rules FAQ, in match play you and your opponent may agree that one of you will play out of turn to save time. Just agree on it first.

4. Hit a provisional ball when in doubt

Walking back to the tee after a fruitless search is one of the biggest time-wasters in golf. Rule 18.3 exists exactly for this. If your ball might be lost outside a penalty area or might be out of bounds, the rule says you may play another ball provisionally, under penalty of stroke and distance, to save time.

There is one detail people miss. Under Rule 18.3b, you must announce it to someone before the stroke, and it is not enough to say you are "playing another ball." You must use the word "provisional" or otherwise clearly indicate that you are playing it provisionally. If you don't, the second ball becomes your ball in play under stroke and distance.

5. Respect the three-minute search

Search time is capped. Rule 18.2a(1) states that a ball is lost if it is not found in three minutes after the player or their caddie begins to search for it. Our take: start a timer on your phone the moment you begin looking. Three minutes feels much longer than it is, and having a provisional already in play (see habit 4) makes it far easier to walk away.

6. Leave the flagstick in

Since 2019, you no longer need someone to tend or pull the flag for every putt. Rule 13.2a says the player may make a stroke with the flagstick left in the hole, and that there is no penalty if the ball in motion then hits the flagstick left in the hole. You must decide before the stroke, and you can't deliberately move it off-center to gain an advantage.

For a casual foursome, simply agreeing to putt with the flag in unless someone asks otherwise saves a lot of walking back and forth.

7. Pick up when the hole is done

Some formats are built for speed. In Maximum Score, Rule 21.2 describes a form of stroke play where your score for a hole is capped at a maximum set by the Committee, such as two times par, a fixed number or net double bogey. The rule says that to help pace of play, players are encouraged to stop playing a hole when their score has reached the maximum.

Stableford works similarly. Under Rule 21.1b, players are encouraged to stop playing a hole when their score will result in zero points. If your group plays a friendly game, using one of these formats gives everyone a rules-based reason to pick up.

Bonus: let faster groups through

Pace is not just about your own group. Rule 5.6b points out that your pace is likely to affect how long it takes other players to finish, both in your group and in the groups behind, and it encourages players to allow faster groups to play through. If the hole in front of you is open and the group behind is waiting on every shot, wave them through.

Track your rounds, not your stopwatch

None of this means rushing. It means doing the thinking while you wait instead of after. If you want to see how your scoring changes as you settle into a quicker rhythm, you can log each round on PingAces and compare. See everything the app does on our features page, or check the FAQ if you are new.

Sources

Header image is AI-generated and brand-neutral. It shows a generic putting green, ball and stopwatch, not any real course or product.