Ready Golf (Pace of Play)
Also known as: playing ready golf
"Ready golf" means playing shots in whichever order gets the group moving fastest — whoever is ready hits, rather than strictly waiting for the golfer farthest from the hole — a widely encouraged practice in casual and recreational rounds to keep pace of play reasonable.
Traditional golf etiquette has the player whose ball is farthest from the hole play first, in strict order, on every shot. Ready golf sets that strict ordering aside in favor of simple efficiency: whichever player is prepared and safe to hit next simply goes, regardless of whose ball happens to be farthest away, as long as it does not create a safety issue or genuinely disadvantage another player's ability to plan their own shot.
Ready golf has become widely encouraged, including by golf's own governing bodies, specifically as a response to slow pace of play being one of the most common complaints about the sport at the recreational level. Simple examples include a player closer to the green hitting first if the group farther back is still searching for a lost ball, or a player who is already set up and ready teeing off first while a partner is still deciding on club selection.
Ready golf is a matter of encouraged etiquette and practical pace-of-play management rather than a formal, enforceable rule with penalties attached — it works because every player in the group buys into moving the round along efficiently rather than insisting on strict traditional order for its own sake.
Example
While one player in the foursome searches for a ball in the rough, another player whose tee shot found the fairway is already set up and simply plays their next shot rather than waiting for strict "farthest from the hole" order.
Why it matters
Ready golf is one of the simplest, most beginner-friendly things a golfer can do to help pace of play, without needing to rush any individual shot or change their own routine.
Frequently asked questions
Is ready golf allowed in every round?
It is widely encouraged in casual, recreational, and even most competitive stroke-play rounds specifically to help pace of play. Some formal match play or professional situations still expect stricter honors order, so it is worth checking local custom for very formal events.
Related terms
- Provisional BallA provisional ball is a backup shot played immediately when the original might be lost outside a hazard or out of bounds, saving the group from having to walk all the way back to the tee if the first ball genuinely can't be found.
- MulliganA mulligan is an informal "do-over" — hitting a second ball after a poor shot without counting the first one — that has no basis in the actual rules of golf and is purely a casual, friendly-round convention.
- Match Play vs Stroke PlayStroke play scores every shot across the whole round for a cumulative total; match play scores hole by hole, awarding each hole to whoever takes fewer strokes on it, so a single bad hole only costs one point, not a pile of extra strokes.
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