Ready Golf: How to Play Faster Without Breaking the Rules

What is Ready Golf?

Ready Golf is a pace of play practice where you play your stroke when you are ready and it is safe to do so, instead of waiting for the strict order of honour (furthest from the hole plays first).

The R&A and USGA officially recommend it for stroke play, as set out in their 2019 guidelines. It's not an exception to the Rules — it's a legitimate use of the stroke play order of play rule (Rule 10.2b), which allows players to agree to play out of turn.

In match play, order of play can be strategically relevant and a player may require their opponent to replay a stroke made out of turn (no penalty, but the stroke must be replayed). That's why Ready Golf doesn't apply in match play.

Situations where to apply Ready Golf

On the tee

• The player who reaches the tee first and is ready may play, regardless of who has the honour
• If the player with the honour is taking time to prepare (digging through the bag, putting on their glove), another player who is ready can play first
• All players in the group should be implicitly aware — no formal permission is needed, but make sure nobody is in the line of play

In the fairway and rough

• If your ball is closer to the hole than another player's, you would normally wait for them to play first. With Ready Golf, if they're not ready and you are, you can play
• Always make sure the other player has seen you're about to play and is neither in your line nor in a danger zone

On the green

• Continuation putt: if you've just putted and the ball has stopped very close (an obvious tap-in), finish it out without waiting for others to putt. This eliminates the repeated "go ahead" gestures that slow play down
• Reading the green in parallel: while marking your ball, use the time to read the green, estimate distance, and prepare your putt while others are playing
• If your putting line passes through where others will putt, wait — Ready Golf doesn't justify crossing anyone's line of play

In bunkers

• If your ball is in a bunker but not blocked by another ball, you can enter the bunker and prepare while another player plays from elsewhere

When NOT to apply Ready Golf

• When there's any risk of hitting someone: never play if there's any doubt your shot could reach another person
• When it would interrupt someone's concentration: if a player is mid-routine and is in your visual line, wait
• In match play: order of play can be tactical. Your opponent can ask you to replay if you play out of turn, though there's no penalty for you
• When the other player hasn't seen you're about to play: Ready Golf requires mutual awareness within the group

The real impact on pace

A group of four players applying Ready Golf consistently can gain 20 to 40 minutes per round compared to a group that strictly waits for honour on every shot.

The holes where most time is lost without Ready Golf:

1. The tee — 4 players preparing one after another instead of in parallel
2. Short approach shots — waiting for the distant player when you're already ready
3. The green — waiting your turn for an obvious 8-inch tap-in

Ready Golf and the honour rule

Applying Ready Golf doesn't cost you the honour. In stroke play, playing out of turn has no consequences — your stroke counts and there is no penalty (Rule 10.2b). Honour is just an organisational guide, not a sanctionable rule in stroke play.

In match play, if you play out of turn, your opponent may require you to cancel the stroke and replay it in the correct order (no penalty for you, but you must replay).