It was possibly one of the hottest days ever recorded in the state of Georgia. Nonetheless, I was ready for a fun, hot day of golf. My group and I arrived at the golf course at 9 a.m. for our 9:30 a.m. tee time. We headed to the range to get in some practice before we began our round of golf. With the sun already beating on our faces and the humidity making us sweat, we continued preparing for what we hoped would be a good quick round of golf.

We were all feeling pretty good as we headed up to the first hole. The breeze from the golf cart driving up to the first tee box was a nice break from the heat as we prepared to start our round. As we arrived at the first tee box, one of the most difficult things about the game of golf officially began.

I’m not talking about the bad slice I hit with my driver and can’t seem to fix. I’m not talking about hitting the ball out of the sand or those dreaded three putts that seem to happen more times than not. I’m talking about a day of golf when a typical four-hour golf game turns into a six-hour golf game.

Some might say that our mistake was choosing to play on one of the hottest days ever or not being able to schedule an earlier tee time. However, the real mistake was the group in front of us not knowing how to play ready golf. It’s a common rule for almost anybody who has played the game of golf.

We arrived at the first tee to find out that the course had already started to back-up. The group in front of us finally was ready to tee off and set up to hit their balls. The first two hit their drives and they were nice drives, down the middle of the fairway. The third guy then stepped up and hit his drive toward the trees. Fortunately for him, the ball didn’t go into the trees and landed just right of them. What did he do though? He walked back to his bag and grabbed another ball. He teed it up, took some more practice swings and hit again.

On any other day, this wouldn’t be a problem. How many of us can say we have never taken a mulligan? However, on a day like this when ready golf is so important, it just slowed things down. We all saw his ball land. Even his friends told him he was safe. After that my group and I all knew we were in for a long day.

As they continued down the fairway, every one of them headed over to the side where the guy had hit his drive. Not only to show him exactly where his ball landed but to watch him hit as well. None of them had hit or were even prepared to hit their own balls, and we were stuck just waiting for them to move on.

We finally were able to begin our round of golf and the heat was only getting worse. We finished the first three holes and I had already downed two Gatorades and had started my third. It was coming out of me faster than I could yell fore! Every hole was the same thing. We waited and waited for the group in front of us to finally hit the ball. Every hole, they waited for one another to hit the ball. This is fine and all when both balls are in the same vicinity. It’s a common rule. If you’re further away, you hit first. However, when players are on two different sides of the fairway, both players should be hitting their balls.

We finished the first 9 holes and I felt like I had already downed more water and gatorade than I ever had in my life. As we waited once again at the tee box, one of the golf pros came riding up and asked, “How long did it take you guys to finish the front nine?” We replied, “A little more than three hours.” He shook his head and apologized. We were currently waiting for the group in front of us to hit their approach shots. It was a par 5 and they were all almost 300 yards away from the green. They were waiting for the group ahead of them to get off the green. Before the golf pro drove away he told us, “I’ve never seen anybody in all my years hit their second shot and get it on the green in two, especially from 300 yards away.” It was a perfect example of golfers not playing ready golf.

As we worked our way through the back nine our only focus was to just stay hydrated. It wasn’t going to get any better and with groups of golfers continually waiting behind us. All we could do was wonder how much better this day of golf could have been if they had been playing ready golf. Whether that’s on the tee box, the fairway, or the green, it doesn’t matter. Ready golf doesn’t mean you have to rush. It just means being ready to play.

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This article was written by Charlie.  Charlie is a hobby golfer but full time golf enthusiast.  He currently works in the film industry.  Online, Charlie or a.k.a The iMovie Guy, helps beginner videographers understand how to use iMovie, a video editing program and hopes to one day film professional sports. You can visit his website, http://www.imovietutorialhelp.com for more information.