One of the biggest issues golfers talk about is the pace of play on the course. The Rules of Golf state that the player’s ball that is farthest away from the hole goes first. 

If you are playing a tournament that is the rule that would be abided by. If you are playing casual golf or in a league you should play ready golf. 

Ready golf is basically, if you’re ready to hit even though you might be closer to the hole go ahead and hit. Unless you are in the way 30 yards down the fairway it’s fine. 

The bigger problem that exists is players riding in a cart to their partner’s ball and not going to their ball to get ready to hit. If it’s my ball that we arrive at first, then take a couple of clubs and let your partner get ready to hit their shot and walk over to their ball when done hitting. Do not sit in the cart and watch instead of getting ready to play. It’s good golf etiquette. 

Nobody in the group behind you enjoys watching players take more time than they should. 

Four players in two carts should take no more than 2 hours for 9 holes or 4 hours for 18 holes. 

Pace of play in a 4-person scramble is said to be a faster round of golf. If the team “captain” designates a routine for the order of hitting, it will speed up play. 

On the greens, instead of 4 players not agreeing on the break of the putt, just let the first player hit it then you will know. He will have some idea to begin with. That’s how a scramble is faster.  

So last week I picked Rickie Fowler as the man to beat on the PGA tour. In the two weeks since my golf betting column I’ve heard from some people that they took my advice. 

Patrick Cantlay two weeks ago was 4th and Fowler won this past week. ($51 profit) I will keep picking players in this column till I get in a slump. Maybe writing about it is lucky. It is certainly fun. 

This week I will bet on the Women’s US OPEN at the iconic Pebble Beach course. 

Rose Zhang, in her two starts as a pro since graduating from Stanford, has played well. She knows the course. 

I believe, as of this writing, that she is 11-1 to win and even money on a top ten.  My other two picks are Yuka Saso, who has won a US OPEN. Her odds are 40-1. 

My sleeper pick at 110-1 is Alison Corpuz. 7-1 on a top 10 is also great value on her. She hits it as straight as anyone on the LPGA.