Stroke Saver: Play Lift And Clean If You Aren’t Posting

Let’s face it, during the winter months, the southwest is the place to play golf. If you aren’t lucky enough to live there, you’re probably either preparing for playing in the wet, or shelving your clubs for the winter. Living in an area with seasonal score posting is always a bit rough, but if you are already out of your posting season, you shouldn’t worry about conditions as much as you should about just having fun on a wet and cold day at the course. The first way to start having more fun is to pick that ball up and clean off that mud before you try and hit it again. Don’t worry about getting out that tee and marking it, just pick it up and give it a quick wipe before you hit it.

Lift and clean isn’t something new, but many people fail to play it unless their ball is embedded in the fairway. I play by a simple rule. If the carts are on a ‘path only’ notice and I’m not posting my score, it’s a lift and clean round. What this does is it gives me a chance to score well enough in terrible conditions that it makes it worth while to get out and enjoy a practice round. It also speeds up my pace of play, by not having to hit bad shots because of a wet lie or muddy ball. Plus, if your entire group is playing this way, you can still play match play or an alternate scoring method and have a blast with it.

Next time you are out and about on a course that looks like what I walked through, make sure you take the chance to play lift and clean with your group. Everyone should agree it’s a much better way to play when the fairways resemble the lake next to it.