What Is Moving Day In Golf?
If you have ever watched a professional golfing tournament, you might have noticed how many competitors often pitch up. With so many competitors, the first few rounds are often a culling period that helps to eliminate some of the weaker players. This eventually leads to a final shootout between the main competitors.
Most professional tournaments of the modern era will often be played over four days and 72 holes. Each day will count as a round and the final score of all four rounds will eventually make up the total score of the player and determine the winner of the game. Moving day is often a term used around the third day of golf.
If you are a casual player, you might have never heard of moving day, but it does not mean something special is happening. Once you reach the more advanced levels of golf and you play professional tournaments, you will need to deal with moving day. Fortunately, we have you covered with the information surrounding this day.
What Is Moving Day?
As mentioned, the score of all the days will count together to give you a final score and with each round, players will slowly be eliminated. Moving day refers to the third day of the competition when those on the fringes of being eliminated try to ensure they have a set place in the final round. Your leaders will often just try to consolidate their position and sometimes extend the lead.
The cut-off for most golf tournaments is et at around 10 shots more than the leader. However, this can vary depending on the number of competitors and the specific tournament. Someone playing a low third round will have the opportunity to play themselves back into contention and out of the fringes of being eliminated.
If most of the competitors have been cut after the first two rounds, you only have the most elite players left for the final two rounds. Moving day is when most players will try to make their move and it is also the day that many players launch their comeback if they have been on the wrong side of the draw the first two days.
Yes, you might find that conditions can significantly vary from the morning to the afternoon and once players are switched from their standard positions, they could make some moves. Some of the best rounds of golf are often played on moving days when certain players will want to fight their way back into contention.
When Is Moving Day?
Most golf tournaments are played over four rounds, but you have the occasional few rounds that are played over three rounds. As a professional golfer, you will quickly learn that moving day is often referred to as the penultimate day before the final round. In a four-round tournament, it will be in the third round. In a three-round tournament, it will be the second day.
The main goal of moving day is for players to ensure they are in contention when the final day comes around. You want to make sure that you are not too far behind and you can easily reach the final day with an opportunity for competing with the leaders. The final day could be a lame-duck day if you are not in contention.
How Significant Is Moving Day?
Moving day does not carry any direct significance for players on the field and it is only a term that is used to describe the enormous moves and leader board changes that often happen. If you regularly watch a game of golf, you will notice that most of the leader board moves and changes will happen in the third round.
However, you still need to be consistent in the first two rounds to ensure that you are within striking distance. If you are too far behind, you might be left out of the cut and this means that you will not be in contention for the final day.
As a golfer, your main aim should be to be comfortably within the striking range of the leader at any given point. Should they slip up, you should be there to pick up the pieces. With some of the pressure off on the third day with the elimination issue being out of the way, players will be more inclined to make moves and take some bigger risks.
Wrap-Up
Moving day is a colloquial term coined that refers to players taking bigger risks on the golf course. As a beginner, it should not matter that much to you, but you will need to learn some of the basic strategies when playing at a professional level. Let us know in the comment section if you have ever dealt with moving day and how it affected your game.
