On the first day, God created light. And the high school golfer stood next to his bag, pondering what club to hit.

The next day, God created the sky. And the high school golfer narrowed his options to a 6-iron and a 7-iron.

On the third day, God created land, seas and plants. And the high school golfer pulled a 7-iron out of his bag.

On the fourth day, God made the sun, the moon and the stars. And the high school golfer stood behind his ball to pick out a target.

On the next day, God stocked the seas with fish, the sky with birds. And the high school golfer took his first practice swing.

On the sixth day, God created animals to roam the earth. Then he created a man and named him Adam. Realizing a man needs a woman in order to remind him to brush his teeth, bathe, go to work and come back home at night at a reasonable hour, God took one of Adam’s ribs and used it to make a woman. And the high school golfer took his second practice swing.

On the seventh day, God was so exhausted waiting for the kid to hit the stinking ball he needed to rest. And the high school golfer finally hit the ball.

It doesn’t actually take a teenage golfer longer to go through his shot routine than it took God to create the world, but it sure seems that way sometimes.

The last foursome to finish at Monday’s state tournament at Alvamar Country Club swapped handshakes six hours and 20 minutes after teeing off.

Sure, a lot was on the line and everyone had to putt out and teenagers tend to hit wild shots and on such a tight course that means burning time looking for golf balls. Plenty of other excuses could be piled on top of each other, but that doesn’t change the reality that a round of golf simply can’t last six hours and 20 minutes.

The obvious guy to blame for all this is Tiger Woods, who turned golf into a must-see TV sport. Today’s teenagers grew up watching Tiger look at every putt from every angle, take his deliberate practice strokes and finally get the ball rolling.

But it’s more than that. Communication accelerates play. Sometimes talking is required to determine whose turn it is on the course and on the green. Since texting was not allowed during the tournament, communication was something of a mystery to some Monday.

Most of what slow golfers do when it becomes their turn can be done when somebody else is up. Selecting a club, picking a target, even reading a putt, all can happen ahead of time so that when it’s a golfer’s turn, it’s go time.

Helpful hint: Instead of copying Tiger Woods, be like swift Jordan Spieth, who over the weekend at the age of 16, tied for 16th in the Byron Nelson Championship. (Former Kansas University golfer Gary Woodland tied for 32nd and took home $35,317.) Spieth’s decisiveness keeps him in rhythm and makes him a better player.

As for conducting themselves with honor, several high school golfers stood out Monday, including Shawnee Mission East freshman Chase Hanna, who shot a 76 and finished third, three strokes out of first. On No. 5, Hanna was inches out of bounds and called it on himself when nobody would have noticed, adding two strokes to his score. Way to go, Chase.