The 5 Ways Pro Golf Can Fix Slow Play

Golf fans don’t agree on much.

But one thing everyone seems to be on the same page about? Tournament golf is too slow.

Whether it’s the PGA Tour, college golf or anything in between, the competitive game simply takes too long to complete.

And when it comes to professional golf as an entertainment product, that glacial pace doesn’t help the fan experience. It’s not fun to watch someone take two minutes over a shot. Even if TV coverage can bounce around to different players to avoid showing lengthy pre-shot routines, the overall time commitment for viewers adds up quickly.

A lot of PGA Tour players shrug their shoulders and claim any real change would only cut off a maximum of 10 to 15 minutes per round—so would that end result be worth the strife of policy changes?

The answer is yes. Creating a faster rhythm to the game can only help at a time when pro golf could use all the help it can get to attract viewers.

So assuming slow play is a real issue, what can be done about it?

The LPGA Tour has made a stand on this front. Last week, the leading women’s circuit announced harsher punishments for slow play.

Under the new guidelines, players who exceed their time allotment per shot will receive stiff penalties. Going over by 1-5 seconds will result in a fine. Should a player take 6-15 seconds over time to play a shot, she will be hit with a one-stroke penalty. And if a player takes 16 or more seconds than they are allowed, a two-stroke penalty will be charged.

Players will be allowed 40 seconds to hit except for those who are first to hit their tee shots on par-3s and drivable par-4s. In those instances, players have 50 seconds.

The new rules were developed by the players. World No. 1 Nelly Korda fully supported the changes.

“I think that the way to change it is to just toughen up the rules,” Korda told Golf.com. “If you get a one-stroke penalty, I bet you’re never gonna get one again. It’s all about toughening it up.”

The updated policy will go into effect March 27 at the LPGA’s Ford Championship.

While you have to applaud the LPGA’s progressive outlook on slow play, a policy is only as good as the enforcement. Let’s hope some penalties are doled out so we see faster rounds.

Keeping the LPGA’s new guidelines in mind, what are the five most effective ways pro golf can speed up the game?

Here is my top five:

1. Stricter enforcement of current standards

We can talk about a lot of factors leading to slow play but the most egregious one is how pro golf basically has refused to enforce stroke penalties.

The Tour has given a stroke penalty about once per decade. It’s not even a threat.

While no player wants to get fined, that punishment is preferred to being hurt on the scorecard. One stroke could easily cost a player hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If the Tour would actively enforce their current standards—players having to hit each shot in 40 seconds or less—much of this conversation wouldn’t be happening.

Players get put “on the clock” with the possibility of penalty but those penalties never come. Rules officials have made remarks in the past that they are hesitant to dole out penalties.

It’s well past time to change that philosophy.

2. Adding a shot clock

There is a lot of support for players to be timed similar to what we see in other sports.

Of the things that TGL has gotten right so far, the fast pace led by the shot clock has to be near the top. That has sparked a debate about whether the concept would work for traditional tournaments.

Baseball added a pitch clock two seasons ago and saw the length of games decrease significantly. As pace has increased, ratings have also improved.

While the logistics for the PGA Tour to install a mobile shot clock visible to all players would be a real challenge from a manpower and planning standpoint, the possibility is there.

Imagine a world where golfers get 40 seconds to play each shot with one-stroke penalties looming if they go over the limit. Perhaps you could give golfers two timeouts per round and there can be time extensions in the case a player needs a ruling or has another unusual circumstance.

The drama of players trying to beat the shot clock would be worth the price of admission.

Every other major viewing sport has time constraints. You don’t get unlimited time to perform. It’s a skill for football players to get set in time or for basketball players to get a shot off before a violation occurs.

Golf should be no different.

And I wouldn’t dismiss this as a farfetched idea. Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour’s Chief Competitions Officer, said shot clocks were a key discussion point in the search to solve slow play issues.

“(Shot clocks) are one of the things that we want this working group of players that’s looking at pace of play to talk about,” Dennis said.

3. Slowing green speeds

When players talk about why certain rounds take so long, the culprit is usually two things: winds and fast greens.

Nothing can be done about wind but we can do something about green speeds.

If green speeds are treacherous, players will take extra time to make sure they are ready. Most of the game’s “time suck” happens on the greens, especially as players are leaving themselves a lot of three- to five-footers that require total concentration.

According to a 2017 USGA study of typical recreational golfers, every foot of increase in green speed increased the average pace of play by 6.4 seconds per player per hole. That resulted in more than a seven-minute increase in the total round time for an average foursome. So if a course went from a 9 to an 11 on the Stimpmeter, the round took 14 minutes longer.

Add in the stakes of a Tour event with a lot of money on the line … and that time difference skyrockets.

I’m a believer that fast greens don’t add much entertainment value. The ideal combination is firm greens with more reasonable green speeds. This makes approach shots more challenging without having players try to putt like they are on a driveway.

Slower green speeds don’t necessarily lead to more holed putts, especially as tournament officials have the option of more aggressive hole locations on slopes. You can still have challenging greens without the Stimpmeter reading 13 or something ridiculous like that.

It’s not the sexiest option on this list but I don’t think there is any doubt it would help.

As for Lucas Glover’s suggestion of banning AimPoint, I don’t think that is really necessary. If a player can get their shot off in the allotted time, I don’t think it’s a problem to read a green with your feet. (The topic of whether AimPoint is actually effective is a story for another day).

4. Banning yardage books

This is a provocative idea but there is some real juice here.

The Tour recently signaled a willingness to allow rangefinders to be used in competition, something the PGA of America has been doing at the PGA Championship for a few years.

With rangefinders likely having a role in golf’s future—which makes sense as long as they aren’t giving adjusted yardages—players will have access to all the yardage information they need.

Would rangefinders speed up play? I don’t think so. Many players and caddies have remarked that it could even slow play based on the potential usage of rangefinders and yardage books to double-check their numbers. (The only case where I can see rangefinders speeding things up is when a player goes way off line).

More importantly, yardage books have become a bit of a crutch for players to rely on consistently throughout a round. Every granular detail about a course is listed and players become more robotic and analytical with making decisions based on those details.

Personally, I like the concept of players competing more instinctively. Caddies will already know yardages based on their pre-tournament work. Players have time to prepare, too.

If the books are taken away and there are time limits for each shot, the game becomes more reactionary.

I think that would be a good thing.

5. Publicly shaming slow players

Let’s give the Tour some credit here: Some of the initiatives that were recently announced could definitely improve slow play.

Limiting field size is very helpful. Golf is already heading that way with signature events and LIV’s 54-man fields. With fewer players and better tee time spacing, there are fewer logjams.

But what I want to focus on is the public shaming of players. The Tour is considering this—though not in those words, of course—as a way to let golf fans know which players are the biggest culprits for holding things up.

Average times and fine information could become public so the slowest players wouldn’t be able to hide any longer.

The peer pressure and fan pressure would be helpful—so would more punishing fines and even suspensions for repeat offenders.

What other ways could you see pro golf’s slow play issues being alleviated? Which option (or combination of options) from this list would be most effective?

Let me know below in the comments.

Top Photo Caption: Keegan Bradley goes through AimPoint to read the green. (GETTY IMAGES/Keyur Khamar)