Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
Audio By Carbonatix
Slow play has been an incredibly hot topic of conversation in the golf world in recent years, but the PGA Tour has largely declined to address the issue. However, the LPGA has opted to take a big step in the right direction with a new penalty that will give players some serious incentive to pick up the pace.
The rules of golf state every round should be played “without undue delay,” and while that’s certainly open to interpretation, the PGA requires foursomes to complete 18 holes in no more than four hours and 21 minutes while allocating 40 seconds for golfers to execute their swing once they approach the ball.
That second policy theoretically applies to PGA Tour tournaments. With that said, there’s no official shot clock, and saying enforcement leaves a bit to be desired would be the ultimate understatement.
Based on the amount of money that’s on the line, it’s easy to understand why the pros want to take their time before every shot, but notable names including Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay, and Brian Harman have earned a reputation for holding up the rest of the course with their debilitatingly deliberate approach to the game.
The PGA Tour does quietly fine players who fail to adhere to its pace of play rules, and even though does give them some incentive to speed things up, it’s still a bit of a half-measure when you consider there are plenty of situations where they’ll prioritize taking their time to try to hit the perfect shot knowing there’s no way their score will be impacted for playing at a turtle’s pace.
However, according to ESPN, that will no longer be the case when it comes to the LPGA thanks to a fairly radical rule change that will go into effect when the Ford Championship kicks off at Seville Golf and Country Club in Arizona on March 27th.
The organization has informed players they will have 40 seconds to complete their shot, and if they fail to do so, they will be subjected to a set of tiered punishments depending on how long they go over that threshold.
Golfers who take between 1 and 5 seconds extra will risk a fine, while a violation between 6 and 15 seconds will result in a one-stroke penalty—with anything more than that leading to two strokes getting added to their scorecard.
This seems like a very welcome change that will nonetheless likely require some ironing out once it’s implemented. There’s no telling if the PGA Tour plans to follow in the LPGA’s footsteps, but it’s certainly a very intriguing prospect.