The PGA Tour has decided to take the bull by the horns on the delicate issue of slow play. Months ago, a committee was created to study the measures that should be adopted to improve the pace and end those eternal and unjustified waits that exhaust fans, both those on the course and those watching on television. Well, this Tuesday some measures have been announced that should help.
The first of these will be to make public the players’ pace of play statistics. For some time now, all golfers’ shots in tournaments have been timed with the aim of establishing each one’s average. The professionals are in favour of the lists being official and visible to everyone. “I am on the slow side of the players and I think it’s good for the list to be published. It’s a way to get me going. No one wants to be singled out as that player no one wants to play with because we are always going to be timed. I think it’s good. It will help improve,” said Justin Thomas.
The publication of this ranking is not intended to single anyone out, said Jay Monahan, but rather as an incentive to see how different players’ times improve over time. What has not been specified is how, when, and where these lists will be made public. Whether all fans will be able to see them on the PGA Tour website or if they will be placed in the players’ locker room.
At the same time, a trial period for laser rangefinders will be established. Specifically, their use will be allowed in PGA Tour tournaments held from the Masters Tournament to the PGA Championship, namely: Corales Puntacana, RBC Heritage, Zurich Classic, Byron Nelson, Truist Championship, and Myrtle Beach. Based on the outcome of the experience, a definitive decision will be made regarding their use, although everything suggests they will be incorporated into the day-to-day of the tournaments.
On the other hand, Monahan has announced that a new pace of play policy will be introduced in the Korn Ferry TOUR and the PGA TOUR Americas starting April 14, which will include the assessment of penalty strokes for slow play. Let’s say that the players of the second and third division of the American circuit will act as guinea pigs and then it will be decided whether to implement it also in the PGA Tour. In this regard, Morikawa has been very supportive. “We have to start penalising players and giving them real penalties, whether strokes or FedExCup points. What I’ve learned is that monetary fines are useless.”
Additionally, the PGA Tour will relaunch the world feed at THE PLAYERS so that all shots of all players can be seen, and has created a website called Fan Forward to inform all fans about everything being done in the PGA Tour to improve their experience during tournaments.
