Charley Hull has had enough of slow play on the LPGA Tour. The English star has become the most vocal critic of sluggish rounds. She’s witnessed tournaments stretch to nearly six hours regularly. “I wouldn’t say there’s a massive change,” Hull admitted recently about new policies. “I still think there could be room for improvement.”
She has proposed drastic solutions, including revoking tour cards for repeat offenders. “If you get three bad timings, every time it’s a two-shot penalty. If you have three of them, you lose your Tour card instantly. I’m sure that would hurry up a lot of people.” Her frustration reached a boiling point at the U.S. Women’s Open when paired with Lexi Thompson. Hull was seen sitting on the ninth tee waiting while Thompson finished putting on the previous green.
Her concerns proved justified recently when coverage issues emerged. Golf journalist Beth Ann Nichols captured the current reality perfectly. “Coverage was supposed to conclude at 5 PM!” she tweeted in frustration.Her follow-up tweet revealed shocking details. “Took the last group just over three hours to play the front nine.” This represents a pace that would produce six-hour rounds.
Coverage was supposed to conclude at 5 pm!
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) May 31, 2025
The LPGA implemented comprehensive new rules in March 2025. Players exceeding time by 1-5 seconds receive fines; those going 6-15 seconds over face one-stroke penalties. Anyone taking 16 seconds or more gets a two-stroke penalty. However, enforcement remains inconsistent across tournament formats. Major championships operate under separate USGA guidelines. These create loopholes that players continue to exploit.
Paige Spiranac believes these policies don’t go far enough. She appeared on the Vanity Index Podcast with criticism. “You’re penalized immediately if you play slow,” she declared about her preferred approach. Lexi Thompson surprisingly agrees with critics. “Slow play is an issue… rounds shouldn’t take more than four and a half hours,” she admitted. Even deliberate players recognize that urgent change is needed.
Fans took to social media to express their outrage once again over the ongoing issue of slow-paced play.
Fan reactions expose growing frustration with LPGA’s pace crisis
One frustrated viewer wrote directly about the systemic issues. “Every week in the LPGA it’s a 5 hour 20 minute round, nothing is going to improve it unless they start penalizing players. Lasers didn’t do anything, they’ve now allowed them for what 4 years? Majors are going to be a 6 hour round guaranteed. It’s sad but nothing will change.” The penalty is in play but it does seem to doing much.
Another fan questioned reasonable expectations for major championships. “6 hour rounds are bad for everyone. Legit question – what is a reasonable pace for a US Open at a big course like Erin Hills? Taking in account very few lost balls or rulings, lots of yardage impacted by elevation, tricky bunkers, and typical USGA fast greens.”
The criticism became more pointed from other viewers. One stated, “Terrible!!” while another expressed complete frustration with the tour. “Another reason why I won’t watch the LPGA Tour. Embarrassing, really.”
Perhaps the most damning criticism connected slow play to viewership issues. “Slow play is unwatchable. The LPGA and the PGA’s approach to slow play can best be described as ‘limp lettuce leaves’. Charlie Hull suggested a tough set of penalties to speed up play.”
These reactions demonstrate how pace problems directly affect fan engagement. Viewers are abandoning coverage when rounds last longer than reasonable limits. The Tour risks losing audiences permanently if current trends continue. Hull’s visible frustration with recent events, such as Erin Hills, reflects broader fan sentiment. Her confrontations with slower players have resonated with viewers who have experienced similar frustration. The disconnect between policy promises and actual results continues growing wider.
Current enforcement isn’t consistently producing the desired results. Fan reactions indicate that coverage delays occur regularly across multiple tournaments. Professional women’s golf faces a credibility crisis if these issues persist.
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