Pace of play has been a hot topic on the golf’s biggest tours of late. Like all etiquette in golf, considerations around the pace of play come out of respect for others. Slow play is not just common amongst amateurs, but even the biggest tours, like the LPGA and the PGA tour, are struggling to avoid slow play. However, in February this year, the LPGA decided to step up and finally take strict action against players with new rules in place. While many tour players are happy about this new update, Paige Spiranac, who is known to be vocal about her love for the game, implied that the rules are still far too lenient and harsher rules need to be in place.
Paige Spiranac pushes for stricter reforms
In her recent appearance on the Vanity Index Podcast, during a rapid fire round, she was asked several questions, one of them being to ‘change one rule would be’ to which she responded, “you’re penalised immediately if you play slow.” She also stated that one of her biggest pet peeves was “slow play” and she is not the only one who has spoken out. Her stance, even though in line with recent changes in LPGA’s policies for slow play, suggests that fining players is not enough and imposing penalties is the way to go.
You see, her opinion on slow play is valid, but it’s not just about longer golfing rounds. Slow play is usually equated to unsportsmanlike conduct, as it displays a lack of consideration for others. And this is not just a case on the LPGA Tour. This debate has been ongoing even on the PGA Tour, with criticism mounting on players like Jordan Spieth for disrupting the flow of the game. Despite having fines in place, the tour has done little to improve the sluggish pace of play.
Charley Hull too shares a similar opinion — “I find the golf rounds are sometimes way too slow so then you kind of like lose your momentum and anything I do in life I like to be fast and just on the go all the time,” she said while talking on No Laying Up Podcast recently. She even added how the new rules haven’t really made a difference — “I wouldn’t say there’s a massive change. I still think there could be room for improvement, but I suppose they’re trying,” following in the steps of Spiranac’s call for harsher measures.
This comes just a few days after LPGA named Craig Kessler as its new commissioner, who is the tour’s 10th commissioner in its 75-year history. While Kessler stated that he has several issues to address on tour, which include its financial future and ensuring players receive more visibility, having a remarkable relationship with the players is his key priority.
So will that mean addressing player woes more efficiently, where slow play is the most common one? While that’s the plan with the updated rules in place, we can only wait and watch to see if they are actually implemented.
“I like it. I think that the way to change it is to just toughen up the rules.”
Nelly Korda talked about the LPGA’s new slow-play policy during the Founders Cup last week.
With the new policy, players can now be fined for going 1 to 5 seconds over their allotted time and will… pic.twitter.com/HeTrG1ldxZ
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) February 10, 2025
The new rule, which was announced earlier this year, was shared with players and was in effect during the Ford Championship at Arizona’s Whirlwind Golf Club in March. Players who are found to be 1-5 seconds over the stipulated time would be fined first, and those exceeding 6 – 15 seconds over time would be given a one-stroke penalty. A two-stroke penalty would be given for anything over 16 seconds or more overtime. While this is an important step to address the challenges of slow play, the tour stated that the main intent behind this new rule is to improve the pace of play and not impose penalties or fines frequently.
World no.1 Nelly Korda, too, has frequently faced the issue of slow play, keeping aside the fact that she’s a quick player. She expressed her excitement post the announcement of the new rules — “Finally. Yeah, I’m very excited about it.” She emphasised on how the new harsh rules will be good for the game eventually — “I think that’s one of the things that I’ve noticed over my time on Tour, is that we used to go from five hours to under five hours, so now it’s five and a half hour rounds. Implementing harsher rules will be good for the game of golf,” implying how most spectators would leave halfway through their rounds, merely because of players being too slow on the course.
What actually causes slow play on tour?
While it’s understandable for players not to play their shots in a hurry to avoid simple errors, the time stipulated for every shot was obviously decided taking everything into account. Despite that, players are often seen clocking over 1 minute not just off the tees and the fairway, but even around the greens. And slow play has been a trend in recent times, unlike during the times of Sam Snead and Annika Sorenstam, where rounds would not take longer than four hours to complete. And nothing is more infuriating than waiting before your next shot in professional tournaments. While some players are naturally slow, it’s also fascinating how it spreads onto others. One group creates a bottleneck, and suddenly you’re waiting, taking extra practice swings, additional reads because you have nowhere to go, and this is just an instinctive response to combat the waiting.
It could also be the new techniques that many players are adapting to, like the aim-point, used to gauge the line and speed of your putt. In contrast to the traditional way of reading the green, many have criticized this method, suggesting that it adds to the time a player takes on the green. Even constantly walking up and down the green and analyzing every angle before you putt or hit a chip adds extra minutes on the clock. Some even hinted that the use of extensive feedback and data these days during the junior golf days leads to players growing to be conditioned to trust systems over instincts. Slow play eventually impacts player performance and spectator experience, and stricter implementation is essential to maintain the integrity and pace of the game.
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