Can't help but think that Golf is doing even more damage to itself by allowing slow play to continue. No controlling body seems to have the desire, or wherewithal, to deal with the Elephant in the room. I'm a golf tragic but tuned out twice over the weekend watching Men's and Women's events because it was just too slow. And if I'm tuning out as a tragic, who's tuning in as a new fan? In the end, it will come down to the dollar. Shrinking audience, shrinking ratings, shrinking purse - Golf has no right to the massive injection of cash that Tiger gave them for the last 25 years - it can go backwards.
How do you fix it? Add penalties to the scorecard? Suspensions? I imagine the Saudis could think of some “unique” punishments for slow-play crimes.
I’ve never been a huge fan of golf on TV outside the final round of majors and the Ryder Cup. I have zero interest in watching men or women lining up putts. Ball tracking has massively improved coverage though.
Shot clocks. Simple, objective, and reasonable. They work in Tennis, they can work in Golf. Something like 60 seconds from the time you reach your ball to pull the trigger. Or 60 seconds after the last player has hit/putted. You'll find players getting to their ball earlier and before their opponent has hit to give them as much time as possible to consider the shot. Three strikes during the course of the round and they get pinged the general penalty (2 shots). A couple of out clauses each round for anything particularly nasty but it's amazing how players will adapt when the back pocket is taking a beating.
Can't help but think that Golf is doing even more damage to itself by allowing slow play to continue. No controlling body seems to have the desire, or wherewithal, to deal with the Elephant in the room. I'm a golf tragic but tuned out twice over the weekend watching Men's and Women's events because it was just too slow. And if I'm tuning out as a tragic, who's tuning in as a new fan? In the end, it will come down to the dollar. Shrinking audience, shrinking ratings, shrinking purse - Golf has no right to the massive injection of cash that Tiger gave them for the last 25 years - it can go backwards.
How do you fix it? Add penalties to the scorecard? Suspensions? I imagine the Saudis could think of some “unique” punishments for slow-play crimes.
I’ve never been a huge fan of golf on TV outside the final round of majors and the Ryder Cup. I have zero interest in watching men or women lining up putts. Ball tracking has massively improved coverage though.
Shot clocks. Simple, objective, and reasonable. They work in Tennis, they can work in Golf. Something like 60 seconds from the time you reach your ball to pull the trigger. Or 60 seconds after the last player has hit/putted. You'll find players getting to their ball earlier and before their opponent has hit to give them as much time as possible to consider the shot. Three strikes during the course of the round and they get pinged the general penalty (2 shots). A couple of out clauses each round for anything particularly nasty but it's amazing how players will adapt when the back pocket is taking a beating.