Well the PGA Tour got a kick in the pants last weekend when CBS golf commentator Dottie Pepper called out the players for slow play after a three hour front nine. You know its slow when a commentator calls you out. Slow play has been an issue on the The Tour for years and they have turned a blind eye to it. The game has slowed down viewership is in decline and pace of play is front and centre. The generation that they trying to appeal to are captivated by what’s on the screen in front of them and it moves at 5G speed. The pace of play moves at horse and buggy pace.
So what’s the answer?
The Commissioner( me) we go to a 45 second shot clock. The clock starts once the area is free from interference. What this does is force the players to do all there information gathering before they get to the ball.When it gets to 15 seconds a beep would sound. I would also allow the use of range finders. It would drill down the exact yardage and remove any second guessing. A player would also have two 1 minute timeouts to use at anytime. It may require a time official to be with each group, we know the PGA Tour can afford it! First bad time a warning, second bad time a two shot penalty, a third bad time you go Springsteen. The Long Walk Home!
The Tour has tried to fine these guys, but they are millionaires for the most part, so what’s 5K when you are making 29 million a year from tournament purses like Scottie Scheffler did last year. The 100th place finisher made 1.66 million dollars so 5K is less than 1% percent of their winnings. When you factor in club,ball, shoe and clothing endorsements, it pushes income over 2 million. The money does hurt them. What hurts the player is the two strokes, which could be the difference between making the cut and not making the cut. The lost income is more substantial than a 5K fine if you miss a cut because of your slow play. Also nobody wants to be singled out as that guy to the public, but everyone who plays the Tour knows who the guys are.
It was interesting watching the TGL last night. All the players were quite aware of the shot clock and even the great Tiger Woods got dinged for a time violation and his team lost the hole. BTW he was really pissed, but it didn’t happen again.
If I am PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan I would be watching this TGL very closely because this league appeals to market that you are trying to attract.
I would also be having a conversation with all the on course commentators for their input, but that’s me being me!
Until next time.
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