Pro Golf's 5-Hour Rounds: The Urgent Need to Address Slow Play Crisis
Professional golf tournaments are facing a significant slow play problem, with recent events taking over 5.5 hours per round. Both the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and The American Express tournament experienced concerning delays, with some groups taking 40 minutes to play a single hole.
The issue isn't just affecting player experience - it's impacting viewership and setting a poor example for the sport. During The American Express tournament, perfect weather conditions still resulted in five-hour-plus rounds on familiar courses.
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Solutions have been tested successfully. The 2018 Shot Clock Masters in Austria demonstrated that enforced timing can work:
- Average round times dropped by 35 minutes
- Scoring averages improved from previous year
- Some groups finished under four hours
- Winning score remained competitive at 16-under
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Current penalties aren't effective - financial fines mean little to multi-millionaire players. More impactful solutions could include:
- Deducting FedEx Cup or Order of Merit points
- Implementing consistent shot clocks
- Enforcing existing penalties more strictly
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The contrast with newer formats is stark - the TGL demonstrates golf can be played efficiently, with 2.5 of its rounds fitting into one traditional tournament round. Until professional tours address slow play meaningfully, it will continue to harm golf's accessibility and viewership.
LIV Golf has shown that faster play is possible in professional tournaments. Without significant changes to pace-of-play enforcement, professional golf risks further viewership decline and alienating potential new fans of the sport.