PGA Tour put on full blast for pace of play changes: "Afraid of what needs to be done"

The PGA Tour's proposed pace of play changes have been slammed by irate golf fans. 

Sports Business Journal were the first to report the North American circuit's rules committee was recommending updating their pace of play policy. 

The report coincided with the leaking of an email that was sent to PGA Tour members outlining a raft of changes that are more than likely going to be introduced for 2026. 

Those changes, which will see field sizes reduced, eligibility tweaked and fewer cards available, will be voted on at a policy board meeting next month. 

Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay sit on that board and have no reason to vote against the changes. 

In fact, many have argued that they lobbied for them as a direct response to LIV Golf. 

PGA Tour set to reduce penalties for slow play

The rules committee has outlined reducing the fine structure. 

Currently, golfers can receive varying degrees of punishment if they get 'Bad Times' or 'Excessive Shot Times'. 

The committee has proposed reducing the 'Bad Times' fine from $50,000 to $10,0000 and the 'Excessive Shot Times' from $10,000 to $5,000. 

Players will also no longer be subject to fines as a result of 'Timings', 'Bad Times' and 'Excessive Shot Times' during major championships.

Moreover, there has been an amendment to the definition to 'Out Of Position'. 

It will now recognise the fact that if a group is on a par-3 and the players in front is still on the tee of the next hole then they are still in a good position. 

Elsewhere, the rules committee will continue to evaluate players pace of play via the creation of a new Average Stroke Time (AST) policy. 

It is being proposed that if a golfer accumulates 10 ASTs then they will be subject to a $50,000 fine, up from $30,000. 

The memo also stated that the rules committee recognised that more needs to be done to give players an immediate incentive to play more quickly. 

They have proposed the introduction of an 'Excessive Average Time Stroke Time', which will see those who average 12 seconds more against the field in all four rounds hit with a $50,000 fine. 

Reaction

Needless to say, there was a mixed reaction to the proposed changes.

Unsurprisingly, the most common response from golf fans online was to suggest that the PGA Tour should simply introduce penalty strokes to speed up play.

Brooks Koepka has lobbied for this in the past and several other high-profile players have backed him.

Here's some comments:

"The PGA Tour should enforce slow play with penalty strokes but like every other 'grow the game' organization is afraid to do what needs to be done."

"Pretty crazy. Pace of play is emphasized on every level of public play and golf association/national championship events. Get to PGA tour and it's the opposite."

"I don't understand the outrage every year around this time about golfers playing slow on the PGA Tour. As an entertainment product, they have a lot of issues, their pace of play is pretty close to the bottom of the list. Could argue it isn't even really an issue at all. For the vast majority of us, it does not matter one bit how fast they play."

"I blame Greg and Phil."

What is your response to the proposed changes?

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