Major winning golfer calls for rule change across golf after what happened during his round at The Open

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There have been numerous controversies in professional golf this season, with fans and golf journalists alike calling for changes to the rules.

From free drops from temporary immovable obstructions in high profile tournaments on the PGA Tour, to Irishman Shane Lowry being punished at The Open for accidentally causing his ball to oscillate, we have seen it all this year.

It seems like there are plenty of pointless rules in the game of golf that were only useful in a bygone era.

However, there are some things that actually need to be urgently addressed by The USGA, The R&A and all of the other golfing governing bodies around the world.

Slow play has been a sad indictment on the professional game this season.

Every young player who comes out on tour seems to be taking longer and longer over their shots.

So what can be done to solve the problem, before the fans begin to switch off?

Henrik Stenson calls for rule change after what happened at The Open

LIV golfer Henrik Stenson is not happy one little bit with the direction that golf is heading regarding pace of play.

Slow play is a problem that has plagued the professional game for quite some time now, and it reared its ugly head at The Open two weeks ago, with rounds taking close to six hours to complete.

Stenson explained how golf’s governing bodies can fix the problem, when speaking on UK radio station talkSPORT.

He said: “I think my round on Thursday morning took five hours and 45 minutes. It was 5:40 to play on Friday and then all of a sudden one minute is of the essence on Saturday at midday.

“It has been a bit inconsistent. Pace of play has been a constant topic for as long as we can remember and so far there has not seemed to be a way to get it sorted.

“Maybe a shot clock going forward is the way. You have your x amount of minutes and if you take two minutes on one shot that is really difficult so be it, but then you have to be playing at 30 or 40 seconds on all the other ones.

“The pace of play in general is obviously slow and it’s what everyone will see on TV and then it tends to take a lot more time on the weekends for everyone as well. It needs to be addressed.“

How Bryson DeChambeau wants to fix slow play

Back at The Open two weeks ago, DeChambeau outlined his ‘very simple’ solution to slow play.

The American was frustrated with the pace of play after he finished his third round at Royal Portrush, and he was asked how it could be fixed.

He said: “It’s very simple. It’s not difficult at all. You eventually time everybody for their whole entire round. Very simple. Nobody wants to do it — because people are too scared to get exposed, which I am an advocate for. I’d love to be timed, and I have no problem with that.

My putting, I’m more deliberate, take more time on that, but when it comes to iron shots, off the tee, I’m pretty fast. It’s like D.J., he’s really slow on the putting greens, and then he’s incredibly fast on his full swing shots, second shots into it.

Everybody plays a different style of game, and that’s just the way it is. I wish it was just a new system.“

So what system would he implement?

He said: “Well, I think it would be more fair towards everybody. If somebody is playing slower, the guy can go up to him and say, hey, man, you’re over par with your time. All you do is you just time them for every single shot. He gets there and puts the bag down, and how long it takes him to hit that shot and how long it takes him to walk to the green. It’s not rocket science.

“You time how long someone takes individually, and then you separate that from the other person playing. You start/stop on him the whole entire thing. It’s one way. I’m not saying it’s the answer. I’m definitely not somebody that has the most experience or knowledge on it. If somebody has a different way of monitoring it, I hope —

“I hope there’s a better system out there at some point in time.

“I truly believe so. Once you start penalising individuals for consecutive over — taking too much time. I can tell you, first two rounds it was out of control what I saw. That’s the way people play.

“Long story short, one day I hope we can have a better system.“

It seems like Stenson is very much on the same page as DeChambeau when it comes to combating pace of play.

Perhaps the governing bodies of the game around the world need to start listening to the players’ suggestions.