The ‘very simple’ way the PGA Tour could fix slow play with punishment suggested which has nothing to do with fines

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The final round of The American Express once again saw the PGA Tour’s slow play problem thrown into the spotlight.

Most of the talk after the La Quinta event should have centred on Sepp Straka’s third and arguably biggest PGA Tour win.

Instead, golf fans were left fuming at the pace of play at the Pete Dye Stadium Course, as the final group took nearly three and a half hours to complete 11 holes. On one occasion, the last three-ball took 30 minutes to finish a hole after being held up in the fairway.

Slow play is a long-standing problem that the Tour authorities have left to rot. Now, there’s a real danger that the product will be negatively impacted as a result. Simply put, fans are losing interest and won’t commit to watching six-hour rounds.

Rex Hoggard pitches idea to stop slow play

The TGL’s use of a shot clock has led to calls for a similar scenario to emerge on the PGA Tour. Once players arrive at their ball, they have 40 seconds to hit a shot. Given modern-day technology, this process could be implemented.

“When you look at what TGL did and the 40-second shot clock. We all agree that ‘wow, two hours to watch a round of golf, even simulator golf. I am here for all of that. That is refreshing; that’s new. That’s kind of where you want to be,” Rex Hoggard told the Golf Channel Podcast.

“The only way to practically do that [on tour] is to put a shot clock on every single player. Of course, you can’t do that. The best way to do it, though, is that once a group gets out of position, there are no warnings, there are no shaking or wagging of the fingers and telling them they need to hurry up. I do not want to see an official out on the fairway.”

Only three players have been punished for slow play in the history of the PGA Tour. On each occasion, shots were added to the offender’s score.

Fines have been mooted for those who are too slow. Hoggard, however, believes adding shots is the only way forward.

“You are just automatically on the clock, and if you take more than 40 seconds, forget about the fines. I am done with the fines. If you want to make this sink in and work, start giving out stroke penalties. It’s straightforward.”

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Could the PGA Tour use time-outs like the TGL?

Immediately putting a player on the clock without any prior warning does feel slightly harsh. But to finally grasp the PGA Tour’s pace of play, Hoggard believes copying the TGL’s system—including time-outs—is the only way forward.

“During this conversation this morning, someone who was a former player brought up the idea that that is too draconian,” Hoggard added.

“You can’t put someone on the clock the first time without them knowing it and suddenly slap a one-stroke penalty on them. I thought about it, and that’s fine, so I’m going to steal this from TGL. Give them a time-out. Give them two time-outs over the course of an 18-hole round.

“Then you can take an extra 20 seconds in that situation, but under no situation when the clock starts should you need more than 60 seconds to hit a shot. I know there are going to be certain times when you have to have rulings, certain drops, and certain angles where you can’t find angles. I get all that; you can factor all that in.”

With some of the PGA Tour’s most prominent names conforming to the shot clock in the TGL, there’s no excuse for their pace of place to drop once they return to the course.