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« They Penalize For Slow Play In New Zealand | Main | 2011 Northern Trust Mop-Up Item: Arrogant CBS Cameraman Edition »
Monday
Feb212011

Slow Play Solution: It's Time To Eliminate Playing Opportunities

I see on the Twittersphere that Kevin Na is taking a beating for his Sunday pace at Riviera, but I must say that J.B. Holmes, who played in the last group Saturday, may actually be slower. He definitely is on the greens. But that's beside the point.

The real problem at the Northern Trust Open and other West Coast events: field size in winter.

144 players start the week, and it's been years since the first round actually ended on Thursday. And the last time it happened, as luck would have it, an electronic scoreboard lit up the final green to help guys finish.

Last year at Riviera, they cut the field to 132 players because of the earlier date and shorter days. Play was faster. Not great, but faster.

This year I believe 78 made the cut. With shorter days and television demanding a certain finish time, that means threesomes on the weekend off split tees. There is no answer to this problem, except having a smaller number of players make the cut would help.

Either way, the players have proven they will not speed up voluntarily. The Commissioner has made it clear that he believes a few precedent setting two-shot penalties for slow play are unnecessary.  Therefore, as much as I hate the idea, it's become clear that field sizes must be reduced to speed up play because the players and tour leader won't otherwise do anything about it. Sad, but this is what it's come to.

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Reader Comments (28)

Sorry but getting 78 professional golfers around 18 holes on the weekend using split tees without having weather issues should NEVER be an issue on the PGA Tour. Never.

Perhaps they could start them a bit earlier (30-45 minutes) on the weekend. Yes you would take the chance play ends early. So what if you have a little time to fill. Have some interviews with players, run a few more promos, set up the final days play, etc. Isn't that a better alternative than to not show the conclusion of play unless it involves TW?

Sadly penalizing players is the only way to go but the PGA is gutless to actually do that. 2 strokes for each infraction would hit them in the pocket book, the FEC points list and world ranking points. Long overdue for this to happen.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterOWGR Fan
"The Commissioner has made it clear that he believes a few precedent setting two-shot penalties for slow play are unnecessary."
Code: I'm afraid of the blowback from people I need.
Another great moment in leadership from little Timmy- scared of Kevin Na.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered Commenterjjshaka
It's a good thing for the PGA Tour that DVRs were invented. As long as you tape the show, who cares that you can speed through the five or six minutes that it takes Na or Holmes or Tiger to line up their putts after spending another five minutes hunting the line down in the first place? Oh, wait, maybe the sponsors care when you zap their commercials...

Good going Badds. It couldn't been fun playing Stewart Cink to Couples' Tom Watson. You drove the ball well. I guess that those Riviera fairways looked wide compared to Desert Forest. And nice job doing your part to keep the pace of play going!
02.21.2011 | Unregistered Commentercarefreegolfer
I'm perplexed as to why Na is taking so much heat all of a sudden.

Did his group have an open hole in front of them on the back 9 yesterday?
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterDel the Funk
Del

I think the TV coverage of it (which diminished as the round proceeded) is being dissed as well, through osmosis.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered Commenterdigsouth
I guess the tour's taken slow play into consideration, because basketball constantly runs into golf coverage.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterWily
The instance of a player and caddy plumbobbing was pathetic.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterJoey P.
The slow play wasn't a problem for me. I watched on DVR. Although I am developing an advanced case of carpal tunnel between fast forwarding and muting that annoying Gary McCord.
Yeah, the slow play is absurd and it was a pleasure to FF through their preshot rituals.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterGeorge
Del, no idea how the back 9 played out because I fell asleep (super job CBS; never would have guessed I could fall asleep during a tourney at Riviera, but you worked your magic). Watching the early coverage on GC, the last group got backed up on 4 tee, so it's likely they were never out of position all the doh dah day.
Which only means a number of Na/Holmes like players were clogging things up from the git go.
I like the idea of a reduced weekend field. Peer pressure can be a powerful thing...and that prospect would not go over well.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered Commenterdbh
Somebody on the weekend (Kostis) tweeted some Golf mag info that indicated Na is loathed by his peers. There must be more to it than just being slow.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterTighthead
Mount Na erupted on Sunday at last year's Tour Championship. His volcano had been building with numerous hissy fits.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterJesse
I recall Cabrera going apeshit on an official at Sawgrass because Na is so slow. No discretion, no courtesy - just lost it. Made Angel even easier to cheer for.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterTighthead
I'm certainly not endorsing slow play, and personally have never had any interaction with Na, but if they weren't ever out of position I don't see where it matters. If there was truly a problem outside of the normal every day slow play wouldn't the group have been put on the clock at some point?

The bottom line is Fuchtem doesn't care and clearly has no intention of doing anything about the issue.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterDel the Funk
This is a bit of a simple question; did they run threesomes on the weekend, in order to finish at a desired time in the Eastern Time Zone?

It always occurs to me during the Hawaii events and the West Coast Swing; if the Tour owned Golf Channel and/or was not trying to accomodate the broadcast networks and their obsession with the Eastern Time Zone, we could watch more prime-time golf. I love being able to watch live golf in prime time.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterChuck
The PGA Tour does not believe that it has a slow play problem. Just ask 'em. But then again, Ponte Vedra is located in a state called Denial.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterJim Nugent
Good on ya. Eliminating 12 players is equal to one group each tee. This should shorten a round by 20 minutes by eliminating a wait t the turn which encourages the lead group to play at a better pace. 70+ ties is half the field. Drop it to 60 and ties.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterPeter Pittock
As a former player, with an admitted bias, I really do not care to see any less playing opportunities.
In fact, in the 90's there was a push to make the fields significantly smaller (128 I believe). This was led by Jeff Sluman, Lanny,
And a few others I can't remember). The argument was that pace of play would improve, and the product would be better.

Brandel Chamblee, then a non exempt player, stood up in a raucous player's meeting, grabbed the mic, and rattled off the pace of play for Colonial, Bay Hill and one other invitational, which all had 128 or smaller fields. They also, have all exempt players for the most part in that number. Pace of play stats were no different or worse in a few cases.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterPat Burke
Peer pressure can be a powerful thing...and that prospect would not go over well.
This is a bit of a simple question; did they run threesomes on the weekend, in order to finish at a desired time in the Eastern Time Zone?

It always occurs to me during the Hawaii events and the West Coast Swing; if the Tour owned Golf Channel and/or was not trying to accomodate the broadcast networks and their obsession with the Eastern Time Zone, we could watch more prime-time golf. I love being able to watch live golf in prime time
02.21.2011 | Unregistered Commentergolf trolley
As I think about it more, Na is only operating within the environment and rules that the PGA Tour has presented him with. While he appears slow, if his group remains in position and is not on the clock then I don't see the problem. Seems as though the player has a choice of (a) slowing everything down based on traffic ahead, or (b) having a long wait on every tee box.

If Finchem created a new set of rules with strict pace of play times/checkpoints and also instructed officials to be hair trigger quick in putting players on the clock and handing out penalties -- Kevin Na and all others would adjust accordingly.

Supposedly Finchem works for the players. I suspect many of us don't believe he knows this. Setting that aside, do we think Finchem has made his own mind up on the slow play thing? Or have the players sent a clear message to Finchem of "don't screw with us on slow play, or else"...? fatgoalie?
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterDel the Funk
Maybe it's time to put all the known slow players (Na, Holmes, Crane, etc) out together, then there'd be no hiding place. Let them know they're on the clock for all 18 holes and see what happens!
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterPeter Norrie
Geoff,

I liked you better when you were calling them the rudest golfers on the planet.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterGarland
Maybe as a punishment all slow players are forced to wear a giant watch around their necks just like FLAVOR FLAV. Yeah BOYEEE!
02.21.2011 | Unregistered Commentervwgolfer
vw.

now that's just silly.....:)
02.21.2011 | Unregistered Commenterdigsouth
Del,
Finchem, definitely does NOT work for the players. Especially in his mind. He's supposed to, but......
From 1990 through 2001 (when I stopped) pace of play was bitched about, complained,
fixed, re fiexed, and fixed again.
Would not say it is the players always, but ALL parties have shown an amazing reluctance to let our officials,
who I believe were awesome, the leeway to put ONE slow assed player on the clock, or simply nail a slow player
with a 1 shot penalty. Really have no answer why, just seems like the topic to complain about, but the simplest fix
(getting on the SLOW guys) is never addressed.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterPat Burke
Del,
The Na, Couples, Badds group was a hole behind from the 6th through the 14th, with a slight catch up at the turn when play backs up at 10.
02.21.2011 | Registered CommenterGeoff
Good color Geoff, thanks. Did the officials put them on the clock? If not, I wonder why not? TV was scheduled for a 6.30pm finish east coast. You think that as long as they were on pace for that the Tour was just going to let it go? Or was it an ebb and flow thing seeing as how they caught up by 14?
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterDel the Funk
At times though, slow play does make for great entertainment...a little anecdote: 2009 BMW at Cog Hill, first round. The grouping: Cabrera, Na, Jerry Kelly. They started on the back 9, so I began following them as they made the turn and teed off on 1...It was hysterical - painful for them certainly, but I got a kick out of it. Nobody was talking. They were walking 50 yards apart on every fairway. Na was plumb PBing left and right, conversing with his caddy, the whole shabang. Jerry Kelly had a permanent death stare going, Cabrera was about to lose it. After Na takes forever on the 2rd green, Cabrera immediately snap hooks one on the 3rd, hauling down the fairway like a locomotive. He eventually makes bogey and is definitely majorly p*&%$ off. He tees off last on the 4th, and hits the hardest, purest drive I've ever seen live 340 carry straight down the fairway. As he walks off the tee, his caddy 30 yards behind him, he just turns his head and helicopters his driver a foot above the ground towards his caddy...still hauling down the fairway, probably at about a 11/10 on the anger scale. You could tell that Kelly had enough as well - He putted out first on the 4th green, while Cabrera had to wait for the Na show to finish. Kelly didn't bother sticking around and made a bee line to the 5th tee, where he stood arms crossed, looking over at the 5th green. It wasn't in the Sabbatini - Crane leagues, but definitely blatant.
I could go on about the 5th, where Na blew his drive way right and needed to shape it around some trees. I was standing next to him and his caddie taking in the discussion...all 4 minutes of it...

All in all, Na really seems like a super duper nice guy, but I cannot stand watching him play golf.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterAlex H
For some reason I thought it was Hilton Head that Cabrera blew up at Na, Na then cracked up and dumped his tee shot in the water on the next hole (par 3, water on the left?) when he was in the running for the championship. Think there may have been tears too...

Tour championship was fun too, Casey's (who had been playing with him) interview was good too, sure they cut it with shots of Na smashing his 4 iron into the tee box.
02.21.2011 | Unregistered CommenterDouglas

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