LPGA Stepping Up, Enforcing Pace of Play with Penalties

One of the most frequently voiced criticisms of the PGA TOUR is the pace of play. Everyone is sick of watching golfers taking minutes to evaluate their lie, assess their target, plan the shot, and rehearse their swing. Anyone who’s seen a video of Brian Harmon knows exactly what I’m talking about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Only aggravating this is TGL, which the PGA TOUR partially owns and, unlike the more “serious” product, has a 40-second shot clock to help keep up the pace of play.

Remarkably, the PGA TOUR continues to avoid what is arguably the simplest and most effective solution for pace of play—imposing stroke penalties on golfers who think 6-hour rounds are appropriate. Indeed, just last week, the PGA TOUR announced its “solutions,” which included, inter alia, distance-measuring devices (rangefinders) and increased use of the video review center (to aid in resolving rules-related issues).

While it’s unclear what meaningful impact these may have, we can appreciate that someone is (finally) preparing to confront the issue head-on.

THIS is how it is done.

Bravo @LPGA for demanding that players get faster. Assuming they follow thru with penalizing players, the pace of play will pick up. pic.twitter.com/vMjiuXxasx

— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) February 5, 2025

While no official comment has come from the LPGA yet, a copy of a memo circulated among the players confirms that players will be facing fines and stroke penalties in the near future.

If—or, more appropriately, when—implemented, the new rules will provide the following:

• Players that take 1-5 seconds longer than the allowed time to play their shot will receive a fine.
• Players that take 6-15 seconds longer to play their shot will receive a 1-stroke penalty.
• Players that take 16+ seconds will receive a 2-stroke penalty.

The LPGA, however, is ignorant to the fact that there may be occasional “traffic jams” on holes, e.g., par-3s that are being completed by the prior group or short par-4s that impair the later group from hitting approach shots in the green, where an earlier group is still completing the hole. In light of these situations, the LPGA will also be making adjustments to provide extra allowances for players who are first to hit on each hole:

• The first to hit on par 4s and 5s will no longer receive an additional 10 seconds (except on reachable par 4s)
• The first to hit on par 3s, approach shots, and putts will still receive the extra 10 seconds

The LPGA took the opportunity to acknowledge that slow place is an issue it similarly struggles with and highlighted that in 2024, the former policy led to fines for 22 players and two-stroke penalties for nine. But most noteworthy is that if the new rules had been enforced last season, 23 players would have incurred a one-stroke penalty, while eight would have faced a two-stroke penalty.

Charley Hull submits her “ruthless” fix for slow play on tour. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/rYpXeBSb7a

— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) November 18, 2024

While this is far from the suggestion made by LPGA golfer Charley Hull, who stated that slow-play repeat offenders should be removed from the LPGA, this is certainly a step in the right direction that, I believe, will have a significantly greater effect than allowing golfers to use rangefinders.