"We've had 4½- hour rounds for 30 years."

Not only is this Slugger White-slow play quote in this week's Golf World depressing, it doesn't exactly back up John Paramor for daring to speed up play at Firestone.

Bob Verdi asks about pace of play...

You hear some guys say it's too slow, and the only way to speed it up is by penalizing strokes. But I don't believe you should affect a man's livelihood with a stopwatch. Also, I don't feel play is as slow as some people think. We've had 4½- hour rounds for 30 years.

Except that during the first two rounds of most tour events, you've had 4½- hour rounds plus another 45 minutes on top of that over the last ten years.

So if one of the tour's top two officials charged with enforcing the rules doesn't believe you should affect a man's livelihood by enforcing a rule, then I guess it'll be another 17 years before a penalty stroke is handed out? Why even put people on the clock?

Comments

[OWGR Fan]

Didn't Slugger White sign off on Paramor putting Tiger and Paddy on the clock @ Firestone? And now he says slow play is no big deal? Which is it Slugger?

[johnny knoxville]

Slugger doesn't have to watch the miserable pace at times on TV.
And TV revenue provides much of PGA Tour officials salaries.
If ratings down, PGA Tour will go from multi-million dollar salaries to a mere million or so.
I love golf but at times, it drives you nuts watching the slow play.
There is only so much a TV director can do.

If it keeps getting slower, they will need to stopwatch to measure my viewing time.

[Anon]

The "affect a man's livelihood" argument is specious. A guy would make more money if he wrote down pars instead of bogies on his card. That is against the rules though, right? Oh, wait. Playing with undue delay is against the rules too. For the same reason a tour can't legitimately alter the rule on stroke and distance for OB because it might cost somebody money, it ought not waive the rule on slow play because enforcement via strokes might cost somebody money. When you play professionally, rules breaches can cost you money because of added strokes. But that is because you are playing golf for a living and golf has rules.

[RM]

"Except that during the first two rounds of most tour events, you've had 4½- hour rounds plus another 45 minutes on top of that over the last ten years."

Reminds me of the quote from Airplane that went something like this: "He's got a 50-50 shot...but only a 10% chance of that happening."

[Smolmania]

Pathetic. A widely-described "well respected" rules official doesn't believe the rules should be enforced? Somebody should deliver a well placed sand wedge to his knee! Perhaps that old guy in Austin with the gun had the only practical idea which would actually work. . .

[Jordan]

Y.E. Yang. Lucas Glover. Angel Cabrera. Quick players all. And all three are reiging major champions. Put everybody else on the clock. By all means. But those are my three examples that playing fast doesn't affect livelihoods.

[chico]

Must say I'm astonished to read this quote from Slugger.Quite depressing if its true.

[golfboy]

so Tiger and Paddy finished 27 minutes early?!

[Scott]

Methinks ole Slugger doesn't want to wind up like Pete Sesso, with someone's hands around his neck.

[86general]

You could just as well say "I don't believe we should affect a man's livelihood by penalizing strokes for" kneeling on a towel while making a shot, or for breaking a twig while making a practice backswing.

If it's a rule, and you think it's worth having, then you need to enforce it.

Pros playing in twosomes where they essentially never have to stop and look for a ball shouldn't take more than about 3.5 hours to play, even in a professional event.

[Zelda]

Slowplayolics.

[CBell]

If Kobe Bryant doesn't get off a game-winning shot before the 24-second clock goes off, what happens? If Tom Brady doesn't take the snap before the game clock expires, what happens? If an air traffic controller doesn't come back from his break on time, what happens? Slugger should be suspended, if not fined or fired.