Players ordered to speed up at British Open

[TN94z]

With all of the talk lately about the game getting so slow, especially within the amateur ranks, it seems the organizers for the British Open are going to attempt to speed it up at the Open.  The pace is set at 4.5 hours for a 3 ball pairing and 2 ball pairing should finish in 3 hours 45 minutes.

Jim McArthur, chairman of the championship committee, says:

Quote:

we're putting slow play as priority.'' Although sanctioning players with a shot penalty is rare, he says ''we would take whatever action is appropriate.

it needs to be a concerted effort, not just the Royal and Ancient, not just the tours, but the golf unions and other golf organizations to come to a coordinated effort to improve the speed.

I don't see anything wrong with that.  It will be a good test on the time this week as tough as the course will play.

[Kieran123]

LOL @ pros playing in 4.5 hours.

Not gonna happen

[iacas]

I hope they penalize some people.

Good.

They've given out some slow play penalties in Europe this year IIRC.

[colin007]

This is excellent. hopefully it will trickle down and the old guys at my local courses will hurry the eff up...

[Motown88]

But what will ESPN do???  Will they have to shorten their coverage, lol!  I like this for us non-professionals but when it comes down to playing for a Major and a large prize pool I don't see a problem with a little longer round.  I'm not saying play a 6 hour round or anything crazy like that, but don't limit the players to 4.5 hours.

[NuclearMike]

Originally Posted by colin007

This is excellent. hopefully it will trickle down and the old guys at my local courses will hurry the eff up...

And the slow young guys, too.  Because a lot of them keep it in the fairway a lot of "old guys" play pretty quick.  The young guys who can't keep it in play spend more time looking for balls hit in the rough or out of play.

[Timothy Voyles]

Originally Posted by NuclearMike

And the slow young guys, too.  Because a lot of them keep it in the fairway a lot of "old guys" play pretty quick.  The young guys who can't keep it in play spend more time looking for balls hit in the rough or out of play.

I'd agree with this...

At my course the old guys tend to hang out around the green and tee boxes piddling around. Young guys waste their day in the woods and rough looking for their overly aggressive long balls.

On topic: I want to see several penalties dished out, someone has to be the example of how not to play. I vote Kevin Na to take the first penalty for slow play this week.

[Wally Fairway]

Better start mowing the hayfields that line the fairways at Royal Lytham & St. Annes if he thinks there is a chance in playing round in under 4.5 hours....or wait for better weather.

[Zeph]

Great. Slow play is becoming a bigger issue on the larges tours. Use the system as it is intended and don't be afraid to deal out penalties. Some players might need a penalty before they understand.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Zeph

Great. Slow play is becoming a bigger issue on the larges tours.

Use the system as it is intended and don't be afraid to deal out penalties. Some players might need a penalty before they understand.

Maybe they could send a pace group out first (preferably a group of seniors who post at thesandtrap.com since they're widely regarded as the quickest players) and people need to not lose any holes to them.

[mlf16507]

They have a chance to meet their goal since Ben Crane isn't playing!

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by mlf16507

They have a chance to meet their goal since Ben Crane isn't playing!

But Padraig Harrington is.

[Motley01]

It's simple. They just need to start their preswing anyalisis during the other players turns.

Have you noticed, they will just sit there with there caddie, until the other player takes his shot. Then they go through the entire routine, asking caddie the distance, throwing up grass, etc.

It's really annyoying watching some of them just take so much time before they make the actual shot.

There's no reason they can't take their shot within 45sec of the previous players turn.

[newtogolf]

I'd guess part of the reason is so they factor whatever they learn from the other plays shot into their decision.

Originally Posted by Motley01

It's simple. They just need to start their preswing anyalisis during the other players turns.

Have you noticed, they will just sit there with there caddie, until the other player takes his shot. Then they go through the entire routine, asking caddie the distance, throwing up grass, etc.

It's really annyoying watching some of them just take so much time before they make the actual shot.

There's no reason they can't take their shot within 45sec of the previous players turn.

[luu5]

Originally Posted by Kieran123

LOL @ pros playing in 4.5 hours.

Not gonna happen

IIRC last year Lawrie(?) played just over 2 hours in UAE. Although he was the first to start and played single.

[mlf16507]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

But Padraig Harrington is.

You are correct and so is Kevin Na!

[Zeph]

I'd guess part of the reason is so they factor whatever they learn from the other plays shot into their decision.

In windy conditions, they take forever to analyze it. Don't exactly help when the wind is swirling and keep changing directions. They should've had the same system as in ski jumping, where they got monitors showing wind speed and direction in every part of the hill. Could speed things up a bit. ;-)

[Aquaguru]

So did anyone get hit with a penalty.  I haven't heard anyone talk about this or how the pace of play went for the tourny.

I'm curious to see if the rounds were really any faster.