Every golfer alive has stood on a tee waiting for the group in front of them. The six hour round at Bethpage Black is legendary. The amount of time that is takes to complete a round is a problem that plagues the game and keeps participation rates abnormally low. Every course struggles with how to implement the correct measures that will speed up play and improve the customer experience.
The PGA Tour does very little to assist in this effort. Players on tour have been allowed to take an interminable amount of time to play shots. Tour followers even know some of the nicknames that have come out of slow play reputations, such as Glen “All” Day.
Photo of Katelyn Dambaugh by John Mummert/USGA
But now I have seen and heard the worst example yet. I was watching the telecast for the U.SGA Junior Girls Championship on The Golf Channel, and it was apparent that the two contestants, 15 year old Katelyn Dambaugh and eventual winner 17 year old Doris Chen, were plodding. Clearly it was hot as they battled it out at the Country Club of North Carolina during the last week of July, with a heat index registering over 100 degrees. But there were obvious issues that drew my attention. Neither one would pull a club out of her bag until the other had fully played a shot. Practice swings were abundant. Neither on would even consider starting to line up their putt until the other had made her stroke. Each putt required a three-sided look and multiple practice strokes. It was the worst example of ready golf I had ever seen.
It was then that the broadcaster announcing the action made the declarative statement that made me cringe. In the morning 18 of the 36-hole match, the girls actually had to be warned about their slow play by the USGA official in charge. In speaking to Golfweek.com blogger Julie Williams after the match, it took the girls 4 ½ hours to complete the 18 holes. That’s a twosome! Playing match play where short putts
are given! And they were the only two people allowed on the course! Simply put, that is disgraceful.
Ruling authorities have got to put a stop to this epidemic. Our Scottish golfing forefathers would cringe at a four-ball that took more than 3 hours to play. Practice swings are for the practice tee. When it is your turn to play, it should take no more than 15-20 seconds to play a shot. These young ladies, full of talent, should have played in almost half the time. If the ruling authorities cannot arrest this trend, the popularity of the game will continue to struggle, and everyone whose livelihood depends upon the popularity of the game of golf will suffer. Mine included. And that is as unacceptable as a six hour round at Bethpage Black.
